Central Account Management Services (CAMS)

What is CAMS?

CAMS is the Perelman School of Medicine’s (PSOM) central account management system. CAMS feeds grant and non-grant Penn 26-digit account information to automated billing mechanisms used by core (service center) facilities when charging for services. CAMS allows departmental Business Administrators to manage user access, apply spending limits to accounts they are responsible for, and report on activity against these accounts.

Who can access CAMS, and how often does CAMS interact with the Penn Directory?

  • CAMS Access: All active PennKey users can access CAMS. Students who have not used CAMS must request initial access through the CAMS feedback link. 

    • Penn Directory Interaction: CAMS pulls user information, including email addresses, from the Penn Directory. Changes made in the Penn Directory may take up to 48 hours to be reflected in CAMS.

    • Individual Account Access: This is tied to a user’s relationship to a specific ORG and/or scope of operations. Functional abilities within CAMS may vary from basic “view/request” to “add/remove/modify.” 

What types of accounts are managed through CAMS?

CAMS can manage any 26-digit account string established through the University’s BEN Financial System with an active status.
Accounts can be classified in the following manner:

  • Grants: Accounts pulled directly from the University’s PennERA system, housing funds awarded by federal, state, or local agencies, private foundations, or corporations. Information and authority hierarchies established in the PennERA system will be reflected in CAMS, including owner, account, and any related IRB Protocols.
  • Non-Grants: Financial accounts related to non-grant activities of an ORG and/or parent department. Examples include discretionary or non-discretionary funds.

What are the various user roles in CAMS? 

  • General User: Non-admin/financial personnel (e.g., faculty, students, research/core staff, etc.). Can request access for themselves and/or others to spend on accounts via the "Request Access" link in the left-hand navigation.

  • Senior BA: Primary financial officer for their assigned org hierarchy, with full Org Manager, Account Manager, and Core Admin permissions. Oversees all grant and non-grant accounts, manages spending access and account data, and can create, assign, or remove Org Managers, Core Admins, and Account Managers as needed. 

  • Org Manager: Assigned by the Senior BA for their ORG, with Account Manager permissions plus authority to manage internal grant and non-grant account data, control spending access within their assigned org hierarchy, and create or remove Account Managers.  

  • Account Manager: Assigned by a Senior BA or Org Manager for the account's ORG, with authority to manage spending access for assigned accounts and the ability to self-revoke access through Roles → By User.

  • Core Admin: Assigned by a Core's Senior BA to manage external account data and spending access for assigned accounts, with the ability to self-revoke access through Roles → By User.