The City of Addison, Texas—renowned for its innovation in public service—faced a deceptively simple but frustratingly persistent challenge: understanding how roles and permissions within their ERP system actually worked. Staff members needed a clearer way to manage risk, troubleshoot access issues, and support compliance. Enter ThirdLine—a solution purpose-built for their ERP that provided not just clarity, but efficient control.
While they have a powerful ERP system, its help tools rarely deliver the clarity needed to understand the real-world effects of configuration and permission changes. As the CFO, Steven Glickman, put it:
“If you click on the help tool in Munis, it's still not a good description.”
Staff often had to resort to trial-and-error or rely on support teams just to understand what a single checkbox or permission did.
For the IT team, ERP backend descriptions and permission structures were opaque. Investigating permissions meant sifting through documentation or submitting support tickets—just to get basic answers.
“You have to go through tons of documentation to see what a certain permission is, and then go to support and hope to learn about that permission,” shared the Sr. ERP Specialist, Kevin Phan
One of the most dangerous blindspots? Undetected Segregation of Duties issues.
For example, a user who can both create and pay a vendor is a high-risk scenario—but difficult to detect in the ERP without intensive auditing.
“We couldn’t recognize that issue without ThirdLine as efficiently,” noted Glickman “It does a great job at explaining what the conflict is and why it’s an issue.”
ERP administrators also lacked efficient tools to manage critical issues like terminated employees retaining active accounts.
“The ability to link to the employee table really helps—we don’t have to do as much digging,” said the Sr. ERP Specialist.
Addison selected ThirdLine for one simple reason: it was designed with their ERP in mind.
“The big thing was you are specifically working with Munis,” said the CFO. "The descriptions you provide simplify the backend in a way that Munis just doesn’t. It’s making it way more user-friendly.”
ThirdLine helps explain what each permission or checkbox does—and why it matters. With clearer descriptions and visibility into conflicts, Addison's team can now quickly detect high-risk combinations, like vendor access issues, without exhaustive audits.
For the CFO, ThirdLine offers strategic value: confidence in the ERP’s internal controls and decision-making infrastructure.
“It simplifies the backend—what the permissions mean, how to navigate them, and how to make sure people have the right access.”
The system’s ability to explain not just the configuration but the implications of permission settings has made it a game-changer.
For the Sr. ERP Specialist, ThirdLine delivers immediate, operational benefits.
“It’s been great. Each improvement ThirdLine makes, our insights improve”
The platform reveals risks like superuser access, high-risk permissions, and terminated employee accounts—things that are hidden or extremely difficult to find in the ERP.
It also encourages proactive governance:
“It’s making me think more critically about how those roles were historically created,” they said. “For example, directors can maintain their own PCards and statements… but should they? ThirdLine gives me the information I need to raise those questions.”
And the Role Scoring System?
“They help a lot—they turn my attention to what I need to focus on.”
Not only does ThirdLine show you which roles carry the most risk, it shows you which changes will make the most improvement.
ThirdLine helped Addison turn a system full of unknowns into a platform for insight and control. From high-level strategic oversight to day-to-day management, ThirdLine gives finance and IT teams the visibility they need to protect their ERP environment—and move forward with confidence.
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