Choosing a New Finance System? Issues Arising from SORP
Iain Pritchard - Adapta consulting
About Adapta Consulting
Adapta is:
• A specialist information systems consultancy• We only work with membership organisations, charities, associations,
trusts and others in the NfP sector• We are completely supplier-independent• Our consultants have held senior positions in a broad range of
different organisations• Our advice and guidance is based on practical experience gained over
many years.
The agenda for this session
• Welcome
• Accounting systems for charities
• Choosing the right package
• SORP and other configuration challenges
• Discussion
• Close
The state of the charity market
What’s Different About Charities?
• Analysis and Reporting• eg. SORP, funder reports, possibly unusual VAT
position• Specialist income areas
• eg. Rent-accounting, Gift-Aid, fundraising• Other third-party links
• eg. To/from web site• Resources
• Accounting package requirements disproportionate to size/resources of organisation
What Do Charities Need (disproportionately)?
• Analysis and Reporting• Flexible nominal analysis coding (at least 3-way analysis)• Ability to design/change reports easily• Reports with “drill-down” for managers
• Integration• To fundraising, CRM, specialist software, website
• Automation• “Self service” web expenses/approval• Online purchase ordering• Image storage/linking (e.g. photo of rail ticket/scanned invoice)• Journals - automatic
Drivers for change
• Poor management information/reporting• Lack of automation/integration• Finance staff bogged down with inefficient
processes• Duplication of effort• Reliance spreadsheets to manipulate data
Possible business benefits of better accounting system
• Resource/cost reduction – time saved through new system, reducing the need to recruit additional staff to cope with business expansion, or reallocating to other tasks
• Better business information• More flexible workforce• Happier staff?
The main players(traditional systems)
“Cloud systems
• Sometimes known as “Software as a Service” (SaaS)
• Accessible using only a browser (plus possibly a mobile app)
• Data and application hosted by third party on their own systems
• Typically paid for on a “per user per month” basis
Potential benefits of cloud software
• Don’t need onsite servers• Smaller organisations with no IT staff• Lower initial costs• Quicker deployment• Easy to scale up/down• Increased resilience• Business continuity/disaster recovery• Upgrades are easier• Work from anywhere• Greater security
Cloud software - possible pitfalls
• Wholly dependent on good Internet connection• Service level guarantees?• Security/firewall issues• Integration with devices and between vendors• Data Protection legislation (is the data held in EU?)• Transactions volumes/speed/latency• Fewer systems to choose from• Usually priced on a “named user” basis• Data transfer
Cloud software – other issues
• Contracts:– Don’t forget implementation costs– Contract length– Service level guarantee/compensation– Backup and restore schedule/responsibilities– Ongoing support– Ongoing costs
Some cloud offerings
Choosing the right package
Choosing the right package
A linear approach…Bus. Case Req’ts
ITT Select
Impl.Spec’ Contract
Sign off Spec’
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Processes, people and technology
Roles and people
IT systems and software
How things get doneprocesses and workflows
Adaptive approach
Business case and key processes
Prototyping Specification and contract
Expressions of interest and initial presentations
Requirements document
Short listLong list Selection
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Configuration challenges
Some discussion…
For more information, contact us at:
2 Old College Court, 29 Priory Street, Ware, Hertfordshire, SG12 0DE
020 7250 [email protected]
Thank you for taking part