Accounting Software & Financial Reporting Software
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Changing your financial management solution?: Sapphire Systems
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The team at Sapphire have used their 25 years’ extensive experience working with clients, solving the challenges faced,
in the process of changing financial management solutions to put together this suggested 10-step guide.
1. Be prepared.
Changing a financial management system is a large and time-consuming task that can be stressful for those involved if
adequate preparation is not carried out. Lack of organisation from the outset can cause numerous problems and delays
to the project. Having a plan and structure gives a reference and the confidence of knowing that you are on track.
Action: Project team, develop the scope and understand the impact and timescales of the implementation.
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Accounting for change: finance technology in the retail industry: UNIT4
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In a period of economic uncertainty, finding ways to save money – while addressing customers’ need for value and
maintaining their loyalty – is ever more critical to a business’ survival and success.
It feels almost a cliché to say that today’s economy is tough and that all businesses are undergoing unprecedented
change. But the impacts of this new, accepted reality are far from commonplace. Retailers worldwide are caught up in a
tsunami of change: on the one hand they are the ultimate consumer-facing industry, experiencing on a daily basis the
vagaries of fluctuating consumer demand, changing fashion and evolving needs; and on the other, managing a supply
chain that is complex, ever changing and under growing pressure itself.
Retailers are the ones who bear the brunt of change – whether it’s a sudden variation in demand for certain product
lines, alterations in tax rates, new technologies, the introduction of environmental legislation, an economic downturn or
any number of other possibilities.
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Choosing a software provider: Advanced Business Solutions
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With so much competition and seemingly fewer differentiating factors between software systems, how are UK businesses expected to choose one software supplier over another? It’s hardly surprising when businesses are left confused and overwhelmed by the choices available to them. This white paper is intended to help you as a UK business choose between one business software supplier and another. It highlights the key factors you should consider during the tendering process so that you decide upon the best choice of supplier for your business. The following key factors should be considered during the tendering process.
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How to cut costs without damaging your business: Advanced Business Solutions
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Repeatedly reducing operating costs is becoming a depressingly familiar condition of staying in business as the
economy continues to show little sign of improvement. While in the public sector the severity of a new round of savage
cost cutting has left organisations reeling, business leaders in the private sector are now complaining that recovery isn’t
coming quickly enough. Having made numerous rounds of cuts already, they are understandably frustrated to find that
the market has barely moved and that sales remain depressed.
With no significant upturn in sight, many companies now find themselves facing the unthinkable: having to take out a
further level of costs to achieve their financial performance targets or, in the more extreme instances, just to stay
solvent.
But how do they do this without damaging the business?
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A director's guide: time to reduce your profit leaks?: Access
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Profit leaks within mid-market organisations across the UK are proving a huge cause for concern. This study shows that
many companies don’t have the visibility to identify inefficiencies within their end-to-end operations – despite the fact
there are significant savings to be made for those who can plug the leaks.
Within this paper, Access reports on a survey of its UK mid-market customer base. Through the survey results and an
examination of the findings, this report provides insight into where profits are being eroded and how organisations can
start to monitor, manage and reduce losses. Access hosted a series of customer summit events throughout the UK in the spring of 2010. During that time, 169
organisations were surveyed to gain valuable insight into the profit leaks they experienced.
To provide some context for the findings, attendees were asked the size of their organisation in terms of annual
turnover. The organisations surveyed were across a range of industries from manufacturing through to
professional services. For the purposes of this study they have been broadly broken down into stock and non stock-based
organisations.
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Growing pains: bluQube
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During the developing years, companies are typically
recommended to use a starter finance package, the software doing
exactly what it says on the tin – simply managing accounts and
providing all the day-to-day information. With the welcome
prospect of size and revenue growth however, such systems have
implications on your financial management. They are designed to
cope with a finite amount of data and basic transactions, so once
you exceed certain volumes and accounting becomes more
complex, you are likely to experience clear growing pains. Here
are just a few that you might identify with.
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Planning and implementing shared services: UNIT4
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Over the past decade companies and public sector organisations have operated in a market increasingly characterised
by complex globalisation, mergers and acquisitions, and the pressure for improved value.
CFOs have faced the triple challenges of creating an administration that adds value, deploys consistent high quality
global e-business processes, and provides business transaction processing at increasingly low unit costs – typically at
less than 0.5% of total revenue.
Since the ‘credit crunch’ and subsequent global financial crisis, those pressures have intensified as firms look to
become more cost-effective to ride out the economic downturn and emerge a leaner, more efficient and effective
organisation.
Enterprise-wide visibility and control is vital in an environment increasingly threatened by fraud and heightened
complexity resulting from changing legislation or the pressure to achieve increased efficiencies and greater
departmental collaboration.
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Evaluating, selecting and implementing accounting software: Access
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Even the smallest organisation now depends on accounting software
packages to help them manage their business efficiently, and inevitably
the time comes when the software that is relied on no longer measures
up. It can take a while for the signs to be recognised.
Whether it is external market forces, business growth or lack of
functionality that is driving the change, a strategic decision needs to be
made about what to do next.
This is the time to sit down and really think hard about your business.
Think about the future. What is your five-year business plan? It is
essential to be clear what your needs are now and what they will be in a
few years’ time. You don’t want to have to make another change a
couple of years down the line.
Think about your competitors. Take a step back and view your business
system from a competitive perspective. Which accounting software packages do your competitors use? Have they
customised their choice of software to maximise the benefits for your industry?
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Breaking down the barriers to business: Sage
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It’s a given that information is the lifeblood of the 21st century organisation. Organisations that seek the elusive goal of
a single view of the customer need first to instil an information-sharing culture throughout the company, not simply
attempt to apply a quick technology fix.
But too many companies find themselves locked into a situation where information is held in zealously guarded silos by
departments that are not incentivised to share it. Office politics and jostling for position on the corporate hierarchy, as
well as a desire to protect your own back, mean that the organisational culture acts as an impediment to the free flow of
information that could assist the bottom line.
All departments need to be able to put information into and get information out of a single system, rather than hoarding
their own slice of it in departmental sub-systems.
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A step-by-step guide to managing key performance indicators: IRIS
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This document presents some simple ideas that we hope will help you manage your
business in a more efficient manner. Essentially, we’re hoping to debunk some of the
nonsense and over-complexity surrounding KPIs, analysis, reporting and
measurement.
These ideas come from experience on both sides of the ‘business intelligence’ fence –
technology suppliers and business managers. We have applied them to a business
scenario which we hope incorporates ideas and issues that you will recognise.
However, every profession and business is different and we would be delighted to hear
from you directly to help you understand if and how this technique will be useful to your
businesses, and if we have solutions available that can help you gain business
advantage.
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The guide to becoming a successful FD: IRIS
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Too many of the UK’s small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are failing to maximise their commercial opportunities
because they simply have neither the time nor ability to proactively monitor and assess business performance.
Bogged down with the tedious creation of month-end management accounts and regulatory reporting, far too much time is
spent number crunching – leaving little or no opportunity for basic analysis of business performance against key targets, or the
business plan.
There are, however, some simple steps that can be taken to transform the situation: enable real-time access to relevant management information; integrate the spreadsheet with financial software to provide consistency; design one-page dashboard KPI report; utilise exception reporting and alerts for real-time management; automate reporting processes to reduce time spent on report generation; leverage online technology business to improve business value; empower budget holders with real-time access to financial information; and reduce paper and streamline processes to reduce costs.
This white paper provides a brief overview of techniques for improving the day to day life of the beleaguered financial director –
with some examples of just how other SMEs across the UK have followed these steps and achieved quantifiable business
improvements.
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Corporate financial management in enterprising companies: Infor
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Finance executives must meet a growing number of complex demands and challenges if their companies are to reach the next
level of profitable growth.
Operational excellence around core financials is certainly essential. CFOs and their teams are expected to standardise
transactional processes and deploy effective and efficient financial systems. They must deliver strong performance in
everything from cash management to regulatory compliance to merely address foundational financial requirements.
But finance executives can’t stop there. To differentiate their companies and take their own careers to new levels, they must
focus on strategic financials. They need to provide forward-looking insight that enhances strategic planning and decision
making. They must extend the capabilities of their financial systems beyond core activities into new areas, automating more
processes and driving productivity gains still higher.
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Are you outgrowing your finance system?: UNIT4
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Technology is an essential tool in today’s economic environment. And while it is possible to survive without the latest business
applications, relying on antiquated finance systems which are unable to handle multiple languages, currencies, companies or
different reporting regimes effectively, could seriously threaten your corporate health.
Whether it’s international trading, buying or selling new divisions, diversification or just growing the business, companies can
easily find themselves losing out to competitors that are simply more technologically advanced.
Moreover, as the regulatory environment becomes more complex and the call for good governance and sustainable value
creation more powerful, relying on outdated systems that cannot produce accurate, timely or reliable data offers little
assurance. Growth strategies, therefore (however good), can simply become glorified statements if a company hasn’t equipped
itself with the right tools to execute them effectively. However, for many organisations, concerns over system implementation
and the costs involved are a definite turn-off. After all, if it isn’t broken, why fix it?
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The convergence of corporate social responsibility and IT: Lawson
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Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a concept that has been around for decades; however, a heightened interest in the role
of business in society has resulted in organisations in all industries and regions of the world re-evaluating how they impact
their stakeholders.
This white paper will provide an overview of CSR, explore what organisations are doing in this area, and outline a process for
you to establish your own CSR programmes. It will also provide an overview of the Lawson approach to leveraging information
technology to help organisations manage their CSR programmes. CSR, also known as sustainable development or corporate citizenship, has many definitions. For the purposes of this white
paper we’ll highlight two of the more recognised and accepted definitions.
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The strategic CFO: Infor
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Finance executives must meet a growing number of complex demands and challenges if their companies are to reach the next level of profitable growth. Operational excellence around core financials is certainly essential. CFOs and their teams areexpected to standardise transactional processes and deploy effective and efficient financial systems. They must deliver strong performance in everything from cash management to regulatory compliance to merely address foundational financial requirements. But finance executives can’t stop there. To differentiate their companies and take their own careers to new levels, they must focus on strategic financials. They need to provide forward-looking insight that enhances strategic planning and decision making. They must extend the capabilities of their financial systems beyond core activities into new areas, automating more processes and driving productivity gains still higher.
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