Specialty chemicals giant Chemical Services has implemented the journal capture module of budget and forecasting solution idu-Concept to overcome financial management difficulties associated with reporting for multiple entities.
The Chemical Services Group supplies a diverse range of chemicals, raw materials and related services to a wide variety of industries through 21 independent business units. Forming part of the AECI Group, Chemical Services is southern Africa's largest specialty chemicals organisation.
Using Lotus to consolidate 21 business units was an increasing challenge for the group's central accounting office, due to the ever-changing structure of the group, and the need for compliance with international financial reporting standards.
The time-consuming process involved each business unit sending through a monthly accounting pack, which could only be accessed by the management accountant. The executive level of management was limited to obtaining information from the accounts department if they needed access to the underlying data by entity. This proved to be inconvenient and time-consuming.
In 2006 idu Software designed a generic journal capture module for the Chemical Services Group's need to consolidate all of the numerous entities into a single set of accounts, where financial information is now readily available in a user-friendly manner by cost centre or at group level.
"Each business unit or cost centre within the group is a different legal entity, so the solution is designed to report monthly figures via journal, accessed through the company's Intranet," says Chemical Services management accountant Annette Calitz.
"The journal capture solution enabled through idu-Concept has improved efficiencies to the extent that it knocks a full day off the monthly reporting process. Whereas previously each file received from a business unit had to be added into complex Lotus spreadsheets by the management accountant, this solution automatically updates the information as each cost centre processes and signs off their journals. This reduces input time and minimises the margin for error."
Calitz says the flexible structure of idu-Concept was one of the main reasons Chemical Services chose the solution.
"The system enables considerable functionality, and information can be viewed in a range of ways - for example, by division, by legal entity or consolidated. Using our previous system, it would be a lengthy, cumbersome task to access that sort of detailed information."
Calitz says the intention in the long-term is to directly integrate data from all the ERP systems of the subsidiaries with idu-Concept, without having to process journal entries.
"At idu Software our clients drive our development direction. Chemical Services is a typical example where a specific requirement has resulted in the creation of a brand new module," says Kevin Phillips, MD of idu Software.
"In idu-Concept version 4, this module has been expanded and is used by our clients for consolidations, remote subsidiary access, as well as the capture of non-financial information into the system to facilitate monthly reporting."
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