Pastel International, a division of Softline Pastel, South Africa's leading developer of accounting, payroll and business solutions for small to medium-sized enterprises, is finalising an implementation of the company's high-end product, Pastel Evolution, for the Rwanda Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN).
Vincent Nkuranga, public accountant for the ministry, says: "We wanted more efficient and effective financial reporting for all Rwanda's government budget agencies.
"That meant ensuring consistency in reporting methodologies across more than 100 sites spread across Rwanda, as well as getting accurate and up-to-date information that would enable us to consolidate various accounts.
"Pastel Evolution offered us those capabilities, as well as providing extremely customisable reports and an excellent budget facility in the General Ledger module. Other modules included in the project were Pastel Evolution Core, Multi-currency, Fixed Assets and the Business Intelligence Centre.
"We also chose Pastel Evolution because it is user-friendly and able to adapt to the needs of our 175 users and Rwanda's specific financial reporting requirements."
Pastel International's business partner in Rwanda, B+ Business Solutions, undertook the implementation, with Pastel International providing training and technical support.
B+ commercial director, Ben Kanzira, says by using a uniform segmented chart of accounts, B+ was able to facilitate the preparation of consolidated accounts for MINECOFIN and, in the process, help create consistency in financial accounting methodologies across all the relevant government agencies.
"Using a standardised approach has also helped us implement ahead of schedule. Roll-out was meant to be complete by August this year, but the majority of sites were already registered by May."
Pastel International director, Jeff Lewis, says B+'s commitment to getting the job done quickly, while accurately addressing the Rwandan government's specific needs, is an accurate reflection of the way Pastel International is taking its products to market in Africa. "We tackle each job on its merits, finding cost-effective ways of making sure the customer gets what he or she wants, without making the implementation too complex or time-consuming.
"And we're finding that, for many African governments, our ability to deliver a rapid time-to-benefit ratio is extremely attractive. The African continent wants to develop as quickly as possible, and it is solutions like ours that are helping it do that."
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