Namene Cuts Down Financial Report Creation Time from Hours to 9 Minutes

Background

Namene, a company dedicated to empowering communities through clean technology in Africa, encountered significant challenges in its financial reporting and forecasting processes. The company relied on manual and spreadsheet-based systems, which led to significant reporting inefficiencies and hindered timely decision-making.

Challenges – Perils of Manual Financial Systems

Namene’s primary challenges revolved around its manual financial reporting system, which was heavily reliant on Xero and spreadsheets for consolidating and reporting financial data. It involved consolidating the financial data of 10 Xero companies in 8 currencies, which was done quarterly. Due to outdated data and inaccurate financial information, this approach resulted in complex reporting and one-time annual forecasting, as the existing processes lacked the necessary granularity and adaptability for quick strategic changes.

“Since we had 10 Xero companies and 8 currencies, very quickly we became very complex. And all the actual reporting we had was in spreadsheets and exports from Xero. Consolidation was done not monthly, it was more on quarterly or on an as-needed basis. This meant the forecasting was done merely once a year.”

Becca Archer, Senior Finance Manager at Namene

This also affected the company’s ability to measure operational performance as the financial data lacked accuracy, leading to difficulties in planning.

“Because of this horribly fluid, unstructured environment, there was no real reference point for me now when I am asked to say, is our performance hitting where we want to be or are we behind or are we on par.”

Wayne VanRensBurg, Regional Operations Director at Namene

Solution Criteria – Scalability, Automation, and Future-Proofed

To address these challenges, Namene wanted the solution to be scalable and could be tailored to meet the in-house team’s reporting and forecasting needs.

“So when I was picking up my key criteria, I wanted the solution to be cost-effective and actually able to do it in-house in a fairly small finance team. And I needed the solution to be scalable and also to be able to use it in-house and make it customizable so I could drive the reporting and the improvements myself.”

Becca Archer, Senior Finance Manager at Namene

After researching the market, Namene selected Acterys and implemented the platform in two phases.

In phase 1, the team focused on setting up consolidation and reporting to have quick access to the financial information for sharing it with the company’s board. Acterys’ team helped in this phase to get the solution up and running in Power BI within a month.

This was followed by developing the forecasting module within Power BI using Acterys, which was designed to function with the complex financial structure of Namene.

Key Results

The implementation of Acterys led to several significant improvements in the financial reporting and forecasting systems for Namene.

Financial Reports Delivered to Board in One Month

The automated financial reporting system, which integrated with their existing accounting software (Xero) and Power BI, took less than a month to start generating financial reports for Namene’s board.

Planning Across Departments is Now Faster & Easier

Enhanced accuracy of the financial data also enabled the operations department to analyze performance across multiple areas and plan more deliberately. Extracting reports was quick and required minimal effort, which in Wayne’s words:

“Before it used to take me hours, now I just do it in 9 minutes.”

On-Demand Forecasting with Real-Time Data

The forecasting module allowed for more detailed and frequent updates, enabling Namene to make strategic decisions more effectively. Additionally, the user-friendly interface of Acterys ensured easy adoption within the organization, even for those without technical expertise. The system’s scalability and customization options meant that it could grow with the company and adapt to its unique needs.

Most importantly, the new system facilitated efficient decision-making processes, allowing for quick scenario analysis and reducing the time taken for these critical activities.

“We are easily 5-10 years ahead of where we would’ve been before this with Acterys.”

Wayne VanRensBurg, Regional Operations Director at Namene

Conclusion

The implementation of Acterys at Namene revolutionized their financial processes. It transformed the finance team from a back-end role to a central, strategic position within the leadership team. The automation and integration provided by Acterys enabled Namene to make quick, informed decisions, significantly advancing its operational efficiency and strategic planning capabilities.