Waltham Forest College improves efficiency of finance department

The College offers full and part-time further education courses covering over 70 subject areas, and attracts approximately 16,000 students of all ages and ethnic backgrounds. With 481 full and part-time staff, Waltham Forest College employs 13 finance professionals.

As a public sector organisation Waltham Forest College runs to extremely tight budgets and needed to allocate resources precisely, and control expenditure across its 98 cost centres representing departments and schools. The College was also looking for a way of speeding up the purchasing process, improving the tracking of orders and reducing any errors that may occur. To meet these goals, it was necessary for the College to replace its existing finance system.

The Director of Finance and Facilities at Waltham Forest College, Debbie Greenidge explains, 'The problem with our existing system was that there was insufficient integration between the standard ledger and other areas of the accounting function, the overall level of reporting was poor, and there were major inefficiencies within the purchasing cycle'. In particular, the College needed to control and simplify the authorisation of purchase orders.

After a tender selection process, Waltham Forest College narrowed its shortlist to four possible finance system suppliers. 'The final decision to choose Symmetry was down to several factors', says Debbie Greenidge. 'Throughout our initial discussions, we liked Symmetry's ‘can-do' approach and we visited other colleges using Financials and were greatly impressed by their experiences.'

Following a structured implementation programme, the College is now seeing the benefits of deploying Symmetry's Financials 9 software. The Finance System Administrator at Waltham Forest College, Su Pahwa commented, 'Symmetry has made life easier for both the end users and the finance team. In the past there were errors and duplication when Purchase Orders were issued, and it was possible for budgets to be exceeded without time- consuming manual controls. Now this is all controlled electronically, which is both quicker and more secure'. An order is entered directly into Financials by the originator, who is kept up to date through on-screen enquiries and e-mail alerts, until the purchase order is authorised or rejected.

Debbie Greenidge says, 'The feedback from users has been very positive. They really welcome the idea of e-mail alerts because it gives them real-time updates on how the purchase request is being handled at any one time. It also gives them a clear and detailed view of progress'. The College has seen benefits in other areas too. 'The level of reporting has been dramatically improved', adds Debbie Greenidge. 'Using Symmetry's Information Manager reporting tool, we can instantly print off budget or expenditure information, and/or email it to budget holders. Compared with the old system, Financials takes a third of the time to process reports.'

Since working with Symmetry, Waltham Forest College has been pleased with the level of support and commitment given. Debbie Greenidge summarises, 'What I like about Symmetry is that they are able to offer the appropriate hand-holding, whatever your level of technical knowledge. Even when key members of staff have been absent, Symmetry has been able to support and communicate clearly with other personnel who may be less familiar with the system. Symmetry simply offers total and effective support, whatever the circumstances'.

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