The Investment Solutions group, the multi-manager business within the Alexander Forbes group, has reaffirmed its three-year relationship with Ability Solutions with a further purchase of business automation software tools.
The company, which manages over R40 billion in client assets, has added Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) modules, Bank Recon and F9 - an Excel add-on - to its existing Accountability installation for general ledger and cashbook purposes.
"I used Ability at my previous company and when I joined Investment Solutions and found there was a need for a general ledger system, it was the obvious choice," says Heidi Kerwan, group financial manager at Investment Solutions. Investment Solutions targets both institutional funds and the private investor and has adopted a multi-manager approach to reduce risks and ensure optimal performance.
The firm is cashbook intensive and, before implementing Ability, made use of Excel spreadsheets. "Ability enhances reporting efficiency and fund information is now more readily accessible, says Kerwan, adding that the implementation of EFT and Bank Recon will further automate the business.
Investment Solutions began to automate its business in September 1999 with Accountability and listed on the then Johannesburg Stock Exchange the same year. The issue price was 220 cents and reached almost 500 cents by late last year. The general ledger and cashbook modules were installed first and a six-month project to load historical data into the system ensued. The business then acquired the creditors module and, in October last year, F9 to facilitate in-depth reporting.
"We do not make use of the fixed assets or debtor modules from Ability because that is a small part of our business," says Kerwan.
As part of the initial installation in 1999, Kerwan and other key staff performed skills transfer training at Ability and now conduct training in-house. Other first line support is covered by the annual licence fee, which also includes enhancements and upgrades to the standard product, and any patches that are necessary. Helpdesk support is also included.
Minor product update releases throughout the year, as well as the one major release per year, are all covered by Ability`s maintenance plan. "Investment Solutions requires very little support because after the initial setting up of the applications, the `bomb-proof` back-end cannot go out of line with the rules," says Vanessa van den Berg, consulting manager at Ability. "All the sub-ledgers update the general ledger online, which means that there is never any balancing to be done. When the system is set up the business rules are programmed into it and they are applied from then on."
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Ability Solutions is a leading provider of financial and distribution solutions. It helps companies accelerate profitability by providing specialist solutions that address the dynamic needs of businesses in the New Economy. Ability`s flexible, scalable and robust solutions address the complex problems distributors face as they seek to drive profitable growth. The Ability Suite solution set includes ProfitAbility - Order Fulfillment and Distribution, AccountAbility - Financial Management solutions and VizAbility - a Web portal to the Ability Suite.
Ability provides targeted solutions intended to guarantee its customers` ability to realise a rapid return on investment as a result of streamlining their supply chain process, improving their operational efficiencies, effectively managing their suppliers and increasing customer satisfaction. Ability has solutions deployed both locally and internationally which are fully supported over the Internet.
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