Two De Beers divisions reduce reporting process with Impact and Analyst Financials

Two divisions of De Beers Consolidated Mines have dramatically reduced the time taken to produce detailed reports by implementing IMPACT Encore and Analyst Financials, a financial reporting package.

The divisions are the GeoScience Centre in Johannesburg and the Kimberley-based Geology Division. The GeoScience Centre conducts earth studies and operates throughout Africa as well as in Brazil and Australia. Formerly part of Anglo American Research Laboratories, the Centre recently became a division of De Beers following the unbundling of the two companies.

Neill Reynolds, administrative manager of the GeoScience Centre, explains that it was necessary to set up an administration department from scratch. The Centre had used IMPACT Encore in the past, and a decision was made to stay with the software due to its ease of use, flexibility and functionality. Analyst Financials was chosen to replace a home-grown reporting application.

"Analyst Financials enables us to generate reports far more quickly than before, in whatever format we require," Reynolds says. "We no longer have to analyse massive paper reports, we can drill down to the desired level, and the system is very user friendly."

Harvey Jones Systems, the agent for Analyst Financials in southern Africa, built a filter from IMPACT Encore to Analyst Financials which enables the GeoScience Centre to generate management report packs quickly. The Centre is already generating monthly and quarterly reports for its head office in Kimberley as well as for all internal reporting.

"Head office reports must follow a certain format, and the products handle this with ease. I am also able to write specific reports as and when they are required. For example, our IT manager recently needed the costs of a number of line items broken down for comparative purposes. Writing a report was simple, and the figures were available quickly," Reynolds says.