Ireland’s Arts Council has invested in Infor FMS SunSystems version 5 software to manage its €75m budget. Specifically the software ill manage online grant payment administration and full accounting management.
The accounts software solution, which was deployed by Infor partner Core Financials, enables the Arts Council to handle confirmations and payments online as well as produce full management accounts more timely and accurately.
“I had not previously worked with Core Financials or Infor but was very impressed by the features of FMS SunSystems, especially the modules that handled the grant payment administration, that was very powerful,” said John Broderick, IT projects manager, Arts Council, who was brought in specifically to help select and project manage the installation of an accounting solution.
Previously the Arts Council was faced with a difficult task of managing grant payments and its €75m+ budget across a diverse range of artists, groups and communities.
This was managed using a legacy MIS system combined with manual extraction of data which was pushed through Excel spreadsheets to provide management reports. The level of manual work required was very intensive.
Infor partner Core Financials deployed FMS SunSystems and was selected to provide an integrated Web-based application that allows the Arts Council to manage internal expense management and procurement, together with comprehensive end-to-end grant payment processing.
Infor FMS SunSystems generates accurate management reports delivered in a significantly shorter time than the previous manual system.
The automation of the process has also resulted in significant improvements to the quality of financial information available to senior management within the Arts Council.
“Today, the Arts Council is well positioned to administer its grant portfolio in an efficient manner and to provide the necessary accurate reports in a timely fashion,” concludes Tony Salmon, managing director, Core Financials.
“Automating the Arts Council’s financials has seen a great improvement in the ease and accuracy of its reporting.”
