International Charity Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) has a robust financial system which can be managed and operated from some of the least accessible countries in the world, thanks to PS Financials accounting software.
Founded over 50 years ago, MAF operates a team of aviation and communication specialists providing support to more than 600 aid and development agencies, missions, national churches and local groups. With a fleet of more than 130 aircraft and 41 bases, MAF pilots travel across rough, hostile terrain to transport missionaries, relief agencies and relief supplies to more than 588 million people in 30 countries. MAF also provides communications and logistics services to mission communities. A registered charity in the UK, MAF is funded by voluntary gifts which help finance MAF's overseas operational work and support services.
Because the charity does not necessarily have specialist IT support in all of its branch offices in Africa, they need their accounting software to be easy to maintain by staff working there and well supported. Ken Taylor, MAF's Regional Chief Finance Officer explains:
"With a central office and 7-8 branch offices in Africa, we needed a system that didn't need a lot of technical know-how to keep it going or upgrade. Our previous provider had decided they wouldn't support older versions of the software but we hadn't done recent upgrades in some of our smaller offices. As a result, we started looking around for something else."
This meant that when identifying a suitable replacement for their accounting software, MAF were keen to choose a system which would be future-proof and easy to upgrade. Ken recalls the key factors influencing their decision to choose PS Financials:
"We wanted to buy something that was 'ahead of the game' and web-accessible. We particularly wanted to make it easier for our smaller overseas offices to use. Another important issue was that our existing system wasn't meeting our multi-currency needs. We are developing the production of reports in more than one currency"
"Our colleagues in Australia were using Sybiz but it wasn't suitable for our needs, so we looked at other systems. My first introduction to PS Financials was when I saw an article in a magazine about how the Charity Save the Children was using the system, and after reading it I felt PS Financials should be looked at, and we then decided the system was right for us."
MAF needed accounting software that could be utilised worldwide in sites with limited communications capabilities
The particular complexities of the way MAF operates meant that implementation of PS Financials was a gradual process, and the system went live over a period of 9 months. A number of the charity's overseas offices undertake their own accounting and reporting using PS Financials locally, including those in Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya. In smaller offices, such as Nepal and Chad, staff use cash books on Excel to input details of their financial transactions and these are then sent to the main office in Ashford, Kent, which provides a 'bureau' service to these overseas offices, to be added to the PS Financials general ledgers for each country.
Other offices, including the operation in Madagascar, now utilise PS Financials on a daily basis and then send their database through to MAF head office in Ashford at month end for reporting to be undertaken. Ken recalls:
"We wanted to implement the system initially in our main office here in the UK and in our bigger operations in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. We arranged a week of training specifically for those programmes and UK based staff. Then a colleague went to Madagascar to set PS Financials up there. The implementation processes fitted in well with our organisational needs."
"Each of our overseas offices had slightly different financial routines, so they had to put some thought into how they would adapt their existing processes to work with the new system, but they were also able to share experiences about any problems they encountered. Any queries staff had were routed through our head office in Ashford so we knew what the issues were as they arose."
With the flexibility of PS Financials, and the ability to use it in different ways with the overseas offices, MAF is able to really focus the efforts of the charity in providing the service it was set up to do.
Multi-currency functionality offers key benefits to MAF in consolidating accounts
Working across the entire organisation since early 2005, PS Financials is being used to manage MAF's financial operations in the UK, Kenya, Madagascar, Tanzania, Uganda and South Africa.
MAF is finding the multi-currency features of PS Financials particularly beneficial, as the overseas offices are able to produce a variety of reports in their local currency.
"We have been impressed with the ability of PS Financials to handle multiple currencies and automate the conversion process," notes Ken.
To eliminate re-keying effort and errors and give a clear overall picture to MAF, information from MAF's stock and flight managements systems is easily imported into PS Financials.
"It's simple to import data in and out of PS Financials", comments Ken, demonstrating the flexibility of PS Financials because it can so easily link to other business software.
User-friendly system is enjoyable to use!
Ken Taylor, Regional CFO for MAF, says,
"PS Financials provides us with a flexible, user-friendly system. Our book-keeper in Madagascar isn't a finance professional but she says that she "loves" the system. Because people enjoy using PS Financials, they don't need to be encouraged to use it."
As the experience levels of MAF's finance staff varies between each country of operation, the User Defined Input (UDI) screens within PS Financials are a key feature. The UDI screens allow for the capabilities of each staff member to be taken into consideration in their set-up of PS Financials. According to Ken,
"Using the UDI screens helps to make PS Financials more user-friendly for our staff. For example, we can tailor screens to meet the needs of individuals and could meet different language capabilities if necessary!"
Ease of PS Financials upgrade saves on support costs for MAF
By implementing PS Financials on an international basis, MAF has been able to significantly reduce its support costs. Ken notes that:
"When PS Financials issue an upgrade, it comes through routinely and we don't need to get someone to perform the upgrade for us. It also means that internationally we are all working on the same version of the system across the charity."
Having access to information so easily in the overseas offices, means that MAF has total visibility of the financial information of the charity at all times. Ken notes:
"From my point of view, the system always shows up-to-date financial information and is easy to drill down into if local managers want to see any detail."
Working directly with PS Financials means direct support and focussed development
Commenting on the service provided by PS Financials, Ken concludes,
"We have a good working relationship with PS Financials. We like the fact that we are dealing directly with the software author which means that we have a fast speed of response, and they take the time to listen to our feedback about the software with a view to enhancing future releases of the product. I also think the fact that PS Financials is written by accountants rather than IT people makes a big difference."
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