THINK TB & HIV Investigative Network is a non-profit organisation that conducts world-renowned clinical research in vaccine development, diagnostic tools, and treatment guidelines for TB and HIV. It improves the quality of life of people affected by these diseases through training, capacity building, and engaging with local communities and stakeholders to support and improve health. Since its establishment in 2013, THINK has provided over 100,000 people with treatment, counselling, and care.
- 30% less time spent on payments in the first month
- Ability to analyse and produce audit-ready financials timeously and compile stakeholder reports in various formats – in under 24 hours
- The user-friendliness of Sage 300 people made it possible to bring payroll in-house, saving on outsourcing costs
As the organisation expands its operations beyond South African borders, it requires integrated financial management, human resources, and payroll solutions that provide real-time visibility into operations, continuous consolidation and reporting, and the ability to manage hundreds of permanent and contract employees. Sage Intacct and Sage 300 People assist it in managing this complexity with ease.
“We were spending a lot of time processing data and not enough time on analysing the information and identifying areas for improvement.”
Trevor Mvundura, CFO, THINK TB & HIV Investigative Network
Working smarter, not harder, to impact more lives
THINK used Sage 50cloud Pastel as its financial management system to meet its initial requirements. But as the organisation grew, it needed an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution to improve efficiencies. CFO Trevor Mvundura explains that when comparing ERP solutions, he looked for software that would cut the organisation’s administrative burden in half, particularly when creating reports, pushing paper, and spending time on Excel.
THINK also needed immediate access to approval workflows and financial reports and the ability to support multi-currency operations as it adds donors, projects, and programmes in other countries. What’s more, the payroll function, which had previously been outsourced, was moving in-house, meaning it needed a solution that could quickly and seamlessly integrate the company’s financial and HR management processes.
Improving donor relationships through accountability and transparency
THINK is supported by global health partners such as Global Fund, Doctors Without Borders (MSF), USAID, international research institutions, and the pharmaceutical industry. Reporting and compliance are critical components of non-profit operations because funders want to know that their donations are being used to achieve the best possible results.
THINK wanted to keep its good relationships with its funders by being accountable, transparent, and achieving clean audits. This meant that the technology it invested in would have to support real-time reporting and basic audit management.
Previously, THINK had to create and treat each project as a separate entity, which made reporting overly complicated. Funders also want reporting done in their currency for different year-ends and different periods. Sage lntacct provides this level of flexibility and granularity and also supports multi-currency reporting and user-defined reporting periods.
“I have a rule that if a funder requests a report, I have to be able to deliver it within 24 hours,” Trevor says. This timeline ensures that the best procedures are in place and instils trust in the organisation.
“I believe in working smarter, not harder, and I look to technology to support this aim.”
Trevor Mvundura, CFO, THINK TB & HIV Investigative Network
Live decision-making and the perks of integrated HR
THINK chose Sage lntacct over other vendors because of its inherent ability to manage and report on multiple projects in a way that demonstrates THINK’s transparency, effectiveness, and financial responsibility. Sage Intacct provides THINK with real-time data and analysis dashboards. Information is delivered quickly, and reporting to funders is easier. “Dashboards make it easy to communicate the organisation’s current position and any required actions when meeting with funders,” Trevor says.
THINK employs between 250 and 300 people at any given time and requires the ability to easily update contracts that run for varying lengths of time as well as manage projects with changing staffing requirements. THINK’s HR function can be easily integrated with its financial solution, and payroll can be handled internally, thanks to the use of Sage 300 People to manage HR and payroll.
In the first month of using Sage Intacct, THINK reduced invoice loading, approval, and payment processing time by 30%. “It’s easier for me, as the CFO. It has cut down on the time to do consolidations, and I can now produce a consolidated trial balance for all the projects we have, without opening an Excel document,” says Trevor.
THINK ran a simulation that shows that it will now be much faster to produce financials after year-end, and that the audit process will be streamlined because it can give auditors direct access to the system’s information.
As part of the next phase of its digital transformation, THINK intends to automate purchasing processes based on specific requirements and approvals, while also allowing users to track budget vs actuals per project.
About Sage
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Source: https://www.sage.com/en-za/success-stories/think-tb-and-hiv-investigative-network/