CEMACH specifies IRIS Exchequer to improve reporting capabilities
CEMACH, an independent body that aims to improve the health of mothers, babies and children, has specified IRIS Exchequer as its financial management system of choice. As CEMACH is reliant on contract income- 75%-80% of its income is derived from the National Patient Safety Agency, a part of the NHS – it is imperative that it is able to report on its costs in a defined and analytical manner and demonstrate that the income is being used effectively and properly.
The body is managed by a consortium of eight Royal Colleges with particularly strong links to the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists (RCOG) who are existing IRIS Exchequer users.
The accounts for CEMACH are currently part of the RCOG accounting system but with the organisation anticipating the granting of charitable status in the near future, it is important that it has its own financial management system that can be adapted to suit its individual requirements.
IRIS Exchequer and another accounting system were considered as possible contenders with the order being awarded to the IRIS Exchequer system on the basis of its suitability for the organisation. John Bolton, Accountant, referred to the Job Costing module and the Commitment Accounting module designed to provide the secure management of budgetary commitments , as particularly strong. He said: “IRIS Exchequer offered better value for money. We liked the ease with which we can write our own reports and we were also impressed by the ease with which upgrades can be installed. As an organisation that is constantly aware of overheads, it is an important advantage that we don’t have to consider additional budget costs for each upgrade. We had been advised by a user of the other system we were looking at to include a bi-annual budget cost for upgrades which would have put more pressure on costs.”
Other decision criteria included the expansion of the coding capacity to recover full costs on our contracts and the fact that the central office in London and the network of regional offices can all benefit from live access to the IRIS Exchequer system. John continued: “We plan to give all the regional offices that will all be set up as individual costs centres live access to have a view of their management reports.”
With cost savings very much a priority, CEMACH will be implementing electronic payments with the new accounting solution. “Most expenses are currently paid by cheque and we are looking forward to moving away from manual systems more and more.” The organisation has purchased the Paperless module as part of its commitment to faster and more economic processing. John said: “This will help us with regional, management and trustee reporting.” The Paperless module improves internal and external communication and at the same time, helps to reduce the costs involved in using and storing paper, lowering the carbon footprint.
The organisation has future plans to grow its local clinical audit support and other externally funded contracts relevant to its objectives as well as carry on with the national clinical audits commissioned by the National Safety Agency. John concluded by saying: “It is a fundamental requirement that we keep all costs separate for individual projects. With our own IRIS Exchequer system, we will be in a better position to control the way in which data is entered and also the structures used for reporting.”
IRIS Exchequer continues to establish itself as a sector specialist in the Not-for-Profit sector due to its inherent scalability and the fact that it provides excellent value for money.
