South Cumbria MAT's Financial Transformation Journey with Sage Intacct for Education
About South Cumbria Multi-Academy Trust
A relatively new Multi-Academy Trust (MAT), South Cumbria MAT was launched in September 2021to strengthen education across Barrow-in-Furness and the surrounding areas. The Trust aims to inspire, succeed, contribute, and prosper.
Now comprising of 6 schools, South Cumbria MAT is dedicated to the ongoing growth and development of the Trust. Previously using Sage 200 as their finance solution, the Trust realised the need to upgrade to a more comprehensive system that would scale alongside them and support their ambitious growth plans.
Objectives
South Cumbria MAT was previously using Sage 200 through a Sage 200 partner. Although the system was deemed fit for purpose, it was not built to meet the specific needs of a growing Trust which created several inefficiencies and pain points:
- The current system was admin-heavy, and the processes felt both clunky and outdated. This took up a significant amount of time and resources.
- Reporting capabilities within the system were limited which led to a significant reliance on Excel, in particular for Management Accounting. This proved to be time-consuming and inefficient.
- The Trust required a budgeting solution that could integrate seamlessly with their finance system to centralise processes and boost visibility.
The Trust needed a system that could streamline their financial processes, reduce administrative burden, and support their plans for growth. With aspirations to expand by adding more schools, it was crucial to get the fundamentals right to grow effectively.
South Cumbria MAT + Sage Intacct
After a review of the market, South Cumbria MAT chose to implement Sage Intacct for Education as the ideal solution to address their challenges. Implemented by ION, Sage Intacct for Education has transformed the Trust’s financial management processes. Key benefits include:
- Reduced Manual Workload: Using advanced automation tools such as auto-consolidation and automated bank reconciliation, Sage Intacct has significantly reduced the administrative burden on staff, reducing admin costs, boosting efficiency, and freeing up the time of key team members.
- Streamlined Reporting: The reliance on Excel has been significantly reduced, with Sage Intacct for Education providing robust reporting tools in addition to prebuilt ESFA and SOFA report templates that are both efficient and user-friendly.
- Budgeting Integration: Spend management has been configured within the Trust’s finance system to increase budgeting control. The Trust now has the functionality to check their budget when raising acquisitions to ensure spend is within the budget. They can also run budgeting and variance reports, and quickly and easily compare budgets to actuals.
- Futureproofing for Growth: With Sage Intacct for Education’s true-cloud infrastructure, the Trust can now add new schools to their system within seconds. This can be done internally, setting the Trust up to scale with confidence and eliminating any ongoing consultation fees for implementing new schools.
What South Cumbria MAT said...
Ian Harries, CFO at South Cumbria MAT, said:
“As a growing Trust, it was crucial for us to get the fundamentals right to grow effectively and the implementation of Sage Intacct for Education has allowed us to do that successfully. Our financial processes are now streamlined, efficient, and user-friendly. The support from ION has been exceptional, ensuring a smooth transition and ongoing success. We feel confident that with Sage Intacct in place, we can effectively add more schools to the Trust and scale our financial processes accordingly.”
This case study showcases the successful partnership between ION and South Cumbria Multi-Academy Trust, highlighting how Sage Intacct for Education has addressed the Trust’s challenges and transformed their financial management practices.
