28 October 2009: As scrutiny of public sector spending increases, fire and rescue services look to IT systems to deliver improved financial controls and management

TechnologyOne, the enterprise software company, has announced that Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Authority is using its Financials and Business Intelligence solutions to manage financial systems across more than 27 locations based in two counties.

The Fire and Rescue Authority purchased the system following a review of its financial practices to meet new government legislation. More than 50 staff – including operational officers and administrative and finance staff – use the solution for general ledger daily accounting, purchasing, accounts payable, and budgeting and reporting. The Authority selected the TechnologyOne solution following a tender and evaluation process of five suppliers for its functionality, ease of use and competitive pricing.

“We liked the look of TechnologyOne’s solution,” said Martin Reohorn, Director of Finance and Deputy Treasurer at Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Authority. ”It had all of the functionality that we needed, and was very user friendly. We involved a lot of our users in the evaluation process – they are operational staff not financial experts, so it was important that we chose a system that they felt comfortable using.

“Getting data is now so much easier and faster. The monthly reporting process used to take me about two weeks, now it takes just two days.”

“We are much more in control of our budget processes – we have a better grip on who is spending money and making decisions, which we didn’t have before. It also saves our managers time as they can control their budget more easily and can take more responsibility.”

The general ledger functionality within TechnologyOne Financials enables the team to track, monitor, control, analyse and report on any information within the general ledger, as well as in any number of subsidiary ledgers. The Authority will integrate the solution with two existing systems – its fleet management system and asset management system for managing operational equipment (routine testing and maintenance). The payroll is also run through TechnologyOne; a file is downloaded from the County Council system into the TechnologyOne solution.

The purchasing module has also enabled the Authority to review its supplier accounts to meet the requirements of the Audit Commission’s National Fraud Initiative (NFI), an exercise that matches electronic data within and between audited bodies to prevent and detect fraud.

Joseph Slattery, Country Director for the UK at TechnologyOne, said; “TechnologyOne provides solutions for large organisations like the Fire and Rescue Authority to manage and control their financial information effectively. With many public sector organistions facing scrutiny in their spending, it is important that they demonstrate tight controls on budget management, comply with financial legislation, and protect themselves from fraudulent activity.

“TechnologyOne can work with organsiations to implement software solutions that meet their needs for accurate, usable financial systems, both for day to day accounting practices and strategic management.”

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Notes to Editors

About Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service
Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service has 27 Fire Stations located across the two counties. The Fire and Rescue Service has 328 full time operational staff, 369 retained Firefighters and officers, 25 Fire Control staff and 142 support staff. It also hosts one of 29 national Urban Search and Rescue specialist units.

The Service attends approximately 9,000 emergency incidents each year. The majority of calls for assistance are to fires, road traffic collisions and alerts from automatic alarm systems.

The Fire and Rescue Authority is the publicly accountable body that manages the Fire and Rescue Service on behalf of the communities of Herefordshire and Worcestershire. It comprises 25 elected members and is constituted under the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004. The Authority Members are responsible for setting the budget, approving plans, policies and strategies and determining how the Service is run.

For more information, please visit: www.hwfire.org.uk

About TechnologyOne
TechnologyOne (ASX: TNE) is a leading enterprise software solutions provider. For more than 20 years we have been providing deeply integrated software solutions for business, government, financial services, health and community, education and the utilities sectors. Tens of thousands of people each day use our world class solutions which we develop, implement and support, and include, Financials, Human Resource & Payroll, Supply Chain, Business Intelligence, Budgeting, Performance Planning, Property & Rating, Customer Relationship Management, Student Management, Works & Assets and Enterprise Content Management.

Our organisation wide solution suite, integration solutions and custom designed solutions provide world-class services which are based on leading edge technology and are backed up by a substantial R&D program providing our customers with a long term, secure and valuable partnership. TechnologyOne employs more than 700 people and has offices in each State and Territory of Australia, as well as New Zealand, Malaysia and the United Kingdom.

For further information please visit http://www.technologyonecorp.co.uk

Editors Contacts
Joseph Slattery Andreina West
Director, UK PR Artistry
TechnologyOne Tel: 01491 639500
Tel: 0870 770 8874 email: Andreina@pra-ltd.co.uk
Email: joseph_slattery@technologyonecorp.com

Further Information

PR Artistry
Ruth Warlow
Press Liason Officer
Tel: 01491 639 500
Email: ruth@pra-ltd.co.uk