CaseWare Africa has announced the launch of an innovative software suite that automates the entire financial reporting process for public entities. George Pinto, Research and Development Product Manager at CaseWare Africa, says that the suite of products is designed to help Kenyan public entities comply with the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) Modified Cash, IPSAS Accrual and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
“These IPSAS and IFRS templates have several unique features that will greatly improve the way financial statements are compiled” he says. “CaseWare Africa’s new product suite is based on international best practices, as set out by international and local professional institutes and regulatory authorities, and adapted to specific local requirements. The fact that it is automated truly enables government organisations to deliver accurate, compliant financial statements within the legislated time frame,” says Pinto.
In addition, the suite provides supporting schedules that can be used by the Auditor General (or secondment partners) to verify entity results, thus optimising the audit verification process. The software will be sold per entity and licensed per user. Pinto adds, this model was adopted to make the solutions more cost-effective and practical.
CaseWare Africa’s hybrid desktop-cloud solution supports productivity when both online and offline. All work is archived and synchronised online to ensure a single version of the truth. Data is stored in the cloud, facilitating collaboration. Software and feature updates are provided via the innovative CaseWare Africa Community website, which also provides guides, videos, frequently asked questions (FAQ’s), knowledge base, training and much more.
CaseWare Cloud speeds up the reporting cycle, enhancing performance and delivering quality, accurate compliant reports. This means that public entities can optimise the use of scarce knowledge workers during the reporting cycle, thus allowing more time for the analysis process, a function that is often neglected.
By providing a collaboration platform, the CaseWare Cloud will also promote transparency by automating manual reporting processes and supporting the consolidation of entities in each segment. In turn, this will help the oversight authorities and regulators to manage the spending of public money better.
Mr Pinto confirms that the CaseWare platform has been in use for many years by 15 000 users across Africa. “We have been successful in the public sector for many years in other parts of the continent, and already have an established user base in Kenya in the form of corporations and audit firms,” he says. “We believe that helping the Kenyan public sector’s financial reporting to be more transparent, accurate and efficient, will materially support the government’s economic strategy, particularly the monitoring of the devolution process.”
