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Case Study
“ JOVACO’s consultants do more than just implement
ERP solutions, they are actually accountants by
trade - when they implement and configure a
solution, they make sure that the product meets
our needs and business rules.”
Marcel Theberge, CMA, MBA
VP Finance, CIMA+
The Challenge
In 1987, when CIMA+ initially chose Project Suite, there was no other project
accounting solution on the market that integrated into a quality accounting system.
JOVACO was a pioneer to develop such a solution, and CIMA+ was one of the
companies who actively participated in working with JOVACO to help define the
application’s initial management rules.
CIMA+ experienced an internal growth as a result of the merger of several small
engineering companies in the 80s to the mid 90s, they grew from 300 employees in
1995, to more than 1650. To support this rapid expansion, CIMA+ needed a system
that could evolve with them and required a solution that offered efficiency, flexibility
and adaptability when managing their many projects.
The Solution
At CIMA+, projects are their primary focus as they are currently managing between
5000 to 7000 projects concurrently. “The most important thing for us without a
doubt is that the system is comprehensive and has a seamless integration. From
entering an employee's timesheet, to invoicing, and then creating financial
statements, the information must be standardized and consistent,” Marcel Theberge,
CMA, MBA and VP Finance at CIMA+ explains. “It is always the same transactions
that are being pushed through the solution, thus ensuring the integrity of the data
and the reliability of the information stored within the system,” adds Molita Sexton,
CMA, MBA and Controller. This feature has enabled the reduction of double entries
and lowered the risk of errors as well provides up-to date information to the Project
Managers.
Projects are also becoming more and more detailed; “as early as 1987, Project Suite
offered the third level of detail to allow for a project-phase-modification within
the hierarchy. This feature is extremely popular at CIMA+ because it offers great
adaptability when tracking our projects. Even today, Project Suite is the only project
management software that we have found who offers it” notes Theberge.
CIMA+ is a multidisciplinary
company working in the fields of
engineering, project management
and new technologies. The company
has offices in Quebec, Ontario and
Alberta as well as abroad, mainly in
Africa.
The Results
Centralization of information
Dependability and integrity of data
Increase in the reliability of
information
Reduction in the number of entry
errors
Ease of distribution of information
Adaptability of the solution
Supports the growth of your
organization
The Solution
Microsoft Dynamics GP
JOVACO Project Suite
JOVACO Professional Invoicing
JOVACO Time & Expense
JOVACO Web Reports
Case Study
Tmesheets
Sexton goes on to explain how Project Suite has grown with
them throughout their expansion. “When I arrived at CIMA+
in the mid 90s, every Monday the accounting staff would be
immobilized due to the entry of timesheets for all employees
in the company from the Controller to Office Assistants to
Photocopy Clerks. We spent a lot of time searching for the
missing data (undefined phases, missing project numbers, new
projects not yet opened, etc.). Shortly after this, there was the
implementation of TEDI the web-based timesheet, it completely
changed the game for CIMA+ because from that point on,
employees were able to complete their own timesheets in a
uniform manner.”
Web Reports
More recently, the Web Report module has also helped CIMA+
improve their company’s efficiency, “every Monday the hours
from the previous week are reported and the information is
emailed to the Project Managers. Before JOVACO implemented
the Web Reports module, we had to manage these reports
manually for each of our Project Managers. Today, everything
is managed by the system and the reports are automatically
sent to the Project Managers according to the security
and confidentiality criteria specific to their role within the
project, and it has been proven to be a time saver within our
organization" mentions Sexton.
"Since Project Managers can now receive their reports
automatically, they can confirm if the data is correct and follow
their budgets this has helped relieve the pressure of the number
of requests for the Accounting Department. Consequently, this
has enabled the whole company to work more efficiently” adds
Sexton.
Consortia Management
To ensure group synergy, the Project Control module within
Project Suite can link several companies that share tasks within
a project. Thus, all resources involved in a project can directly
enter their time and costs which will then be automatically
attributed to the appropriate company. By doing so, we can
avoid manually calculating the inter-company charges and
this allows for an analysis the results that are specific to each
company therefore having the ability to view project costs for
all companies at any time. Since CIMA+ is a firm that manages
many consortia, the challenge is that each consortia is managed
as a separate entity, the Project Control module enables
CIMA+ to manage them more efficiently because the system
can transfer all the transactions to the appropriate company
participating in that particular consortium. This integration was
another step that was implemented to ensure the integrity of
data since it is now only entered once for each specific resource.
Microsoft Dynamics GP and Data Mining
Sexton also emphasized that integration of Microsoft Dynamics
GP and Project Suite was a definite factor in their choice. “All
the information is available within one solution. For example,
by using the Microsoft Dynamics GP's data mining functions,
you can go all the way back to the original document. This
feature has enabled us to reduce the number of hours spent
researching information.”
She concludes by stating: “The Project Suite solution and the
tools developed by JOVACO in partnership with CIMA+ allow
us to be much more effective and efficient in our daily tasks. We
need reliable financial information to run our business and we
are well equipped with our current solution."
Implementation
The initial implementation of Project Suite dates back to the
late 80s. However, as the system is constantly evolving with new
modules being installed regularly, for CIMA+ it is important to
stay proactive in utilizing the system to its full potential. For
example, in the case of the Professional Invoicing module, they
were the first company to invoice its projects in their entirety
through Project Suite. CIMA+ was the beta testing site for the
original version and history repeated itself once again when
JOVACO launched their new Professional Invoicing module.
“Whenever a new need within the organization becomes
apparent, JOVACO’s accounting consultants are there to help
us. For example when we opened an office in Algeria, we
had to consider among other things, the exchange rates and
international accounting standards. JOVACO's consultants
supported us throughout this new adventure, thanks to their
help we are even able to produce financial statements according
to Canadian or Algerian standards since both are based on the
same transaction,” explains Sexton.
Partnership with JOVACO
Speaking of JOVACO, Theberge refers to the long-standing partnership that unites the two companies. He particularly appreciates
the fact that the consultants are trained in accounting. “The additions and modifications made in the software are guaranteed to be
accurate as much from the accounting perspective as from the IT one - something that is not always the case when you work only
with IT people. "
Solutions
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