CODA Group, the finance software specialist, today announced that global specialist in engineering and computer aided design systems, AVEVA, has implemented its OCRA software to improve Group reporting.

AVEVA wanted to enhance Group financial visibility and improve management information. The company has experienced significant benefits from the new OCRA solution over spreadsheets including a reduction in the time and effort that it takes to produce its monthly reports.

“This has freed up more time for monitoring and reviewing financial information even as the business is experiencing considerable growth,” said Karl Grenz, Group Financial Controller at AVEVA. “We now benefit from a more efficient inter-company reconciliation process and an audit trail running throughout the consolidation process. The budgeting process is also much improved as OCRA enables us to take and hold information from Microsoft Excel which can then be accessed easily for reporting against actuals. The solution helps us define an accurate single view of our global finances.”

Information from AVEVA’s Microsoft Navision finance system is uploaded automatically into OCRA for consolidation and reporting. This means information only has to be input into the system by users once and reports can be produced centrally in alignment with corporate governance requirements including International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

AVEVA expects to benefit from further efficiencies in the monthly reporting process following the deployment of OCRA, which currently involves input from 30 users around the world. HQ finance staff will spend much less time processing data and more time monitoring, reviewing and challenging input from the subsidiaries, so the whole process is smoother and less prone to inaccuracies.

AVEVA runs OCRA to consolidate results from its global operations at its headquarters in Cambridge. AVEVA Group plc employs more than 500 staff worldwide and currently has operating subsidiaries in England, Australia, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, South Korea and the USA. OCRA runs on a Microsoft Windows server based system with a Microsoft SQL Server database.

The contract covers licenses for CODA e-Finance, CODA’s web-browser based international accounting system, along with several related products (CODA-XL, CODA e-Assets and XMLi) for use at Caterpillar Inc. sites and Caterpillar dealers worldwide.

CODA focuses on financial accounting systems for medium to large organizations, particularly those that have a strong international focus. This is the latest in a series of international clients won by CODA, including the recently announced Louvre Hotels, based in France.

“We are delighted to be working with Caterpillar Inc., and providing the core finance system for their global dealer network,” said Jeremy Roche, CEO of CODA plc. “I believe this project demonstrates the ability of CODA-Financials to scale across businesses of all sizes, and particularly exploits the product’s suitability for multi-site, multi-company and dealer-network operations.”