Adrian Rotchell

The total cost of Birmingham City Council's Oracle implementation disaster is set to reach £216.5 million ($280.4 million) by April 2026, according to a new audit report. Europe's largest local authority went live with the Oracle Fusion single platform for finance, payroll, HR, procurement, supply chain management, and customer relationship management – replacing an SAP system first introduced in 1997 – in April 2022. Since its introduction, the council has been unable to file auditable accounts. It is set to re-implement an "out of the box" version of the solution after customizations in the first effort disrupted its bank reconciliation system. The system also left the council unable to provide an audit trail or detect fraud for 18 months. The cost of the Oracle project increased from an initial estimate of £19 million to a projected cost of £131 million, including the re-implementation. However, a fresh report from the Audit Reform Lab, a collective of academics, consultants, and activists based at The University of Sheffield , estimate the true cost of the Oracle implementation disaster is set to be £216.5 million until April 2026 as the council's spending plans had relied on expected costs savings from the ERP system, which it had later canceled. Credit: Lindsay Clark via The Register #oracle #birmingham #council #erp https://lnkd.in/eCBg9u23

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“The secret to bringing AI to this traditionally conservative market is for companies like Aqilla to build it into their core accounting and finance software—and then use the AI engine to deliver time savings and productivity boosts,” explains Hugh Scantlebury, Aqilla’s CEO. “Stand-alone AI solutions or those needing specialist integration are likely to cause confusion and worry—especially while AI is a relatively new technology for the sector.” #aqilla #cfo #cloudaccountingsoftware #futureoffinance

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Gain additional insight into the successful deployment of IFS Ultimo Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) at London Gatwick by exploring further details. Results obtained: ☑ 25% efficiency gains. ☑ Productivity increase. ☑ Right decisions to maximise the value of assets. ☑ Administrative load has been diminished. #assetmanagement #maintenance #eam #apm #hse

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This note from Craig Schiff is worth reading and takes 5 minutes only... "This acquisition is more than just another industry merger" he says and here's why. Anaplan's acquisition of Fluence Technologies is a game-changer in the performance management industry. It brings "best of breed made real" to the forefront of performance management. Here are three key insights into why this acquisition is worth noting: 1. Mutual Benefits for Vendors and Customers: Anaplan and Fluence's merger fills critical gaps in the performance management landscape, offering customers a seamless planning, consolidation, and disclosure management solution. Organizations can accelerate decision-making and optimise performance strategies by combining Anaplan's agility with Fluence's consolidation prowess. 2. Anaplan's Rise to Comprehensive CPM Solution Leadership: With this move, Anaplan joins the league of comprehensive CPM solution leaders for large enterprises. Anaplan's integration of financial and operational planning, consolidation, and analytics underscores the pivotal role of financial consolidation in measuring performance. 3. Empowering Best-of-Breed Solutions: The merger showcases the viability of best-of-breed solutions, seamlessly integrated by a single vendor. By leveraging the strengths of Anaplan and Fluence, organizations can elevate their performance management initiatives with tailored functionalities, streamlining operations and fostering strategic agility. Anaplan's acquisition of Fluence Technologies heralds a new era of innovation in performance management. Whether you're a large enterprise or a midmarket player, now is the time to explore how this merger can revolutionize your performance management approach.

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This week got me thinking about what has changed in the world of accounting and bookkeeping, adoption wise, since I was pounding the pavements as a Senior Account Manager back in 2015. Here are some thoughts: 1) MTD for VAT massively accelerated adoption of cloud tools amongst VAT registered businesses. I have always said compliance is not a great reason to adopt but it is a flipping powerful one! MTD IT is going to have an even more profound impact. 2) Talent shortages have driven demand for offshoring and outsourcing. These cross boarder workflows become much easier to manage when they are digital and younger staff now expect to be operating in this fashion. 3) The largest firms in the UK are now moving at pace (often driven by PE investment and a need to grow the bottom line) and, as you would expect, more strategically. I don't think there has been loads of disruption in the UK market yet (eg I lost a client because another firm offered them a better, digital first service) but with large firms overtaking small and medium firms it could get interesting. 4) In the UK we now have fully fledged cloud-based year end compliance tools (whether that is Xero Tax for small and medium firms or the likes of Silverfin for larger firms). Adoption was slow to begin with because it is such a big step to take but it is rapidly accelerating in every segment and it drives digital bookkeeping because the whole point is to have a seamless workflow from client data collection to filing. I was interested to read the section of the ICAEW report on mid-tier accountancy firms that showed where firms place themselves on the adoption curve. This told me that one thing remains true: those who are furthest ahead or behind do not realise quite how ahead or behind they are!

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A NetSuite Planning & Budgeting Meet-up is being hosted in the Oracle office, on Wednesday 16th October! You can sign up here: https://lnkd.in/eGtumswX Don’t miss this opportunity to meet fellow NetSuite users and talk with our experts, get answers to your questions and join a discussion to learn how NetSuite can provide more ways to help your business with budgeting and projects!

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For renewable energy businesses, finding the right software is crucial to drive efficiency and growth. For CAIRNGORM ENERGY LTD, that solution is NetSuite. https://lnkd.in/eUxrti4t

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Janus International Europe Ltd had big growth plans—but their tech estate was holding them back. That’s when Freeman Clarke stepped in. Over the past two years, our CIO Mike Sturrock has been a critical part of their senior team, driving: •An ERP upgrade to Microsoft Business Central for smarter reporting. •A new Warehouse Management System for operational efficiencies and a single source of truth. See how we helped Janus lay the foundation for growth: https://okt.to/8gWQTt

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Ex Oracle CFO giving a good insight into why the rule of 40 and the rule of X might not be as decisive for investors in SAAS as in the past. Amazing podcast!

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Enhance your understanding of the effective implementation of IFS Ultimo Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) at London Gatwick by delving into more comprehensive information. Results obtained: ☑ 25% efficiency gains. ☑ Productivity increase. ☑ Right decisions to maximise the value of assets. ☑ Administrative load has been diminished.

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New Salesforce Revenue Cloud Advanced (#RLM #RCA): See how customers can now easily self-serve their add-on orders in this quick demo of amendments and pro-ration from the Shiftlogic.io team

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Are you a tech company who has outgrown #xero but is put off by the cost of a platform like #intacct and #netsuite? Come and have a chat with us at stand C111 at this years Sifted summit and find out how iplicit is offering an affordable alternative to the big #erp options on the market. We offer our customers a powerful, scalable and affordable platform they can build their growth around. #tradeshow #siftedsummit2024 #clouderp

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Today, Rt Hon Rachel Reeves announced plans to deliver on the Government's agenda, including boosting business growth and updating the UK's tax system.   At Sage, we welcome the inclusion of e-invoicing in this package. The technology offers huge benefits for businesses – particularly #SMBs - by automating tasks, reducing admin, improving cash flow, and minimising tax errors. All of which directly support productivity, profitability, and the closure of the tax gap.    Our report shows that over 80% of SMBs believe e-invoicing could help improve their cash flow and reduce late payments, but support is needed to ensure uptake, particularly in under-digitized sectors.   The HMRC consultation on e-invoicing is a crucial step, and we look forward to contributing. https://lnkd.in/eUADsFmG;

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To all my contacts in Manufacturing, this webinar could be very helpful. Please have a read and register. Improve profitability, product revenue streams, and customer experiences. Join NetSuite and IDC on 17 October to see how servitisation can change the manufacturing industry (and your bottom line.) https://lnkd.in/dc8X642f

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Why should I work here?!   This is both a great, and a terrible question to ask in an interview. How you articulate it makes all the difference. It needs to be led by preparation, and with some finesse.   Vijay Raghvani has interviewed hundreds of sales reps and scaled sales organisations including NetSuite, Airwallex, Blackline. He shares interview tips to scale your sales career in the latest episode of Tech Sales Mentors.

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For renewable energy businesses, finding the right software is crucial to drive efficiency and growth. For CAIRNGORM ENERGY LTD, that solution is NetSuite. https://lnkd.in/e7xhDmgM

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At this time of year many of you will be reviewing your current strategy and considering how to further optimise your business and IT Cloud environment. Join Oracle's Gary Miller as he discusses our cimmitment to MultiCloud that enables you to host workloads where it makes sense for your business.

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