Bell & Clements Supports Business Growth With Excellent Asset Management Software to Manage Fixed Asset Register and Meet IFRS Compliance

LONDON - Lloyd’s Broker, Bell & Clements, is using Asset4000 asset management software from Real Asset Management www.realassetmgt.co.uk/ to manage its fixed asset register and IFRS compliance. Tight integration between the asset management software and current financial software enables rapid monthly asset depreciation within the fixed asset register by department, providing the company with accurate costings to support profitability analysis and IFRS compliance.

Bell & Clements Limited (BCL) has traditionally used spreadsheets instead of asset management software to keep track of the fixed asset register. However, in recent years this process, without asset management software or a fixed asset register, has become a significant and time-consuming manual overhead tinyurl.com/c4lezo. The approach was also constraining tighter financial control to reach IFRS compliance, as Karen Bird, Accounts and Payroll Manager, BCL, explains, “The asset register holds all the furniture and IT equipment used across the business. Managing these assets on a spreadsheet was becoming too cumbersome and lacked significant detail which is a key factor in complying with the new IFRS regulations.” She continues, “Calculating asset depreciation by department was also becoming impossible and this is a key factor in assessing the profitability of each part of the business.”

The company decided it required robust asset management software for its fixed asset register that could integrate with its financial software and manage its transition to IFRS compliance. Having assessed the marketplace, BCL opted for Asset4000 asset management software tinyurl.com/d7ozgf from Real Asset Management (RAM). In addition to the tight integration with the financial software, Asset4000 is extremely easy to use for the fixed asset register and aid in IFRS compliance. Bird explains, “The link between the financial software and Asset4000 means that asset depreciation can be done at the touch of a button. This highly detailed, monthly depreciation calculation and the associated reports now only take 20 minutes, when they used to take us days.”

Making the transition to Asset4000 asset management software was straightforward. Once BCL had ensured the spreadsheet-based information was up-to-date with the correct model numbers, descriptions, department and cost-centre codes, RAM tinyurl.com/d6oes8 moved the data across and provided the company with a complete fixed asset register for IFRS compliance in the new asset management software. “RAM has been, and continues to be, extremely supportive,” comments Bird. “The whole migration process from old system to new was smooth and painless and the ongoing contact we have with RAM is really excellent.”

This implementation process of the asset management software was supported by a physical audit, undertaken by the company’s IT department, using RAM bar-coding technology to check for IFRS compliance and log the correct location on the fixed asset register. Bird says, “During the physical audit, BCL discovered that a lot of assets were still on the register when they did not actually exist - primarily older IT equipment.” She adds, “It was a really good way of tidying the asset register, ensuring accuracy and then putting in place the right processes to keep the register up to date.”

Whilst finance has immediate insight into changes in use for furniture assets, it is keeping track of the disposal of IT equipment that causes a problem for many organisations looking to obtain IFRS compliance. At BCL, the IT department now updates finance each month via the asset management software on assets within the fixed asset register that are no longer in use and the company plans to undertake an annual audit to check accuracy and meet IFRS compliance. “With the bar-codes it is now a simple process to check that the asset register is correct,” she says. “IT equipment, especially laptops and Blackberries, tends to move about. It is now a simple process to update the asset register directly from the audit, regardless of the location of any asset, and ensure complete accuracy.”

“Since implementing Asset4000, BCL has started to record assets in far greater detail,” says Bird. “In addition to desks and furniture, IT assets are recorded in greater depth, such as flat screens noted as separate items to PCs and telephones as individual items.” It is this level of detail stored in Asset4000 which will make IFRS compliance much more straightforward.

Whilst using the spreadsheet system, BCL only recorded assets with a value greater than GBP500 which led to inaccuracies on the fixed asset register. The ease with which Asset4000 asset management software manages and tracks IFRS compliance, however, has meant that the company now uses the bar-coding to record smaller and portable assets on the fixed asset register, creating a far more accurate financial record for IFRS compliance and giving the company increased control over the location and value of its assets. Bird comments, “Whilst asset loss has not, to date, been a major concern for the company, continued growth combined with the increasing number of mobile products such as Blackberries will create that risk.” Bird confirms, “With a comprehensive asset register the company can ensure excellent asset control, allowing us visibility of the location of all assets regardless of size, and in turn showing instantly the value of any of these assets.”

The software’s strong reporting functionality enables BCL to rapidly respond to auditor’s requirements for asset information each year-end, with reports produced and imported into Excel, aiding IFRS compliance.

The company has also upgraded to the latest version of Asset4000, including the Capital Allowance Module. “Creating tax returns is extremely complicated with different taxable allowances and depreciation,” Bird explains. “Using the Capital Allowance Module, BCL has to make one less manual calculation which minimises the opportunity for mistakes and reduces the time taken to produce the tax return.”

Critically, senior managers now have monthly insight into asset depreciation on the by each of the ten departments to support in-depth analysis of income and costs across the business to ascertain profitability.

Bird maintains, “An accurate asset register is a core component of any well run business and will prove essential for IFRS compliance.” She concludes, “To date, it is Asset4000’s integration with the finance software and the rapid calculation of asset depreciation by department that has delivered real operational benefit to BCL through improved financial insight.”

Contact: Olivea Nixon, ITPR, +44-(0)1932 578800

Source: Real Asset Management

Contact: Olivea Nixon, ITPR, +44-(0)1932 578800