Delayed data leads to delayed decisions – and lost opportunities, according to Sage Platinum Business Partner, ALNET Technologies.

Netesh Maharajh, Director, ALNET Technologies, says: “When financial data is in real-time, leaders can make decisions immediately. If a company only sees its financial data days or weeks later, it cannot react quickly to problems or opportunities. For example, if sales suddenly drop this week but you only see the report next month, then it’s too late to react,” says Maharajh.

He cites one report that notes delayed data acts as a “silent assassin” of business performance. Late insights force business leaders into a reactive mode where they are relying on outdated information to make crucial strategic choices.

Gartner research confirms that real-time financial visibility is no longer a luxury but a necessity for organisations seeking to remain competitive, with 80% of CFOs accelerating digital initiatives to improve decision-making speed and accuracy. Gartner further emphasises that the move from static, historical reporting is essential, with modern finance functions utilising automated systems to gain instantaneous insights into cashflow, expenses and revenue trends.

Maharajh points to indicators that finance leaders should take note of as red flags that their businesses have outgrown their tech stack. “Warning signs include situations like month-end close taking more than 15 days – manual consolidations across funds and entities introduce errors and leave controllers ‘flying blind’ during investor or regulatory reviews. In contrast, firms using cloud-based financial platforms routinely report up to 90% faster closes and real-time visibility into fund-level results. Real-time systems enable a ‘continuous close’, reducing manual reconciliation and providing immediate accuracy.”

He emphasises the gap between manual and modern finance has become the gap between risk and resilience. He confirms bridging the gap begins with understanding where your firm stands on the technology-maturity curve.

“Operational strain is a signal, not a symptom. When close cycles lengthen, audits stall and transparency falters, if this is your reality, it’s time to modernise. Moving from manual control to intelligent automation restores time, accuracy and, most importantly, confidence.”

Maharajh says the right financial tools can simplify and streamline key processes. “Sage Intacct is designed to automate workflows, scale effectively and maintain compliance. By turning accounting into a strategic asset, the platform supports stronger financial leadership. This is achieved through automated multi-unit consolidations, real-time dashboards, seamless integrations and audit-ready controls. Sage Intacct enables finance teams to focus on growth and profitability and provides real-time financial insights for healthier bottom lines.” 

Sage Intacct supports the transformation to real-time reporting by providing businesses with a compliant financial management platform that integrates seamlessly with their data. “With built-in automation, real-time reporting and advanced analytics, Sage Intacct equips companies to balance financial performance with business goals, ensuring they remain both competitive and resilient in the years ahead.”

Sage Intacct streamlines financial operations by:

• Providing real-time visibility across funds, entities and investors.
• Turning financial data into real-time insight.
• Taking businesses from delayed reporting to real-time financial intelligence.
• Providing live dashboards that translate into instant insight, which leads to confident decision-making.
• Delivering real-time transparency that builds investor/stakeholder trust.

Maharajh says regardless of the operational arena of a business, whether it’s asset management, the health sector or within entities in those sectors – be they HR or payroll management – operational visibility for finance teams is essential. “AI-powered accounting cuts hours every week so staff can focus on higher value tasks and grow their careers.

“Real-time dashboards transform finance into a strategic function with a unified platform delivering real-time KPI visibility across the business. Sage Intacct enables businesses to amplify their storytelling by delivering insightful visualisations to investors and empowers executive management teams to make better, more informed decisions, quicker.”

Maharajh notes that overall, Sage Intacct’s value proposition to the market is one of enhancement of any company’s strategic vision and planning capabilities. “You can create budgets and forecasts to plan for the future; perform scenario analysis to choose the best path forward; and become a strategic partner to your operational leaders. This in turn enables you to easily integrate your financials with operational data to create a competitive advantage with real-time insights. The end result is your teams can do their jobs better, your customers are happier with enhanced service delivery and operations, and your business is assured of growth through state-of-the-art technology,” Maharajh concludes.

Mauritius – as reported by Bloomberg – is recognised as one of the world’s fastest-growing wealth markets with one of the more sophisticated financial systems in Africa – is increasingly moving to improve data analysis, management and operational efficiencies through automation. This is according to Sage Platinum partner, ALNET Technologies.

The Indian Ocean island is actively transforming its business landscape through the adoption of automation software, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Robotic Process Automation to enhance productivity and competitiveness.

This digital shift is being driven by a national strategy to become a regional AI leader, with key implementations seen in the finance, manufacturing, hospitality, and administrative sectors.

This trend is also reflected in the Mauritian Small and Medium Enterprise arena where the uptake of Business Process Automation tools for enhanced customer service is reported.

Gary Govender, Head of Business Development, ALNET Technologies, notes how one example is how Sage Intacct optimises family office performance by providing cloud-based, multi-entity accounting, reducing close times from weeks to minutes, and enabling real-time, consolidated reporting across investments, trusts, and entities.

“It automates complex workflows to enhance efficiency and accuracy, with AI-driven capabilities for improved financial planning, decision-making, and regulatory compliance,” says Govender.

“Information dissemination has become real-time and on demand; however, the challenge for many finance functions, regardless of sector or size of business, is to try and keep pace with all the modern sources of insight and analysis that internal and external stakeholders are receiving.

“Instantaneous and deeper financial insight is required more than at any other time in history, to respond to these challenges. What is required is an analytical approach that enables management to monitor and measure the development of the important strategic drivers and make decisions with confidence.”

According to Govender, Sage Intacct is the only financial solution to bring the family office a best-in-class cloud accounting solution.

“Sage Intacct is built by financial experts for financial professionals and has more than 200 growth firms and family offices around the globe that manage one trillion US$ assets around the world,” he says.

Getting rid of the middle man – spreadsheets

“Real-time reporting is greatly enhanced when the middleman, namely spreadsheets, are eliminated. Disparate sources of data are seamlessly aggregated within a strong analytical tool. This is a tool that can sort, slice, and dice data to answer the sorts of everyday business questions that constantly arise,” Govender confirms.

Automation unlocks time for strategic impact

• Consolidating financial information from spreadsheets for multi-entity, multi-location, and multi-currency organisations.
• Calculating revenue recognition in after compiling project-based time and expense information from sales and HR systems.
• Performing manual data reconciliations and manual data re-entry between systems.
• Calculating allocations using data that doesn’t exist within some traditional accounting systems.
• Processing vendor payments and manually routing paper approval sheets.

Govender says on a global basis CFOs are leading the charge to go digital.

He explains” “Mauritian CFOs are noted to be increasingly moving to real-time cloud accounting to kick the year off with enhanced financial control, driven by the need for faster, data-driven decision-making, increased efficiency, and robust security.

“In a fast-paced business landscape, the shift from traditional, legacy systems to cloud solutions—such as Sage Intacct, which allows them to replace tedious manual processes with automation, reducing errors and saving time.

“A PwC study endorses this and reports that, for the majority of CFOs, the digitalisation of the finance function is of great importance. Nevertheless, the digitalisation of the finance sector is often still in its infancy in many companies.

“The rate of digitisation seems to depend largely on the size and complexity of the organisation with top quartile turnover businesses investing significantly.”

Sage Intacct accelerates efficiency and enables finance leaders to focus on impact by reducing or eliminating the time spent on tasks such as:

• 85% of CFOs believe they will become more involved in strategy and counsel for the overall business.
• 57% predict a surge in collaboration with other senior executives and board members, indicating a move towards a more cohesive leadership model.
• 60% foresee a future where their insights will increasingly influence company-wide strategy.
• 59% of CFOs expect more interaction with the CEO and the board, while 57% predict closer work with CIOs and 55% with CTOs.

Govender confirms that regardless of sector whether it’s healthcare, hospitality or finance, or other, businesses around Mauritius are building on their successes through the implementation of Sage Intacct with impressive achievements in operational efficiencies such as:

• Automation of previously manual accounting work that consumed up to 40 hours a week—15 to 20 hours in accounts payable, and another 20 hours in payroll journal entries.
• Time to close the monthly books down from 30 to 10 days.
• Elimination of 40 hours a week of manual accounting work.

“These are impressive values. Moreover, Sage Intacct reduces budget creation time by 50%, introduces budget vs. actuals reporting, with companies confirming this was not previously possible. Moreover, Sage Intacct delivers new business insights for informed decisions,” concludes Govender.

According to Sage Platinum partner, ALNET Technologies, South Africa’s finance professionals face mounting pressure to modernise, move to the cloud, automate and thus reduce costs and increase profit margins.

Netesh Maharajh, Director, ALNET Technologies, says growing cloud adoption bears testament to this trend. “A survey conducted by Statista in South Africa reports that over 40% of surveyed organisations have migrated more than half their workloads, primarily using hybrid models and a strong emphasis on infrastructure as a service (IaaS) initially. It notes this has been followed by platform as a service (PaaS) and software as a service (SaaS). Statista projects significant growth for South Africa’s public cloud market, with revenue expected to reach $6.04 billion in 2025 and grow to $17.42 billion by 2030, driven by a 23.59% annual growth rate. These are significant stats that represent the drive within the country for digital transformation,” says Maharajh.

He adds today’s accounting and finance leaders are expected to not only keep track of past transactions but also to provide a vision for how to move forward. “They are making concerted efforts to use their resources as efficiently as possible in the hyper-competitive financial services market. Streamlining and optimising finance processes is one of the most important investments a business can make to help ensure long-term sustainability,” he says.

“Sage Intacct has emerged as a market leader in the finance sector, with many leaders considering it to be the finance backbone for growth in South African companies, as customers report an on-average proven yield of 250% ROI in less than six months,” he notes.

Maharajh notes that by automating repetitive tasks such as bank reconciliations, vendor payments and purchase ordering workflows, finance leaders will be free to spend more time on business growth and strategic initiatives, which help their organisations to meet their broader goals.

Sage Intacct simplifies project accounting, while delivering real-time budget versus actual visibility for project managers, and detailed financial reporting for finance teams.

“Global entities such as PwC are in agreement that the finance drive for modernisation is being driven by digitalisation and the need for speed – real-time production of financial reports, removal of repetitive tasks. PwC highlights the need for transitioning to cloud solutions if finance professionals are to benefit from the latest industry best practices. Finance professionals are seeking to digitise finance functions, reduce costs and improve the efficiency of the finance function.”

He confirms the Sage Intacct cloud-based solution offers a better way for finance professionals with sophisticated, yet still easy to use, functionality, such as fast consolidations, multi-entity support, currency conversions, configurable dashboards and more.

Maharajh adds Sage Intacct is designed to accelerate success with a cloud financial management platform that delivers deep accounting capabilities across multiple industries. Business benefits of implanting Sage Intacct include:

• Scalability for mid-market firms.
• Integration with other business systems.
• Compliance advantages.
• Up to a 79% reduction in time to close.
• Delivers real-time reporting across hundreds of consolidated entities.
• Puts finance leaders in a position to drive more growth.

“Over 1.5 million projects are run on Sage Intacct for a variety of organisations, including consulting, biotech, marketing, technology, accounting and more.”

He says with so many alternatives for financial applications, finance leaders must ensure they understand the implications of all options: on-premises, hosted and cloud computing. “Ultimately, cloud computing is about capitalising on a new software delivery model that accelerates payback of a larger ROI and better aligns financial organisations with the new dynamics of growing their businesses. 

“Sage Intacct offers a world-class true cloud solution, with open APIs, and gives project-based businesses the connectivity, visibility and efficiency they need to drive project performance. Sage Intacct helps service organisations strategically grow their business through detailed insights to support critical decisions. In today’s market for accounting applications, the buyer has the power. No matter what solution you choose, you should expect faster financial closes, easier regulatory compliance, less manual work, real-time visibility and reporting, and an outstanding service level agreement. The bottom line is Sage Intacct puts finance leaders in all sectors in the power seat,” concludes Maharajh.

In the digital economy there are many who would consider spreadsheets as relevant to modern business as fax machines. However, the fact remains that some businesses in Mauritius still rely on spreadsheets, but the trend towards companies driving to upgrade from entry-level accounting systems to automated cloud-based solutions, and thereby driving accuracy and enhanced efficiencies, is undeniable. This is according to Sage Platinum Business Partner, ALNET Technologies.

Netesh Maharajh, director, ALNET Technologies, notes Mauritius – recognised as one of the world’s fastest-growing wealth markets with one of the more sophisticated financial systems in Africa, is increasingly moving to improve data analysis and management. “Manual processes are often error-laden with data entry errors and redundancies. Businesses today are realising the limitations of the spreadsheet as it jeopardises both financial compliance and strategic decision-making. Additionally, in collaborative settings, tracking changes becomes challenging, increasing the risk of data loss and confusion,” he says.

Maharajh confirms organisations deploying Sage Intacct software experience significantly increased speed and accuracy with business processes. “Many financial planning and analysis (FP&A) teams in Mauritius are still using spreadsheets across all activities, but increasing analytics and data complexity has reduced their value. Cloud-based solutions eliminate inefficiencies for good, with some companies reporting a 75% increase in efficiency and 100 person-hours per month being saved.”

According to Gartner, FP&A leaders must, therefore, rethink the team’s continued reliance on spreadsheets for use cases such as dashboard creation, reporting and modelling. “Businesses operating in Mauritius’ fast paced financial sector can ill afford to ignore the benefits of the Sage Intacct solution. Financial and business asset information must be readily available to all key stakeholders: investors, board members, executives, finance and other departments. It cannot be spread out across disparate spreadsheets or tied up in manual processes. Sage Intacct provides reports, dashboards and visualisations that are ready in real-time, so businesses can save up to 40 hours per month on reporting and cut time spent checking data accuracy by a staggering 75%,” notes Maharajh.

Sage Intacct turns data into insight through:

• Dimension-driven reporting: Access or create reports that analyse real-time business performance by business drivers – without managing a complex chart of accounts.
• Out-of-the-box functionality: Use predefined financial reports and dashboards out of the box and add more to reflect unique business drivers.
• Flexible delivery options: Share real-time views on dashboards, through e-mail or in the cloud. Archived copies can be kept directly in Sage Intacct or published into a cloud repository of choice.

Maharajh highlights the issue of fixed asset management as a prime example of where Sage Intacct can bring immense value to the task. “In today’s highly competitive world, there are questions business leaders should be asking themselves, such as: ‘How much time do you spend entering fixed asset data into a spreadsheet – is it hours? Or is it days? Once the data is in there, are you manually calculating and tracking depreciation? Moreover, are you then manually entering journal entries into your accounting system?

“If ‘yes’ is your response to any of these questions, it’s time to think about a solution that unifies your fixed asset management with core financials. For decades, there’s no doubt that, historically, spreadsheets and finance have gone hand-in-hand. But when it comes to fixed asset management, it’s time to move on. Due to the complexity of information, calculations and schedules that are tracked, errors are almost guaranteed if you go the spreadsheet route. Since spreadsheets live outside of your core financial system of record, creating assets, posting journal entries and asset disposals are time-consuming manual processes.” Maharajh asserts there is a unified solution to this and it is to automate everything with Sage Intacct.

“Decentralised data limits control and increases risk. Fixed asset data that lives in multiple systems or siloed spreadsheets presents an array of challenges. Without a centralised asset register, you can’t track and report on crucial asset information such as condition and warranty status. You also open yourself up to risk with limited security, access to data and visibility into changes that are being made. Sage Intacct presents a unified solution to this problem, delivering increased control and reduced risk.”

Maharajh concludes: “Mauritius is a vibrant growing economy, a fertile ground that presents exciting business opportunities to companies, both large and small. Sage Intacct is a rich, unified solution that delivers real-time insights, is scalable – it grows as your business grows – and is capable of yielding a 50% reduction in time to close, leaving you free to focus on capitalising on growth opportunities. It is the perfect partner for Mauritian entities wishing to take their businesses to the next level.”

CFOs are under increasing pressure to rethink how they serve their organisations both strategically and operationally. This is according to Sage Platinum Business Partner, ALNET Technologies.

“Forward-thinking C-suite executives are aware of the gap that is emerging between tech-savvy and tech-laggard CFOs,” says Netesh Maharajh, director, ALNET Technologies. He adds the digital economy is driving the need for CFOs to develop a game plan to modernise finance and achieve the right level of readiness that meets today’s business needs. “As CFOs prepare to learn more and address this challenge head-on, it quickly becomes apparent that smart solutions to support thoughtful ideas, collaboration and innovation are the new currency,” he says.

This is supported by Gartner in its 2025 leadership vision for CFOs report, sourced from the research guru’s interactions with nearly 5 000 CFOs and other finance leaders, which pinpoints their top priorities: forging stronger finance-business partnerships, refining data and analytics strategies, proving AI’s ROI, managing their expanding remit and upskilling teams for a digital future. By tackling these CFO challenges head-on, they say CFOs will not only safeguard the enterprise’s financial health but also cement their role as a strategic power player in an unpredictable economy.

Maharajh notes CFOs today are dealing with new rules and new tools. “Today’s CFO needs to be part analyst, part strategist and part futurist – you are expected to be the leader who can modernise and transform business systems and operations to improve productivity. You must be capable of adapting to the changes being wrought by the digital economy if they are to keep the company ahead of the competition.”

He emphasises CFOs need to adopt a complete rethink of financial and technology infrastructure, because shifting business strategies are rewriting the ways in which companies execute their financial processes and operations. “In this new world, it’s necessary to analyse exponentially greater volumes of data, embrace the power of social media, mobile users and cloud computing while tapping into unlimited and ubiquitous connectivity. To achieve all this, CFOs must capitalise on sophisticated databases and analytics plus adopt new metrics for operations and valuations. In short – you need to be a tech-savvy CFO.”

Maharajh confirms few CFOs possess in-depth tech fluency. “This is understandable, it’s not your area of expertise or field of specialty, but it is essential to have some knowledge about how technology can positively impact your business and how it can provide competitive differentiation, improve finance’s productivity, open up strategic opportunities and ensure a healthier bottom line.”

Maharajh says: “Look at the following and ask yourself if you meet the profile of a tech savvy CFO. Are you:

• Agile? It’s your job to think long-term, even when technology keeps changing in the short term. The watchwords are agility and future-proofing because you must make the right decisions that set up the company for success.
• Embracing automation? It’s one of the CFOs biggest allies as it streamlines mundane tasks and allows you to devote time and resources to higher value, strategic activities.
• Using technology to enable you to make informed decisions that drive profit creation?
• Adapting to significant changes in technology and market dynamics, moving beyond traditional finance practices?
• Fostering collaboration across the organisation to drive results and eliminate silos?
• Prioritising visibility over mere reporting, using technology to gain insights into business performance and identify opportunities?”

Moreover, Maharajh adds the tech savvy CFO must understand the risks and benefits of cloud solutions. “This is vital for informed decision-making.”

Maharajh concludes that at this point, CFOs may think this is where they will next be expected to don a Superman costume if they are to achieve these goals. “It is much simpler than that – all CFOs need to do is to contact ALNET Technologies for an introduction to financial super-power, Sage Intacct. The solution includes accounting, cash management, purchasing, vendor management, financial consolidation, revenue recognition, subscription billing, contract management, project accounting, fund accounting, inventory management and financial reporting applications, all delivered through the cloud. Sage Intacct is the innovation and customer satisfaction leader in cloud accounting and ERP. Bringing cloud computing to finance and accounting, Sage Intacct is the preferred financial application for CFOs wishing to achieve tech-savvy status,” he concludes.

ALNET Technologies – a Sage Platinum Business Partner – has initiated a campaign to deliver Sage Intacct, a powerful cloud solution for finance leaders, to businesses in Mauritius.

The cloud-based financial management solution offers automation, real-time insights and integration capabilities. Businesses in Mauritius can leverage Sage Intacct to streamline their financial operations and gain competitive edge.

Gary Govender, head of business development, ALNET Technologies, explains how the finance software powers strategic growth. “Businesses in Mauritius stand to gain the ability to automate their financial processes, gain real-time insights, and drive strategic growth. Sage Intacct empowers business leaders to make confident, data-driven decisions that propel their organisations forward.”

“Mauritian companies can, with Sage Intacct implemented by ALNET Technologies, consolidate hundreds of entities in minutes, not days and improve productivity by more than 50%,” Govender continues.

He notes how Mauritius has companies with multi-locations that face organisational complexities such as decentralised payables, inter-entity transactions, multiple currencies, and global consolidations. 

This is where Sage Intacct can yield significant benefits including:

• Close quickly with multi-entity consolidations.
• Manage multi-currency needs.
• Set up and maintenance for additional entities.

Sage Intacct reporting and dashboards transform decision-making with broad and deep visibility into financial and operational data. Customisable dashboards allow role-and process-based metrics, reports, and charts to be created for quick insight and data-driven decisions.

For in-depth reporting, the Sage Intacct Report Centre contains a library of reports and financial statements, as well as charts and tools for modifying, duplicating, or creating completely new reports and charts.

“Data-driven decision-making keeps organisations on the right path. Businesses require broad and deep visibility into financial and operational data. Where other systems rely on external tools for visibility, Sage Intacct provides built-in tools to display real-time, drillable source data. By approaching data from multiple directions, through multiple tools, finance leaders can pull and analyse information from the Sage Intacct Intelligent GL, subledgers, and supporting data objects. 

Information can be shared through a variety of means like customisable dashboards or distributed through export or email, including PDF and Excel files. Financial reports and charts rely on real-time data from the Sage Intacct Intelligent GL to produce income statements, balance sheets, cashflow statements, and more.

Govender adds Sage Intacct deployed by ALNET Technologies – a trusted and proven implementation partner – poses a powerful collaborative opportunity for Mauritian businesses.

“Mauritius is a fast growing economy with businesses operating in highly competitive markets. Sage Intacct is the best-of-breed, cloud finance software solution designed to grow with organisations. ALNET’s strong track record of implementing Sage Intacct across industries is well established. We have successfully deployed it for clients operating in diverse sectors including non-profit organisations, financial services, hospitality and healthcare, to name just a few. ALNET Technologies’ depth of technical skill, record of customer endorsements and proven client service record, makes us the obvious choice,” he concludes.

According to Bloomberg, Mauritius is emerging as one of the world’s fastest-growing wealth markets, with its millionaire population projected to double by 2033.

The IMF notes Mauritius has one of the more sophisticated financial systems in Africa, a system that is soundly capitalised and profitable, with assets of the banking system said to represent about 100% of GDP. While the financial sector was already relatively well developed at independence, the robust economic performance over the last two decades strongly contributed to its further expansion. “With such an impressive economic growth backdrop, it is no wonder that financial organisations choose to either base themselves in Mauritius or operate from the island to expand their reach into EMEA territories,” says Netesh Maharajh, Director, ALNET Technologies.

One such entity – a leading Black-owned specialist alternative investment manager –  provides pension funds and institutional investors with access to markets and strategies that create sustainable impact and deliver strong risk-adjusted returns across market cycles. “This financial organisation operates with a profound sense of responsibility that guides how it manages fund investments with the goal of ensuring decisions benefit not only investors but also portfolio companies and the community at large. It facilitates growth with impact that leads to extraordinary outcomes intertwining this with its deep code of fiduciary responsibility and investment expertise. In 2024, this company embraced the financial power of Sage Intacct through ALNET Technologies. In doing this, it achieved a 70% efficiency rate across 48 entities during its monthly close,” he says.

Maharajh says the enterprise had previously relied on legacy accounting applications that did not meet the functionality and scalability needs associated with managing complex accounting across multiple business facets in numerous entities. “At that time, the company utilised Excel-based spreadsheets to compile departmental expenses because its legacy system could not provide the allocation rules required for processing and reporting. Daily and weekly shared expense allocations across the business and entities were manual, time-consuming and monotonous tasks due to their inability to process inter-company transactions and lack of multi-entity capabilities. Financial controllers had to log in and out of separate companies in its legacy accounting application to manage and process transactions, resulting in a tedious and time-consuming exercise.”

After evaluating other industry bespoke solutions, this organisation selected Sage Intacct for its financial management entities. “Sage Intacct’s capabilities for automated rule-based expense allocations across all cost centres in the business proved highly attractive to the business. Multi-entity financial management, automated inter-company journal entries, dimensions for the general ledger and customised reporting and dashboards all contributed to the selection of this globally leading financial solution,” says Maharajh.

“With Sage Intacct, this company’s finance team reduced the time needed for closing the books by an impressive 70%. This encompassed everything from manual and tedious expense allocations in Excel to bank reconciliations, inter-company journal entries and accruing for liabilities and provisions required for the month,” he adds.

Maharajh further confirmed more time and insights for informed decision-making allowed efficiency gains that were extremely important as new investment portfolios and projects grew significantly. “As a result of these time savings, new opportunities emerged to use Sage Intacct to track key metrics such as liquidity and expense ratios, cashflows and growth, enabling them to drill down and analyse processed financial data for informed decisions on investment portfolios.”

Maharajh confirms the implementation of Sage Intacct has resulted in this business acquiring a clear picture of its cash-on-hand trends and working capital, enabling data-driven decisions based on real-time information flowing into its dashboards and reports. “Key performance indicators on the dashboard scorecards highlight areas that need attention for quick decision-making processes. They were extremely excited about being able to customise dashboards and reports themselves, which meant content could be added or deleted with just a few clicks using drag-and-drop functionality. Moreover, Sage Intacct’s Procurement dashboard facilitates the viewing of budget to actuals, analyses costs and oversees the entire procure-to-pay process. Increased efficiencies in vendor onboarding and price evaluation supports price negotiation and helps to maintain full compliance with the supply chain.”

The list of benefits to this financial institution range from the automation of: accounts receivables plus payable; invoicing process definitions; paperless workflows; seamless vendor payments; and bank reconciliations. “Board reporting frequency went from quarterly to monthly, there was a significant reduction of audit risks by deployment of auditor dashboards with drill-down transaction details and audit trails.

“Sage Intacct provides consolidated views across a company’s entities with drill-down capabilities, enabling easy vendor spend evaluation across entities. Beyond efficiency, increased visibility into spending with a cloud system can benefit the bottom line,” he says.

“PwC Mauritius notes the island state has over the years emerged and positioned itself as a reputable and resilient international financial centre. Economic growth in different sectors, including the financial services sector, has been spearheaded by the bold fiscal measures. Financial organisations already operating in Mauritius or seeking it as their spearhead in EMEA territories would do well to explore the business benefits Sage Intacct can offer their organisations as exemplified by the success of this implementation,” concludes Maharajh.

Research by Sage, which positions itself as the market leader in cloud business management solutions, reveals the host of unique challenges faced by today’s finance leaders, from economic uncertainty to compliance, cyber security risks and the ever changing expectations of their role.

This is according to Sage Platinum partner, ALNET Technologies. “Sage reports these factors directly impact the time it takes to close the books each month, with most teams spending an estimated nearly three months a year on month-close activities alone,” says Gary Govender, head of business development, ALNET Technologies. “Increasingly, finance leaders are embracing the challenge of closing the books faster. They want to unchain their teams from repetitive clerical tasks and empower them to focus on higher-value, high-impact strategic activities. Sage conducted its sixth annual global Close the Books survey, involving over 1 000 finance professionals, with the goal of uncovering trends and insights into achieving faster and more accurate financial closing – a coveted prize for any finance department,” says Govender.

He confirms organisations continue to invest in the close over the past year, with 33% adding more headcount, 40% adopting new technologies and 29% automating key accounting processes. “Completing a close requires the co-ordination and execution of a series of processes, some of which may be inefficient and need to be automated or made redundant. To achieve a more efficient and faster close, just as with any other process or series of processes that need to be streamlined, you need to invest in any or all of these – new technology, additional headcount or resource time to evaluate and improve close processes.

Some of the key findings revealed by the Sage research includes:

• Finance teams take on average seven working days to close the books each month, which amounts to three months, an average of 90 working days, each year.
• On average, automating financial close frees up three times more time to focus on value-added activities.
• Of those not fully on the cloud, 73% are looking to move to the cloud in the next two years.
• Over 50% of finance leaders have not yet automated processes around their top pain points. Those with the least automation spend only 18% of their time on value-added tasks, while those with the most automation spend almost 58% on the same activities.
• Companies on the cloud enjoy 25% more automation than their counterparts.
• You can save 24 working days each year by automating the financial close.

Govender confirms 82% of finance leaders are saving on headcount costs through automation. “Finance leaders who embrace automation cut their closing time by 29%, which translates to two days every month – a staggering 24 days a year,” he says.

He notes the survey hails the accelerated growth of finance teams all over the world who are harnessing the power of automation to amplify their impact and reclaim their most valuable resource – time. “Through automating the most tedious tasks associated with period-end closes, especially through cloud-based accounting software, finance leaders are unlocking their potential and increasing impact on their companies via greater productivity, efficiency and reporting accuracy across their teams.”

Sage cites the Pavillon Treatment Centre in the USA – a private, non-profit residential and outpatient treatment facility offering addiction treatment and recovery services – as just one example of customer success. By migrating to Sage Intacct, this centre reported a 45% boost in productivity, shaved 11 days off its monthly close and freed time for more focus on important work, such as tracking data and statistics to support strategic initiatives, and improving departmental visibility to narrow the budget-to-actuals variance.

“This year’s global Close the Books survey highlights the accelerated growth of finance teams all over the world who are harnessing the power of automation to amplify their impact and reclaim their most valuable resource – time. Through the automation of the most tedious tasks associated with period-end closes – especially through cloud-based accounting software – finance leaders are unlocking their potential and increasing their impact on businesses. This is being achieved via greater productivity, efficiency and reporting accuracy across teams,” concludes Govender.

According to Sage Platinum Business Partner, ALNET Technologies, most businesses begin financial operations using well-known small business accounting software, and for good reason. These tools are affordable, easy to use and provide the foundational capabilities a new company needs to get up and running. “But as the business evolves, its financial requirements do too. What was the once perfect fit starts to feel restrictive,” says Gary Govender, Head of Business Development at ALNET Technologies.

Govender notes that when businesses mature to this stage, financial leaders often find themselves at a crossroads. “This is where questions must be asked and answered, including:

• Do you continue patching together solutions with manual workarounds and disconnected spreadsheets?
• How long can your team sustain productivity losses caused by repetitive tasks, paper-based approvals or constant exporting and importing of data across different systems?
• And, perhaps more critically – can your business scale effectively without timely, accurate data and the insights to drive strategic decisions?”

Govender says growing businesses quickly realise that the very tools that once helped them gain momentum are now holding them back. “Start-up accounting software has its limitations, including: inadequate automation, lack of real-time visibility, inefficient workflows and increasingly complex and costly integrations.

“Historically, transitioning to more powerful financial systems meant investing in costly infrastructure, hiring IT staff and working with expensive consultants to customise on-premises solutions. These high barriers often left businesses stuck with their existing software, relying on duct-tape fixes and manual effort to manage increasingly complex operations,” he says.

Global research guru Gartner notes that accounting software enables controllers and accountants to process data faster while ensuring accuracy. Moreover, they add that companies that digitised their accounting practices by using accounting technology saw a 75% reduction in financial errors.

Cloud-based platforms like Sage Intacct have redefined what it means to scale financial systems. “With a flexible, modular design, Sage Intacct eliminates the cost, complexity and risk associated with moving beyond start-up software.”

Here’s how Sage Intacct solves the most common challenges faced by growing businesses:

• Eliminate workarounds and manual processes. Sage Intacct automates key financial workflows – from data entry and approvals to reporting – freeing up time and reducing human error. Finance teams can focus on strategic initiatives instead of fixing broken processes or chasing down paper trails.
• Integrate seamlessly. Unlike many entry-level solutions that operate in isolation, Sage Intacct offers deep, pre-built integrations with leading business applications. This allows you to build a best-in-class tech stack without relying on cumbersome import/export routines.
• Improve accuracy and productivity. By streamlining workflows and centralising data, Sage Intacct improves data accuracy and dramatically boosts finance team productivity. Teams no longer waste days generating reports or reconciling data from multiple systems – key insights are always available in real-time.
• Scale confidently with multi-entity support. Whether you’re expanding into new markets or launching new business units, Sage Intacct is designed to scale with your growth. Its multi-entity support allows for consolidated reporting, shared charts of accounts and flexible role-based permissions – without the headaches of managing separate accounting systems.
• Make informed decisions with reliable data. As your business grows, decision-makers can’t afford to wait hours – or even days – for accurate financial reports. Sage Intacct provides powerful dashboards and real-time reporting tools that surface actionable insights instantly, helping leaders make faster, smarter decisions.

“For growing businesses, the question isn’t just when you should move on from your entry-level accounting software; the real issue is for decision-makers to determine what is the cost of not moving on. Sage Intacct doesn’t just replace outdated tools, it provides a scalable, strategic financial foundation designed to support long-term growth, agility and innovation. Our advice to business owners is to stop working around the limitations of their start-up systems and start unlocking the full potential of their finance function,” concludes Govender.

In an era where digital transformation is reshaping industries, businesses need robust financial management solutions to stay competitive, but choosing the right implementation partner can be equally important.

This is according to ALNET Technologies, a Sage Platinum Business Partner. “From scale-ups to global enterprises, Sage Intacct is the best-of-breed cloud finance software solution designed to grow with organisations. ALNET’s strong track record of implementing Sage Intacct across industries is well established. We have successfully deployed it for clients operating in diverse sectors, including non-profit organisations, financial services, hospitality and healthcare, to name just some,” says Netesh Maharajh, Director, ALNET Technologies.

“Sage Intacct is the future of finance. In a world where financial management is becoming increasingly complex, companies need an implementation partner who can provide the expertise and solutions necessary to navigate this landscape. This is where ALNET Technologies comes into the picture. Our commitment to excellence, customer service and innovation makes us the ideal partner for businesses looking to enhance their financial management capabilities with Sage Intacct,” says Maharajh.

He lists some important criteria for consideration when choosing an implementation partner:

• Listening – is everyone on the same page and listening to your business needs, challenges and goals?
• Technical skill – is the implementation partner sufficiently technically skilled to tailor a unique solution specifically suited to your needs?
• Support – will the partner guarantee the necessary support to assist you with the early days of understanding and navigating the system, as well as troubleshooting any issues that may arise?
• Do they have a proven track record of successful implementations?

“These are just some of the questions that need to be asked if businesses are to ensure a bespoke experience with an implementation partner. With ALNET, it comes down to the very fabric of our culture. We deliver structured project management solutions through our focus on information technology management. We assist clients to face challenges through analysing, designing, implementing strategies and providing recommendations on the technology solutions best suited to their specific requirements. Our team utilises industry-leading methodologies to ensure projects are delivered on time, within budget and to the highest quality standards,” he says.

Maharajh says ALNET’s approach focuses on clear communication, meticulous planning and agile adaptation. “Implementation partners must be capable of navigating challenges seamlessly to achieve successful outcomes for their clients.

“I would say the bottom line today for business success and competitive edge is for companies not to let time-consuming manual financial processes hold them back. The need to modernise and embrace digital technologies is intense. But few organisations, especially in the SME sector, have either the budget or the internal skills necessary to catapult their business into the era of digital transformation with all the opportunities that go with it. So, the need for an implementation partner is obvious. But companies need to be careful and deliberate in their selection process. The goal should be the adoption of technologies that will modernise their business with the best-in-class cloud accounting and financial management solution on the market – Sage Intacct. But their next move must be to ensure they select an implementation partner with a proven track record and capable of extracting every ounce of performance from their investment in this globally leading technology. ALNET Technologies’ depth of technical skill, record of customer endorsements and proven client service record makes us the obvious choice,” concludes Maharajh.