Heading towards a leading position in the market of independent financial consultants with Microsoft® Dynamics NAV® solution and RECRO-NET

“AWD is a leading company in the area of independent consulting and financial planning. RECRO-NET is a leading company in the area of design and implementation of the Microsoft® Dynamics NAV® business solution. Together we have managed to complete a fairly demanding job successfully in a short time we had at our disposal.”

Prior to the implementation of Microsoft® Dynamics NAV® AWD used to operate in a local financial and accounting system. The operating bookkeeping and accounting activities were carried out without any serious problems, but the management and reporting activities were fairly time-consuming. In compliance with Croatian legislation, the AWD system in is comprised of two companies and thus report consolidation posed a major problem. Seeking for a way how to resolve the above mentioned issues, the company Management opted for the implementation of a new business system.

Having recognized the advantages, simplicity and flexibility of the Microsoft® Dynamics NAV® business solution, the AWD Management opted for this solution. The company decided to entrust the implementation to RECRO-NET as a Partner with whom they made an Implementation Agreement to be carried out within a satisfactory time framework, and particularly as a Partner that will share its know-how required for a specific level of automation in business system exploitation and support with the AWD team.

Business Situation

AWD is a company for independent consulting and financial planning, and a leading independent European provider of financial services. AWD provides consulting services to more than two million private persons in the context of capital increase and welfare planning, and employs a substantial number of highly qualified consultants in more than 485 representative offices across , , , , and Central and East European markets. AWD Group annual revenue exceeds EUR 800 million, and its gross profit amounts to more than EUR 90 million.

Prior to the implementation of the new solution, the company used to operate in the local financial and accounting system, which was satisfactory in the context of bookkeeping and accounting basics, but reporting was frequent and fairly time-consuming. In addition, in compliance with Croatian legislation, the AWD system is comprised of two companies: AWD Consulting LLC. and AWD Insurance Representation LLC. Thus, it was necessary to resolve the issue of financial reporting consolidation.

Seeking for a way how to resolve these issues, the company started its search for an integrated, functional and flexible solution that would fulfill its current needs and facilitate operational efficiency and company development. The company opted for Microsoft® Dynamics NAV® as a flexible solution completely in compliance with the company requirements.

RECRO-NET was chosen due to its reputation in the business community and its approach to the implementation, particularly in the context of education. In compliance with the interest and desire of its Customers/Partners, RECRO-NET is able to train the IT Manager or the IT team to carry out basic maintenance activities and thus make the Customers/Partners partially autonomous. 

“AWD is a leading company in the area of independent consulting and financial planning. RECRO-NET is a leading company in the area of design and implementation of the Microsoft® Dynamics NAV® business solution. Together we have managed to complete a fairly demanding job successfully in a short time we had at our disposal,” said Tomislav Svetina, Director of AWD LLC.

Solution

"We approached the implementation of the Microsoft® Dynamics NAV® with serious consideration. Given our company reputation and position, we were seeking for a long-term reliable implementer, which would also provide us with an opportunity to acquire specific know-how to achieve a desired level of automation in the use of our business system. The RECRO-NET Consultants with their education methodology managed to share their skills with us. In the pre-, during, and post-project phases, we felt as their equal Partner – both during the Microsoft® Dynamics NAV® business solution implementation and the exploitation phases,” said Žnidarec, AWD LLC. Project Manager for the Microsoft® Dynamics NAV® Implementation.

Since the company belongs to an international Group it was not difficult to opt for the Microsoft® Dynamics NAV® business solution due to the following reasons: its flexibility and operational simplicity, quality reporting functions otherwise abundant in this business system, multilingualism which simplifies report development for Croatian and international purposes, and particularly financial report consolidation required for business tracking of several companies in the system (specifically, in Croatia AWD has two companies operating in its system).

The implementation of the solution began in early October 2008, the new go live solution became operational on January 1, 2009, whereas the delivery log was signed in early February 2009.

AWD implemented the standard Microsoft® Dynamics NAV® 4.00 modules: General Ledger, Fixed Assets, Sales and Receivables, Relationship Management, Procurement and Payables, Consolidation, Resources, Human Resources Records, and RECRO-NET add-ons: Payroll, Author’s Fees, Export-Import, Treasury and Travel Orders.

The basic reasons for the decision to implement Microsoft® Dynamics NAV® were the following:

- An integrated solution, which enabled tracking of all business processes and effective business operations;

- Simple, prompt and effective report development, including financial reporting consolidation;

-  A better insight into available resource activities and better fee calculation, particularly for part-time associates.

The implementation process included a project team of four people from all lines of business. During the implementation there were also other persons involved in the project when needed. The implementer had two permanent consultants of its own, whereas software designers were engaged according to the scope and dynamics required in the project.

AWD expressed its satisfaction with the implementation of the Microsoft® Dynamics NAV® business solution. The implementation of Microsoft® Dynamics NAV® was entrusted to RECRO-NET irrespective of other competitors as the AWD Management estimated that RECRO-NET had skills and resources adequate and sufficient for this project implementation. 

Business Advantages

The decision to implement the Microsoft® Dynamics NAV® business solution resolved the issue of the IT system, which was based on the local financial and accounting software. The implementation of this business solution facilitated acceleration of business processes, quality reporting and development of financial reporting consolidation.

Due to the new business system, AWD can devote more attention to its core business due to the resultant time-efficiency of specific activities, particularly in the context of report development and monitoring of results for specific team members – participants in the financial consulting process.

The implementation instantly facilitated the following advantages:

Savings

There are noticeable direct and indirect savings given the time-efficiency of specific business processes

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Insight into Business Activities

Simple and prompt report development enables the Management to focus on the company’s core business.

Business Flexibility Enhancement

The implementation of Microsoft® Dynamics NAV® facilitated better quality and flexibility of monitoring of results and activities of specific team members. It is thus possible to impact their operational enhancement, which contributes to better achievement of the company’s business results.