As a not-for-profit, the National Trust is bound by standard profit and loss reporting, but it does not pay tax. Fusion5's significant experience in the charity sector helped configure and streamline the automated workflows and notifications necessary to comply with Australian Government stringent reporting regulations.
"Our first audit after NetSuite was implemented resulted in a 90% reduction in audit staff on-site and it also sped up the process. NetSuite has also resulted in at least a 20% productivity increase for the National Trust"
Michael D'souza, Chief Financial Officer at the National Trust of Australia (WA)
Implementing NetSuite has fully automated and digitised the National Trust's ability to meet the Government's complex delegation of authority (DOA) process, saving significant time and effort, while ensuring a greater level of accuracy. Using a natively integrated business application also safeguards the National Trust against potential fraud, because no financial transactions occur outside of the system. After years of being billed annually for unused support, D’souza says NetSuite's inclusive pricing model is a breath of fresh air.
"Our business is now finally aligned to government compliance to the new Treasurer’s Instructions," says D’souza. "We moved from a manual, paper-based certification process to a fully digital one."
Audits are no longer an invasive distraction for the team at National Trust. "We were able to give (the auditors) access to the system so they could audit us independently, from their own offices," says D’souza.
The National Trust went from manually typing up annual rental invoices to full automation. "We can now generate all 350 rental invoices and any payment reminders in just five minutes," says D’souza, “and email them directly to our tenants.”
Based on the increase in efficiency across the organisation, the National Trust expects to realise a return on investment within four years. "We have much better management of our financials and the dashboards, as well as the ability to drill down. The auto-notifications are all brilliant."
And D’souza says that NetSuite was a lifesaver during the COVID-19 lockdown. "Without NetSuite, our business would have been paralysed. It worked seamlessly, and our staff could easily work from home. No setup was required."