Sustainable Public Financial Management

New FreeBalance office provides innovative, collaborative and energy-efficient work environment 

Ottawa, Canada (December 13, 2011) – FreeBalance, a global Government Resource Planning (GRP) software company, today announced the relocation from the Ottawa headquarters to an innovative and collaborative work environment. The new office space incorporates the latest strategies in energy conservation and uses Bullfrog Power, a 100% green electricity provider. FreeBalance has experienced tremendous growth and financial success in the last five years.

Founded in 1984 in Ottawa, Canada, FreeBalance delivers proven, Canadian government resource planning technology to the world with a focus on countries in transition, fiscal decentralization, change, and reconstruction. In 2006, President & CEO Manuel Pietra brought global management experience to FreeBalance. FreeBalance was restructured into a global customer-centric company to help governments leverage technology to accelerate growth. The new Ottawa office is part of a regional strategy that has seen the addition of offices in the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia/Pacific.

“This move represents an exciting achievement for FreeBalance as we confirm our leadership position in the Government Resource Planning market,” said Manuel Pietra, President & CEO at FreeBalance. “FreeBalance is recognized around the world for promoting good governance, accountability and transparency in a sustainable manner. We are a proud Canadian company that is making a difference in the world. We are committed to helping governments leverage technology to accelerate country growth.” 

The new FreeBalance headquarters is located at:

FreeBalance Inc.
411 Legget Drive, Suite 210
Ottawa, Ontario
K2K 3C9

Phone: +1 613.236.5150
Fax: +1 613.236.7785
Email: info@freebalance.com 

About FreeBalance
FreeBalance helps governments around the world leverage robust Government Resource Planning (GRP) technology to accelerate country growth. FreeBalance software solutions for public financial and human resource management support reform and modernization to improve governance, transparency and accountability. Good governance is required to improve development results. FreeBalance solutions are active in 19 countries managing more than a quarter trillion ($US) in annual budgets worldwide. For more information, visit www.freebalance.com.

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Doug Hadden, VP Products

[Tweeting and asking questions. David Nummy looks on.]

FreeBalance sponsored and attended the most recent International Consortium on Governmental Financial Management (ICGFM) conference. We were a Gold Sponsor. (Presentations are up on www.icgfm.org pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/icgfm/, check out @icgfm on Twitter – most of the tweets come from FreeBalance.)

We’ve been at many public financial management and government-focused conferences this year.  We’ve been noticing a lack of involvement by the larger Enterprise Resource Planning vendors over the past few years.  You get the feeling that even when they attend, they aren’t engaged. It’s as if staff from these companies is uninterested in learning about the trends and lessons-learned in public financial management.

Perhaps the level of involvement is proportional to success. (There’s growing evidence to support this notion).

Some ERP companies sponsor events but staff stays in the trade show area or appear only to make a single presentation, which is about them. When they do appear in the conference sessions: it’s e-mail and spreadsheets.

Maybe we should stop distracting these companies by suggesting they listen to customers. Gets in the way of talking. Perhaps learning is over-rated. Or, they just don’t want to hear about continued ERP customer implementation problems.

My sense is that the PFM market is entering what Peter Hinssen calls a “flip” – from vendor to customer dominance.  Some signs:

• Increasing reliance on maintenance revenue by larger vendors, just to keep the corporate lights on. (Not to mention the software “license” ninjas that descend on customers to “audit”.)
• Lack of innovation among major enterprise software vendors has created a feeding frenzy of acquisitions. It’s the tech soap opera with Kardashian scope hype.
• Virtually every press release from major vendors talks about “innovation” when introducing a few new features.
• Despite all the hype, there’s no reduction in the incidents of publically revealed failures, particularly in government.  Believe me, it’s just the tip of the iceberg. You learn a lot more from the network of professionals about problems that have not made the press.

Some advice for ERP Companies

Why would I provide advice? Public money is being wasted: failed, over-budget, late. Developed countries, developing countries – national, sub-national – everywhere. Here’s what we’ve learned:

• Listening helps determine the long-term product roadmap. Don’t hire an expert in a vertical market and slot into a cubicle. Attend PFM conference.
• Problems help improve products. I’ve found three customers over the past five years who expressed dissatisfaction with FreeBalance products. The results are fantastic – we found ways to please the customer and improve our products at the same time.
• Sharing expertise builds the warehouse of what works and what doesn’t work in government financial management.  Vendors have to stop talking about themselves and share lessons learned.

Conference to explore PFM in the 21^st Century and Modern PFM Institutions

Ottawa, Canada (December 5, 2011) – FreeBalance, a global Government Resource Planning (GRP) software company, today announced participation at the 2011 International Consortium on Governmental Financial Management (ICGFM) Winter Conference. The event runs from December 5-7, 2011 in Washington, DC at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) conference facilities. The ICGFM conference provides opportunities to discuss ideas and policies with government financial managers from around the world. Representatives from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, and North America will share practical experiences in adopting and implementing new components in the public financial management (PFM) world. For more information, visit www.icgfm.org.

“FreeBalance looks forward to discussing modern public financial management tools and implementation methods with the ICGFM dignitaries,” said Doug Hadden, VP Products at FreeBalance. “Our mission is to help countries leverage technology to support economic growth and aid development through transparent and accountable financial systems. FreeBalance is active in all World Bank regions and has more than 25 years experience implementing government resource planning solutions worldwide.”

Attendees of the 2011 Winter Conference will also learn about the PFM institutions that provide the foundation for meeting the demands for greater accountability, transparency, and better management of public resources. As described in the 2011 ICGFM Winter Conference overview: “ICGFM is focusing on how PFM has evolved over the last 15 years to meet greater demands for accountability and transparency, and to manage through unprecedented economic changes and crises.” Key themes of this conference include: Independent accountability institutions, Performance informed resource allocation, Risk management as an element of PFM, Reporting standards, and Managing beyond the current budget year.

FreeBalance is a Sustaining Member of the ICGFM. Other members include The World Bank; The International Monetary Fund; the United States Agency for International Development – Inspector General; the Association of Government Accountants (USA); and The Development Gateway Foundation. FreeBalance President & CEO Manuel Pietra is a member of the Board of Directors at ICGFM.

Software solutions from FreeBalance are being used in 19 countries, including Antigua & Barbuda, Afghanistan, Canada, Iraq, Kosovo, Kyrgyz Republic, Liberia, Mongolia, Namibia, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Southern Sudan, Timor-Leste, and Uganda among others.

About ICGFM
Working globally with governments, organizations, and individuals, the International Consortium on Governmental Financial Management (ICGFM) is dedicated to improving financial management by providing opportunities for professional development and information exchange. The ICGFM was established over two decades ago to serve as an international forum for public sector financial managers. More at www.icgfm.org.

About FreeBalance
FreeBalance helps governments around the world leverage robust Government Resource Planning (GRP) technology to accelerate country growth. FreeBalance software solutions for public financial and human resource management support reform and modernization to improve governance, transparency and accountability. Good governance is required to improve development results. FreeBalance solutions are active in 19 countries managing more than a quarter trillion ($US) in annual budgets worldwide. For more information, visit www.freebalance.com.

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Conference to explore economic, financial, commercial and technological partnerships in Africa

Ottawa, Canada (1 December 2011) – FreeBalance, a For Profit Social Enterprise (FOPSE) software company that helps governments around the world to leverage robust Government Resource Planning (GRP) technology to accelerate country growth, is pleased to announce attendance at PROMOTE 2011. This conference will be held in Yaoundé, Cameroon at the Yaoundé Congress Hall, 3-11 December 2011. Organizers of PROMOTE 2011 expect more than 1,400 companies and 120,000 visitors will attend the event. Over 29 countries will be represented, including members from the Economic Community of Central African States and the Economic and Monetary Community of Central African States (CEEAC/CEMAC).

FreeBalance is participating at PROMOTE 2011 in the Canadian Pavilion as part of the economic mission organized by the Canadian Council on Africa, in partnership with Afrique Expansion, the Association of Cameroonians of Canada, the Ministry of Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade of Quebec, and the High Commissioner of Canada in Cameroon. FreeBalance is a member of the Canadian Council on Africa and supports Public Financial Management (PFM) reforms with GRP implementations in Liberia, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Southern Sudan, and with MCA Namibia.

“We look forward to meeting delegates at PROMOTE 2011 to discuss government resource planning needs in Africa,” said Manuel Pietra, President & CEO at FreeBalance. “We have seen the positive impact of modern GRP systems in Liberia, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Southern Sudan, and Uganda. FreeBalance helps these governments improve transparency, governance, and accountability, which leads to improved economic activity and an increase in private investor confidence.”

FreeBalance is uniquely positioned to support PFM reforms in Africa. FreeBalance has successfully assisted governments to implement modern PFM systems in challenging circumstances. The FreeBalance Accountability Suite has been implemented in African and other emerging nation governments where there has been limited connectivity, low bandwidth, lack of electrical power, and low human capacity.

The FreeBalance Accountability Suite is a GRP solution that supports transparency and accountability. FreeBalance solutions for governments and external aid projects and funds simplify administration and reduce transaction costs for government or private organizations managing aid projects. The FreeBalance Accountability Suite automates reporting to donors, project finance management, and project performance management. The FreeBalance solution operates in developing nations around the world, including low-capacity countries, and providing effective donor reporting that meets international standards.

Software solutions from FreeBalance are being used in 19 countries, including Antigua & Barbuda, Afghanistan, Canada, Iraq, Kosovo, Kyrgyz Republic, Liberia, Mongolia, Namibia, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Southern Sudan, Timor-Leste, and Uganda among others.

About FreeBalance
FreeBalance helps governments around the world leverage robust Government Resource Planning (GRP) technology to accelerate country growth. FreeBalance software solutions for public financial and human resource management support reform and modernization to improve governance, transparency and accountability. Good governance is required to improve development results. FreeBalance solutions are active in 19 countries managing more than a quarter trillion ($US) in annual budgets worldwide. For more information, visit www.freebalance.com.

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Doug Hadden, VP Products

We had lots of fun at the FreeBalance booth at the FMI PD Week 2011 earlier this week. The presentation by Michael Kerr on reducing stress at work through humour was particularly good. You may not think that public servants have a sense of humour – one woman seemed to have uncontrollable fits of laughter. [Check out the #PDWeek2011 hash tag on twitter for more.] Professional development can be professional and fun too.

Who knew that government financial management in Canada could be so interesting and so much fun. Often at the same time. The FreeBalance team learned a lot about the drivers for reform in the Government of Canada. Lots of interesting feedback from public servants that we found very valuable.

To add the fun, we were giving out chewing gum with our logo on it. Our small part to making for a sweeter smelling conference.

We started to ponder some serious questions: why were all of the major providers of financial management software to the government of Canada, except FreeBalance, absent from the conference? (Ok, there was the business intelligence division from one of those companies. Essentially 6 of the 7 vendors didn’t bother to show up, and I think that this might be indicative of the commitment to fully serving the Government of Canada.)

Second question to ponder: what if major ERP companies manufactured gum in the way they design software? [By strict definition, FreeBalance is not an ERP vendor*] In the spirit of fun, we came up with list:

1. There would be a 20 page manual describing how to open the package of gum.
2. The gum would be presented as new and innovative, but would be the same old client/server gum with very fancy packaging. The wrappers would be encased in press releases touting the next generation of gum science.
3. The gum would have no flavour and particular shape: it is up to you to customize by following the manual. The customization of gum manual would be over 200 pages. Gum customization tools would be available only from the ERP vendors.
4. Software could be bought to manage Gum Lifecycle Management to handle the entire gum ecosystem.
5. ERP companies would turn gum maintenance into the top revenue stream.
6. Once in your mouth, the gum would be very hard. It would have a very poor and unintuitive Chew Experience (CX for short).
7. Any upgrade to the next gum version would require new customization methods to achieve your desired gum flavour.
8. There would be recommended chewing best practices developed by engineers in Germany. Gum chewers could become certified by following these best practices.
9. Failure to enjoy the gum would be attributed to not following best practices, not have a dedicated gum team, not being fully gum certified and not following proper Master Gum Management procedures.
10. ERP manufactures would experience trouble providing GaaS (Gum as a Service) and would try to provide Hybrid Gum and Real-time Gum as alternatives.

*Does FreeBalance provide ERP?

1. [No] ERP means “enterprise resource planning” or software for enterprises. FreeBalance does not provide software to the private sector, only government.
2. [Yes] ERP implies “enterprise-class” or software that can scale to handle very large organizations with thousands of users. FreeBalance provides scalable “all of government” software used, in some countries, for every government organization from municipal through to the national level.
3. [Yes] ERP software, using the ERP II definition fashioned by Gartner, should span multiple horizontal markets. The FreeBalance Accountability Suite supports financial management, budget planning, government performance, expenditure management (including procurement), revenue, treasury and civil service (human resources and payroll), and portal.
4. [No] ERP software, also using the ERP II definition, should span multiple vertical markets. FreeBalance is a government specialist with exclusive focus on that domain.

On November 22, 2011, Doug Hadden, VP Products at FreeBalance delivered the  ‘Seizing the Shared Services Opportunity’ presentation during fmi*igf PD Week in Ottawa. Here’s an overview of his presentation:

“The mandate of shared services is to streamline information technology costs and provide hundreds of millions of dollars in savings on an annual basis. Many experts and government officials suggest it will take many years to provide any savings, and even more time to generate the type of savings that forms the mission of Shared Services Canada. The Seizing the Shared Services Opportunity presentation details a risk-averse approach to shared services that provides an acceleration of speed to savings.”

On November 21, 2011, Doug Hadden, VP Products at FreeBalance delivered the following presentation at the FreeBalance Annual Government of Canada Roundtable. During the presentation, he discussed: 

• The speed to savings approach to shared services
• FreeBalance product update and roadmap
• Engaging FreeBalance to get your requirements in the next release of software

FreeBalance offers Government of Canada Customers a Shared Services ROI & TCO calculator during Financial Management Institute (FMI) PD Week 2011

Ottawa, Canada (November 23, 2011) – FreeBalance, a global Government Resource Planning (GRP) software company, announced the release a Shared Services ROI & TCO tool to Government of Canada customers during FMI PD Week 2011, November 22 to 25, 2011 at the Ottawa Convention Centre. FreeBalance has over 25 years experience working with public financial management managers in the Government of Canada and through implementing “whole-of-government” Government Resource Planning (GRP) solutions around the world. This experience including the FreeBalance Shared Services solution, provides FreeBalance with unique capabilities to optimize shared services returns for Government of Canada departments and agencies. Members of the FreeBalance team will be available during the conference to discuss the new FreeBalance Shared Services ROI & TCO tool and how it will provide valuable insight for Government of Canada decision makers.

As part of the Shared Services Initiative, Government of Canada departments will need to migrate from departmental budget, financial and human resources systems to centralized shared services. Version 1 of the shared service calculator will be provided exclusively to FreeBalance Government of Canada customers. FreeBalance has modelled the costs for changing departmental practices, compliance inefficiencies, governance mechanisms, personnel training, system upgrades and elasticity.  

“We commend the Government of Canada Economic Action Plan to reduce costs and nurture innovation, especially as a Canadian company providing next-generation good governance solutions around the world,” said Manuel Pietra, President & CEO of FreeBalance. “We realize the challenges of calculating ROI and TCO in government software. Costs are often hidden because consulting and training are often acquired separately from software. And, old proprietary technology designed originally for the client/server world increases maintenance costs.”

The FreeBalance Accountability Suite Version 7 supports public and private cloud GRP Shared Services. Benefits of FreeBalance GRP Shared Services include: 

• Mission: optimize mission effectiveness through agile deployments, consistent citizen-facing systems, ease of reform and modernization
• Consolidation: optimize systems costs by eliminating duplication, reducing power consumption, centralizing management
• Predictability: optimize change and compliance costs through standardization, simple cost and growth models, improved security, controls and disaster recovery

The FreeBalance Accountability Suite is one of the most widely deployed financial management systems inside the Government of Canada. More than 50 government departments and agencies use FreeBalance software for enhanced public financial management. 

The FreeBalance Accountability Suite is web-based and has been optimized for rapid government deployment, operational effectiveness and performance. FreeBalance technology supports Web Services standards that enable departments and agencies to integrate with existing ERP, HR, and other government information systems.

The FreeBalance Accountability Suite is one of the most widely deployed financial management systems inside the Government of Canada. More than 50 government departments and agencies use FreeBalance software for enhanced public financial management. 

About FreeBalance
FreeBalance helps governments around the world leverage robust Government Resource Planning (GRP) technology to accelerate country growth. FreeBalance software solutions for public financial and human resource management support reform and modernization to improve governance, transparency and accountability. Good governance is required to improve development results. FreeBalance solutions are active in 19 countries managing more than a quarter trillion ($US) in annual budgets worldwide. For more information, visit www.freebalance.com. 

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Doug Hadden, VP Products at FreeBalance Presents “Seizing the Shared Services Opportunity” at the Financial Management Institute (FMI) of Canada Professional Development Week 2011

Ottawa, Canada (November 21, 2011) – FreeBalance, a global Government Resource Planning (GRP) software company, will be presenting at the FMI of Canada Professional Development (PD) Week. The annual conference takes place this year at the Ottawa Convention Centre in Ottawa, Canada from November 22 to 25, 2011. Doug Hadden, VP Products at FreeBalance will host an interactive session titled “Seizing the Shared Services Opportunity.” This session will explore the mandate of shared services to streamline information technology costs and provide hundreds of millions of dollars in savings on an annual basis. Many experts suggest that traditional technology for public financial management will take many years to provide any savings, if at all. Yet, saving and agility forms the mission of Shared Services Canada. The “Seizing the Shared Services Opportunity” presentation details a risk-based approach to shared services that provides an acceleration of speed to savings.

The session will be held from 3:00 – 4:00 pm, Tuesday November 22, 2011 in room 211 at the Ottawa Convention Centre. Many of the subjects to be discussed are described on the FreeBalance Sustainability Blog. In addition, members of the FreeBalance team will be available during the conference to discuss the new FreeBalance Shared Services ROI & TCO tool and how it will provide valuable insight for Government of Canada decision makers.

“Many governments have implemented hosted shared services to support more efficient and effective service delivery,” said Manuel Pietra, President & CEO of FreeBalance. “Yet, hosted shared services for financial and human resources in government have had disappointing results. Expected savings have not often materialized. The FreeBalance Accountability Suite Version 7 has been designed specifically to overcome government shared services challenges. This innovative technology covers the entire budget cycle including budget preparation, budget execution and civil service management.”

The FreeBalance Accountability Suite Version 7 was designed specifically to support hosted shared services in government. The FreeBalance approach differs from traditional methods of deploying finance and human resources software in the following ways:

• Service configuration approach eliminates the burden for government organizations to customize software to meet unique needs.
• Multiple configurations operating in the same data centre enables government organizations to migrate to standard processes over time and supports unique configurations where necessary because of legal mandate.
• Modern web-based technology, rather than web-enabled, optimizes performance and reduces data centre size providing green benefits.
• Component-based Service-Oriented Architecture enables granular integration with software in use by government organizations.

The FreeBalance Accountability Suite is web-based and has been optimized for rapid government deployment, operational effectiveness and performance. FreeBalance technology supports Web Services standards that enable departments and agencies to integrate with existing ERP, HR, and other government information systems.

The FreeBalance Accountability Suite is one of the most widely deployed financial management systems inside the Government of Canada. More than 50 government departments and agencies use FreeBalance software for enhanced public financial management.

About the Financial Management Institute of Canada
The Financial Management Institute of Canada (fmi*igf) is a nationally recognized, not-for-profit volunteer association, founded in 1962. What started out as a small group of senior federal government accountants meeting around a lunch table to discuss issues of financial management and the role of financial advisors within government has grown to thousands of members, both within and outside the public sector, all working to improve the financial management of all levels of government across Canada. For more information, visit www.fmi.ca. 

About Doug Hadden
Doug Hadden is an industry veteran with an extensive experience in enterprise technologies. Hadden has more than 20 years of management, sales, marketing and product management experience at several industry-leading public and private companies, including Standard Register, Delano Technology, Platform Computing, Hummingbird, and Olivetti. Hadden is a recognized expert in strategic planning and technology in government.

As VP Products at FreeBalance, Hadden is responsible for all aspects of global marketing, business development and product management. Hadden is also the Chief Customer Advocate responsible for aligning FreeBalance activities with customer priorities. He holds a BA Honours degree in Political Science from Carleton University. 

About FreeBalance
FreeBalance helps governments around the world leverage robust Government Resource Planning (GRP) technology to accelerate country growth. FreeBalance software solutions for public financial and human resource management support reform and modernization to improve governance, transparency and accountability. Good governance is required to improve development results. FreeBalance solutions are active in 19 countries managing more than a quarter trillion ($US) in annual budgets worldwide. For more information, visit www.freebalance.com.  

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Key conference theme: Shared services benefits for government financial management

Ottawa, Canada (November 22, 2011) – FreeBalance, a global Government Resource Planning (GRP) software company, will be advocating next generation shared services at the Financial Management Institute (FMI) of Canada Professional Development (PD) Week. The annual conference at the Ottawa Convention Centre in Ottawa, Canada runs from November 22 to 25, 2011.

Next generation financial and human resources shared services information technology is designed to overcome the high cost and limited benefits associated with traditional approaches. Process standardization to reduce costs has been an elusive shared services goal. Standardization should reduce training, support and upgrading costs. Yet, experience in governments around the world shows that standardization can introduce inefficiencies and higher infrastructure cost. Next-generation Government Resource Planning technology overcomes the standardization problem through configuration and provides a viable option to governments looking to accelerate speed to savings. Visit the FreeBalance booth at FMI PD Week to learn more about GRP Shared Services and speed to savings.

Relevant presentations about shared services at FMI PD Week 2011 include:

• Liseanne Forand, President, Shared Services Canada, who will provide insight about the Government of Canada timelines
• Doug Hadden, VP Products at FreeBalance, will host an interactive session that details a risk-based approach to shared services that provides an acceleration of speed to savings titled “Seizing the Shared Services Opportunity”

“The FreeBalance Accountability Suite Version 7 was designed specifically to overcome government shared services challenges for financial and human resource management,” said Manuel Pietra, President & CEO of FreeBalance. “Governments need to avoid “rust” when moving to private clouds. Unlike traditional approaches, Version 7 does not use legacy technology, while supporting multiple configurations and migration to standardization. “

Members of the FreeBalance team will be available throughout the conference to discuss FreeBalance web-based Government Resource Planning (GRP) solutions. The FreeBalance approach differs from traditional methods of deploying finance and human resources software in the following ways:

• Service configuration approach eliminates the burden for government organizations to customize software to meet unique needs.
• Multiple configurations operating in the same data centre enables government organizations to migrate to standard processes over time and supports unique configurations where necessary because of legal mandate.
• Modern web-based technology, rather than web-enabled, optimizes performance and reduces data centre size providing green benefits.
• Component-based Service-Oriented Architecture enables granular integration with software in use by government organizations.

The FreeBalance Accountability Suite represents a significant technology leap forward. The suite has been optimized for rapid government deployment, operational effectiveness and performance. FreeBalance technology supports Web Services standards that enable departments and agencies to integrate with existing ERP, HR, and other government information systems.

The FreeBalance Accountability Suite is one of the most widely deployed financial management systems inside the Government of Canada. More than 50 government departments and agencies use FreeBalance software for enhanced public financial management. 

About FreeBalance
FreeBalance helps governments around the world leverage robust Government Resource Planning (GRP) technology to accelerate country growth. FreeBalance software solutions for public financial and human resource management support reform and modernization to improve governance, transparency and accountability. Good governance is required to improve development results. FreeBalance solutions are active in 19 countries managing more than a quarter trillion ($US) in annual budgets worldwide. For more information, visit www.freebalance.com. 

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