Can Canada Learn from Sustainable Public Financial Management Innovation from Developing Countries?

Doug Hadden, VP Products at FreeBalance Presents “What we can learn about sustainability from developing countries” at the Financial Management Institute (FMI) of Canada Public Sector Management Workshop (PSMW) 2012.

Ottawa, Canada (May 30, 2012) – 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, will be presenting and exhibiting at the Financial Management Institute (FMI) of Canada Public Sector Management Workshop (PSMW) 2012.

Other speakers at the PSMW 2012 event include:

Kevin Page, Parliamentary Budget Officer, Government of Canada
The Hon. Blaine Higgs, Minister of Finance, Province of New Brunswick
Jeffrey Simpson – Globe and Mail National Affairs Columnist and Author of Hot Air: Meeting Canada’s Climate Challenge

Doug Hadden, Vice President, Products at FreeBalance will present "What we can learn about sustainability from developing countries" on Monday, May 28 at the lunch plenary session. This presentation describes how developing country governments have leaped forward through reducing long-term Information Technology costs, sustainable medium term budget planning and effective citizen outreach through open government. "Environmental and fiscal sustainability are critical issues in developing countries," said Manuel Pietra, President & CEO of FreeBalance. "We are pleased, as a Canadian company, to share our lessons learned in 17 developing countries around the world." Attend the presentation at PSMW or visit the FreeBalance exhibit to learn more.

The session will be held at the Fredericton 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 how FreeBalance has achieved breakthrough Government Resource Planning (GRP) sustainability.

Many governments around the world are considering strategic alternatives to reduce information technology costs while improving performance through technology innovation in light of the recent global financial crisis. "The FreeBalance Accountability Suite Version 7 has been designed specifically to reduce the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for Government Resource Planning (GRP) systems," said Doug Hadden, Vice President of Products. "The experience as a leader in GRP in developing countries has enabled FreeBalance to optimize products and methodology for sustainability."

Characteristics of the FreeBalance Accountability Suite to support reduced TCO and improved government self-sufficiency include:

No code configuration and workflow to accelerate and simplify implementation.
Progressive activation to adapt to changing regulations and new processes.
Elimination of code customization to facilitate software upgrades.
Upgrade from any version to any subsequent version and support of multiple versions to reduce upgrade cost.
Government-specific design with no legacy client/server code to optimize the technical footprint on-premises or via shared services to reduce equipment, power and IT management costs.
Government feature set with adaptable help, personalized menus, validation and error-trapping to improve usability.

The FreeBalance Accountability Suite also supports sustainable planning through multiple year budget preparation tied to economic, fiscal and performance frameworks. Sustainable citizen engagement is supported through budget, performance, results, e-recruitment, e-procurement and crowdsourcing portals.

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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