Fund Management

The LAKE public sector solution accommodates the special regulations, restrictions, and limitations needed to manage multiple funds across multiple projects.

By automating where appropriate, errors associated with manual entries and reconciliations are reduced. This improves visibility of the cost pipeline and speeds the production of reports.

Grant Management

Managing grant resources helps the organisation remain accountable for spending and comply with regulations throughout the process.

The LAKE solution helps:

• track grant funds and the projects to which those funds need to be applied
   
• monitor expenditure
   
• deliver timely reports for full disclosure

With up-to-date information about successful budgeting and grant performance, organisations can focus time and energy on the management and allocation of grant funding, rather than spending time tracking allocations.

Encumbrances and Commitments

Effectively track commitments and requisitions against budget allocations, protecting yourself against overspend. The LAKE solution allows you to set aside funds for future contracts, as well as plan and stay on track for using the allocated funds. This ensures that funds will be available when payment is due.

Spend Control

Public sector organisations need robust systems to manage a broad variety of purchasing, stock control and distribution activities.

The LAKE solution goes beyond the basics of eProcurement to provide sophisticated Spend Control. Delegate authority with absolute confidence that spend will be kept safely within budget. Provide complete visibility of the cost pipeline and related cash flow requirements as soon as orders are requested and only allow over-spend with appropriate authority.

Eliminate paperwork and ensure more efficient purchase arrangements/contracts with vendors. For organisations that distribute 'materials' to their constituents or to other governmental departments, the LAKE solution helps manage orders, track usage, and ensure materials are properly accounted for.

Budgeting & Forecasting

The solution builds on the underlying General Ledger code structures and supports profiled budgets, budget adjustments and virements, rolling forecasts, and "what-if" analyses. With detailed operational plans (e.g. by Department, Site, Project, Cost Centre, etc) feeding into the Income and Expenditure, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow Statements, SunSystems:

• encourages collaboration between different parts of the organisation
   
• reduces the risk and sheer overhead associated with dozens of inter-linked spreadsheets

The combination of SunSystems and LAKE's rapid implementation method represents a cost-effective Budgeting and Forecasting solution that can become a true value-add function for your organisation.

Analysis and Reporting

Simply define and manage analysis dimensions such as Directorate, Department, Cost Centre, Project, Service Line, Team, Employee, Office, and Region ensure the organisation is able to keep pace with changes in responsibilities, structure and reporting requirements.

Cost allocations and reports can be driven by up to 100 analysis dimensions without the need to create a long, complex chart of accounts.

Point-and-click hierarchy management tools allow you to change and model the organisational structure with complete freedom.

Automate the production of reports to numerous stakeholders

At the click of a mouse the LAKE public sector solution allows you to produce reports from the same underlying database for all interested stakeholders; including committees, heads of department, directors, the tax authorities, and government.

Portal technology and workflow processes

The LAKE public sector solution is workflow and web-enabled, with information secured in SQL Server or Oracle databases. Integration with portal technologies and other applications is achieved using XML, the industry standard for simple, cross-platform integration.

LAKE Public Sector solutions enable:

• Cash and accrual-based accounting without the need for dual ledgers or complex reconciliation procedures
   
• Budgeting and virements
   
• In-year reporting and forecasting
   
• Financial control and audit
   
• Extensive analysis of both transactions and account codes to reflect the reporting requirements of government