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Queensland Competition Authority | Access Financials Product Review

The Queensland Competition Authority (the QCA) is a statutory body responsible for economic regulation within the state; promoting the need for competition neutrality amongst Queensland-based businesses who own or operate vital infrastructure, such as ports or railways.

When it came time for the QCA to change its financial management software, it needed a cost-effective solution that could handle the day-to-day complexity of a statewide regulatory body. 

Enter Access Financials. 

5 mins

Posted 03/05/2024

Queensland Competition Authority

Why the QCA chose Access Financials 

As of writing, the QCA has 41 employees (40 salaried and 1 casual), and 4 members. They were prompted to switch from their previous solution, because it was proving to be too ambitious for their needs. 

We were using Technology One and this is a large multi-functional programme. It worked very well but was a bit larger than we needed. It is a fully integrated package for all finance and payroll functions

John Palm Manager Finance and Administration

Access Financials has a modular design which enables you to assemble your own system, tailored exactly to your business needs. 

John, who is responsible for the body’s accounts payable, accounts receivable, general ledger, asset and payroll transactions, as well as monthly accounts, annual financial statements, budgeting and forecasting, explained that changes within their provider’s pricing structure prompted the QCA to explore other potential solutions: 

Our provider informed us that we had to move to a SaaS offering and basically, the pricing didn’t suit, and this was the prompt to seek alternatives. In saying that, the HR side (non-payroll) was less than excellent, and this drove a much larger reason for changing systems.

John Palm Manager Finance and Administration

Access Financials software brings together advanced accounting software and financial management tools to create a single, powerful system. 

The QCA and Access Financials: how it's going 

Since the QCA implemented Access Financials, John says that he’s found it to be a great system to use so far, and that he would recommend it to others:

I particularly find the AP side of Access Financials, where we match and attach the invoice originals to the data entered to be a great advantage (the looming audit will tell me if this is good or bad from their point of view).

John Palm Manager Finance and Administration

When asked what advice he’d give other bodies or organisations who are going through the process of switching to Access Financials, John said this: 

I‘d strongly recommend that you document everything from the first meeting through to the handover, respond to system setup requests as quickly as possible, and work proactively with the implementation team. This will keep the whole process as smooth as possible.

John Palm Manager Finance and Administration

Want to learn more about Access Financials?

Using Access Financials means you'll be joining more than 4,000 customers who use Access financial management software daily to manage their accounting and operations.