Compassion and Kepion

“It is easy to use, flexible, and makes the job of budget manager easier. We are happy with the product, how it works, and with what PA have provided us with and their help along the way. Now we are all about Kepion!”

Matthew Fletcher, Financial Controller, Compassion Australia.

In a previous client story, we celebrated almost a decade of working with Compassion Australia, and briefly introduced Kepion as their new budgeting solution. Now that the solution has been successfully implemented and Compassion Australia have had time to work with it, we are excited to share more about their experience!

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In 2009, when Professional Advantage (PA) first began working with Compassion Australia, they were using Microsoft Dynamics GP (GP 2010) and were looking to transfer their support to PA. Now using GP 2018 for their accounting needs, they identified that they would need to upgrade their budgeting and forecasting software. After discussions over various potential solutions, Compassion Australia embraced the recommendation made by PA to proceed with the implementation of Kepion, Corporate Performance Management software for budgeting, planning, and forecasting. 

Compassion Australia is part of Compassion International, a global network of more than 12 funding and 25 developing countries. Together, they are a Christian child development ministry that partners with local churches to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name.

Compassion Australia have gone live with their use of Kepion, and after seeing the solution being built around their requirements, there is excitement about finally being let loose on it!

“So far it has gone well; people who have tested it have enjoyed jumping straight in. It is certainly a lot easier to use than our previous solution. It is a lot more intuitive for people.”
Matthew Fletcher, Financial Controller, Compassion Australia.

Whilst the implementation has been led by their PA consultant with preliminary work being completed off-site, Compassion Australia have been heavily involved with the process to ensure the end solution is fit for purpose.

“It comes to a point when our consultant needs to work with us to make sure that Kepion is doing what we need it to and producing the right results.”
Matthew Fletcher, Financial Controller, Compassion Australia.

This open and cooperative relationship has been key to the success of the implementation and has given both parties the freedom to test out a configuration to see how it would work, knowing they could speak up if an aspect of the implementation was heading in the wrong direction. This was evident when considering the features from their previous solution which were to be transferred over; ultimately, there were points when the team needed to stop and take a step back to re-evaluate how they needed everything to work.

“The flexibility that PA offered meant that we could stop and reconsider sections if we realised that fundamentally, they wouldn’t work. Our consultant was willing to relook at things with us and focus on what was actually needed, instead of all of us choosing the easy option and continuing with something that wasn’t right.”
Matthew Fletcher, Financial Controller, Compassion Australia.

As Kepion is more widely used within Compassion Australia, their budget manager—who has been a key figure in the implementation—will be the internal trainer. They have developed their Kepion knowledge through working with and observing their PA consultant at work. 

“Our consultant has not only been setting it up but teaching us as well. We have been able to understand the product from the ground up, directly from the person who configured it.”
Matthew Fletcher, Financial Controller, Compassion Australia.

By working together like this, it has also meant that Compassion Australia have been involved in checking that aspects work as they should during the implementation, and identifying any issues before they might become a problem.

Kepion will be the primary budgeting and forecasting tool for Compassion Australia, and has been built with that focus in mind.

“We haven’t had to fit ourselves around the system, we have been setting the system up around us. This means it directly suits our needs.”
Matthew Fletcher, Financial Controller, Compassion Australia.

It will also benefit their reporting with its ability to link well with Microsoft, a feature specifically beneficial to Compassion Australia with their current use of Power BI for business intelligence. Whilst they have not begun to use these features yet, it is a moment there is anticipation for.

“There are a few things we are deliberately not doing yet regarding reporting and integration, but when we do make use of these areas fully, I really think that there will be a substantial improvement in the reporting that our management will be able to use.”
Matthew Fletcher, Financial Controller, Compassion Australia.

Leading up to the go-live date, there was excitement and anticipation within the organisation.

“Our managers have heard about Kepion and what it can do and are excited to begin utilising its features. They know they are moving away from an old system and old processes on to something that is much more user friendly and easier to use.”
Matthew Fletcher, Financial Controller, Compassion Australia.

“It is easy to use, flexible, and makes the job of budget manager easier. We are happy with the product, how it works, and with what PA have provided us with and their help along the way. Now we are all about Kepion!”

Matthew Fletcher, Financial Controller, Compassion Australia.