NAATI is the national standards and certifying authority for language interpreters and translators in Australia. The not-for-profit organisation, jointly owned by the Commonwealth and the state and territory governments, experienced a phase of unprecedented business growth. In fact, demand almost doubled for its services. While this was great for business, it meant that its finance system started to stretch beyond its limits. NAATI needed a new way forward before customers and business outcomes were impacted.
The business challenge
| How to upgrade legacy finance technology to facilitate growth |
NAATI was using an accounting software system fit for small businesses as well as a bespoke application to manage its operations such as customer service, exam bookings, invoicing and its payment gateway. It was also using API integrations to push accounts receivable and accounts payable invoices into its finance software.
This connection was requiring 1,800 API calls per day – a figure it anticipated to reach 4,000 API calls per day. Adding to this complex environment, the finance system also interfaced with its CRM platform, which required around 300 API calls per minute. However, the finance system could only accommodate 60 of these API calls per minute.
As NAATI’s existing software was not designed to manage this volume of API calls, NAATI realised it needed a finance solution that could handle 500 API calls per minute.
To bring this digital transformation to life, NAATI required a technology partner that would invest the time and resources to understand the business, and in particular, its complex interfacing environment. NAATI also needed a partner that would work collaboratively with its external IT providers, develop a clear implementation strategy, and work to a tight schedule. Therefore, NAATI reached out to KPMG.
The project: Implementing Wiise
KPMG worked closely with NAATI to build out its exact requirements and to deliver software demonstrations. The Wiise accounting software, built using Microsoft cloud ERP, was selected for its ability to cater to the size and volume that NAATI had reached.
KPMG then focused on project management, solution design, implementation, data migration, deployment, user training and the system go-live. A key part of this holistic approach was helping NAATI to adopt the very latest in best practice processes for the finance function. This was done by implementing the standard, in-built processes in the software without customisations. KPMG also collaborated with NAATI’s custom application developer to deliver integration with standard Microsoft APIs.
The solution: Faster system performance improves productivity
Within 2 days of launch of the new solution, NAATI reported that over 200 orders went through the finance system with minimal error. In the time since, other benefits have included a much faster system performance, improved productivity for teams, and reduced resources costs.
Importantly, NAATI can now generate large reports with ease, and make the most of enhanced data and analytics for decisions thanks to enabling interactive data visualisation using Microsoft Power BI.
With KPMG’s ongoing support, any challenges are resolved swiftly after query tickets are raised.
Project management for success and seamless technology implementation
A large part of this engagement was undertaken during COVID-19 lockdowns which restricted our team’s mobility to work with NAATI onsite. This did not impact the support provided to NAATI, with an equally high quality of delivery provided to NAATI remotely.
A big influence on this capability to deliver was our team’s strong focus on detailed project management and frequent communication between all stakeholders. All stakeholders were kept well informed about the project at all points in time, and how things were tracking against the deadline. Any challenges that arose were reported quickly to the right people to ensure quick resolution. This project management effort saw the project stay on time and on budget, in turn minimising any transformation impact or risk.
Of course, at each stage in the process, we ensured that the right specialists from across KPMG were involved to give NAATI the best possible 'one KPMG' experience.
NAATI is now doing what it does best – supporting Australia’s language interpreters and translators to succeed, while also getting the most out of its finance function, delivering a seamless experience to its customers, and preparing for even more growth.
We get the best out of technology.
Find out more
For more information about Wiise visit wiise.com or contact us.
