C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group Inc. (C40) has selected LAKE Financial Systems to implement a new finance system based on Infor SunSystems software. SunSystems was chosen as the ‘best of breed’ solution for the growing international not-for-profit organisation. C40 selected LAKE for their partnership approach to system implementation and experience in the not-for-profit sector.
Best of Breed
The choice of a new finance system went hand in hand with establishing a new finance team, based in London. Amy Gutcher, Head of Finance for C40 explains their approach to system selection and reasons for choosing SunSystems:
“We were establishing a team in London and we had an open mind as to which system to choose. I talked to a number of other charities and alongside my online research, identified 5 possible systems.
Early in the process it became apparent that we would need to choose between ERP and ‘best of breed’. We chose ‘best of breed’. C40 has grown rapidly and it is crucial to remain flexible, should we, for example, require CRM in the future. With ERP we felt we might have to compromise those requirements. With ‘best of breed’ we can choose the best CRM system, the best finance system and so on.
We chose SunSystems for several reasons. Firstly, it is such an open system, which should enable a straightforward interface with all of our other systems. SunSystems also provides excellent reporting capability – the analysis and multi-currency features are particularly strong. Finally, SunSystems is widely used by organisations similar to C40, which can help with recruitment, as potential applicants will be already familiar with the system.”
Partnership Approach
For C40, the choice of LAKE was an important factor in the selection process. Amy explains:
“Right from the first meeting it was apparent that the team from Lake had a good understanding of our needs and plenty of relevant experience. Also, their partnership approach to system implementation really struck a chord. We felt that here was someone we could work with.”
Adrian Howard, General Manager, for LAKE comments:
“2016 is our 25th year of implementing SunSystems solutions and we have been active in the not for profit sector right from the beginning. Our partnership with C40 represents a further strengthening of our presence in this sector.
SunSystems is particularly well suited to the needs of not for profit organisations. Even more so now that Cloud delivery is an option. By buying into LAKE Cloud, C40 have reduced their reliance on IT support and maintenance, leaving them free to focus on what they do best.”
