Simplifying the complex
Accounting and financial reporting software
Keen to upgrade its investment reporting system – both internally and for its clients – a Gisborne accounting and advisory business located in Tairāwhiti with a financial services business with global connections called on Abletech for help. The result is a smart, efficient, bespoke solution that’s improved business efficiency while helping clients to achieve their dreams.
BDO Gisborne is an independently owned and operated accounting and financial advisory business, with the backing of 15 BDO offices within the national network and approximately 1,800 worldwide. With a proud and rich history of serving a diverse client base in Tairāwhiti and on the East Coast for 100 years - their people are deeply connected and committed to making a positive impact within their local community, and have an open mindset towards more efficient ways of working. It's almost 80 staff say success is all about being local for locals, and keeping a constant lookout for better ways to do what they do.
In 2020, BDO Gisborne reached out for assistance. Some components/aspects of its IT system were showing signs of age, and the business needed a more robust investment reporting system that would work for both its staff and its investor clients. An off-the-shelf system just didn’t cut it.
“We wanted a flexible reporting system for our team, and the ability to generate personalised investment reports that our clients could understand and that clearly linked to other BDO documents,” says Advisory Associate and head of Business Transformation, Steve Ostler.
Abletech used Ruby on Rails and a Postgres database for the application – a decision that reflected its wide experience in using Rails to integrate with APIs and generate PDF reports. The team’s knowledge meant they could focus on fine-tuning the reports so they presented the information exactly as BDO expected.
Abletech: building bespoke
Steve comments that choosing BDO’s partner for the project was pretty straightforward. The company knew that Abletech had built Sharesight – the award-winning tool that it was already using for its investment portfolio reporting and tracking. Sharesight would continue to have a key role in the new system, and after meeting the Abletech team the decision was easy.
“They were thoughtful, friendly and easy to talk to,” says Steve. “We felt safe knowing we were dealing with people who understood our objectives and the products we were working with.”
Meeting the need
Today, BDO Gisborne’s investment team are producing comprehensive, accurate investment reports for their internal check-and-review system, and comprehensive, tailored reports for their clients – both on-call and for annual reporting purposes. BDO Gisborne is benefiting from the world’s best, most reliable technology, purpose-designed to meet its needs.
“We’re delighted,” says Steve. “Everyone benefits, and the feedback has been fantastic.”
The Abletech way
- Working closely with BDO to understand the reporting requirements of their customers
- Gaining a detailed understanding of the Sharesight APIs and how they can be utilised to deliver the required reports
- Gaining feedback from BDO as the reports were ready and responding to issues as they were identified
- Monitoring and supporting the application after launch to implement minor adjustments as needed
Technologies used in the solution
- Ruby on Rails
- PostgreSQL
- Node.js
- Stimulus
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