
Adapt. Pivot. Look Ahead.
Providing a rock-solid EMS solution for municipalities, to benefit local communities.
“We don’t need to refer to what was done in the past. It no longer applies. Adapt. Pivot. And look ahead.” – Busani Ndlovu, CEO Inzalo EMS
Inzalo EMS has been on a remarkable journey to transform the financial health of our municipalities. National Treasury realised the great need for standardised accounting and reporting systems to help municipalities transact and manage finances in a consistent manner. They needed a solid, secure system that could provide local leadership with an enterprise system to safeguard municipal funds and ensure continued service delivery. It was time to adapt and implement solutions to support that.
Rising to the challenge
We were eager to take on the challenge and already had an in-depth understanding of the existing processes, systems and accounting practices at a municipal level in order to develop a perfect-fit solution. Our background in local government ensured that we understood both the challenges and what would be required to solve them. We were selected as one of five preferred suppliers and set out to develop a standardised accounting system that could serve all requirements for the Municipal Standard Chart of Accounts (mSCOA).
It was important for us to have a firm grasp of mSCOA financial management processes, policy formulation, budgeting, in-year reporting frameworks and statements. All this valuable data would need to feed directly and securely into National Treasury’s reporting framework to enable best practice in transparency, accountability and governance at a municipal level.
No shortcuts
Timelines were tight, but we realised we had to build this solution from the ground up. We were vehement about data integrity and protection. So, we took no shortcuts and avoided third-party plugins and integrations that could save time but would certainly create the risk of security breaches.
Our integrated system had to ensure compliance with Treasury’s regulations at every level. These regulations are in place to protect much needed municipal funds and reduce the risk of unnecessary waste, fraud and corruption. We were adamant that we would protect Treasury’s investment by providing a rock-solid solution for our municipalities which in turn would benefit our local communities.
Addressing the skills gap
As with all large-scale system implementations, unless the users adapt to, and utilize it fully and correctly, the investment would be wasted. That meant that we had to come alongside Government to address the skills gap in municipal finance with valuable training programmes. We inducted SAIPA, SAICA and CIMA trainees into our programmes to upskill the users of our EMS. It has been such a rewarding initiative. We developed an all-encompassing programme for aspiring individuals. Apart from the requisite material, we gave them the necessary context and exposure for a rich learning experience. We also conducted frequent field training at various municipalities to ensure that best practices are being upheld throughout. By the time they completed their training, they were ready to take on the role of Chief Financial Officer at a local government level.
Solutions-driven thinking
Whilst designing our skills development programmes we understood that we needed a new breed of accounting professionals that could think out the box. We encouraged solutions-driven thinking. How can we create sustainable revenue streams that can curb municipal reliance on national government’s equitable share? South Africans owe billions of Rands to municipalities for services and utilities – this amount is accumulating at a disproportionate rate. We developed the InzaloPay prepaid utilities system as one of the solutions to this problem.
Data that serves our nation
Looking ahead, we’re confident that we’ve developed both an Enterprise Management System and a financial training programme that benefits and serves our nation well. We’re also very excited about the Business Intelligence (BI) tool that we’ve developed to support the decision-making process of our municipal management teams. We knew that our EMS would contain valuable secure data that would empower management teams to make good judgement calls and sound decisions.
The tool is also pre-programmed with compliance formats that can dice data quickly and efficiently to generate daily, monthly or quarterly reports and statements. Our Municipal Managers, Councillors, Portfolio Chairs and Ward Councillors can now track project expenditure whenever they need it. They can literally track every Rand that has been spent so that they can make informed decisions based on complete and up-to-date expenditure tracking – even if they don’t have an accounting or financial management background.
We are proud of these initiatives that are saving time, simplifying complex decisions by providing accurate information, and empowering our leaders to govern and steward resources well.
Inzalo EMS is a Level 1 B-BBEE contributor specialising in public sector integrated technologies, enterprise management solutions and multi-disciplinary professional services. It is wholly owned by Inzalo Utility Systems – the only Level 1 B-BBEE water meter manufacturer in South Africa and member of the Black Industrialist Programme run by the South African Department of Trade and Industry.