ASFP were keen to understand their current financial situation and discover how to enhance their practices going forward. Prime’s Business Services Team were able to assist on both fronts and approached ASFP with a clear, calculated approach.
Reflecting on the commencement of their work together, ASFP’s Operations Director, Nadine Saxon, said that “we moved to Prime around six years ago to support our accounting and payroll requirements and the relationship has grown into a strong and trusted partnership.
“Around two years ago, we wanted to take a more purposeful and structured approach to our accounting, particularly around the use of deferred income.”
To support this, Prime’s Business Services Team conducted an initial review of the existing processes. From this, they generated a report detailing the weaknesses and issues that were present, as well as a detailed guide on how to address them. This review highlighted best practices and efficiencies with a focus on enhancing the processes rather than just making slight adjustments. To ensure that the report would be effective, Prime’s Business Services Team discussed the findings with the team from ASFP, taking the opportunity to discuss any questions or concerns. Nadine recalls how “Prime advised us on the best approach and supported this transition through staff training and ongoing guidance, which has been invaluable.”
The training of some of ASFP’s accounts staff involved helping them to better understand the more technical aspects of the work, including how to recognise, calculate and post deferred income, prepayments and accruals.
The support offered by Prime’s Business Services Team was ongoing and able to be scaled depending on the requirements of ASFP. This was to enable Prime’s Business Services Team to support financial reporting to the ASFP council, who oversee the governance of the Association. Initially, a monthly site visit allowed the accounts staff to receive ongoing support with any questions. According to Nadine, the support provided “a valuable level of separation, transparency, and assurance, which is crucial for good governance.”
This was alongside Prime’s Business Services Team supporting the completion of the VAT return and Management Accounts each quarter. As the team at ASFP has become more confident, the support from Prime’s Business Services Team has been scaled back, but they are still on hand should any new questions arise.
Nadine notes that “Prime currently cover our accounts and payroll, both of which are run efficiently and reliably.
“Overall, we have an excellent partnership with Prime and value both their technical expertise and their supportive approach.”