Cambridge Regional College continues with Asset4000 to gain tighter control over fixed assets

East Anglian based college uses specialist fixed asset software alongside Symmetry

Cambridge Regional College, the further education institute specialising in vocational studies, is using RAM’s specialist fixed asset accounting solution (Asset4000) to manage its diverse range of assets. The software is being used alongside the Symmetry accounting software to bring extra control and reporting functionality to the fixed asset management function.

Vicky Parrett, Payroll, Capital & Treasury Manager at the college, was involved with the original implementation. She explains, “Prior to Asset4000, we had used RAM’s text based system to control the asset register. When it was due for review, everyone agreed that we should upgrade to the Windows version because there were so many advantages to managing fixed assets with a specialist solution.

 “By recording assets on a separate system, we have far more flexibility,” continued Parrett. “It gives us the ability to access detailed historical data, which is not possible with many other methods. In addition, the higher level of analysis we can record gives us a greater reporting capability. For example, the way an asset is funded is recorded at the acquisition stage and we can generate reports on Asset4000 to analyse depreciation values for each type of asset, whether it be grant funded or purchased.”

“A specialist system not only provides extra functionality but it allows us to keep very tight control over the asset information, added Parrett. If an error is made entering information, we are able to go back to a previous period, correct the error and run depreciation again without it having any effect on our Symmetry ledgers. The information can be entered into Symmetry using a journal or csv import.”

The College, which has over 4,000 full-time and 6,000 part time students, is using Asset4000 to record assets such as engineering equipment, catering equipment, IT items and building developments. Even assets below the capitalisation amount are added in groups so that each item is accounted for. This enables the finance team to maintain a full audit history for the entire register.

“Symmetry is excellent for all of our accounting requirements but Asset4000 give us the extra benefits we need for asset management,” concluded Parrett. “Simply being able to forecast depreciation for future periods and different asset types makes it an essential business tool. It's so easy to use and has a vast range of reports as standard, such as the balance sheet report, monthly acquisition report and the depreciation summary. Any user specific reports required can be easily set up through the report generator, allowing timely access to accurate data every month. I would recommend anyone with a fixed asset management requirement to use Asset4000 it really makes a substantial difference to the way we work.”

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