Accountancy Age has learned a group of sub-postmasters have joined together to bring legal action against the Post Office. Court papers are expected to be filed in the coming weeks.

The action originates with the Justice for Sub-postmasters Alliance (JFSA) and is over the use of Horizon accounting software made for the Post Office by Fujitsu.

A number of sub-postmasters have lost their positions over alleged accounting
irregularities, while some have also faced fraud allegations in the courts.

But the sub-postmasters claim that errors in the system software are to blame.

The JFSA comprises more than 100 people who argue they are being wrongly accused of accounting dis­crepancies and allege that the accounting system is failing to properly record transactions.

JFSA is spearheaded by former sub-postmaster Alan Bates, who lost his position over accounting discrepancies which he attributes to the Horizon system.

Bates said the Post Office relies on a clause in all contracts which states that the sub-postmaster is liable for all accounts.

However, Bates argues that the contract was created in 1994, before the Horizon system was brought into the branches.

Sub-postmasters are also concerned about an imp­ending upgrade to Horizon, which was due to take place in November last year. Concern centres on whether an audit of the current system is undertaken before the upgrade goes ahead. It is understood that the upgrade will go ahead later this year despite postponements.

The JFSA has expressed concern that the accounts of many sub-postmasters have not been examined for up to eight years, which it believes would highlight the system’s problems.

Accountancy Age has learned of a case against a sub-postmaster that was adjourned by a judge in the Midlands so that his legal team could commission an expert to present evidence on whether an IT audit of the system was necessary.

The sub-postmaster denies any wrongdoing and claims the software was misreporting transactions.

The judge suspended pro­ceedings after being presented with articles about the row between sub-postmasters and the Post Office in the press, including Accountancy Age.

The expert’s findings are yet to be heard in court, with a due date to be set in September.
Accountancy Age has seen Post Office documents which reveal that last year Fujitsu claimed it was “fixing” 92% of urgent Horizon problems within six hours and 91% of non-urgent Horizon issues by the end of the next working day.

Fujitsu declined to comment about the issue, and referred calls to the Post Office.
Allegations about Horizon first appeared in October last year when 30 sub-postmasters came forward with complaints about the system. They had been informed they collectively owed £430,000 to the Post Office.

The Post Office issued a statement saying: “Virtually all the UK’s 12,000 Post Office branches operate entirely professionally, using the Horizon system, without any accounting discrepancies and without accumulating abnormal debts.

“…In the very few instances where there is evidence that the finances of a branch are not properly managed or where money has gone missing, Post Office Ltd must fully investigate, and take necessary action, including legal action in the last resort.

“The decision to prosecute is not taken lightly and in every case where action has been taken no court has found evidence to believe the Horizon system’s integrity to be deficient.”

IT experts watching developments believed allegations about an accounting system could be damaging and needed clearing up, whether true or not.

David Turner, group marketing director at accounting software company CODA, said last year: “With an organisation as big as the Post Office, it is important to everyone that they have confidence in their IT systems – especially if they are taking on banking systems.”

He added it is vital the Post Office does “something” to “dispel” any rumours of faults because reputation is critical when it comes to accounting.

IN OUR VIEW

Rarely has there been a more pressing need for a forensic accountant to audit an accounting system. With a High Court battle on the cards, and various smaller courts around the country all calling for an audit, the Post Office now faces compelling claims to undertake a serious audit of its IT. The argument is becoming almost impossible to ignore.

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EDMONTON, ALBERTA–(Marketwire – Feb. 10, 2011) - Serenic Corporation (TSX VENTURE:SER), (“Serenic” or the “Corporation”), a leading publisher of financial management and business operations software for nonprofits, international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the public sector, announced today that Serenic Navigator nonprofit accounting software has been chosen by the Mental Health Center of Denver (MHCD).

MHCD is a private, nonprofit organization and the largest provider of behavioral health services in the Rocky Mountain region serving the behavioral health needs of residents of Denver. Nationally recognized for its progressive approach to measuring and tracking recovery, MHCD provides community based services to more than 15,000 adults, children and families annually in over 35 locations, including outpatient and residential clinics.

The organization wanted to replace FundWare, its previous financial software, to centralize its systems and efficiently provide users with access to up-to-date information. It needed an integrated solution designed to enable real-time data synchronization and reporting across multiple sites and help track available grant funds and monitor project outcomes.

After reviewing options including FundWare, Microsoft Dynamics GP and Sage MIP Fund Accounting, MHCD chose Serenic Navigator with Serenic’s AwardVision grants management software and Serenic Portals. MHCD particularly liked that AwardVision will provide a single repository for grant compliance information, program monitoring and funding data integrated with its financial system. 

“Serenic’s suite will integrate with our existing software programs like patient billing, making real-time reports available to the people who need to see them in the right formats,” said Cynthia Nelson, MHCD’s controller. “Software like Navigator will help users do their jobs better and eliminate the need to create spreadsheet reports outside of the financial system. We expect Navigator to help us optimize every dollar and reduce or eliminate many administrative costs, so we can maximize funds directed to the delivery of services.”

Serenic is installing Navigator for 12 concurrent users and 75 Portal users at MHCD. Portals for purchase requisition and approval processing will help the organization create a paperless system to control expenses against available restricted and unrestricted grant funds. Using Portals for expense approvals will expedite purchase approvals and can integrate with Microsoft Outlook for internal communication.

“MHCD is a great example of how a nonprofit organization can leverage Serenic Navigator to empower its decision makers by giving them access to timely, accurate data,” said Serenic CEO and President Randy Keith. “Navigator provides a single database of record across an enterprise to help an organization like MHCD ensure its financial transactions are transparent and accurate.”

About Serenic Corporation

Serenic Corporation is an industry-leading publisher of mission-critical software products that satisfy the unique and sophisticated functionality requirements of nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, and government agencies. Serenic delivers highly scalable software solutions which serve the needs of an international clientele, regardless of their size. Our multi-language and multi-currency capabilities allow us to meet the unique requirements for accounting and operational systems that must be implemented in multiple locations throughout the world.

Built on Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Serenic’s products deliver fully integrated solutions that can, in many organizations, eliminate the need for multiple third-party business applications. A Microsoft Gold Certified Industry Solutions Vendor, the Corporation’s products include the highly acclaimed Serenic Navigator, Serenic DonorVision, Serenic AwardVision, Serenic
CommunityCare and Serenic MinistryView. In addition, the Corporation is the exclusive developer of the human resources and payroll products for Microsoft Dynamics NAV users in North America.

Serenic earned membership in the 2010 Microsoft Dynamics Inner Circle and the Microsoft Dynamics President’s Club, both prestigious achievements that acknowledge Serenic as a top performer within the Microsoft partner community.

Serenic Corporation is a public company with offices in Edmonton, Alberta and Lakewood, Colo. It trades under the symbol “SER” on the TSX Venture Exchange in Canada. Additional information about the Company is available at www.serenic.com.

Company and product names mentioned herein may be trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

By Randy Keith, President and CEO, Serenic Corporation

(303) 980-6007

The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

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ENCINO, Calif., — Astera Software, a leading provider of data integration solutions through its Centerprise Data Integration platform, announces the release of its Centerprise Connector for Intuit QuickBooks, the number one rated business accounting software. When combined with other connectors from Astera, QuickBooks connector enables businesses to derive operational efficiencies by tightly integrating QuickBooks with other business applications such as Salesforce.com, Microsoft Dynamics CRM and others, as well as with industry leading databases, data warehouses, and technologies.

Ibrahim Surani, President and CEO of Astera, says, “Our Centerprise Connector for QuickBooks enables small and medium businesses to quickly integrate their applications using Centerprise’s drag and drop user interface. This substantially increases operational efficiencies and minimizes the need for manual entry into multiple systems, improving financial controls and removing the likelihood of error.”

The Centerprise Connector for Intuit QuickBooks enables rapid integration and synchronization of QuickBooks data with internal and external applications and databases, easily and affordably. Centerprise is especially suited for companies that do not have dedicated IT resources available for building custom integration programs. Many companies turn to Astera’s Professional Services team to ensure their project meets business requirements, and is delivered on time.

Centerprise Connectors enable the Centerprise Integration engine to communicate quickly and easily with specific enterprise business applications, like Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, QuickBooks and more, as well as with industry leading databases, data warehouses, and technologies such as EDI and web services. Some Connectors include pre-configured workflows as well as dataflows.

Companies that specialize in accounting, ERP and CRM consulting have found Centerprise and its library of Connectors deliver incremental business value enabling them to deliver projects more quickly, efficiently, and reuse their learning on multiple client projects. Selecting Centerprise as their primary integration and migration tool delivers numerous business benefits.

Centerprise’s parallel processing engine delivers the performance and scalability to efficiently process large data volumes. Its open architecture and 100 percent .NET 4.0 APIs make it both customizable and extensible. Centerprise works in native 64-bit mode providing performance and scalability to deliver performance faster than that of other enterprise architectures in real-time scenarios.

About Astera Software

Astera Software is a leading provider of data integration solutions. Astera is focused on eliminating complexities in integration processes through continuous innovation.

Astera’s Centerprise Solutions enable organizations to complete their integration and migration projects more quickly and easily by using Centerprise Data Integrator and pre-configured Centerprise Connectors, created for project and business needs. Astera’s flexible and extendable Centerprise platform is fast becoming the platform of choice for medium and large enterprises and government agencies. An innovative parallel processing architecture and smart optimizations enable Centerprise to meet the needs of large enterprise scale data integration projects.

For more information, please visit www.astera.com

Astera® and Centerprise® are registered trademarks of Astera Software.

Astera Software, Centerprise and Centerprise Connectors are registered trademarks of Astera Software. Other names used may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Web Site: http://www.astera.com

Contacts:

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