FreeBalance®

Shared Services

Government Resource Planning (GRP) Shared Services:

Optimize Mission Resources with FreeBalance Government-
Specific Solution
FreeBalance for Shared Services
Optimize Mission Resources with Government-Specific Solution
Value for Money
Government missions are expanding while funding has reduced. Government organizations are faced with
doing more with less. Many governments have implemented hosted shared services where government
systems are centrally supported for more efficient and effective service delivery. Yet, hosted shared services
have had disappointing results. Expected savings of up to 20% has not materialized. Standardization has
been difficult to achieve. Other benefits have been difficult to achieve.

New Approach to Hosted Shared Services

SHARED SERVICES BENEFITS

Mission: optimize mission effectiveness Hosting Government Resource Planning (GRP) systems by
through agile deployments, consistent central government services or the private sector should be
citizen-facing systems, ease of reform more efficient than supporting numerous software instances.
and modernization The design of software leveraged for shared services has been

Consolidation: optimize systems costs
problematic.
by eliminating duplication, reducing power
consumption, centralizing management The FreeBalance Accountability Suite Version 7 was designed

Predictability: optimize change and specifically to support hosted shared services. Governments can
compliance costs through
standardization, simple cost and growth
host GRP functionality centrally, leverage private sector hosting
models, improved security, controls and facilities including FreeBalance and integrate centrally and self
disaster recovery hosted applications. Version 7 has been designed to overcome
government shared services challenges.
HOSTED SHARED SERVICES DIFFICULTIES FREEBALANCE APPROACH

Standardization: Difficulty for shared services
Configuration approach including flexible parameters
software to standardize processes across many increases standardization footprint while accommodating
government organizations unique requirements

Migration: Difficulty of migrating data from numerous
Data and system migration tools included
on-premises software with different configuration
Supports phased migration to standards

Deployment: Difficulty for single-instance software to
Deployment approach supports flexible configurations and
support range of government needs multiple system hosts

Adaptation: Difficulty to centrally support changes in
Progressive activation supports configuration changes to
government standards and organizational structures meet new standards

Integration: Difficulty that standardized approaches
Component Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) supports
can reduce integration with needed special purpose tight integration among GRP modules
applications
FreeBalance Accountability Platform provides COTS
approach for unique requirements

Technology modernization: Difficulty to achieve
Pure web component-based SOA approach eliminates
scalability, security, integration and lower power client/server to web translation
consumption with legacy private sector technology
Government-specific software and optimal technical
footprint design reduces need for computing hardware

Governance: Difficulty with shared services
Governance options include full shared services
governance with many software vendors organization integration into FreeBalance software
development lifecycle

TCO: High technology and support costs for managing
Low TCO through government-specific design and
unique processes, standardization, upgrades configuration approach

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FreeBalance®
Shared Services Product Offering
Any and all modules of the FreeBalance Accountability Suite are available for hosted shared services.

Government Performance Management

• Performance Budgeting to support credible budgets, forecasting and improved government
performance including budget preparation, government performance management and a Key
Performance Indicator (KPI) library
• Monitoring and Evaluation to support improved decision-making including records management,
reporting, data mart, dashboards and alerts
• Government Transparency to support publishing performance and budget information to a
transparency portal and computer-aided audit

Public Financials Management

• Budget and Commitment Accounting to support core government financial functions for unitary
governments, national governments, line ministries, sub-national and municipal governments and
projects
• Assets and Inventory to support government fixed assets, stores, fleet and facilities.
• Projects and Job Costing to support project management link budgeting and project accounting to
project estimates and forecasts

Government Treasury Management

• Bank Reconciliation to support multiple currency bank management including reconciliation
processes, migration to a Treasury Single Account (TSA) and foreign exchange gains and losses
• Cash Management to optimize liquidity including cash forecasting based on the commitment cycle,
historical trends and manager reports
• Debt and Investment Management to support debt servicing and the modeling of debt and
investment financial vehicles

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FreeBalance®
Public Expenditures Management
• Expenditures and Purchasing to support expenditure controls for standard expenditures including
payment management, multiple purchasing vehicles and the purchasing cycle
• Procurement to support fiscal discipline on large scale government acquisitions including tendering,
e-procurement, contract and spend management
• Grants and Social Programs including government grant, loan and contribution management

Government Receipts Management

• Non-Tax Revenue to support government sales and other income including sales, permits and
licensing
• Tax Revenue to support tax administration for income, business, import and property
• Billing and Receipts to support receipts collection including utility billing, collections and cashiering

Civil Service Management

• Human Resources to support civil service reform and management including movement, capacity
building, salary planning, performance appraisal and recruitment
• Payroll and Pensions to support government rules for payroll and pensions
• Benefits and Self-Service including civil service benefits, travel and subsistence and self-service
portals
SHARED SERVICES AND CLOUD
Complementary Shared Services COMPUTING

Many governments are not prepared to
There are many hosted shared services installed in have PFM applications hosted in the
governments today. Governments have invested in developing, “cloud” because of security concerns
training and managing these services. Not all processes are
The FreeBalance Accountability Suite
completely integrated in many of these implementations. There Version 7 was designed to operate in the
“cloud”, via shared services and on-
remain numerous gaps in comprehensive shared services.
premises deployment
FreeBalance has expertise in filling these gaps with
Shared services through government-
FreeBalance Accountability Suite modules such as (CSSP) owned infrastructure provides many cloud
Salary Planning. FreeBalance supports integration through computing benefits
legacy and modern methods such as flat files and Web
Many PFM applications such as
Services. The FreeBalance Accountability Suite is built on a e-procurement, budget transparency, tax
self-service and e-recruitment can be
component Service-Oriented Architecture that facilitates effectively and less expensively managed
multiple points of integration. via the cloud with limited security
Many government organizations have unique mandated requirements that cannot be satisfied by shared
service or Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) applications. These specialized applications are expensive to
maintain and difficult to integrate, particularly as technology standards progress. Government organizations
can leverage the COTS supported FreeBalance Accountability Platform, which the FreeBalance
Accountability Suite uses, to develop and maintain these specialized applications. The FreeBalance
Accountability Platform includes a set of reusable and supported government entities or business objects.
This option reduces development and support costs.

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FreeBalance®
Approach to Shared FREEBALANCE STANDARDIZATION APPROACH
Services Standardization
Many processes are standard or should be across government organizations
Process standardization is a
key benefit for shared
services. Standardization
reduces cost for training,
support and upgrading
software.
Privacy, agency
Standardization efforts can run into difficulties
independence, de-
centralization and legal
limitations can make
standardization exercises
difficult.
The pattern of dissimilar
processes expands based on
the number of organizations
compared. Even small
government agencies can have
significant differences in
FreeBalance approach supports standardization and configuration flexibility
mandate. Problems
encountered with
standardization include:

• Disjointed processes
where only parts of
shared processes are
standardized. The comprehensive “line of business” cannot be fully automated leaving government
ministries, departments and agencies with the option of manual processes or creating special purpose
tools.
• Diminishing returns where adapting organizational processes to the standard reduces efficiency or
service delivery.
• Legal and process barriers where standardization cannot be implemented by some organizations.
This can dramatically reduce the return on investment for setting up an expensive shared services
infrastructure if it cannot be leveraged by all government organizations.

FreeBalance Shared Services Technology Approach

FreeBalance overcomes the standardization problem through a confirmation approach where the broad
spectrum of government processes can be parameterized and requires no customization. Multiple
configurations can be supported and the configuration ranges can be narrowed.

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FreeBalance®
Shared Services Deployment Options

FreeBalance supports a wide range of deployment DEPLOYMENT OPTIONS

options. Most shared services offerings are single
hosted only. FreeBalance supports hybrid hosted
implementations that enable some processes to be
hosted on regional or local servers. The regional
server option supports sub-national situations
where some processes are decentralized and
legally must be hosted separately. The local server
option supports situations where the
organizational unit has unique processes. These
hybrid options can integrate with central servers.
DEPLOYMENT OPTION DESCRIPTION

Cloud
System is deployed in commercial infrastructure by FreeBalance and FreeBalance
partners. FreeBalance provides all support, upgrading and maintenance.

Government Hosted
System is deployed centrally by the government. Government determines extent to
which support, upgrading and maintenance is provided by FreeBalance.

Regional Servers
Sub-national governments implement host servers. System information can be
synchronized and consolidated to higher levels of government through Multiple Tier
Government Synchronization (MTGS).Government determines extent to which
support, upgrading and maintenance is provided by FreeBalance.

Local Hosted
Systems are deployed to individual government organizations. System information
can be synchronized and consolidated to central ministries through Multiple Tier
Government Synchronization (MTGS). Government determines extent to which
support, upgrading and maintenance is provided by FreeBalance.

Hybrid
A combination of all server deployment options.

FreeBalance shared services support numerous configuration options. FreeBalance uses a full parameter
configuration approach where all business rules and workflow used by government organizations can be
configured. The FreeBalance Accountability Suite supports multiple configurations in a single server
instance or across multiple servers and via the hybrid deployment.
CONFIGURATION OPTION DESCRIPTION

Standardized
Some or all processes are standardized and identical

Semi-Standardized
Some variability in some processes enabled within a very narrow range

Configurable
Some processes are enabled with the broad range of configuration options available
in the FreeBalance Accountability Suite

Unique Processes
Processes that are unique to some government organizations are supported
including custom domains and specialized application requirements

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FreeBalance®
Governance Options
FreeBalance supports a wide range of FREEBALANCE & SHARED SERVICES GOVERNANCE
shared services deployment and
Governance part of the FreeBalance Shared Services Blueprint
governance options. Some shared
services exercised by governments do not
include central hosting. Government
organizations can achieve cost and
efficiency benefits through shared
enhancement, configuration, and IT
practices.
Governance has become an increasingly
important indicator of shared services
success. Government shared services tend
to succeed best when government
organization service customers can
FreeBalance supports broadest range of deployment and
governance options
impact decisions by the shared services
provider. Good oversight can help align
service provider priorities with customer
needs.
Shared services governance needs active
and comprehensive software
manufacturer participation. Yet, many
government shared services initiatives are
arm's length from the vendor.
FreeBalance, as a specialist in
Government Resource Planning, is an
active governance participant in shared services deployments.
Deployment can be matched with the appropriate governance mechanism to optimize benefits while
mitigating risks. Governance mechanisms can be combined. FreeBalance prefers stronger governance
mechanisms that provide government organizations with significant impact in day-to-day product
development priorities.
GOVERNANCE OPTION DESCRIPTION

Embedded
Government is embedded directly in the FreeBalance product management and
development process with full visibility and participation in requirements, specifications,
test plans, alpha and beta testing

Strategic
Government participates in product Steering Committee with other governments to
determine FreeBalance product roadmap with 2+ year planning horizon

Operational
Cluster of organizations from a single government pool enhancements to ensure that
country-specific requirements are handled with a 1+year planning horizon

User Group
Typical governance approach of pooling needs from many organizations in many
countries – unlike typical user groups, only government requirements are considered
because FreeBalance does not provide solutions to other markets

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FreeBalance®
FreeBalance Shared Services Blueprint
FreeBalance leverages the ISO- FREEBALANCE SHARED SERVICES METHODOLOGY
9001/2000 certified and unique
FreeBalance Shared Services Blueprint adapted to meet customer requirements
i3+qM methodology for
government shared services
deployment. The i3+qM
methodology was developed
specifically for GRP
implementations by combining
best-practices in
implementation and
development adapted to meet
the unique needs in
government.
The FreeBalance Shared
Services Blueprint is a
FreeBalance Shared Services leverages proven ISO-9001/2000 certified GRP
comprehensive approach to processes
governance, implementation
and support. The Blueprint is
adapted for each shared
services engagement. The
FreeBalance methodology
includes planning,
implementation and
sustainability services.
The entire software lifecycle is
accessible to shared services
customers.
The Blueprint addresses data
migration, standardization,
technology, deployment,
integration issues and
opportunities. The
configurations of hosted
systems are identified.

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FreeBalance®
About FreeBalance
FreeBalance is a For Profit Social Enterprise
(FOPSE) software company that helps
governments around the world to leverage robust
Government Resource Planning (GRP) technology
to accelerate country growth. Proven FreeBalance Contact FreeBalance
GRP products and focused methodology supports T: +1 613 236-5150 (outside North America)
info@freebalance.com
financial reform and modernization to improve www.freebalance.com
governance, transparency and accountability.
Good governance is required to improve Canada
development results. FreeBalance ensures high FreeBalance (Headquarters)
success rates for governments under stress to those 1101 Prince of Wales Drive
in the G8 and enables governments to improve Suite 210, Ottawa, Ontario
Canada K2C 3W7
performance and comply with government goals. T: (613) 236-5150
Unlike other Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) Toll Free: 1-877-887-3733 (North America only)
vendors, FreeBalance is socially responsible as F: (613) 236-7785
core, customer-centric and focused 100% on
government. Guatemala
FreeBalance
The FreeBalance Accountability Suite is a EuroPlaza World Business Center
comprehensive fully web-based Government Tower 1 – Suite 903 ‘A’
Resource Planning software suite that supports the 5 Avenue 5-55 Zone 14
entire budget cycle and strengthens governance by Guatemala City, Guatemala
improving budget transparency, fiscal control and
Kosovo
predictability. The proven Suite integrates FreeBalance
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through innovative Government 2.0 technology 10000 Pristina, Kosovo
and links budget controls with objectives to enable
governments to improve performance, Portugal
transparency and comply with government goals. FreeBalance
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Unlike other Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) No. 15-B, 2D
software, the FreeBalance Accountability Suite is Linda-a-Velha, Portugal
proven in government implementations around the
word, programmed for government and Uganda
progressively activated to adapt to current and FreeBalance Inc.
changing government context. Plot No. 23, Soliz House
Lumumba Avenue, Kampala, Uganda
FreeBalance i3+qM is an integrated product
development, implementation and sustainability United States
services methodology designed for Government FreeBalance
Resource Planning to ensure long term 1001 Connecticut Avenue, Suite 720
Washington, DC. 20036
implementation success. T: 1-877-887-3733 (North America Toll Free)

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FreeBalance®
 www.freebalance.com

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FreeBalance®