Situation
Finance department knew it was in dire need of a budgeting system, but realized it was only the tip of the iceberg when they looked at all the ways they needed to monitor, manage, and measure the District’s financial performance.
Reasons
The District was still using an old DOS-based budgeting system that was conceptually solid, but not functionally adequate for collecting, comparing, analyzing, and reporting financial and productivity data at a micro level. It was not particularly user-friendly, flexible, or fast, and simply couldn’t produce the output needed to set, monitor, measure, and improve performance levels.
What they needed
A combination budgeting, decision-making, reporting, monitoring, trending, and measurement tool offering exceptional flexibility, both in how data is entered and how it is used, and capable of functioning at an absolute detail level.
What we provided
A powerful software and service suite that captures comprehensive raw data and transforms it into useful information instantaneously—can aggregate it, organize it, drill down into it, manipulate it, and create something out of it that facilitates making decisions and taking action.
Some of the results Accuracy of data—Higher quantity and level of output allows budgeting at micro level—down to individual FTE position. It has the capacity to compare actual numbers, budget numbers, flex budget numbers; analyze against figures from previous years; and graph expenditures down to specific suppliers, etc.
Access to data—Using many options for accessing and working with information—applying “what if” scenarios, making across-the-board adjustments, creating custom reports. Bi-weekly payroll summaries, for example, trend salary/staffing data—overtime, standby, call-back, double time, etc.—in seconds.
Controlling costs—Budget parameters are set in advance and monitored. Automatic alerts are triggered when performance veers from plan. Puts managers in position to determine cause of variance and develop immediate plan of action.
Measuring productivity—Currently using INSIGHTS to track managers’ response rates to automated variance alerts, connect responses to results and outcomes, and trace the positive impact
on improved institutional performance to comply with Joint Commission accreditation requirements.
Pioneers Memorial Healthcare District serves the healthcare needs of southeastern California’s Imperial Valley at an accredited, 107-bed acute care facility; three community health centers; and an occupational health center. Installed INSIGHTS® software and service solution in February 2006. Current number of users: 40
Feedback “Probably one of the strongest attractions of the INSIGHTS system is that it is designed, installed, and serviced by people who actually sat in my chair and lived my life—not by some IT engineer in a huge software company. The people behind INSIGHTS intimately know what hospital CFOs, boards, executive teams, and frontline managers need. So, the system intuitively reflects the thought processes involved, the inputs and outcomes required, and the need to be able to drill down to an absolute detail level. INSIGHTS has the power to influence financial and operational performance. And it puts that power right in my hands.”
Dan Heckathorne
Associate Administrator
for Finance & CFO
We Can Help You Tell us about your critical issues and we’ll help you envision an effective INSIGHTS® solution
