Coronation replaces multi-currency spreadsheets with streamlined budget control.

Coronation Fund Managers is a Cape Town-headquartered asset management firm founded in 1993, built on a single-minded focus on delivering superior long-term returns. Investment-led and owner-managed, with staff holding 25% of the company, Coronation operates as an integrated global investment business with offices across South Africa — Johannesburg, Durban, Pretoria — and internationally in London, Dublin, and Namibia.

As the firm's geographic footprint grew, so did the complexity of its budgeting process. Sylvia Peter, Accountant at Coronation, was responsible for consolidating budget submissions from managers spread across multiple cost centres — each entering figures in three different currencies. Tracking which version was current, reconciling discrepancies, and correcting errors that crept in during manual consolidation consumed more time with each cycle. As the limitations became harder to absorb, Coronation began investigating dedicated budgeting software.

"We were consolidating spreadsheets from managers across all of our cost centres, in 3 different currencies. It was becoming very difficult to keep track of multiple versions and errors crept in. It was not a fun process." — Sylvia Peter, Accountant at Coronation

Coronation evaluated several dedicated budgeting packages before making a decision. Competing products offered broader report libraries, but volume alone was not the deciding factor. Other solutions offered larger numbers of reports, says Sylvia, "but IDU-Concept's were the most useful. We could see that accountants had a strong role in developing the software – it addresses our real needs very well. Above all, IDU-Concept really stood out for its ease of use." — Sylvia Peter, Accountant at Coronation

IDU-Concept consolidated Coronation's multi-currency budget data into a single platform, removing the version-control risk that had defined previous cycles. Line managers — including those without a finance background — could enter budget data directly into both budgeting and performance tracking, with the system's intuitive design keeping the process accessible across the business. Built-in reporting gave the finance team real-time visibility, whilst line-item commentary meant context travelled alongside the numbers.

Mark Sayle, Account Manager at IDU, reflects:

"Supporting Coronation's journey from spreadsheet complexity to streamlined control has been incredibly rewarding. Their adoption of IDU shows how ease of use and transparency can transform financial management, empowering both finance and line managers to engage confidently with the numbers." — Mark Sayle, Account Manager, IDU

"IDU-Concept really stood out for its ease of use. It has transformed our budgeting process, making it faster, more accurate, and far more transparent. What used to be a frustrating, error-prone task with spreadsheets is now a streamlined system that engages both finance and line managers." — Sylvia Peter, Accountant, Coronation Fund Managers

The outcomes for Coronation were clear across four areas:

— Spreadsheet complexity eliminated. Consolidating data across cost centres and three currencies became straightforward, and the version-control problems that had defined previous cycles fell away.

— Ease of use drove adoption. Both the finance team and line managers engaged actively in budgeting, driven by the system's intuitive design — accessible to staff without a finance background.

— Real-time visibility established. Spending could be tracked as it happened, with accurate reporting and line-item commentary giving the team context alongside the numbers.

— Cost-effective relative to larger alternatives. Coronation gained all of this at a fraction of the cost of solutions from larger vendors.