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Welcome Message |
Welcome again to the Financial Synergy corporate newsletter, Synopsis. 2010 has started with gusto and the Financial Synergy team has been working hard to set the foundations for a great year ahead.
We have welcomed our new Head of Fund Services, Andrew Wood, who has taken charge of the Administration Division where the team is already benefiting from his strong administration history and accounting expertise.
In Acurity, the developers’ focus on innovation and continuous improvement has resulted in some new enhancements to be released that will make our administration software more accurate, secure and efficient than ever before.
A topic close to my heart is that of ‘helping members help themselves’. Whether facing the challenges of saving for retirement and the ongoing battle for all members to receive adequate financial advice, or educating members in regard to the threat of fraudulent activities in the industry, I continue to dedicate my life, and the mission of Financial Synergy to improving people’s lives by helping enhance their financial security.
Till next time,
David Orford Chairman
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| News & Highlights |
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Helping Members to Help Themselves
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Financial literacy levels among Australians are low by world comparisons and this has been identified as a necessary fight in order to help put Australians in charge of their financial affairs, and for each person to achieve adequate retirement benefits.
To ensure that members can achieve the level of comfort and lifestyle they want in retirement, it is becoming increasingly important to convey information to members that is relevant to their individual situations, so that they can make informed choices about what delivers the best retirement benefit outcomes for them.
Click here to read more>>>
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Focus on Super Fraud
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With approximately $40 billion rolled between super funds each year, the sheer volume of transactions accessing the $1.08 trillion in superannuation savings leaves little room for surprise that superannuation funds have become a lucrative target of organised fraud.
ASIC has recently reported an increase in the number of people attempting to gain illegal early access to their superannuation. More often than not, it has been the result of people either being the victims of identity fraud; or scams where they have agreed to facilitate the early access of their superannuation.
Click here to read more>>>
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SMSFs and the Cooper Review
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SMSFs currently make up the largest number of funds in the superannuation industry and one-third of its assets. This majority and the fact that members are getting involved in their super, making decisions and maximising their retirement savings proves the important role of SMSFs in the industry.
At the SPAA National Conference at the Melbourne Convention Centre in February, Jeremy Cooper gave an overview of the ‘Cooper Review’ to date, focusing on the importance of the SMSF.
Click here to read more >>>
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| Product and Service Updates |
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Smart Software
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Financial Synergy has a reputation for excellence and a dedicated commitment to getting it right. Quality service, innovation and continuous improvement are key values which drive the Development team to constantly deliver better software to our Acurity clients.
Current enhancements and improvements available in Acurity Version 7.7 in May 2010 include:
• Bank Reconciliation – Allows an Acurity Administrator to reconcile Acurity transactions with bank transactions in one simple location, saving time and improving accuracy.
• System Info Page – The System Info page is a recent addition to Acurity, outlining all the key information relating to an Acurity installation, simply, clearly and concisely. This provides troubleshooting assistance, resulting in more efficient, streamlined issue resolution.
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Automated Unit Pricing
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Using an automated workflow system integrated with Acurity has opened the door to endless possibilities for efficient fund administration.
The advantage of Automated Unit Pricing is being able to automatically run timely transactions and reports, including running an entire unit pricing process without having to launch the Acurity system. This enables the user to concentrate more on checking the work and less on the processing of work, encouraging accuracy and timing efficiencies.
Click here to read more >>>
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| Final Word |
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A Voice from the Deep: Life and Death aboard the HMAS Sydney
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Financial Synergy was proud to help sponsor the recent ‘A Voice from the Deep: Life and Death aboard the HMAS Sydney’ exhibition that was showcased at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne.
Rev Dr Robert Hoskin, Chairman of The Uniting Church Beneficiary Fund, has launched a book and art exhibition reflecting on the life of his uncle, Edward Hunter McHaffie, who died in Australia’s worst naval disaster aboard the HMAS Sydney II when it was sunk by the Germans in November 1941 and all 645 crew members were lost at sea.
Dr Hoskins exhibition was on display at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne until 25 January, 2010 from where it has begun to travel around Australia.
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Introducing Andrew
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Full name: Andrew Wood
Position: Head of Fund Services
How long have you been with FS? Since December 7th 2009
Brief outline of role: I am currently looking after the day to day operations of the Administration Division
Career highlights: Loaded question? It has to be commencing my tenure at Financial Synergy
I can’t get by without: A bit corny, but I’d have to say my daughters. I love watching them grow up
Hobbies/Interests: I am an avid sports watcher; I will pretty much watch/attend any sport when I can. However participation is limited to very uncoordinated efforts with a golf club and surfboard
Favourite Restaurant: I often eat at Squires Loft. In summer, I love the balcony at Supper Club
Favourite Movie: Shawshank Redemption
Dream travel destinations: I used to live in Fiji and visited some of the islands up north which were amazing, so if I could go somewhere it would be probably be tropical and laid back
One word to describe you: I think that’s best left for other people to comment on.
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Phillip's Say
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As an engineer coming into the financial services sector nine months ago, I obviously had much to learn – if nothing else the language was different. What I have learnt is that in many ways our client’s business processes are familiar. The project management disciplines required to deliver successful projects are similar and the drive for improved productivity, process reliability and quality of outcomes are the same. The industrialisation of service delivery, it seems to me, however, is still in its infancy in our industry.
My vendor experience with software stems from the industrial process control market (real-time distributed control systems) and the Graphical Information Systems (GIS) market. As a business leader I have overseen the implementation of two major Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems. In all these instances, the software systems were integral to improved business performance and became a key element in the industrialisation of the product delivery process.
Requirements for increased functionality, improved human interfaces and challenges from new underlying hardware, revised operating systems and new database structures are familiar themes across these various industries. The constant drive for increasing system sophistication is also accompanied by a realisation by end users that this comes at a cost – higher costs of acquisition and higher maintenance costs.
One of the surprises for me coming into our industry is the extraordinary value for money delivered by the software platforms available from the market. More so given the constant need to meet the changing regulatory environment. This challenge is not even present in the industries I have been familiar with till now. The cost to software suppliers is not to be underestimated.
I suspect that as industrialisation of service delivery gains pace in our industry, we will see a greater appreciation of the value of the software available. I also suspect that we will see more processes industrialised around the software rather than perpetuating past practices of customising the software to meet the existing processes. I hope you enjoy reading this edition of Synopsis.
Phillip Campbell
Group General Manager
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Let Us Know What You Think
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Email rebecca.monforte@financialsynergy.com.au with your feedback and you could be in the draw to
WIN a Financial Synergy gift-pack to the value of $100.
The Financial Synergy newsletter Synopsis aims to provide readers with an insight into the latest news and developments on our suite of products and services, as well as having our ear to the ground on core industry matters of interest. If you are interested in accessing past issues of Synopsis simply visit our website at www.financialsynergy.com.au and browse our News section.
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