Pastel Software Zimbabwe is this year once again, as in many years past, one of the sponsors of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Winter School.

With Pastel software packages the most commonly used accounting packages among small to medium-sized businesses in Zimbabwe, Pastel Software Zimbabwe maintains a keen interest in the activities of the Institute, all of whose members are either accountants or auditors.

In addition to a range of accounting packages for all sizes of small to medium-sized businesses, Pastel has software designed specifically for auditors and bookkeeping and accounting firms to make their work easier and quicker, particularly when working with accounts compiled with Pastel programmes.

Using this software, Sage Pastel Auditor, to audit accounts cuts considerably the audit time required, thus ensuring thorough audits can be done more cost-effectively.  It is estimated it saves an auditor about 15 minutes per hour.

Due to the new demands on and expectations of the auditing process, it has become increasingly difficult for auditors to do a thorough job without the cost of the audit being prohibitive. Sage Pastel Auditor largely overcomes this problem.

“Today auditors are in a race against time and cost. There is limited time to work through all the relevant material that needs to be gone through for thorough enough audits. The cost is often prohibitive. As a result audits may not be thorough enough, which may result in increased audit risks,” said Pastel Software Zimbabwe managing director Rob Watson.

“Sage Pastel Auditor makes the auditor’s job much easier and more cost effective. It gives an auditor an overview of the business and makes it easier to identify the key areas requiring urgent attention,” he said.

Sage Pastel Auditor is Microsoft-Excel based. Once information has been extracted from a Sage Pastel accounting package into Sage Pastel Auditor, it is possible to work on spreadsheets without being connected to the source of the information.

The software produces ratios, trend analysis, statutory reports and accounting and management packs incorporating Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), as well as other business information.
 
“The programme is very flexible,” Mr Watson said. “It draws information from the Pastel programme that has been used for the accounts. Journal entries made in Sage Pastel Auditor automatically update the accounting package.”

Auditors can use the system’s comprehensive report and drill-down capabilities to examine transactions in detail. This, Mr Watson said, speeds up the auditing process considerably.

He said updates on the software are available from the Sage Pastel Auditor website, making it easy to keep abreast of the latest developments in reporting trends and statutory developments.

The most popular Pastel accounting packages in Zimbabwe are Pastel Partner and Pastel Evolution. Anther in common use is Pastel Xpress.

The Pastel Business Intelligence Centre (BIC) module, an Excel-based financial reporting tool, can be added on to both Partner and Evolution packages.

There are also the simpler packages, Pastel Invoicing and Pastel My Business, which is a simple and basic accounting package for which little accounting knowledge is needed.

Pastel software is popular not only in Zimbabwe but in South Africa, from where it originates, and in many other countries in Africa. It is in use in many other parts of the world too, including Australia and the United Kingdom.

Pastel Software Zimbabwe provides all the training and back-up required for Pastel products. Its training school runs regular courses on Pastel Partner and Pastel Evolution.

“Pastel products are flexible, easy to add onto and designed with the user in mind. They make life easier for the accountant, bookkeeper and auditor, leaving businesses with more time to spend on marketing and sales,” Mr Watson said.

“Feedback from users is valued highly and often contributes to improvements that are introduced in new versions of the various software packages.