Hartco Income Fund Selects SAS® Financial Intelligence to Automate Centralized Budgeting, Planning and Consolidation

IT solution provider expects to increase efficiencies and productivity in the financial reporting process

MONTRÉAL  (Sept. 19, 2006)  –  SAS, the leader in business intelligence, today announced that Hartco Income Fund (Hartco), a leading Canadian information technology solution provider, has selected SAS^® Financial Intelligence solutions to support the budgeting, planning and consolidation processes across its operating units. 

Following its conversion to an income fund in 2005 and the resulting changes to its operating structure, Hartco required a centralized and automated approach to its budgeting, planning and consolidation processes. The use of spreadsheets had become too inflexible to manage the increasing complexity of Hartco’s financial processes. 

“The ability to use SAS Financial Intelligence for the budgeting, planning and legal consolidation process will provide the financial team at Hartco with the means to plan and manage its business and close its books more efficiently,” said Carl Gauvreau, Chief Financial Officer of Hartco Income Fund. “The ability to perform these processes in an integrated and automated fashion, combined with enhanced analytical capabilities, will allow us to improve the speed and quality of reporting and decision making.” 

The flexibility of SAS’ financial solution will allow Hartco’s end users to perform and deliver financial information through a familiar Microsoft Excel user interface. With sophisticated and systematic budgeting and planning functionality, operations managers and the central finance team will realize significant efficiencies and process improvements. 

“The finance team at Hartco understands the strategic role it can contribute to the success of the company,” said Roger Shears, Director of Financial Intelligence for SAS Canada. “Implementing a solution that reduces time spent on consolidating financial data and provides powerful business forecasting capabilities to ensure financial reporting transparency and accuracy, will allow the Hartco finance team to enhance its role as a strategic business advisor.” 

SAS Financial Intelligence helps companies report, manage and improve the financial performance of their entire organizations. This integrated group of SAS offerings supports strategic decisions and helps finance teams:

• Ensure financial transparency.
• Streamline consolidation and reporting.
• Improve the accuracy of plans and budgets.
• Align day-to-day operations with long-term goals.
• Predict and respond to market changes.
• Reduce costs and streamline processes.
• Understand profit drivers and grow profitability.
• Ease the strain of compliance requirements.

About Hartco Income Fund

Hartco Income Fund has been a leader in the Canadian information technology business for more than 30 years. Through its operating divisions, which together include more than 90 commercial and retail locations across Canada, Montréal -based Hartco Income Fund delivers digital technology products and services to consumers of every age and to private and public sector organizations of every size. For the 11-month period ended December 2005, Hartco Income Fund’s operating revenues were close to $600 million.

In commercial markets, the company has more than 60 locations across Canada, operating under the names of Metafore, MicroAge and Microserv. In retail markets, the CompuSmart network has more than 30 locations from coast to coast, serving consumers and small businesses.

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