Pahase II : Detailed Design Considerations

Given below are certain considerations that the MFI needs to bear in mind before implementing Beacon. BeaconTM is quite versatile in handling most of the below considerations and this section acts as a guideline for an MFI implementing systems.

Assessing accounting systems

• Beacon^TM will prevent users from easily moving from one accounting period to another. If a user can readily enter transactions in any accounting period, the integrity of the accounts is compromised. To ensure proper controls, Beacon^TM will typically require users to post transactions to the general ledger before moving to a different accounting period.
• Beacon^TM will always have password access, to prevent unauthorized use and restrict specific users to specific tasks.
• Beacon^TM will print all relevant auditing information, especially for transaction reports such as a general ledger transaction report.

Assessing portfolio systems

Because of the complexity and importance of loan portfolio management, an institution assessing software for this purpose needs to give careful consideration to the following areas:

• Product account numbering
• Disbursement policies
• Repayment scheduling
• Interest calculations
• Fee calculations
• Penalty calculations
• Links to savings
• Rescheduling and write-off procedures.

Completing the design

• Description and flowchart of how the basic data will be entered and stored
• Description and flowchart of all staff required and their duties
• Description and examples of all printouts and reports that will be generated by the system
• Definitions of all indicators generated by the system
• Detailed list of all functionality required by the system for the financial products
• Description and flowchart of the flow of information and reports through the system
• Description of internal control and confirmation procedures for the information flow
• Security procedures for user access and data backup.