Mr. Sekiguchi: It was actually in March, 2009 that we firmed up our intention and signed a contract to introduce TRANS-Account. It was around this time that we felt that our existing accounting software, which was not specifically for the shipping industry, was reaching it limits for our business. We had long had the intention to change our system and our opportunity to introduce TRANS-Account came from participation in a seminar held by AIS. System experts from our company also participated and after that, we needed no time to decide to introduce the system and sign a contract.

Mr. Sekiguchi: For example, from the staff`s point of view, the administrative load has been dramatically reduced. There has been a marked decrease in multiple inputting and checking tasks for the same details for transactions within the group which used to occur repeatedly. If we input the correct information once at the parent company, we can share these figures so the balance of credit and debt with subsidiaries always matches.
Furthermore, as we have a shipping management business in Singapore, we are incorporating journalization data from procurement systems that are input locally and performing receipt and expenditure tasks at headquarters. Through the daily procurement activities of the local subsidiary in Singapore, we can immediately understand how much of which substance has been procured by each ship.
I have also heard that the search function is very convenient. It is possible to freely search journalization, do bundle searches and search just with a monetary amount using management codes. It seems that it is possible to immediately identify which costs occurred with which counterparty and how these were journalized. Voucher templates and the copying function are also highly appreciated.

Mr. Sekiguchi: Since we got on track with TRANS-Account, we have been able to have a more timely understanding of the flow of income and expenditure every month. It used to take us around 2 months to complete monthly balance sheets so this difference is extremely significant in management terms. In particular, during the yearly financial settlement period, headquarters was busy collating its own figures and it was a fact that we found it difficult to get round to financial settlement for group companies. However, now we are able to close financial settlement for group companies almost simultaneously.
It has become easier to make yearly financial settlement predictions in order to collate monthly balance sheets in a speedy manner. Our company has a high dollar income and it has become easier to ascertain what influence exchange rate fluctuations will have on financial statements.
We no longer have to concentrate financial tasks in the period before financial closing. With TRANS-Account, we are able to equalize accounting work.
Furthermore, as the accounting burden has been lightened with the introduction of TRANS-Account, staff are able to help with other tasks and there are more opportunities to learn other jobs.
The original customization was hard work but the feeling of those who work with the system now is that it is "accounting software which is worth cultivating." They also say, "We cannot return to the business environment that existed before the introduction of TRANS-Account. We wouldn’t want to, either". Not only have we been able to improve accounting efficiency, we also recognize that the level of contribution of TRANS-Account to our company is high in management decisions as well as the utilization and training of personnel.
Group Accounting Function The group accounting function makes it possible to input vouchers as single accounting units for the group company overall. If Special Purpose Company costs are paid up front by the parent company, a voucher for the parent company and a voucher for the SPC will be created simultaneously if a voucher is input by the parent company.