Industry
Foundation
Challenge
Glenstone Foundation's financial team struggled with the limitations of manual budgeting via Excel, which made the process error-prone and labor-intensive. They needed a more strategic tool that would not only streamline budgeting but also enhance their capacity for detailed financial analysis and timely adjustments.
Results
Adopting a new financial management platform enabled the foundation to quadruple decision-making speed, save $25,000 annually, and reduce budgeting time by over 60%. The user-friendly system allowed for real-time adjustments and accurate variance analysis, freeing the team from administrative tasks and empowering them to focus on strategic financial improvements.
Martus has helped us get away from a manual Excel process where our focus was on creating the budget not actually managing the budgetary cycle.
About Glenstone Foundation
In collaboration with his wife, Emily Wei Rales, art historian and curator, Mitchell Rales, established in 2006 ‘Glenstone’, a private museum in Potomac, Maryland in which exhibitions of their private collection of modern and contemporary art are shown. Outside, in the 200 acres landscaped estate, many outdoor sculptures are installed. The Glenston Foundation emerged from their shared passion for three fundamental elements: art, architecture, and landscape, and here all three elements are blended into a serene and contemplative environment.Solution
At the heart of Glenstone Foundation’s financial department, Controller Laila Bueckers found a strategic ally in Martus Solutions. Overwhelmed by the cumbersome and error-prone nature of manual Excel spreadsheets, they sought out a system that could propel their budgeting from mere creation to strategic management. Martus Solutions emerged as the perfect match, introducing an ease of use that has revolutionized their financial operations.
Glenstone Foundation's day-to-day finances transformed under Martus’ user-friendly platform. Laila praises the system's ability to focus on accurate variance analysis without the lag of outdated finance reports – now adjustments can be swiftly implemented when needed. This real-time dynamism led not only to better budget alignment but also to significant time savings that redirected efforts from spreadsheet maintenance to financial scrutiny and enhancement.
Results
Time-saving is not the only accolade Laila attributes to Martus – cost-effectiveness stands out as well. The impactful collaboration environment fostered by Martus has bridged gaps between teams, ushering in a new era of transparency and accountability within Glenstone’s operations.
Amongst its standout features, their personnel module merits special mention for having allowed a transition from approximations in benefits calculation to using actual figures – a prime example of how precision has edged out estimation in their budgeting exercises.
But beyond functionality and numbers lies something fundamental: usability. It's easy to use! exclaims Laila; even those who typically struggle with new software have managed to navigate it seamlessly.
In summary, Glenstone Foundation’s journey with Martus Solutions depicts more than just an adoption of advanced technology; it reflects a strategic pivot towards effective financial stewardship enabling the organization to stay true and agile on its pathway toward fiscal goals.
