Press Releases

AltaGas Chooses Tenrox to Address Changes in Canadian Accounting Standards

Glendale, California - April 1, 2010

AltaGas Utilities, a distributor of natural gas located just south of Edmonton, Alberta, has selected the Tenrox On-Demand Project Workforce solution to address recent changes to Canadian accounting standards.

The move to adopt International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), which go into effect at the beginning of 2011, require reporting comparative numbers for 2010—and that has presented a challenge for the company, according to Ryan Schultz, AltaGas financial assurance specialist. “We have a lot of self-constructed assets and the new international standards only allow capitalization of costs that are directly attributable to those assets,” he said. “So, we have to be able to directly relate labor and overhead costs to those assets, and the best way to do that is through a robust time tracking system like Tenrox.”

Schultz further explains, “With the Tenrox system in place, we will not only have the accounting details we need, but also much better information for budgeting, reporting and payroll processes, as well.”

Previously, the company’s payroll procedure had relied on exception reporting, which assumed a set number of hours worked by each employee. Changes to that number were accounted for only after employees submitted reports indicating variations to the expected hours. Problems arose, however, since reports were sometimes overlooked by employees or submitted months late, resulting in discrepancies between the numbers of “expected” and “actual” hours worked. Because Tenrox displays results in real-time, payroll accounting will no longer be based on assumptions of time worked, but on actual hours tracked by Project Workforce. Payroll processes will be further enhanced by the fact that Tenrox will be directly integrated with AltaGas’s Ceridian Payroll software.

Several key factors influenced the utility’s decision to choose Tenrox. Of several vendors considered, including Ceridian, Tenrox was deemed the easiest to use and the only one that offered the needed level of detail for recording time. Tenrox also offered the quickest path to implementation, which only took a few weeks and was completed by the end of March 2010.

After the launch, Schultz anticipates that Tenrox Project Workforce will provide additional benefits that go far beyond the company’s initial accounting needs. “With Tenrox in place, we will have much better management information about how staff time is being allocated and other cost drivers. That kind of organizational perspective will help us determine if there are cost-benefit changes we need to make, but also enable us to improve operations and deliver even better service to our customers,” he says.

About AltaGas Utilities

AltaGas Utilities is a public utility distributing natural gas to approximately 69,000 residential, rural, and commercial customers in over 90 communities across Alberta, Canada. Established in 1947, when the Company served just three small communities, AltaGas now operates more than 19,850 kilometers of pipeline with a staff of approximately 200. The company is dedicated to providing customers the highest achievable degree of value by offering quality service in a way that sets the standard for customer service in its markets. For more information about AltaGas Utilities, go to www.agutl.com.

About Tenrox

Tenrox is the only true workflow-driven project and service delivery solution for today’s globally dispersed project workforce. Tenrox Cloud PSA and Cloud PPM solutions are best of breed browser independent offerings built on the Microsoft platform. Tenrox’s intuitive user interface, easy to configure options, and quick connect technology simplify deployment, accelerate user adoption and make project workforce management fun. We have been around for 15 years and counting; growing profitably. Our field tested experience, deep integration expertise and commitment to a best of breed cloud-based strategy mean you get the best project and service delivery solution there is from a best of breed vendor solely focused on innovating; providing you with advanced functionality and a seamlessly integrated project portfolio management and professional services automation solution. Tenrox is big enough to be dependable, fast and innovative but small enough to actually listen to you.

Since 1995, Tenrox solutions have served more than 800 organizations in 50 countries such as: IBM, General Electric, US Army, The Pentagon, Port of Long Beach, Talisman Energy, ConocoPhillips, Eaton, Pioneer Natural Resources, Invensys Rail Systems, SNC Lavalin, Hydro Quebec, JDA Software, Guidance Software, SAS, SAP, Alstom, Thales, Amphenol, Rio Tinto Alcan, Abbott, PharmaNet, Telus, Alcatel Lucent, Yellow Pages Group, Corning, Family Health International, Oxfam, Estee Lauder, Willis Group Holdings, E*TRADE Financial Corp, and Butler University.

Tenrox project management software is available through direct sales channels and a network of worldwide partners. For more information about the company or its award-winning family of products, go to http://www.tenrox.com

Media Contact:
Marie Melchiorre
Tenrox Public Relations
450-686-7365
publicrelations@tenrox.com

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