Pastel Accounting continues to grow market share Internationally

Pastel International recently held its third annual distributor conference on the 21 st – 24 th August 2004 at Spier Wine Estate in which it presented its international growth roadmap for the coming year.

“Pastel International believes that local people make the best salespeople in their own regions and we therefore follow a strict channel policy in our foreign operations,” says Jeff Lewis, director of Pastel International. “Our international conference was geared towards equipping our main distributors and partners with the go-to-market knowledge they need to make an impact in their home countries through their own, growing reseller base.”

This year’s conference hosted 80 delegates representing 40 countries, double the number of delegates and countries represented at Pastel’s first conference two years ago. Once the Sage International business partners have joined the Pastel International program, the number of distributors will increase to over 100 from almost 50 countries.

Instead of only looking at marketing issues for the coming year, the 2004 conference also spent time examining the business principles and best practices that go hand in hand with good governance and accountability. As transparency becomes more important in Africa , providing companies with the tools to assist them in complying with good governance principles has become important.

“In Africa especially, people have realised that if they are to take their rightful place in the global marketplace, they need to adopt sound accounting principles,” adds Lewis. “Very few companies do not have at least some connection with international markets, either as branch offices, customers, distributors or through import/export arrangements. These companies know that sound business practices means increased opportunities in the global market and are looking for financial applications to assist them.”

Pastel Accounting has been designed according to international best practices and incorporates the processes and procedures companies need to comply with even the strictest governance regulations.

Nigeria is a prime example of the changes happening in Africa . To date, Pastel Accounting has been implemented in one of the Nigeria ’s provinces to enable authorities to produce accurate financial statements for the first time and to ensure transparency throughout the province.

“By thinking global and acting local, Pastel has made extraordinary inroads into new markets in Africa over the past three years,” concludes Lewis. “Accounting software is a critical component of any well-run company. Pastel has ensured it also assists business leaders in ensuring their companies are run according to international best business practices, catering for greater transparency and better corporate governance.”