East Riding council picks Unit4 for finance overhaul

East Riding of Yorkshire Council has selected Unit4 ERPx and Unit4 FP&A for its finance transformation programme, with Embridge Consulting leading the implementation.

The council is replacing legacy finance applications through its Finance of the Future programme. The project is intended to simplify its financial operating model, improve transparency and governance, and reduce reliance on existing infrastructure.

One of England's largest unitary authorities by land mass, the East Riding of Yorkshire Council serves about 342,000 people. It employs more than 10,000 staff and delivers more than 600 services, including education, social care, housing, highways, planning and environmental services.

The authority chose the Unit4 systems to redesign its financial structures rather than carry forward older layers of complexity. The software will support both enterprise resource planning and financial planning and analysis.

According to project details, the council plans to use pre-configured packages, testing and iterative design as it moves away from bespoke finance systems. The aim is to create a single data source across the organisation, improve data validation, and give staff broader access to reporting with less reliance on the finance team.

Other expected changes include fewer manual workarounds, more automated processes and revised financial planning cycles. The council also expects better visual reporting through dashboards and graphical data views.

Transformation model

Embridge Consulting, Unit4's UK public sector partner, is overseeing delivery. Its work includes redesigning the council's chart of accounts, reporting structures and underlying data model.

The programme will be delivered in stages through Embridge's Business Transformation as a Service model, part of its Expandable Services approach. The project combines organisational change with updates to core business processes.

Paul Simpson, Interim Executive Director of Corporate Resources at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, described the project as part of the council's broader modernisation effort. "Moving to the Cloud is a significant step in modernising our finance systems and supporting the council's wider transformation ambitions," he said.

"By implementing Unit4 ERPx and Unit4 FP&A, we will have a flexible, integrated and data-driven platform that improves transparency, strengthens financial management and provides greater confidence in financial reporting. This investment will help reduce manual administration, improve efficiency and allow staff to spend less time processing information and more time supporting services. Ultimately, it will help the council make the best use of taxpayers' money and ensure resources are focused on delivering the services residents rely on."

Public sector focus

For Unit4, the deal adds another local government customer in the UK public sector market, where councils continue to review core systems as they replace older on-premise software and seek to streamline finance operations.

Christoffer Crona, SVP Global Sales Public Sector at Unit4, linked the decision to wider pressures on local authorities. "We are looking forward to working with East Riding of Yorkshire Council which has clearly understood the benefits of moving to the Cloud," he said.

"With policy around local Government reform in flux it would not be surprising for local authorities to postpone key decisions for IT modernisation, but East Riding of Yorkshire Council shows the importance of prioritising transformation strategies. The move to Unit4 ERPx and Unit4 FP&A will enable much more than simply adopting next-generation finance systems, it will help give employees back time to serve the public."

The programme also reflects the growing emphasis in council technology projects on process redesign rather than direct software replacement. In this case, the council and its delivery partner are framing the work around a broader review of how finance information is structured, managed and reported across the organisation.

Daniel Chilton, Chief Experience Officer at Embridge Consulting, said the implementation would depend on organisational change as well as technology. "Moving to the Cloud is not just a technology change. It requires organisational change, modernised processes and emotionally intelligent leadership to help people evolve with confidence," he said.

"Through our Elastic Change approach, we'll support East Riding of Yorkshire Council with clear milestones and expandable services that help deliver tangible progress in manageable stages, while making effective use of resources."