Access receives seal of approval from East of England MEP

Colchester, UK - 18th May 2009 - Access Accounting has been given a seal of approval for its Accounting for Carbon Emissions (ACE) tool, following a visit by Richard Howitt, Labour MEP for the East of England and the European Parliament's spokesperson on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

Richard visited the business software house to see first-hand how the company had developed what was the first practical tool for organisations to easily account for carbon emissions. Since its launch last year, ACE has been incorporated into FocalPoint, the company's web-enabled professional services automation solution, taking CO2 measurement beyond the finance function. Staff across the business can now easily input details of their carbon emissions - whenever and wherever they are based.

Richard Howitt commented, "It was very interesting to see just how easily this solution cuts through the complexity of measuring carbon emissions. ACE offers organisations the tools to easily and quickly measure and report on carbon emissions. Not only does it provide businesses with visibility of their impact on the environment, it also demonstrates to stakeholders that they are committed to building a sustainable business.

"Such innovation should be readily encouraged as technology providers are perfectly positioned to provide the necessary tools for businesses to reduce their carbon footprint. I hope other vendors continue to follow Access Accounting's innovative lead."

Kevin Misselbrook, customer services director for Access Accounting, commented, "ACE has been developed within the heart of our accounts package, Access Dimensions, allowing carbon emissions to be tracked as part of the finance function's normal day-to-day activity. It makes the figures as easy to access as financial reporting.

"We extended the tools to our professional services solution to help businesses further increase efficiencies across their organisations and support the finance function in the collection of data. Measurement is the starting point and the process needs to be as simple as possible - after all, you can't manage what you can't measure."

In the latter part of 2008, Access Accounting won recognition for ACE in the Accountancy Age Award for the best 'Mid-tier Software Package'. The judging panel that included Jan Babiak, global climate change and sustainability leader for Ernst & Young, described it as "a clever product&superbly timed". This accolade closely followed the Green Business Awards where Access Accounting received recognition as one of the highest placed IT companies in the awards, taking highly commended in the 'Best New Product' category.

Access Accounting is also a member of the Prince of Wales May Day Network, led by Business in the Community, the UK's largest group of businesses committed to taking action on climate change.

For more information on Accounting for Carbon Emissions telephone 0845 3453300.

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