Celebrating our Strategic Themes
Financial Sustainability
Theme Statement:
We will provide the best service possible to our community by maintaining Financial Sustainability through improved operational efficiency, increased fundraising, and the development of new revenue sources.
Setting the Foundations
As a non-profit organization, ISY uses all revenue for the betterment of students and student learning. Expenditure decisions regarding salaries and benefits, school facilities, and operations are always made with this primary goal in mind alongside our mission and vision. At the outset of this theme the ISY Board worked with the administration to set long term goals and lay out a plan to achieve those goals. Alongside the theme of technology integration, these included a number of new methods of payment and a new Enterprise Resource Planning platform.
Over the period, ISY achieved the highest number of enrolled students in its history. This alongside astute financial planning and management has allowed ISY to weather the period of lower enrollment following the global pandemic and political turbulence in the country.
ERP System
One of the key developments for the management of finance at ISY has been the acquisition and development of our ERP system called Odoo. The platform was chosen after a careful evaluation of a number of the available solutions on the market. Following the decision to use Odoo new people were hired to help develop the platform. Each year more and more functionality has been developed allowing greater visibility, reporting, and planning over time.
The system now is used for key functionality like:
- Human resource management
- Payroll control
- Expense management and Purchasing
- Maintenance support ticketing
- Inventory Management
Online Payments
For the first time, ISY instigated the option to pay fees online which was taken up by many parents and especially those abroad. Online payments were further developed when ISY opened up an online shop to the wider community.
Cashless Payment System
A fantastic Student-Teacher collaboration project resulted in the development of an ISY platform that integrates a payment portal, cashless payment system, and Powerschool. Low volume testing proved successful followed by a limited launch of the system the following year. Benefits include payments using the ISY ID card so that students don’t need to bring cash to school, remote topups, and parents receiving real time notifications of their child’s purchases.
Benefiting the community
Astute financial management not only allowed ISY to freeze tuition fees for the 2021-22 school year but also allowed us to move the repayment of the capital levy fees forward resulting in repayments of over 2 million USD during the 2021-22 school year.
UN Sustainable Development Goals
Last year was the first year of having funds set aside to support sustainable development goals for the school. These budgeted funds are designed to support ISY projects that match the strategic themes and also objectives outlined in the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This year’s project focused on installing solar paneling providing ISY with renewable energy and reduced electricity costs.
Professional Development
To help continue to provide a high level of professionalism and service, business office staff have completed a plethora of formal and informal education training programs resulting in numerous certifications and diplomas. These include:
- Association of Certified Fraud Examiners Course – ACFE
- Business Valuation course – Accounting Training Center
- Advance Audit and Assurance Course – Accounting Training Center
- Customer Service Course – Myanmar Excellence Institute (MEI)
- Rising Up Leadership Skills Course – Myanmar Excellence Institute (MEI)
- Customer Experience Improvement Workshop – Shangri La Hotel
- International Accounting Standard and International Financial Reporting Standard – Deloitte
- Professional Diploma in Business English and Communication
- WEBS College of Business Certificate in English Studies
- Purchasing Management Certification
- Import-Export and Logistics Management Certification
- Income Tax & Income Tax Return Certification
- Diploma in Financial Management
- Doctor of Business Administration – Banking
Measurement
At the beginning of this period and following a regular review, ISY appointed new financial auditors – Deloitte and Touche. Each year since that time our yearly audit has confirmed our financial reporting successfully.
A business office survey has also been sent out several times to gain feedback on the services we provide which has helped ISY improve and expand the services we offer.
The International School Yangon
20 Shwe Taungyar Street
Bahan Township
Yangon, Myanmar
+95 (0) 9 880 441 040