Membership
The membership module acts as the fundamental of ICMS. All other modules will be linked to this module to form the overall integration of ICMS.
For this module, ICMS will handle the entire process cycle starting from Application to become a member, Approval processes, Fees and Share and also Application to cease from being a member. While the pilot ICMS only provide simple data capturing and processing ability, the end product will incorporate highly friendly features such as Online Application, Process Workflow and System based Authorizations.
Financial Accounting
To develop ICMS, we worked together with SKM approved auditors to come up with a Financial System that meets strict SKM requirements. The basic financial system that is being carried by the pilot ICMS functions as any other standard Financial Accounting system with the additional features of providing automatic links to other modules within ICMS, thus becoming an integrated system.
The goal is to come up with a Financial System which will be able to provide Financial Reports according to SKM format. Another to be achieved function is for ICMS to provide automated Dividend Disbursement process, automated Special Funds allocations (as required by SKM) and to provide an optional Online Auditing feature.
For some roll-outs, ICMS may even be able to provide SKM the ability to conduct online monitoring for selected cooperatives.
The pilot Financial Accounting Module have subs modules of General Ledger activities, Account Payable, Account Receivables and Financial Reporting. In the final product, additional modules of Members Financial Module and Asset Management Module, will be introduced.
Also, the final ICMS will bear some enhancement in its features and functions like Multiple Cost Centre ability, Online Report Request and sms based personal information request.
Personal Loans
At current, the Personal Loan Module covers the processes of auto-filtering of Applicants, Approval of Application, Disbursement of Loans, Financial keeping of loans and other features like real-time Personal Loan Statement and Loan Status.
This module is at current linked to the Financial Accounting system, where any activities regarding payment or disbursement will be automatically captured in Financial Journal Entries.
With the planned final product, ICMS will provide advance changes like Online Loan Applications, Online Loan Statement request and complete process workflow for Loan Processing activities. At current, this cannot be done due to lact of fund to bring up the security level to an acceptable level.
Reporting
The pilot ICMS is build on MySQL, which is distributed for free. With this, come a set of limitations such us less robustness, inability to carry out advance and complicated functions, instability and insecured. But still, even the pilot version provides sufficient dynamic options for users to generate rellevent reporting as they desire.
By default, ICMS pilot provides all fundamental Financial Reports, Status Reports and Informative Reports.
The final version that is being planned will include further beneficial features, which had never been offered to cooperatives before, as listed below :
* Automatic Consolidation of Reports from various department
* Realtime Reports for Financial and other areas
* Online access to reports for SKM officials (for guidance and monitoring)
* Online access to reports for Auditors (for Draft Audit option)
* Ability to request for reports via sms
* Request and Distribution of reports via web
* Request and Distribution of reports via sms
Trading Business Module
Trading Business Module is planned to cater for cooperatives which operatestrading business such as convenience stores, electrical goods shop and supplies. This module will incorporate multiple cost centre feature in the Financial Accounting module. It will also provide an independent Accounting System for the trading business. This is deemed as necessary as Trading Account is different in structure to Cooperative Account.
This module will give cooperative a complete trading support system such as Account Receivables, Account Payables, Journal Entry, General Ledger and Financial Report. And as an integrated system, ICMS will provide the ability to automatically consolidate these transactions with the main cooperative Financial Report.
In short, for the Trading Business Modules, new technological changes will provide the following features to cooperatives by ICMS:
* Independent Cost Centre for Business Activities
* Separate Account Receivables and Account Payable by Cost Centres
* Automated consolidation of information between Cost Centres
These had never been offered before by any other cooperative system as the logic behind this process is extremely difficult.
Insurance Module
Insurance is another business area being aggresively tackled by cooperatives. As such, ICMS will also include the insurance business module as an off-the-shelve offering.
In having this module alone, is already a technology break through as this module had never been offered before. At current, insurance business will rely solely on existing insurance system as being used by insurance companies. ICMS will not only provide personal insurance solutions, but also motor vehicles insurance.
To provide a solution which specifically suits cooperatives requirement, ICMS will include such feature and functions as the following.
* System alert to insurance policy expiry
* Accommodate for installments
* Unique Cost Centre for Financial Reporting
* Integration with Main Accounting System and other modules for transaction
* Cater for early settlements of installments
* Pre-captured children and spouse information
Human Resource Module
Currently, no cooperative system offers a Human Resource Module by default. ICMS will provide this functionality to further enhance its offerings. The Human Resource Module will enable cooperatives to manage and maintain their personel information and monitor their performance.
The system will cater for :
* Centralised staff Information management
* Payroll
* Online leave application
* System based appraisal function
* System based requisition function
* Online job offering function
Rental Business Module
This module is to cater for activities regarding rental of equipments, rental of buildings and vehicles which is deemed as revenue to cooperatives. Under this module, ICMS will provide a separate Account System with unique cost centre. It will also integrates online features for request of informations by prospects.
At current, existing systems in the market utilised the main Account System to cater for this business. As a result, segregation of income and expense will be much difficult and time consuming. In ICMS, this module will provide such improvements as :
* Unique cost centre
* Integrated Accounting Reports with main system
* Online request of information by prospects
* Centralised management of relevant assets
* Online billing
Asset Management Module
The Asset Management Module will handle in a centralised manner, all information related to assets. The module will further be broken into smaller sub-modules of Buildings, Motorvehicles, Equipments, Machineries and Fixture & Fittings.
The module will provide the following functions.
* Asset Information
* Asset Tagging
* Depreciation / Appreciation rate
* Asset disposal/write off
Administration Module
ICMS is also intended to become the first cooperative management system that provides Administrative Function. This function will provide, to certain extend, the ability for the cooperatives themselves to control the system. Traditionally, this is not the case as even such a simple exercise of adding a new system users requires the system providers intervention.
The administrative function consists of such privilege as:
* Creating new forms
* Creating new products (Loan, Insurance etc)
* Creating and managing users
* Controlling Access Rights
* Setting Rates
* Setting Language
* Setting Currency; and others
Modules – Summary
Basically, ICMS will introduce new innovation in two main areas, Introduction of Modules and Introduction of Technology. Under this modular subject, the innovation being put forth are mainly functionality which was never been enjoyed by cooperatives before, though they are crucial.
The following tables represents the innovative modules in a summarised form for better visualization.
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