The city of Liège has transformed its financial accounting system by replacing its outdated mainframe with Microsoft Dynamics 365 F&O, enhancing efficiency, transparency, and real-time budget visibility across municipal departments, thanks to a strategic partnership with Inetum and automated processes.
The city of Liège has undertaken a major transformation of its general and budgetary accounting system.
This project unified financial processes across the entire administration within a single software platform. In addition to aligning accounting procedures with public sector regulations, this modernization also paves the way for broader changes across the municipal administration.
Updating the accounting and budget management services is a strategic priority for local governments. In 2021, the city of Liège (Belgium) reached a key milestone by replacing its legacy mainframe system with a more agile and high-performing solution. This ambitious project, carried out with the support of Inetum, has improved internal efficiency and enhanced financial transparency across the organization.
A key project enabled by Microsoft Dynamics 365 F&O
Faced with the limitations of its former system—high maintenance costs and lack of compatibility with new technologies—the city of Liège partnered with Microsoft and Inetum to lead this digital transformation. The collaboration brought together the strengths of all three parties. Drawing on the city’s domain expertise and change management capabilities, Inetum played a central role in designing and deploying the Microsoft Dynamics 365 F&O solution, specifically adapted for public sector needs. Inetum contributed its expertise in system integration and automation of financial processes, working alongside Microsoft.
netum’s involvement led to the modernization of financial management tools. One of the major improvements was the unification of previously separate systems and processes: “Before, invoice processing was handled separately, and purchase orders followed a paper-based workflow. Staff had to use several applications. Unification is crucial—it reduces data entry and lowers the risk of errors,” explains Thierry Antorino, consultant at Inetum. The new software also ensures better alignment between general and budgetary accounting, which was not fully the case with the mainframe solution and was a frequent source of discrepancies.
Thanks to this initiative, each municipal department now has real-time visibility into its budget, making decision-making and financial oversight easier.
Automation and optimization of processes
Inetum also adapted and automated key features of Dynamics 365 to meet the specific needs of the city of Liège and local authorities more broadly, helping to reduce the workload for municipal staff. Key advancements include:
- Integration and processing of bank statements (CODA): This simplified the management of receivables, with 80% now processed automatically and in line with sector-specific reconciliation rules, even in the event of payment reminders;
- Digitalization of purchase orders and invoices: Ensures better tracking and transparency in supplier transactions;
- “We automated payroll accounting in connection with budget control,” adds Thierry Antorino.
- Additional developments made during the project allow for proper and automated processing of write-offs and uncollectible debts, including budget controls, necessary approvals, and any refund transactions.
The integration of Microsoft Dynamics 365 F&O with the city’s revenue management system has made it possible to handle accounting entries and recovery actions directly within the Microsoft solution.
A strategic partnership with Microsoft and an agile methodology
The project benefited from close collaboration between Inetum and Microsoft, ensuring a smooth transition to the new technology architecture. The Inetum team adopted an agile methodology inspired by Microsoft’s project management practices.
Thanks to this approach, the project was completed in just ten months, with the first phase finalized in June 2022. A dedicated team of four city employees now manages the system, ensuring its continuous development and adaptation to the city’s evolving needs. Inetum continues to support the city of Liège by handling system maintenance.
A lasting impact on the financial management of local adminstration
Through this digital transformation, the city of Liège has not only caught up technologically—it now benefits from a high-performance, scalable tool. Inetum continues to support the city in optimizing and evolving its financial management systems.
