Case Study: University of Reading achieves agile, automated finance and campus-wide self-service reporting with Unit4 Financial Planning & Analysis

Finance transformation brings efficiency and innovation to higher education

The University of Reading, a UK higher-education institution with more than 22,000 students and a 15‑year Unit4 customer, upgraded its legacy Unit4 ERP to strengthen finance control, transparency and agility amid rising costs and market disruption from Brexit and COVID-19. The finance function faced manual, overlapping processes and delayed reporting, and needed a modernized platform to support faster, more confident decision-making across campuses.

Working with Unit4 and partner G7 Business Solutions, the university completed a Phase One upgrade and process redesign—using stakeholder workshops and rigorous testing—to establish connected ERP capabilities (Finance, Expenses, Planning, Research Costing & Pricing) and better SIS integration. The upgrade supported remote working, eliminated most go‑live issues and laid the groundwork for Phase Two self‑service reporting, automated workflows and improved research and project costing, freeing finance from transactional work and enabling faster, more informed campus-wide decisions.

University of Reading

Emma Ashley

Financial Controller