Case Study: Forest Research achieves on-time year-end accounts certification during COVID-19 with Unit4 Financial Planning & Analysis

Forest Research achieves year-end accounts certification on schedule despite the challenges of a pandemic

Forest Research, the Forestry Commission’s research agency for England, Scotland and Wales, struggled with fragmented finance and HR data spread across third‑party shared services. Those silos delayed decision‑making, hindered financial compliance and made it difficult to meet a strict break‑even budget and modernize people services — challenges that were intensified by the Covid‑19 pandemic.

Partnering with Agilyx, Forest Research implemented Unit4’s cloud ERP for integrated finance and HR to create a single “golden record” and self‑service workflows. The system went live on time and enabled accounts to be certified and laid before Parliament in June despite lockdown, helped deliver a small surplus on a break‑even budget, automated procurement so 99.6% of suppliers were paid within 10 days, and significantly improved reporting, agility and staff experience.

Forest Research

Meirion Nelson

Finance Director