Dutch housing association Accolade has overhauled its financial planning by adopting Ortec Finance’s solution WALS, a platform designed to improve long-term budgeting and risk analysis.
The switch has helped the organisation move away from rigid, short-term financial planning to a collaborative, scenario-driven approach that supports greater strategic foresight.
Accolade, based in the northern Netherlands, manages a portfolio of more than 16,000 homes. Like many European social landlords, the organisation must balance ageing housing stock with ambitious environmental and affordability goals. In response, it implemented WALS to improve transparency and ensure its financial planning reflects real-world scenarios.
Financial controllers Jan-Tjalling Westendorp and Niels de Vries at Accolade shared their experiences.
“We switched to WALS in 2024,” commented Jan-Tjalling. “This is now our second year preparing the budget in WALS, and we’re very impressed with it.
“We choose WALS because we wanted a longer-term financial outlook and the ability to analyse more quickly and in greater depth. We were looking for a system that could deliver scenario insights and support well-informed discussions across the organisation.”
Niels added, “Our experience has been extremely positive. The transition has been educational and future-focused; we can now build and compare different scenarios, which allows us to have more meaningful conversations with colleagues.”
Accolade’s use of WALS has enabled the organisation to shift from a five-year budget cycle to integrated financial planning that extends to 2040. This long-term view involves not just the finance department but also the board, management, and tenant associations—making budgeting a shared and transparent process.
Beyond improving forecasting, WALS has allowed Accolade to respond quickly to financial shocks. When faced with a dual rent freeze, the team was able to model its impact within a week and take the findings to the executive team. “WALS isn’t a black box,” said Jan-Tjalling. “We validate whether outcomes make sense, and if something looks off, we can easily trace the cause.”
For more information about the partnership, Read the full story here.
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