International entrepreneur, Karen Paterson leads the way in global

An award winning international entrepreneur joins a new global payroll business which maximises the benefits of cloud technology.

Karen Paterson, who is widely recognised as an industry thought leader and pioneer has now joined Acrede as Group CEO. She is a former CBI "Entrepreneur of the Year", Fast Growth Awards Entrepreneur of the Year and was also awarded "Best European Entrepreneur" award in the US Stevie Awards for Women in Business.

Acrede brings together Karen's extensive experience with the latest advances in technology. By delivering a truly global HR & payroll solution, Acrede's software can be implemented quickly and cost effectively via the Software as a Service (SaaS) on demand model. Acrede combines technology with professional services and consulting to create a "best of breed" solution which enables organisations to manage their international employees with ease. Any size of organization can take advantage of the solution, and with its integrated business process management software, global processes are unified. In addition Acrede's on demand reporting offers valuable business intelligence directly to the desktop.

Acrede is also able to offer a full ERP solution which is then enhanced by the Acrede "Touch" platform and virtualization.

Karen Paterson commented: "Technology has developed considerably in the last ten years, and Acrede has been set up to fully harness these benefits for our clients. There is a significant opportunity for businesses to use the Cloud to reduce payroll costs and increase efficiency and accuracy, with no negative impacts on security and compliance.  A blended approach is needed to global payroll, which may have a requirement to integrate with an existing ERP.  We have the capability not only to do this, but to also virtualize the ERP environment, thus maximizing efficiency."

Acrede provides a scalable, 'pay as you go' style system, and so is cost effective for businesses of all sizes; particularly those looking to grow. It fits in with the most stringent international data security and compliance standards, such as Sarbanes Oxley and Sas70 Type II, and security is further ensured via a biometric USB stick, which recognizes each individual user's fingerprint. The Acrede system is also greener because the cloud platform uses less energy, and the automation of processes and online payslips negates the need for paper.

She added: "Joining Acrede is an exciting step for me.  It has given me the opportunity to re enter the market with an experienced team, technology that is ahead of the game, and the ability to deliver a service that is second to none."