PHILADELPHIA, Pa., Dec. 17, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via PRWEB - Public Financial Management, Inc. (PFM), the nation's leading provider of independent financial services to state and local governments, non-profits, and other community-based organizations, today announced a joint venture that gives the company's clients exclusive access to an innovative tool that will enhance and facilitate the strategic planning process.
Through a joint venture agreement with Whitebirch Software Inc., PFM now offers a patented, web-based financial modeling platform that overcomes the strategic forecasting limitations of traditional spreadsheets.
"Having been in this industry for more than 40 years, we've developed a deep knowledge of the strategic planning process," said John Bonow, CEO of PFM. "We know the tools that are out there, but we felt that our clients had certain strategic planning needs that better software could help address. Similar to the way smart phone apps are modernizing other industries, Whitebirch allows convenient access, seamless collaboration and many more unique features that will bring strategic planning into the future."
The joint venture combines the financial expertise and resources of PFM with Whitebirch Software Inc.'s model-driven analytical software to optimize strategic financial planning and improve decision-making. The newly-created entity will be known as PFM Solutions LLC, and the software will be branded as Whitebirch.
Whitebirch allows multiple users to work simultaneously on the same plan and provides convenient access from most devices with web browsing capabilities, as well as seamless interfacing with MAC, PC and other operating systems.
"Whitebirch allows users to tailor a projection logic that mimics their business model and facilitates sensitivity analysis to produce multi-dimensional financial and budgetary reports," said Brett Matteo, PFM Managing Director and President of PFM Solutions LLC. "And it delivers all that through a distributed multi-user interface."
PFM expects to offer Whitebirch for use by all types of institutions, including: colleges and universities, independent schools, water and wastewater utilities, school districts, cultural organizations, transit agencies, toll roads, airports, public power providers, health care institutions, housing agencies, state and local governments, for-profit corporations, and others.
PFM will also continue to fully support the financial planning platform the company's clients now use, Future Perfect. Future Perfect clients will be offered the option to convert to the Whitebirch platform.
"We saw acquiring Whitebirch as a chance to expand and in many ways improve a service we offer to our clients," CEO Bonow said. "For us, it's an opportunity to quickly jump into the future."
About The PFM Group
The PFM Group of companies includes as its two primary operating companies Public Financial Management, Inc. (PFM), a Municipal Advisor registered with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board under the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010, and PFM Asset Management LLC (PFMAM), an investment adviser registered with the SEC under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.
PFM (founded in 1975) has ranked as the top municipal advisory firm in the nation over the past 17 years, according to Thomson Reuters, based upon the number and par amount of transactions completed. PFM is well-respected for providing clients with independent municipal advisory services, free of conflicts in dealings with the capital markets. PFM also offers best practices management and budgetary consulting and strategic financial planning services to governments and non-profits.
PFMAM specializes in the management of local government investment pool, money-market, fixed-income and multi-asset-class portfolios. PFMAM emphasizes a disciplined approach to research to construct conservative, low-risk portfolios. PFMAM also provides independent and objective investment consulting and asset management services to institutional clients, as well as strategic advice and consulting on plan benefits for public and ERISA pensions, OPEB Trusts, endowment and foundations, and insurance trusts.
This article was originally distributed on PRWeb. For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.prweb.com/releases/2015/12/prweb13137143.htm