Anago
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“We do the same amount of work with fewer people”

Budgeting for a large vocational college is no small feat, especially when spreadsheets start showing their limits. ROC van Twente knew there had to be a smarter way. With Anago, they have turned complexity into clarity and reclaimed time for what really matters: strategic thinking and student success.

Meet ROC van Twente: The Dutch Vocational Education Powerhouse

With nearly 17,700 students, more than 1,700 full-time employees and over 300 vocational courses, ROC van Twente is a major force in Dutch education. Based in the eastern region of Twente, with campuses in Almelo, Hengelo, Enschede and nearby towns, the institution offers practical, future-focused education in close collaboration with local employers.

Students follow either a work-based or school-based learning pathway, both leading to nationally recognised qualifications across four levels. These programmes are deeply connected to the needs of the regional labour market and cover a wide range of disciplines including engineering, IT, healthcare and the creative industries.

ROC van Twente is also strongly committed to sustainability, aligning its operations with the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and fostering a workplace culture that recently earned it the title of World-Class Workplace.

Behind this forward-looking organisation is a complex internal structure that, until recently, relied heavily on spreadsheets for financial management.

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When Excel could no longer keep up

For many years, ROC van Twente’s finance team managed budgeting using Microsoft Excel. Managing 200 cost centres spread across ten colleges, seven support units, and various general activities made financial planning a complex and demanding task. The complexity grew even further with staff frequently working across multiple teams and departments, each governed by different funding rules.

Changes to employee roles, maternity leave arrangements or part-time contracts required manual updates across multiple sheets. The finance team had to reconcile these manually, relying on periodic exports from their HR system. Any differences meant hours of checking and rechecking.

“We used to spend hours tracing errors across spreadsheets.” - Ronald van de Munt, CFO , ROC van Twente

The entire system felt like a tightly knit web of spreadsheets that could easily unravel.

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A turning point in 2019

In 2019, ROC van Twente decided to modernise its planning and control process. They implemented Anago, a planning and budgeting solution that integrates directly with their HR system, AFAS. Previously known as Cogix in the Netherlands, Anago was new to the senior secondary vocational education sector at the time, and ROC van Twente was one of the first institutions to adopt it.

The integration with AFAS eliminated the need for manual data entry and brought real-time accuracy to staff allocations and financial planning. This saved time immediately. It also minimised the risk of errors and allowed business controllers to shift focus from fixing spreadsheet discrepancies to supporting data-informed conversations with team managers and directors.

“It fits our needs perfectly.” - Ronald van de Munt, CFO , ROC van Twente

Conversations became more strategic

The biggest change was not just having better data, but having better conversations because of it. Before, business controllers could only report on overall cost development at the level of a college or support unit. With the new system, they could see financial outcomes at the team level.

This level of insight led to more meaningful conversations with team managers and directors. One controller noted that the quality of financial dialogue improved significantly. Instead of discussing totals, they could explore efficiency, outcomes and performance in a more focused way.

“The numbers we generate in Anago feed directly into the dashboards used in discussions with team managers and directors. It has raised the level of financial conversation throughout the organisation.” - Ronald van de Munt, CFO , ROC van Twente

These improvements also made a real difference to the team’s structure. When a business controller retired, ROC van Twente chose not to replace the role. Instead, they brought in a Power BI specialist to develop dashboards for the entire organisation.

They now do the same amount of work with fewer people.

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Supporting broader organisational goals

Figures produced through the planning system are now used in financial dashboards that inform regular discussions between team managers, directors and business controllers. The supervisory board continues to receive more narrative-style reporting, but that reporting is now based on far more reliable data.

This clarity has allowed the organisation to respond more effectively to challenges such as declining student numbers and changes in funding. With greater visibility, ROC van Twente is better equipped to make decisions that support both efficiency and quality.


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Looking to the future with confidence

ROC van Twente’s strategic vision is to build the ROC of tomorrow by working together today. This means preparing students not only for jobs but for lifelong development and wellbeing. It also means creating an organisation where educators and support staff can focus on impact rather than administration.

By modernising their financial planning process, ROC van Twente has made space for that focus. With fewer manual tasks and clearer data, the finance team can contribute to strategic decisions and long-term planning with confidence.

What was once a web of spreadsheets is now a streamlined, reliable and insightful process. The result is not just time saved, but better outcomes across the entire organisation.