From paperwork to Pleo: How OSCE Parliamentary Assembly modernised its finance operations

Spend management probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think about diplomacy. But behind the scenes of major global cooperation, there’s a lot of admin that keeps the wheels turning, and a finance team making sure everything adds up.

That’s where our story with the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly begins.

As the parliamentary arm of one of the world’s largest security organisations, the OSCE PA supports democracy across 57 countries. From election observation missions to intergovernmental meetings, their work spans borders and so does their need for streamlined spend management. 

When their previous expense system started to hold them back, they turned to Pleo. We sat down with Stephen Paul, Finance Officer at the OSCE PA to talk about the switch, and how the right tool can make life easier for teams doing big work across the globe.

Why the switch to Pleo?

Before onboarding Pleo, the OSCE PA was using a system called Eurocard. While it technically allowed receipt uploads, it fell short on flexibility and real-time functionality.

“We used Eurocard, which was inflexible. It allowed receipt uploads but didn’t provide real-time functionality or integration with Economic,” Stephen said. 

That meant spending far too much time on manual work. According to Stephen: “We had to assign someone to collect receipts, manually organise them, enter the data into Economic, and email back and forth regarding missing receipts.”

If that sounds like a headache, that’s because it was. The lack of real-time notifications and integration created bottlenecks, especially for a team that needs to move quickly and stay globally connected.

Onboarding with Pleo: Quick, clear, and “one of the best”

Making the switch to a new spend management system, especially for a high-profile, international organisation, could have been a daunting task. But thanks to Pleo’s onboarding team, it turned out to be anything but.

Tobias Diness, Onboarding Manager at Pleo, worked closely with Stephen and the OSCE PA team to ensure a smooth transition. And from Stephen’s perspective, the process couldn’t have gone better: “Smooth and simple. It’s one of the best onboarding processes I’ve experienced due to the ease of using the system.”

That’s always music to our ears, but we also wanted to understand what their goals were, and whether those goals were actually met.

Stephen was clear on this front: “Yes, the goals were to get colleagues up and running fast, ensure smooth operations globally, and simplify training processes. All of these were successfully met.”

How is the team feeling now?

Once the rollout was complete, we checked in to see how the wider team was getting on with their new system. The response was overwhelmingly positive.

Stephen shared that his team describes Pleo simply as: “Easy. It’s efficient, eliminates paperwork, and saves time.”

That’s high praise from a team used to handling complex financial processes across multiple countries. And from an admin and finance point of view, the improvements have been measurable.

“Pleo has improved efficiency and visibility in monitoring and catching errors,” Stephen added. “It’s much quicker and has streamlined workflows compared to the previous supplier card.”

Real-time wins and smarter workflows

One of the most impactful features for the OSCE PA team has been real-time integration, something their previous system simply couldn’t support.

“Real-time integration is game-changing. It adapts to various systems and suppliers, saving time and reducing manual effort,” Stephen said. 

And it’s not just about visibility or speed, it’s about giving the team time back, and allowing them to focus on the bigger picture rather than chasing receipts or untangling spreadsheets.

Would they recommend Pleo?

We asked Stephen if he’d recommend Pleo to others in the same space, non-profits, NGOs, and globally-operating public organisations.

His answer was as confident as it was enthusiastic: “Absolutely. I’ve already recommended Pleo because its ease of use and reporting functionality make it well-suited for small-to-medium businesses.”

Want to find out how Pleo could help streamline your organisation’s spending, wherever your work takes you? Book a demo today.