Automation key to cash forecasting in a crisis

| 12-05-2020 | treasuryXL | OpusCapita |

As businesses face drastic cash flow issues caused by the pandemic, digitalising cash management can be key in minimising risk.

Digitalisation could be vital to cash management amid financial crisis

As businesses face drastic cash flow issues caused by the pandemic, digitalising cash management can be key in minimising risk.

“Digitalisation can mean that you have more data in your systems electronically and that, of course, helps when you need a full picture of everything. With artificial intelligence you can find patterns that are invisible to the human eye but could be quite groundbreaking. The data has been around in the ERP systems and treasury management systems electronically for quite a while,” says Karl-Henrik Sundberg, presales executive lead at OpusCapita.

“Many corporates are putting data in Excel sheets and sending Excel sheets between themselves. When you’re doing spreadsheets, there can be errors in formulas, and it’s a manual work. OpusCapita compiles everything system-wise – data file integrations or APIs, so it’s no manual work involved at all.”

In times of financial crisis, reverting to a single cash management system can be highly beneficial for businesses seeking to get insights into their currency positions in real time, so they can react to internal and systemic pressures.

“When you are operating in a global environment and the business is complex, you have very different legal entities in your group, and you have many currencies and quite a lot of bank relations and bank accounts scattered around the globe. As this is not easy, having a software tool can enable you to consolidate everything into one place.

“We offer a multi bank, so you can log into OpusCapita, and see all your balances across the globe in one view. Particularly now in these times, the CFO, or the head of treasury really needs to know, ‘what do we have on our bank accounts in Italy? Or what is the status of our cash right now in North America,” explains Sundberg.

Remaining prepared

To bridge the gap of uncertainty, Sundberg advises businesses to focus on cash visibility and forecasting through the process of automation – easing the role of treasurers controlling finances amid a crisis.

“Get the cash visibility up and running. In today’s fast paced environment, you can’t really come out to your subsidiaries around the globe and ask for a weekly cash report on a spreadsheet – that’s why we automate this as much as possible. When I was heading cash management operations & treasury back office for a global corporate, getting the visibility on cash positions was vital for succeeding in our work.

“The second thing after that is cash forecasting. With an efficient tool, you can also get a picture of all your future cash flows. You should be looking for to import, for example, accounts receivables; accounts payables; purchase orders; and sales orders. The same goes for cash visibility – if you’re a global company and you have operations all around the world, most likely you have this data in various systems. Through automation, you can combine this into one place and offer a consolidated view of future cash, cash positions and cash flows,” he says.

Access to real time data on cash flow can enhance treasurers’ confidence in pursuing business decisions, particularly as automation allows them to forecast the impact of crises.

“As a business leader, treasurer, or CFO, having that information can make you be more confident. You can use this investment to generate business growth or have the power to act on – meaning it also impacting business decisions.

“In rough times, with automated cash positions and cash flows, you can immediately see if things start going in the wrong direction as you log in into the system. It’s a kind of alert system when embarking in the wrong route. Without the system, it might take weeks before you discover it and then it might even be too late. Of course, we are not spotting the Coronavirus in the system but we are spotting the effects of the Coronavirus reflected in the cash flow,” Sundberg explains.

As part of its cash management solutions, OpusCapita offers a basic version of its cloud-based module for cash forecasting to facilitate access to treasurers’ cash positions for free until the end of 2020. This basic version can be easily extended into a full-blown cash forecasting & analytics solution, or a payment hub incorporating a multi-bank solution for outgoing payments and a matching tool to automate the incoming money with accounts receivables.

 

Read more information about Liquidity basic here.

 

About OpusCapita

OpusCapita enables organizations to buy and pay quickly and securely, with a real-time view of their business. OpusCapita customers use their source-to-pay and cash management solutions to connect, transact and grow. OpusCapita processes over 100 million electronic transactions annually on its Business Network.

Visit OpusCapita

Visit Partner Page

Read Customer Success Stories

DELOITTE & KYRIBA WEBINAR | Today’s Payments Landscape: Reducing Costs & Fraud, Increasing Productivity

| 11-05-2020 | treasuryXL | Kyriba |

Register today!

When? Thursday, May 14, 2020

Start: 3.00 pm – 3.45 pm CET

Duration: 45 minutes

From CFOs to controllers to treasurers, financial leaders are constantly looking for ways to improve their payment processes as inefficient workflows can inhibit supply chains, cash flow, and profitability, not to mention increase fraud risk.

Deloitte and Kyriba have joined to discuss the current payments landscape in the Netherlands, and how technologies and centralised and standardised payment processes can dramatically increase productivity, lower costs and enhance fraud prevention.

In this 45-minute webinar, we will discuss:

  • Deloitte Treasury Advisory Services.
  • Key drivers for Payment Projects & Challenges for Treasurers.
  • The payment landscape today.
  • Challenging the Status Quo.
  • Panel Q & A

Submit on the registration page and safe your place.

 

About Kyriba

Kyriba empowers CFOs and their teams to transform how they activate liquidity as a dynamic, real-time vehicle for growth and value creation, while also protecting against financial risk. Kyriba’s pioneering Active Liquidity Network connects internal applications for treasury, risk, payments and working capital, with vital external sources such as banks, ERPs, trading platforms, and market data providers. Based on a secure, highly scalable SaaS platform that leverages artificial and business intelligence, Kyriba enables thousands of companies worldwide to maximize growth opportunities, protect against loss from fraud and financial risk, and reduce costs through advanced automation. Kyriba is headquartered in San Diego, with offices in New York, Paris, London, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Dubai, Singapore, Shanghai and other major locations. For more information, visit www.kyriba.com.

Corona Bridging Loans (COL) for start-ups and scale-ups

04-05-2020 | by Rowan Hermes | Symbid

Since Wednesday, April 29, startups, scale-ups and innovative SMEs can apply for a special bridging loan, the Corona Bridging Loan (COL). In this blog we briefly explain what the COL is and what criteria a company must meet in order to claim the COL.

Blog is in Dutch language:

Op verzoek van het kabinet zullen de Regionale Ontwikkelingsmaatschappijen (ROM’s) de COL-regeling uitvoeren. De regeling is opgezet omdat veel startups niet in aanmerking komen voor de Noodmaatregel Overbrugging Werkgelegenheid (NOW), bij banken nauwelijks terecht kunnen en weinig voordeel hebben van de verschillende fiscale maatregelen van het kabinet.

De specifieke doelgroep voor de COL zijn startups, scale-ups en innovatieve mkb’ers die overwegend met extern eigen vermogen gefinancierd zijn. De COL is ook beschikbaar voor ondernemers die de afgelopen jaren groei gefinancierd hebben met intern eigen vermogen, maar zij mogen geen bancaire financieringsrelatie hebben (met uitzondering van een beperkte bancaire rekening-courantverhouding).

De verstrekte leningen zijn een noodinstrument, bedoelt om een tijdelijke overbrugging naar ‘break-even’ of een vervolgronde te verzorgen. Het geld mag niet gebruikt worden om andere leningen af te lossen. De bedragen zullen variëren tussen de € 50.000,- en 2 miljoen euro. Bij bedragen groter dan Є 250.000,- wordt er een cofinanciering van 25 % verwacht van aandeelhouders of andere investeerders. Het rentetarief is uniform 3 %. Aangezien er vaak snelheid gepaard is bij overbruggingskrediet streven de ROM’s ernaar om aanvragen onder de € 500.000,- binnen vier tot negen werkdagen af te handelen. Het streven voor grotere aanvragen is drie werkweken.

De criteria

Je komt met je bedrijf naar alle waarschijnlijkheid in aanmerking voor de COL als je voldoet aan de volgende voorwaarden:

  • Je bedrijf is niet actief in retail, horeca, kleine zakelijke dienstverlening en je bent geen zelfstandig ondernemer.

  • Je kunt een twaalfmaands-liquiditeitsoverzicht voorleggen waaruit de financieringsbehoefte als gevolg van de coronacrisis blijkt en aangeven hoe je de overbruggingslening voor de komende negen maanden aanwendt.

  • Je bedrijf viel op peildatum 31/12/2019 niet in de categorie ‘bedrijven in moeilijkheden’.

  • De lening wordt ingezet voor investeringskosten of werkkapitaal en de financiering voldoet aan de vereisten van het Fresh Money-beginsel.

  • De jaarrekeningen van 2018 en 2019 moeten beschikbaar zijn, net als het budget voor 2020 voor zover mogelijk.

  • Je kunt onderbouwen hoe je geprognosticeerde omzet terugvalt door de coronacrisis. De ROM’s kunnen hier een due diligence onderzoek naar doen.

  • Je moet aangeven welke maatregelen getroffen zijn om kosten te reduceren, waarbij ook het gebruik van andere overheidsmaatregelen meegenomen moeten worden.

  • Er moet redelijke comfort verschaft worden dat na het eerste jaar aflossing plaats kan vinden en de lening binnen drie jaar afgelost kan worden.

Kijk voor meer informatie, een uitgebreide Q&A en specifieke aanleverspecificaties op de website van ROM Nederland.

Source

How to start money flow by using creative sources of financing

| 24-04-2020 | Stichting MKB Financiering | treasuryXL

Our Expert Ronald Kleverlaan, Chairman Stichting MKB Financiering, recommends the must read blog from Fons Huijgens with answers to the opposed question by presenting various examples.

The corona crisis is disrupting society. Social quarantine, education at the kitchen table, public transport cut in half, museums closed, restaurants and cafes closed, events postponed, sports suspended, music and club life suspended. Ordinary people are numb, dazed, in a sense disoriented. And in the meantime, people in the health and care sector and all related supplies and services are under high voltage and perform impressive. That said, there is not only concern for people’s health, but also for the health and survival of companies. The crisis has immediately degenerated into a life-threatening liquidity crisis for companies. Where do you get money NOW if the combination of bank financing, government measures and non-bank financing offers insufficient relief? Brainstorm with your colleagues and dare to take unorthodox measures.

Blog continues in Dutch language.

Hoe creëer je NU extra liquide middelen?

Spaarkopen

Bied afnemers een spaarsysteem aan in combinatie met korting. Bied op deze wijze de klant de mogelijkheid een (grote) aankoop op termijn te doen. Geef bijvoorbeeld op het totaalbedrag een korting van 10% plus op de maandelijkse vooruitbetaling een rente van 5% op jaarbasis. De klant krijgt gedurende de spaarperiode 5% rente (vergelijk dat eens met de huidige spaarrente) plus een korting op de aankoop.

Waardebonnen

Vergelijkbaar met spaarkopen, maar dan gemakkelijker overdraagbaar. Je verkoopt waardebonnen van bijvoorbeeld € 100 bestedingswaarde voor een prijs van € 90. Men kan deze bonnen nú kopen en pas inleveren vanaf bijvoorbeeld 1 juni.

Ketenafspraken

Kijk met welke zakenpartners in de keten tijdelijk afwijkende afspraken zijn te maken. Bespreek een tijdelijke (3 maanden) huurverlaging van 30% die bijvoorbeeld wordt terugbetaald door op termijn gedurende 6 maanden 15% extra huur te betalen. Beoordeel op deze manier alle leveranciers van producten en diensten en selecteer diegene waarvan je verwacht dat tijdelijke afspraken kansrijk zijn.

FFF

De term FFF staat voor ‘Family, Friends and Fans’. De zogeheten inner circle van de ondernemer. Het betreft mensen die jou goed kennen. Ze kennen jou vooral als mens, die een onderneming heeft. Durf een beroep op hen te doen. Soms hoor je “met vrienden doe je geen zaken, met vrienden ga je naar de kroeg”… Alles is anders in Coronatijd. Die kroeg is dicht en die vrienden krijgen 0% rente op hun spaarrekening. Durf te vragen. Maak wel goede, zakelijke afspraken. Je zult ontdekken: het word je gegund.

Abonnementen

Verkoop je een zich herhalende dienst of product en val je onder de lockdown? Bijvoorbeeld kapper, restaurant, bar, etc. Door de lockdown is de geldstroom abrubt tot stilstand gekomen. Misschien kun je reeds nu aan klantenbinding werken voor over een paar maanden. Biedt nu abonnementen aan met iets extra’s, die men na de lockdown kan verzilveren.

 

Bron

treasuryXL announces partnership with Kyriba to strengthen dissemination of the latest trends about treasury

| 22-4-2020 | treasuryXL | Kyriba |

VENLO, The Netherlands, April 22, 2020 – treasuryXL, the community platform for everyone who is active in the world of treasury, and Kyriba in the Netherlands, the global leader in cloud treasury and finance solutions today announced the signature of a premium partnership.

The partnership aims at offering a continuous flow of treasury content, making treasury knowledge available. This partnership includes:

  • collaboration on messaging, content production, and visibility
  • mutual distribution on select items of interest
  • collaboration on larger themes: event promotion, speaking and experts contribution, publications

Treasury management is currently experiencing a revolution under the effect of digital transformation. With this partnership, treasuryXL and Kyriba are striving to make sure that treasurers are always up to date with the latest news and events in their field.

According to Kendra Keydeniers, treasuryXL “We are happy to welcome Kyriba in our community. Kyriba is recognised by leading analyst firms, treasury and finance trades for its innovation and its leadership in cloud finance solutions. Kyriba will have a prominent role in the Treasury Topic environment with coverage in Cash Management, Risk Management, Treasury Software, Payments & Banking, Fraud & Cyber security and Working Capital Management which is a considerable contribution to our ecosystem.”

“With an increasing focus on digital transformation, financial leaders must be empowered with insights into all the latest treasury trends. They need rapid access to on-the-pulse information around the latest industry news, plus new services and products to support their initiatives for innovation and competitiveness. With this partnership, treasuryXL, Kyriba has access to a well -established communications forum and a wide treasury ecosystem.” says Luuk Linssen at Kyriba.

About treasuryXL

treasuryXL started in 2016 as a community platform for everyone who is active in the world of treasury. Their extensive and highly qualified network consists out of experienced and aspiring treasurers. treasuryXL keeps their network updated with daily news, events and the latest treasury vacancies.

treasuryXL brings the treasury function to a higher level, both for the inner circle: corporate treasurers, bankers & consultants, as well as others that might benefit: CFO’s, business owners, other people from the CFO Team and educators.

treasuryXL offers:

  • professionals the chance to publish their expertise, opinions, success stories, distribute these and stimulate dialogue.
  • a labour market platform by creating an overview of vacancies, events and treasury education.
  • a variety of consultancy services in collaboration with qualified treasurers.
  • a broad network of highly valued partners and experts.

About Kyriba

Kyriba empowers CFOs and their teams to transform how they activate liquidity as a dynamic, real-time vehicle for growth and value creation, while also protecting against financial risk. Kyriba’s pioneering Active Liquidity Network connects internal applications for treasury, risk, payments and working capital, with vital external sources such as banks, ERPs, trading platforms, and market data providers. Based on a secure, highly scalable SaaS platform that leverages artificial and business intelligence, Kyriba enables thousands of companies worldwide to maximize growth opportunities, protect against loss from fraud and financial risk, and reduce costs through advanced automation. Kyriba is headquartered in San Diego, with offices in New York, Paris, London, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Dubai, Singapore, Shanghai and other major locations. For more information, visit www.kyriba.com.

LIVE DEMO: Centralized Cash Visibility

| 10-4-2020 | treasuryXL | OpusCapita |

We are excited to announce that our Partner OpusCapita, is organizing a Live Demo: Centralized Cash Visibility, which highlights the use of management tools that enable you to easily manage your liquidity.

The Live Demo takes place on May 12th, at 13:00 CEST / 14:00 EEST and takes 30 minutes.

OpusCapita believes seeing is believing! In this live demo, they show you how their dashboards enable you to easily manage missing statements or get a quick overview of your cash positions in certain banks, business divisions, companies or bank accounts. With their flexible reporting tool, you can build reports with drag and drop-functionality to meet your reporting needs. With their hierarchy-settings design, you can create your own structures of bank accounts, cash-pools and mix of companies to enable a fully customized visualization of cash positions.

In this live demo, the following topics are covered:

  • Dashboards: How to set up Balance Tracker gadgets for monitoring the bank account statement imports
  • Liquidity Reports: How to build the most commonly used Cash Visibility reports using different dimensions (currency, cashpool, company, business division etc)
  • Hierarchies: How to create and manage bank account and company hierarchies for report purposes
  • How to collect your favorite Cash Visibility Reports in a Dashboard

Who should attend:

This webinar is for treasury professionals who are looking for new ways to take their liquidity management forward.

Presenter:

KARL-HENRIK SUNDBERG
Presales Executive Lead at OpusCapita

Karl-Henrik has a background from CM in Transaction Banking followed by 6 years as head of Cash Management at a Corporate Treasury. As CM Presales in OpusCapita he is involved in sales, RFPs, product demos and product development of the next generation Cash Management modules.

Registration, date and time

  • To register, fill out this form.
  • Date: May 12th
  • Start: 13:00 CEST / 14:00 EEST
  • Duration: 30 minutes.

About OpusCapita

OpusCapita enables organizations to buy and pay quickly and securely, with a real-time view of their business. OpusCapita customers use their source-to-pay and cash management solutions to connect, transact and grow. OpusCapita processes over 100 million electronic transactions annually on its Business Network.

Visit OpusCapita

Visit Partner Page

Read Customer Success Stories

OpusCapita makes Liquidity Management free for all customers

| 26-3-2020 | treasuryXL | OpusCapita |

OpusCapita makes Liquidity Management in a basic version free for their SaaS customers

OpusCapita, treasuryXL partner and leading cash management solution provider announces today that they have chosen to make their Liquidity Management product free for all customers until the end of the year in order to help treasury and cash management professionals to meet the increased demand on accurate cash forecasts due to the spread of the coronavirus.

“We are living in unprecedented times and we want to help our customers. The demands on treasurers are immense right now and I feel if we can help by making our product for free it’s the right thing to do”, states Jukka Sallinen, Head of Cash Management, OpusCapita.

Liquidity Management will be available in a basic version to allow customers to start using it right away without any implementation or set-up needs.

“We are also looking for ways to enable companies who are not our customers to use this functionality at a heavily discounted price”, states Jukka Sallinen, Head of Cash Management, OpusCapita. 

“I am happy that we can help our customers in these tough times and that we as a company can do our part”, states Patrik Sallner, CEO OpusCapita.

What does Liquidity Management Basic enable you to do?

With the basic package, you will be able to enable your subsidiaries across the globe to manually input (or upload from Excel) their current cash balances and future cash flows (for example AR, AP, taxes etc) in OpusCapita. Once you have this data centralized, the basic package enables you to setup Reports and Dashboards which will automatically consolidate and display all entered balances and cash flows.

In short, this includes:

  • Manually entering cashflows (Liquidity Unit Entry)
  • Manually entering cash positions (Liquidity Balance Entry)
  • Liquidity grid and graph, best-practice Reports such as:
    • Cash Visibility
      • Cash balances per bank account, per bank or per company
      • Actual inflows and outflows on bank accounts (if statements are imported in OpusCapita)
    • Cash Forecasting
      • Total forecast
      • Forecast per bank account, per company or per currency
      • Actual vs Forecast
    • Dashboards for visualizations cash positions and forecast

Three steps to get started

1. Get in touch with us so we can enable Liquidity Basic for you.

2. Add cash flows with pre-built templates or import them from Excel.

3. Build reports with our straight-forward drag’n’ drop functionality.

 

Read more information here.

 

About OpusCapita

OpusCapita enables organizations to buy and pay quickly and securely, with a real-time view of their business. OpusCapita customers use their source-to-pay and cash management solutions to connect, transact and grow. OpusCapita processes over 100 million electronic transactions annually on its Business Network.

Visit OpusCapita

Visit Partner Page

Read Customer Success Stories

treasuryXL announces partnership with OpusCapita

| 19-3-2020 | treasuryXL | OpusCapita |

treasuryXL announces partnership with OpusCapita, a leading cash management provider.

VENLO, The Netherlands, MARCH 19, 2020 – treasuryXL, the community platform for everyone who is active in the world of treasury, today announced the premium partnership with a leading cash management provider, OpusCapita.

As a marketplace, treasuryXL will offer OpusCapita market commentary and insight to its audience. Offering a continuous flow of relevant treasury content, making treasury knowledge available, results in treasuryXL being the obvious go-to platform for its’ audience. OpusCapita will have a prominent role in the Treasury Topic environment with coverage in Cash Management, risk management, Treasury Software, Payments & Banking and Fraud & Cybersecurity. Together they will host virtual roundtables in the near future to connect with partners and experts around the world.

“We are excited to take part in the treasury community that TreasuryXL is building and look forward to join the network of treasury experts.” Marc Josefsson, Head of Strategic Sales, OpusCapita.

OpusCapita has over 800 customers across more than 100 countries. Their secure, cloud-based solution enables Treasury and Finance professionals to harmonize global processes and policies, centralize treasury and finance operations and reduce complexity.

treasuryXL and OpusCapita strive for a fruitful partnership where its’ audience are top of mind making sure that (potential) clients are always up to date with the latest cash management news and events benefit from a comprehensive range of services and products.

About treasuryXL

treasuryXL started in 2016 as a community platform for everyone who is active in the world of treasury. Their extensive and highly qualified network consists out of experienced and aspiring treasurers. treasuryXL keeps their network updated with daily news, events and the latest treasury vacancies.

treasuryXL brings the treasury function to a higher level, both for the inner circle: corporate treasurers, bankers & consultants, as well as others that might benefit: CFO’s, business owners, other people from the CFO Team and educators.

treasuryXL offers:

  • professionals the chance to publish their expertise, opinions, success stories, distribute these and stimulate dialogue.
  • a labour market platform by creating an overview of vacancies, events and treasury education.
  • a variety of consultancy services in collaboration with qualified treasurers.
  • a broad network of highly valued partners and experts.

About OpusCapita

OpusCapita enables organizations to buy and pay quickly and securely, with a real-time view of their business. OpusCapita customers use their source-to-pay and cash management solutions to connect, transact and grow. OpusCapita processes over 100 million electronic transactions annually on its Business Network.

Visit OpusCapita

Visit Partner Page

Read Customer Success Stories

Are we entering an unprecedented economic situation?

| 28-02-2020 | treasuryXL | Pieter de Kiewit

One of my favourite professional pastimes as a corporate treasury recruiter is digesting treasury technical content and bridging it to the “rest of the world”. Or see what is happening in the global news and projecting it on the field of corporate treasury.

Currently there is a constant flow of news about too much money in the market. One would say this is a good thing. Let me give you some positive and negative examples of the effects:

But also:

  • Pension funds are not able to invest in a future-proof way;
  • We have to pay for our savings (if you have a lot);
  • Hedge fund managers use external funding, instead of the funding of their investors, to safeguard their bonuses.

We enter an unprecedented economic situation only encountered by Japan and there is no obvious path to take. I will not try to clarify macro economics, it is not my field of expertise, but do know that changing demographics contribute. Us getting older and people retiring rich, most likely richer than their kids, has to do with this. What do I see as effects on corporate treasury? Let’s focus on three main tasks of a corporate treasurer.

In cash & liquidity management there are many exciting initiatives in the improvement of cash flow forecasting. Payments can technically be done smoother, safer and quicker. Cash visibility can be increased and liquidity is centralized. Most corporate treasurers want to implement these new solutions. As liquidity is high, many CFOs do not feel the urgency to invest in these initiatives. Doing nothing will not result in higher cost, so what is the ROI?

In risk & investment management the obvious focus is on interest developments. The general opinion is that interest will be low for a very long time. Getting long term funding for (almost) 0% is doable. So why bother matching long and short term funding options? This results in a situation that the use of hedging instruments is less important. Investing excess cash or helping the company pension fund with their strategy currently requires analysis and choices.

Corporate Finance has the fun task of optimizing the balance sheet and lowering funding costs to an extreme. I recently met the group treasurer of a real estate company who is able to make money attract funding for his company! The more challenging task of corporate finance is participation in business development and M&A. The willingness of entrepreneurs, shareholders and boards to invest in adventurous ways is high. The corporate treasurer has to hold on to his role of risk manager and hit the brake. This does often not increase his popularity…

A lot more can be said about the topic, that will be for other blogs. Back to a non-corporate mindset and not pretending to be a socialist, I hope all this money will be used to improve the world: better the environment, lowering the income gaps, makes us all happier. The real philosophical approach I leave to Notorious B.I.G.

Enjoy your money,

 

 

Pieter de Kiewit

Owner at Treasurer Search

Corporate Governance and Treasury | Embrace the Corporate Treasury Policy

| 18-02-2020 | François de Witte | treasuryXL |


Corporate Governance

Corporate Governance is a mechanism through which boards and directors can direct, monitor and supervise the conduct and operation of the corporation and its management in a way that ensures appropriate levels of authority, accountability, stewardship, leadership, direction and control.

The ultimate responsibility for Treasury management within an organization lies with the board of directors. Due to the practicalities and technical aspects involved in corporate treasury, the board typically delegates the daily management of risk to responsible individuals in each department. In the case of financial risks, many of these are delegated to the treasurer.

Whilst, due to its specific activities, the corporate treasurer needs to take a lot of actions and decisions independently, it is important that he does this within a framework and Governance. Quite a lot of corporates have formalized this in a “Corporate Treasury Policy”.

Corporate Treasury Policy

The Corporate Treasury Policy is the mechanisms by which the board, or risk management committee (RMC), can delegate financial decisions in a controlled manner. This document should be a summary of all the principles approved by the Board or the Financial Committee of the Board as a mandate of the Board to the treasurer (the Treasury Mandate).

The Corporate Treasury Policy is a framework document, which covers the following areas:

Organization of the Treasury Function

In most of the companies, the Corporate Treasury Reports to the CFO. The CFO is usually himself a Member of the Executive Committee, which itself reports directly to the Board of Directors. (Treasurer – CFO – Treasury Committee – Audit Committee – Board):

A policy should set out clearly which decisions are delegated to the treasurer and when the treasurer should refer a decision back to the board or other person within the organization. Within several corporate, the Board of Directors have delegated the decision process to dedicated committee, like the Risk Committee, and the Liquidity and Funding Committee.

Treasury Control Framework (including the Code of Conduct)

Procedures and controls to manage the risk should be put in place to provide an overall framework for decision-making by the treasury team.

Ideally, this should also include a code of conduct. The Corporate Treasurer should act as a Corporate Custodian. In other words, he is Protector of the company’s assets, and should act according to a strict Code of Conduct and Ethics. There exist examples of codes developed by professional organizations such as IGTA, ATEB, AFTE, ACT and ATEL.

Liquidity and funding

The board should be informed about funding possibilities to put currency, maturity, cost and equity/debt character into a wider context. The board should decide on the strategy but can delegate fund raising decisions and actions to treasury. However, I recommend that Treasury asks the final board approval for strategic decisions (e.g. major syndicated loans, bond issues, etc.).

The board should have an overall view on the liquidity risk of the company. The Board should also define the financial policy, covering the gearing and maturity issues, fixed and variable interest rate obligations, dividend policy and covenants.

Banking Relationship

Banks chosen by the treasurer must be able to meet the needs of the organization, both domestically and internationally. I recommend that the Board approves annually criteria for selecting the banks with whom it will work.

Risk Management

The Treasurer must identify the various risks to which the company is exposed, quantify the impact, and should inform the Board thereof. He should estimate the size of these exposure risks and their impact on the he overall operations and financial performance of the company, and make recommendations in these areas

The board must approve the hedging policy, the company’s foreign exchange, interest rate and commodity risk management policy and its attitude to risk. It should define which part of the risks must be hedged and the hedging horizon. I recommend that the Treasurer submits at regular intervals to the Board the list of authorized instruments, the amount per instrument and their term

Investment Policy – Counterparty Credit Risk

The board should approve the treasury’s Investment policy including the choice of instruments, the list of counterparties used + the maximum amount/counterparty & maturity. It is recommended that the Board provides guidelines and limits per instrument.

It is recommended that the Board approves the guidelines for fixing counterparty limits, and maximum exposure per counterparty.

Authorized instruments and Arrangements – Authorized Approvers

The Treasurer should make sure that the board must understands and approve the strategies and instruments used and sets guidelines for the appropriate limits for their use. These guidelines need to ensure that treasury has not sacrificed long-term flexibility or

survival for short-term gain, especially in view of the volatile financial market’s situation.

Treasury Operational Risk

The treasurer should make the Board aware of the operational risks to which the company is exposed. He should provide recommendations in this area. Furthermore, the treasurer should also submit recommendations to the board on the treasury organization and the ways to reduce the operational risks.

Monitoring

A Corporate Treasury Policy has only sense, if there is a regular follow up and control framework; Hence procedures and controls to manage the risk should be put in place to provide an overall framework for decision-making by the treasury team.

It is also important to provide to the Board a regular update on the way the treasurer complies with the policy. The policy should also be regularly reviewed.

Treasury must alert the board to external changes and internal strategic developments, which may have long-term implications for the organization and make proposals for managing them.

The policy needs also to be reviewed at regular intervals each “Policy” in function of the market and of other internal or external developments. I recommend having treasury on the Board’s agenda on a quarterly basis.

Conclusion

Treasury is not an island in the company. It is closely linked to the corporate governance. Hence it is important to define the right framework.

I recommend to corporates to put in place a treasury policy validated by the Board of Directors and reviewed regularly. It is important to update the Board at regular intervals about strategic topics, such as strategic financing topics and risk management.

The treasurer has also an important educational role, as he must be able to make complex treasury topics understandable for the board members.

Hence there must be a good interaction between the treasurer, the CFO and the Board is key, where the Treasurer is the linking pin.

 

François de Witte
Founder & Senior Consultant at FDW Consult
Managing Director and CFO at SafeTrade Holding S.A.
treasuryXL ambassador