Treasury: the sad story about the ones that do not get it

28-04-2021 | treasuryXL | Pieter de Kiewit

The great Dutch philosopher Johan Cruijff said: “Je gaat het pas zien als je het door hebt”, roughly translated “you only see if you get it”. I recently thought about this when visiting and working with a mid-sized local company. Their treasury team was much bigger than the teams of companies in the same industry two or three times their revenue size. In this team, for example, they had two employees full-time entering manual payments. Data and instructions are gathered from a multitude of systems and typed into banking software. Time is lost, mistakes are made, staff demotivated and money lost. They refused to hire a qualified candidate who could help because his expected base salary was a few thousands of euros too high…..

Recently the Dutch regulatory body for financial markets, AFM, published this research that shows that companies would benefit from a more mature market in alternative funding. One of their observations is that new solutions, for instance in working capital, are accepted even though the rates that have to be paid are preposterous. They see the market grow, not enough focus on credit rating and doubt if the market will stabilize in a professional manner. A stronger regulatory framework is suggested. I am in doubt, who will do the audit?

Those who are in need for strong treasury seem to ignore the available expertise. Distrust? Lack of time? Afraid of treasury lingo?


Personally I hope that entrepreneurs and CFOs will train their critical thinking and only use what they understand. Cost that are hidden in the total price of their treasury solutions are regretfully accepted easier than a separate price for the right solution and one for the advice. That is regrettable because one of the effects is that companies get perhaps the cheapest but the wrong solutions.

We have a simple suggestion: digest what you know about treasury and ask the most obvious question you can think of. Ask the expert panel and pass our suggestion forward to anyone you might think have a proper question. It is a matter of time until we get it all. I am sure.

Take care, Pieter

 

 

Pieter de Kiewit

Owner at Treasurer Search

 

 

 

Webinar Reminder | April 28 | “Bitcoin. Is this the New Reality in Corporate Treasury or is it a Hoax?”

| 27-04-2021 | VU Amsterdam |

Have you signed up for the webinar for tomorrow? Here is your reminder call, enjoy!

This Webinar is offered to you by the postgraduate programme Treasury Management & Corporate Finance at the School of Business and Economics.

Webinar Treasury Management in short

Date:     Wednesday 28 April 2021
Time:     19.00 – 20.30 hrs.
Costs:    Free-of-charge

Bitcoins are in the news. Opinions vary a lot in between “the new global currency standard” and “difficult to understand in practice and governance”.  Corporate Treasurers need at least to have a start of an opinion. We see Tesla and other big corporates currently buying crypto currencies. What are opinions among corporate treasury professionals? Is investing surplus cash in crypto currencies the new reality in corporate treasury or is it a hoax?

Tristan Verhagen, a student in our TM&CF programme, will introduce the topic at this webinar. Tristan will share his provoking ideas about investing surplus cash in Bitcoin. Is this the New Reality in Treasury or a Hoax? Tristan wrote an academic paper on this subject and this has added value in terms of a new insight for the treasury professional and is very useful for experts as well as laymen to be updated on the issue.

Description Academic Paper

As the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s important for (institutional) investors and (corporate) treasurers to understand the effects of central bank and government intervention. Especially in the context of Bitcoin and the unique attributes it possesses. The role of central banks and governments in stabilizing the economy and the realization of economic growth in the aftermath of crises is becoming ever more important. Currently central banks and governments are “all in” to cushion the effect(s) of the current crisis. The response is considered to be bigger and broader than it was for the great financial crisis. Interest rates are historically low and central bank balance sheets have expanded considerably. This led to a significant increase in the money supply, which sparked a debate among economists about the implications for inflation.

When central banks and governments worldwide enact in ‘quantitative easing’ and increase the money supply, the associated fiat currencies depreciate in value. In contrast, Bitcoin experiences a ‘quantitative tightening’ (or reduction) of new supply as halving events programmatically decrease the number of new Bitcoin entering circulation regardless the demand for the asset. This feature is native to the digital protocol and possibly makes it the ultimate ‘store of value’ asset. During times of economic uncertainty and in a world where ‘software is eating the world’ more and more (institutional) investors and (corporate) treasurers are becoming convinced of the potential of Bitcoin. The paper/discussion aims to investigate to what extent this is justified.

Speakers

Tristan Verhagen MSc MSRE graduated in Strategic Management from Tilburg University. Real estate is the cornerstone of his career. He has worked for various real estate investors and is now Director Finance & Control at Eigen Haard. A few years ago, he fell through the Bitcoin rabbit hole and since then his views on money and monetary policy have changed significantly. He is open to the idea that Bitcoin’s unique properties will in the future lead to it becoming an important (macro) asset and therefore suitable for a large group of investors (e.g. insurance companies and pension funds).

Strong ideas are worth to have strong opposition, so we have two panel members to challenge the vision of the keynote speaker.

Wilko Bolt is a Senior Economist in the Economics and Research department at De Nederlandsche Bank in Amsterdam and Professor of Payment Systems at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. His current research focuses on the payment economics, digital currencies, two-sided markets theory and antitrust implications. He has published in journals such as American Economic Review, European Economic Review, Economic Theory, International Journal of Industrial Organization, International Journal of Central Banking and Journal of Money, Credit and Banking. Bolt was awarded the Hennipman Prize by the Dutch Royal Economic Association in 2007 for his research.

Joan Schutte joined ASML back in 2014 as VP & Corporate Treasurer and is responsible for Treasury, Corporate Finance and Insurances globally. From 2010 to 2014 Joan was Director Treasury for VimpelCom (Veon) in Amsterdam. Before that, he worked 12 years for US based Sara Lee Corporation in various Treasury roles in Curaçao, Singapore and Chicago and as Finance Director for the global procurement function in Utrecht. Joan started his career in Treasury in Belgium for CSM NV and Campbell Soup Company. Joan holds a MSc in Economics from the University of Amsterdam. He serves on the Board of the Dutch Association of Corporate Treasurers (DACT) and has served on the Board of the Association of Corporate Treasurers Singapore (ACTS).

The webinar is moderated by Pieter de Kiewit, he is treasury aficionado, recruitment consultant and owner of Treasurer Search. Together with his team, Pieter finds candidates for interim assignments and permanent positions in corporate treasury. Pieter holds an MSc. in Organizational Science (Technische Bedrijfskunde, Universiteit Twente) and has over 25 years experience in international recruitment. In many ways he contributes to the treasury community by connecting people and companies. He supports educators, for example as a member of the management board of the RT programme of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. On a regular basis he blogs, presents and moderates with the purpose to make treasury known by a bigger audience and facilitate experts to deepen their knowledge.

For whom?

We specifically invite our alumni of the PGO Treasury Management & Corporate Finance and those interested to join the programme and DACT members.  Of course, those professionally involved in the subject, TreasuryXL – followers, are also very welcome to join. A truly inclusive (corporate) treasury community!

 

 

Save money instantly with a Foreign Currency Account (Dutch Item)

26-04-2021 | Erna Erkens | treasuryXL |

Als u Internationaal handelt of u wilt beleggen in vreemde valuta kan een Vreemde valuta rekening interessant zijn. U kunt zo’n rekening bij de meeste Nederlandse banken openen. Op een vreemde valuta rekening heeft u geen  geldbedragen in Euros’s staan, maar in een buitenlandse vreemde valuta. Denk aan de Amerikaanse Dollar of de Japanse Yen. U kunt alleen girale transacties doen vanaf uw vreemde valuta rekening. Direct geld opnemen is niet mogelijk.  Dan gelden er andere koersen.


Een vreemde valuta rekening voor internationale handel

Stel u heeft een bedrijf waarvoor u goederen wilt inkopen uit Azië. U heeft een goede leverancier gevonden, maar deze wil wel graag in dollars betaald worden. U heeft bij uw bank alleen een Euro rekening en betaalt daardoor de factuur in Euro’s. In deze situatie is uw bank verantwoordelijk voor de aankoop van de benodigde dollars.

De aankoop van de dollars door de bank wordt geregeld via een centraal betalingsverkeersysteem. De bank is in dit soort situaties niet altijd even aardig voor haar klanten. De bank rekent meestal ongeveer 1 cent marge voor iedere transactie.

Stel dat u uw leverancier uit Azië een bedrag van 100.000 dollar moet betalen. Uw bank rekent in dit geval  tot 600 euro marge. Deze marge gaat weer af van uw eigen winstmarge.

En wat dacht u van grotere transacties zoals 1 miljoen dollar. Dan betaalt u de bank 5.000 tot 6.000 Euro’s aan marge!

Door zelf een dollarrekening te openen houdt u de aankoop van dollars in eigen hand en dat levert dus direct winst op.

Wisselkoers bij een vreemde valuta rekening

Als u een vreemde valuta rekening heeft geopend kunt u zelf bepalen op welk moment u de dollars
koopt om de factuur in dollars te betalen aan uw leverancier. Wel is het belangrijk dat het binnen uw bedrijf duidelijk is wie deze taak op zich neemt. De kosten (lees marge voor de bank) is dan een stuk lager. Hetzelfde geldt natuurlijk als u vreemde valuta ontvangt uit het buitenland. U kunt uw vreemde
valuta op deze rekening boeken. U kunt zelf bepalen op welk moment u deze weer verkoopt.

Degene die verantwoordelijk is voor betalingen vanaf de vreemde valuta rekening heeft wel een extra taak en het is wel handig om de wisselkoersen in de gaten houden. Dat kan helpen om de dollars of andere valuta op een goed moment te kopen of te verkopen.

Bron




Erna Erkens
Owner at EEVA

How to make a quick business payment with a spot transfer

22-04-2020 | treasuryXL | XE |

Need to quickly send money overseas? A spot transfer may be the right payment solution for you.

In an earlier article, we went into depth on forward contracts, what they are, when you might want to use one for your business, and how to set one up. But they aren’t the only way to make an international business payment. You might be in a rush and want to send your transfer right now, as soon as possible, rather than scheduling a future transfer.

In that case, you would want to set up a spot transfer.

What is a spot transfer?

A spot transfer is the quickest, most simple way to make a business payment. You get your quote and confirm your money transfer, and then the currency will be purchased and sent as soon as possible.

Learn More

Why might you use a spot transfer? 

As the name indicates, you’d want to use a spot transfer when you need to make a quick payment “on the spot”. There’s no preliminary work involved, nor would you need to do anything after confirming the transfer. All you need to do is enter your currencies, let us know how much you’d like to send and provide your payment method, and we’ll handle the rest.

Additionally, not all currencies or currency pairs experience the same amount of market volatility. If you’re consistently sending payments in a certain currency and haven’t seen much fluctuation in the rates or your costs, you might not need to set up a forward contract or market order to avoid future market volatility. A quick, simple spot transfer could be all you need.

How do you send a spot transfer?

Befitting their quick nature, spot transfers are quick and easy to initiate.

  1. Sign in to your Xe business account. If you don’t have one, sign up. You can view a detailed guide to everything you’ll need to get started here.

  2. Get your quote. Enter your currencies and the amount you’d like to send to see the send rate for your transfer.

  3. Double-check everything. Before confirming your payment, confirm that all information is correct. This will include your currencies, the amount you’d like to send, the exchange rate, your recipient’s information, and your payment information.

  4. Confirm your spot transfer. If you’re satisfied with your transfer, you can go ahead and confirm it.

Once you’ve confirmed your transfer, we’ll take care of the currency exchange and send it to your recipient.

Get Quote

What other kinds of transfers are there? 

Spot transfers are the ideal payment method for quick, simple money transfers. However, if you’re interested in scheduling a payment for a future date, seeking the best exchange rate, or avoiding potential market volatility, spot transfers may not be the best option to meet all of your currency needs.

Are you interested in scheduling a payment for a future date? You may be interested in forward contracts.

Or would you like to wait for the best possible rate? You might be interested in a market order. Watch this space for an upcoming guide to those.

Get Started



Get in touch with XE.com

About XE.com

XE can help safeguard your profit margins and improve cashflow through quantifying the FX risk you face and implementing unique strategies to mitigate it. XE Business Solutions provides a comprehensive range of currency services and products to help businesses access competitive rates with greater control.

Deciding when to make an international payment and at what rate can be critical. XE Business Solutions work with businesses to protect bottom-line from exchange rate fluctuations, while the currency experts and risk management specialists act as eyes and ears in the market to protect your profits from the world’s volatile currency markets.

Your company money is safe with XE, their NASDAQ listed parent company, Euronet Worldwide Inc., has a multi billion-dollar market capitalization, and an investment grade credit rating. With offices in the UK, Canada, Europe, APAC and North America they have a truly global coverage.

Are you curious to know more about XE?
Maurits Houthoff, senior business development manager at XE.com, is always in for a cup of coffee, mail or call to provide you detailed information.

 

 

Visit XE.com

Visit XE partner page

 

 

 

Refinitiv Corporate Treasury Data Insights | April 2021

21-04-2021 | treasuryXL | Refinitiv |

Andrew Hollins, Director of Corporate Treasury Proposition at Refinitiv, brings you the April 2021 round-up of the latest Corporate Treasury Data Insights. We will learn about what an increase in inflation will mean for treasurers’ FX hedging plans – and how best to protect your company’s position. Moreover, an update is provided on the Suez Canal traffic jam, and the impact on trade flows, freight movement and prices in the coming months. Plus, some insights on metal prices, ESG, LIBOR and mobile FX trading are shared.

Are inflation fears justified?

While expectations of inflationary pressures have risen significantly over the past six months, reflected in the chart above, the market points to moderating price pressures in the medium-term as revealed by the breakeven yield curve for inflation linked bonds.

Expectations of an inflation spike in the U.S. and elsewhere, perhaps peaking in 18 months to two years, are likely to impact treasurers’ FX hedging plans.

Take the best performing G10 currency so far this year – GBP. While the outlook into H2 2021 and beyond remains uncertain with possible Brexit-linked fallout and a potential separatist supermajority in the Scottish elections on 6 May, continued success on the vaccine front should deliver the dividend of an accelerated economic recovery in the UK.

FX hedging strategy

Corporates with FX exposures may consider a Forward Extra as part of their hedging strategy – an FX option which protects from downside risk but also allows for some upside gains.

Treasurers can use Refinitiv Eikon to manage currency exposure:

  • Price a Forward Extra using the FX Options Calculator (FXOC), employing key events like the Scottish elections in May as reference points.
  • Analyse volatility relative value using Currency Performance (FXPT).
  • Analyse volatility skew and an implied probability distribution chart in FX Volatility Explorer (FXVE).
  • Keep a close eye on inflation forecasts with Reuters Polling (POLLS), which forecasts a rise in U.S. inflation to 2.4 percent for the year until March 2021, and Rates Views Inflation Screen (RVIN) to monitor breakeven rates.

Emerging market currencies and stocks struggle

While vaccine progress is supporting the position of both GBP and USD, emerging market currencies are telling a different story.

Steering the post-pandemic recovery

Reuters newsmaker with Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank. After taking radical steps to combat the recession, global policymakers now face the task of ensuring recovery takes hold. Lagarde joins Reuters for an exclusive Newsmaker to discuss the best policies to prevent COVID-19 from scarring economies, how and when policy support might be withdrawn, whether rate setters might be facing a major shift in the inflation regime and the challenges that are unique to the euro zone.

Join the conversation.

Suez traffic jam clears, but what’s the impact?

Satellite data from Eikon’s Interactive Map, pictured below on 29 March, shows the Suez Canal blockage beginning to ease. However, treasurers should expect more volatility in the coming months.

The freight derivative markets for dry bulk carriers are seeing heavy traded volume in 2021 due to high volatility, potentially exacerbated by the Suez incident.
Data from the Baltic Exchange for the week ending 19 March 2021 show a record of 78,059 lots of Dry FFA (Freight Forward Agreement) traded, a record not set since 2008.

Will gold remain bullish in 2021?

Gold is seen as a hedge against uncertainty and hence we witnessed a drastic increase in pricing during the pandemic. However, will vaccine rollouts and stimulus measures cause this precious metal to bottom out?

Watch – Refinitiv Metals Outlook 2021: Gold

How Mercuria proactively manages commodities exposure

Mercuria is a global energy and commodity group, with business lines covering a diverse range of commodities trading, as well as large scale infrastructure assets. Discover how they manage exposures in FX, FI and commodities markets, as well as credit terms with trading counterparties.

Sustainability and ESG: what role should you play?

Today, no two treasury teams are alike when it comes to sustainable finance roles and responsibilities. However, will upcoming regulatory and political change result in clearer and globalised standards and benchmarks? And what should treasurers be watching out for?

Join us, the ACT and two leading treasurers from Page Group and Optivo next week to discuss these significant developments – and how treasurers can support future growth ambitions, sustainably.

LIBOR: What you need to know about fallback and transition data

To prepare for the oncoming LIBOR transition and IBOR reform, hear from Trang Chu Minh and Fausto Marseglia as they discuss fallback and transition data in relation to your bonds portfolio, and the main aspects of ISDA fallback rates.

Watch – Refinitiv Perspectives LIVE: The LIBOR Transition: Fallback & Transition Data

Refinitiv Corporate Treasury Newsbeat

Refinitiv’s Taking FX Trading Mobile: responding to the shift to remote working – with mobile trading apps predicted to be the most influential technology shaping the future of trading – Refinitiv is working with partners to develop a seamless end-to-end FX workflow, accessible by mobile app.

LSEG Automates $7bn Debt Capital Transaction: last month, London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) successfully priced a landmark syndicated multi-tranche and multi-currency offering, raising  $7bn equivalent across nine tranches.

Key transaction steps were conducted on Flow, a digital platform driving end-to-end automation in primary debt markets, developed in partnership with Nivaura.

This is the most complex transaction to use a primary debt capital markets digitisation platform, and a milestone for LSEG, as its largest bond and first USD Reg S/ Rule 144A issuance. Find out more about the landmark transaction.

 

 

How to Prepare for a New Era of Real-time Banking and Payment Services

20-04-2021 | treasuryXL | Kyriba |

An active liquidity network allows companies to avoid multiple costs and delays by globally managing liquidity across their subsidiaries. With 500 banks involved and over 40,000 payment formats to use, this is already a reality for over 2,000 Kyriba clients.

I am often asked, what is an “Active Liquidity Network”? Actually it’s the very foundation of the Kyriba platform, but let me use a simple example to illustrate what it is and the difference it makes.

Technology is providing us with so many great options for everyday life activities. Take the humble takeaway. Not so long ago you’d call up, your order would be placed in a manual ordering system, food would be prepared and then it would be delivered. Today the takeaway experience can be very different. You will order on a mobile device or with a delivery service or by voice or Messenger. The delivery service tells the kitchen what food to prepare, conducts all the billing and organises the food to be couriered to you. While the cooking of the food is still manual, everything else is managed by cloud-based technologies, and you have lots of options, each with their own take on how to make your takeaway experience better, faster, cheaper.

The same thing is happening within businesses. SaaS technology enables your corporate teams to work more autonomously with a resource-planning package that is more bespoke to their task. The original ERP is being unbundled and focused on aggregating accounting entries from various other systems. These bring great benefits to your company’s ability to compete in the marketplace, making you better, faster and cheaper. But given that many of these tools are able to instruct or make payments, this introduces a hazardous landscape for currently accepted liquidity management and control practices.

The problem is further exaggerated by the global expansion that has taken place in the last 20 – 30 years. Technology isn’t just providing more options for how a corporate plans its resources. It’s also providing better, cheaper, faster options for how payments are made and received. Each approach has its own pros and cons. The upshot is that there are many more providers today conducting more payments in more innovative ways, but this innovation, while opening up new choices, also makes the payments landscape more complex.

All this hasn’t stopped an explosion in electronic payment volumes. This is an unstoppable trend that demands a more robust way of controlling and managing payments in and out of business of any size, just as a restaurant receiving 1,000 takeaway orders a night will need to move away from servicing orders on pen and paper. The risks, the costs, and the lack of speed and optimisation are all too great.

The challenge you face

Now, let’s look at a corporate example to illustrate the challenge. Let’s assume a multinational group has a subsidiary in Birmingham, in the UK, which needs to make payments for goods and services to suppliers in Romania and Turkey. The subsidiary has its operating bank account with TSB and is using the bank’s SMB portal to manage cash and make payments. Its ERP system is connected with the bank’s portal for automatic payment file upload. At the same time, the company has subsidiaries in Romania and Turkey that also have a similar setup with their local banks. It all looks good and well-automated everywhere.

But to actually make a payment to a Turkish or Romanian supplier, the Birmingham-based subsidiary’s treasurer has to go through the following steps: approve a foreign currency payment; agree to the exchange rate offered by the bank, which is given without reference to a spread of interbank rates; wait for one or two days for the other FX rate to settle; wait one or two days more for the payment to be cleared by TSB via Swift and the corresponding bank network; wait some more until the supplier confirms they have received the funds and made a shipment; and finally reconcile it all manually with the ERP system.

As a result, the subsidiary incurs the FX spread, swap rates on every payment up to 100 basis points, and interbank transfer fees for every payment of £20. There are also three further delays before the funds reach the beneficiary accounts and manual reconciliation of the ERP. And that happens with every payment for every subsidiary every day!

It’s a pity that the Birmingham-based company doesn’t know that group company subsidiaries in Romania and Turkey have plenty of lei and lire in their local bank accounts. Or that they are connected to their domestic clearing systems providing same day or in real-time clearing and automating confirmation, or no fee at all. Or that there was a better, faster, cheaper payment option the corporate could easily connect to.

How an Active Liquidity Network works?

Let’s look at a different way of doing this. Imagine that the group chooses Kyriba and gets on board the Kyriba global SaaS platform. All of its subsidiaries – including those in the UK, Romania and Turkey as well as headquarters – and all of those subsidiaries’ ERP systems – are then connected to Kyriba for payment, invoicing, and cash flow upload as well as for GL entry reconciliation. Over 2,000 customers and 65,000 legal entities are live today. Kyriba offers automated bank connectivity via secure SFTP and now bank API with more than 500 banks worldwide and growing. And our bank format libraries have more than 40,000 formats and variances supporting payment originations from more than 100 countries in payment delivery to more than 130 countries. Using Kyriba, the payments submitted by the UK subsidiary will be automatically converted to the relevant domestic clearing formats and submitted to those banks the same day.

What difference does that make? With the Kyriba platform the group can internalise and optimise its payment flows. It can see cash balances and cash forecasts across all currencies and bank accounts in real time. A treasury team using Kyriba Cash Forecasting and Kyriba In-house Banking Module can net the outflows by currency and use the market to square off or net the currency positions. As soon as the payments are acknowledged by the banks in real-time or (worst case) next morning, the confirmations and automated dual entries can be imported into the UK subsidiary’s ERP for automated reconciliation.

Better still, the company can use offers like Kyriba Pay, powered by partners like NatWest, that offer competitive and transparent FX spreads with no hidden fees attached. They can choose to use the liquidity they have in lei, lire or other currencies to make the payments without FX conversions at all. That means no interbank fees, globally optimising the effects of exposures and costs, and making same-day payments to 130 countries with automatic dual reconciliation.

That’s what we mean by an Active Liquidity Network. Ours is already the largest in the world, and growing by about 30% annually. It is the foundation of the Kyriba platform that enables our Treasury payment factory risk management and supply chain finance applications, as well as many other value-added services. We are already processing 17 million transactions on behalf of our customers on an average day. We will continue to innovate our existing propositions.

The world’s connectivity is moving to open API. We are pursuing that in three ways.

First, Bank API Connectivity: we have completed pilots with two global banks already, and will be delivering many more in 2021. Secondly, ERP API Connectivity, leading to ERP connect on marketplace, and thirdly Kyriba Open API, to turn the Kyriba active liquidity network into an open API platform for customers, partners and fintechs. This is what we call the Kyriba Active Liquidity Network.

It is here right now and you have a choice to make. Deal on your own with the growing size and complexity of managing liquidity at global scale on time, with speed, accuracy and efficiency . . . or join the 2,000 corporations who are doing it by leveraging the Kyriba platform, and really drive the value of your business.

 

8 questions for Treasury Expert Philip who won the award for 2020 Best Fintech Solution

19-04-2021 | Philip Costa Hibberd | treasuryXL

With over 12 years of experience in the financial industry with the last four years in treasury consulting, Philip has recently launched his own consulting activity, Automation Boutique, specialized in (robotic) process automation for Treasury, Risk and Finance.

“I have been coding for fun since I was a kid. This skill has been very useful throughout my career but has become my trademark in Treasury.”

He recently developed the tool that was awarded the “2020 Best Fintech Solution – Adam Smith award” by Treasury Today magazine. He now tries to focus on what he has always enjoyed the most during his career: solving problems at the intersection between ‘numbers’, ‘people’ and ‘technology’.

We are delighted to share the interview with Philip. Let’s dive into his treasury journey where he answers 8 questions…

1. How did your treasury journey start?

As for many of us, it started somewhat by accident. After working in other areas of finance for many years, a few ethical questions started nagging me. Add a sabbatical, some romance, and a few lucky phone calls and I found myself joining the great corporate treasury team at Zanders (a consultancy firm specialized in Treasury, Risk and Finance).

2. What do you like the most about working in Treasury?

I love the diversity of challenges. You are dealing with the financial heart of the company and need to make sure that the right amount of blood reaches every cell. This necessarily means dealing with different kinds of issues, topics and people. This keeps Treasury fun and in constant evolution!

3. What is your Treasury Expertise?

I have been working as a consultant on very different Treasury projects, from interim roles to system implementations. I guess I am what you would call a generalist, but with a knack for using technology and social skills to solve problems. I have been coding for fun since I was a kid. This skill has been very useful throughout my career but has become my trademark in Treasury.

4. What has been your best experience in your treasury career until today?

Going back to the cardiovascular metaphor for Treasury, the best experience was probably when I was called by a client to solve an urgent clot which was at risk of causing severe damage. An apparently simple data migration exercise turned out to be much more complex than anticipated and was at risk of causing severe delays to a multimillion project. The solution involved a robot, a laptop being flown up and down Europe, a wedding and unreliable hotel wi-fi. Surprisingly, instead of being the ingredients for a bad joke, this led to a happy client and to an award-winning solution.

5. What has been your biggest challenge in treasury?

My biggest challenge in Treasury was witnessing the clash of American, Dutch, Indian, Japanese and many more cultures during a global SAP implementation (going live during a pandemic). Holding three nationalities and being exposed to different cultures from an early age didn’t help me as much as I would have hoped. I would encourage anyone working with different cultures to read Erin Meyer’s book “The Culture Map”. It will be helpful.

6. What’s the most important lesson that you’ve learned as a treasurer?

No one is rational and analytical all the time, not even experienced treasury professionals. Good communication is more important than perfect data and models, especially during a crisis. Without it you will lead or be led by emotion and will certainly miss the best course of action. When fear creeps in your own monkey mind, don’t be afraid to have a good conversation with it. Assess how big the actual threat is compared to the shadow being cast by your amygdala.

7. How have you seen the role of Corporate Treasury evolve over the years?

Corporate Treasury has come a long way from its more transactional origins and – as expected – is taking more of an advisory and strategic role within organizations. The boundaries with other specialized professions have faded (risk management and FP&A just to name a few) and I think that this is a good thing. Skilled professionals should be employed to solve interesting problems and come up with great ideas. The best problems and ideas are usually found at the intersection between disciplines and it’s only natural that we tend to all meet there more and more often.

8. What developments do you expect in corporate treasury in the near and further future?

For the near future I expect the focus on the hot topics of the moment to continue: cash visibility, cash flow forecasting, operational efficiency etc.

For the further future, I won’t adventure on guessing exactly what hot topics the next crisis will bring. I will instead share my best guess on the evolution on the corporate treasurer as a person.

My guess is that she or he will be less of a specialist and more of a generalist. The ideal corporate treasurer will be ‘renaissance polymath’ if you will. Our rapidly changing environment makes it more difficult to remain a (useful) specialist for long. Technology also tends to favour the generalist by democratizing specialist’s skills. There will certainly always be room for very specialized knowledge, but the risk of learning too much about too little in a dynamic environment, is that after a while you risk knowing everything about nothing.

 

Philip Costa Hibberd

 

 

 




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Looking for a Treasury Support Employee

16-04-2021 | Treasurer Search | treasuryXL

Our Partner Treasurer Search is looking for a Treasury Support Employee for an industrial conglomerate with a global presence. The ideal candidate for this position has a relevant bachelor degree and completed a first job in the back office of a corporate treasury or a bank. As a person she is very detail oriented and communicates easily with colleagues and banks around the world.

Tasks Treasury Support Employee

Working in a large team, the treasury support employee is responsible for settlements, confirmations, reconciliation of various financial, derivatives and commodity flows. She collects data and prepares analysis and reports. With her colleagues she manages the corporate treasury infrastructure and various projects.

Client

Our client is an industrial conglomerate with a global presence. In Amsterdam the centralized treasury is managed with a team with members with a wide variety of cultural backgrounds.

Remuneration and Process

The expected annual base salary for this candidate is €40K. Our client expects us to manage a thorough recruitment process including reference and diploma checks early in the process. Your input is appreciated. For candidates that qualify and are interested, further information is available.

The Treasurer Test might be part of the recruitment process.

Location

Amsterdam

Contact person

Kim Vercoulen
T: +31 850 866 798
M: +31 6 2467 9339
E: [email protected]

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How to understand what you need from a business international payments provider

15-04-2020 | treasuryXL | XE |

To get the best from any international payments specialist and most effectively manage your organisation’s currency risks, take some time to think about what you need from the company you choose to work with.

Not all business international payments providers are the same—and neither are all businesses. Your business’s size, the industry you work in, the types of payments you want to make, your knowledge of the currency markets, and your general preferences for how you conduct business are just a few factors to consider when looking for the right provider.

To make sure you get the best from any international payments specialist and can most effectively manage your organisation’s currency risks, take some time to think about what you need from the company you choose to work with.

Ask yourself:

  • How much forward visibility do you have of your foreign exchange requirements?
  • How do you prefer to conduct your business—online, over the phone, or in person?
  • How simple (or complex) are your requirements?
  • What kind of payments does your business make?

How much forward visibility do you have of your FX requirements?

Are you actively looking to the future to strategize for future payments, or do you handle each payment as it comes? For example, if your business buys and sells currency as and when you make transactions (such as buying or selling goods and services), you may want to look for a clean, easy-to-use online platform that offers competitive rates for quick transactions.

On the other hand, if your business is considering its long-term FX risk management strategy and you anticipate new requirements in the future, you may benefit from a more hands-on approach that includes not just online service but also a team of foreign exchange experts to act as your eyes and ears in the market and a range of payment services (such as forward contracts and market orders).

How would you prefer to conduct business?

Would you prefer to quickly take care of your transactions online? Or would you prefer to speak with another person who can answer your questions and build a relationship with your business? Would you like both? What about 24/7 service?

These are all features you can find in FX providers. Consider which ones make the most sense for your business and would make you feel the most comfortable as you make payments.

What are your FX requirements?

If you do a little research, you’ll see that there are countless products and features available to businesses. While they play a key role in some business’ FX strategies, not every business uses them, or even needs them.

Too often, businesses end up confused by overly complex features and functionality they never use, when all they really wanted was the ability to make simple international payments and get great rates. Or other businesses work with providers that aren’t sophisticated enough to cater to their needs, and don’t fully address their risks. Consider some of the following:

  • Are you a voracious consumer of market information? You’ll want a provider that provides plenty of information (whether online or over the phone) to keep you up to date with the latest exchange rate movements. If the currency markets overwhelm and don’t interest you, you may be better suited to a more streamlined service.
  • Is your business opportunist in its approach to buying and or selling currency or does it actively manage its foreign exchange exposure in order to hedge its currency risk? Do you require post trade flexibility to split orders or roll trades?
  • Does your business require flexible user access rights to match internal safeguards and processes or do you simply require a single login?

And that brings us to the most important question of all…

What kind of payments are you making?

Your international payments provider needs to help you make the payments the way you’d like to. Ask yourself:

  • How frequently are you making payments?
  • What countries are you making payments to? Which currencies?
  • Are you interested in locking in rates for future transfers, or scheduling transfers to send once a certain rate is live? Or would you rather make quick payments on the spot?
  • Are you comfortable making these transactions yourself, or would you like help from your provider?

How can Xe help your business?

At Xe, we have a simple, easy-to-use platform where you can initiate quick transactions 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you’re looking for more specialized solutions, we also offer multiple money transfer products and services. We work with each business to ensure that they receive the strategy that they need, whether they’re a sole proprietor or a large corporation.

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Get in touch with XE.com

About XE.com

XE can help safeguard your profit margins and improve cashflow through quantifying the FX risk you face and implementing unique strategies to mitigate it. XE Business Solutions provides a comprehensive range of currency services and products to help businesses access competitive rates with greater control.

Deciding when to make an international payment and at what rate can be critical. XE Business Solutions work with businesses to protect bottom-line from exchange rate fluctuations, while the currency experts and risk management specialists act as eyes and ears in the market to protect your profits from the world’s volatile currency markets.

Your company money is safe with XE, their NASDAQ listed parent company, Euronet Worldwide Inc., has a multi billion-dollar market capitalization, and an investment grade credit rating. With offices in the UK, Canada, Europe, APAC and North America they have a truly global coverage.

Are you curious to know more about XE?
Maurits Houthoff, senior business development manager at XE.com, is always in for a cup of coffee, mail or call to provide you detailed information.

 

 

Visit XE.com

Visit XE partner page

 

 

 

4 questions for the Cash and Currency Manager at Boskalis

| 13-04-2021 | by treasuryXL | Kendra Keydeniers

Without a doubt you have seen the giant container ship ‘Ever Given’ blocking the Suez canal from March 23 till March 29, 2021. One week later we were very close to an unprecedented oil spill by a rudderless cargo ship, nevertheless this story got a happy ending. Boskalis, the leading global dredging and offshore contractor and maritime services provider, saved the world twice in nine days.

Back in 2019 we interviewed the Cash & Currency Manager at Boskalis, Steven de Klein. We took this momentum to look back and see when his career in treasury started and why he decided to start with the Register Treasurer program.

Steven de Klein decided to take a deeper dive into the world of treasury and started the Register Treasurer (RT) program in 2014. He graduated as RT  in 2017. Before moving into treasury, he studied Business Economics in Nijmegen.

His first experience in treasury was a good one, “The field of treasury is much greater than most people expect” said Steven.

With its roots in the Netherlands, Boskalis has over 100 years’ experience in hydraulic engineering, coastal protection and land reclamation. The head office is located in Papendrecht and they have an extensive network of branches around the world. They operate in 90 countries and across six continents, with a versatile fleet of more than 900 vessels and floating equipment. Shares in the company have been listed on Euronext Amsterdam since 1971.

We asked Steven 4 questions about the RT program:

  1. What for you was the main reason to start a career in treasury?

    During my final year at the Radboud University in Nijmegen where I studied Business Economics, I started at a small advisory firm specialized in (corporate) financing. That was my first experience in treasury and it suited me well. Soon afterwards I joined a development & construction company that showed me that treasury was more than just financing and before you know it, you are a ‘treasurer’.

  2. Why did you start with the RT program?

    After working within the same company for a few years I noticed that my learning curve was leveling out. I started to investigate what treasury courses and programs where available and found that the RT program is without any doubt the best and most comprehensive treasury course available in The Netherlands.

  3. How did the education help you in your career?

    Not only did I gain a lot of new knowledge about treasury, but also about related topics such as macro-economics, fiscal law and (hedge) accounting. This helps to connect the dots a lot better when you’re back at your daily job. It also brought me a new network of people, good memories and I even think my current job at Royal Boskalis Westminster NV.

  4. Are you still in touch with your peers?

    Absolutely, during the 2-year program you built a strong relationship with your peers, since you do spend almost a full day per week with them. This is also one of the bigger benefits of the RT program in comparison to at-home studies.

We have more RT stories to share with you, here are the stories of Bouke, Michel, Jarno, Mathieu and Richard.

The post-graduate Executive Treasury Management & Corporate Finance programme combines two finance disciplines: Treasury Management and Corporate Finance. These disciplines largely overlap and are inextricably connected.

After a successful completion of all required modules, the title of Registered Treasurer (RT) is conferred by the Registered Treasurer foundation.

Kendra Keydeniers

Director, Community & Partners treasuryXL