Tips & Tricks for optimizing Forecasting & Working capital

| 30-06-2021 | Cashforce |

The economy is poised for a rebound due to pent-up household demand coupled with historically low inventories. Businesses need to start preparing for the surge in orders and ensure they can sufficiently manage working capital and continue to finance their operations in the most efficient way.

Automating key elements of the Order-to-Cash process will allow businesses to absorb this revenue growth with their existing resources, while generating greater sums of liquidity — ensuring they can stay on top of their cash conversion cycles without the need for expensive and risky borrowing.

Watch Rob Harvey from Sidetrade alongside Nicolas Christiaen, CEO & Co-founder of Cashforce.

A few key points discussed in this session:

  • The importance of thinking about the process first to understand your cash flow drivers and to define what you want to measure.
  • Key to automating your processes is to start small, land & expand.
  • Create synergies by effectively combining cash & working capital data.
  • Building the business case internally by calculating the different aspects that bring ROI.

Are you ready for the economy to bounce back?

Watch this session on-demand Here

 

Press release | New Cashforce office in Warsaw, Poland fuels its cash forecasting product excellence

08-06-2021 | treasuryXL | Cashforce |

Cashforce, an innovative Cash Forecasting and Working Capital Analytics solution provider, has announced it will open a new office in Warsaw, Poland to expand the company’s activities. This new office will further accelerate Cashforce’s growth and market presence on a global scale with the addition of a new technical team. For this expansion, various product-focused positions are becoming available, ranging from Chief Architect and team leaders to analysts and front-end/back-end engineers.

“We are delighted to share the news of the opening of our product-focused branch. Together with our new platform which launches soon, we continue to push the frontier of Cash Forecasting & Working Capital product excellence,” said Nicolas Christiaen, CEO of Cashforce.

Cash forecasting remains a top priority of any corporate and Cashforce offers a unique solution to assist finance and treasury departments in this challenge. Building upon years of experience, we’re reinforcing the vision to save time and cash by offering automated Cash Forecasting technology. Our new platform is equipped with real-time data processing capabilities, an intuitive user-experience that lowers the barrier to entry and enhanced (AI-powered) scenario building capabilities.

Jan Bakker, COO of Cashforce, adds: “It’s great to see our global presence ramping up. By reinforcing the product team with various technical positions, we’re ready to further integrate the latest and greatest technologies into our product.”

As a Fintech scale-up disrupting the treasury space, we are experiencing substantial international growth. To make our ambitious vision a reality, we are looking for motivated candidates to join us in creating a world-class product. Of course, it all starts with the amazing people. You can become a part of a dynamic and global team that encourages ownership, diversity and personal growth. Learn more about our company culture here.

WANT TO BE A PART OF OUR FINTECH EXPERIENCE? FIND OUT MORE ON OUR OPEN POSITIONS HERE.

___

Cashforce is a ‘next-generation’ Cash Forecasting & Working Capital Analytics solution, focused on automation and integration. Our cloud-based software enables corporates to unlock their data and create smarter decisions, saving time and money. By integrating internal & external company data (ERPs, TMS, data lakes etc) and processing them through machine learning techniques, our SaaS solution provides insight into Cash Flows & Working Capital, automates manual and cumbersome Treasury tasks and enables AI-powered-scenarios. Cashforce is used by midsize and large corporates and has users in over 120 countries.

When Cash is key, Cash Forecasting and Working Capital leads your company towards a crystal-clear future. When Cash is key … Cashforce.

 

Press contact
Benjamin Bergers
[email protected]
+32 (0) 479 66 27 21

 

Texpo Webinar | Dark Data- Search, Collate, Conquer – Making Sense of Unstructured Cash Forecasting Data

| 08-06-2021 | treasuryXL | Cashforce

Our Partner Cashforce is holding a webinar hosted by Texpo, in which the topic ‘Dark Data: Search, Collate, Conquer – Making Sense of Unstructured Cash Forecasting Data’  is presented together with  David Jacoboski, CTP (Drew Marine).  Dark data is defined as unused or hidden data from relevant departmants in your business, which might have intrinsic value. Watch the full webinar below ??

 

Overcoming Resistance | Integrating Data in Cash Flow Forecasting

| 17-05-2021 | treasuryXL | Cashforce |

Treasurers at mid-cap Corporates looking to use large-scale data analysis to enhance cash flow forecasting are finding colleagues hesitant.

The advantages of using sophisticated data analysis in cash flow forecasting are clear to a growing number of treasurers intent on improving accuracy and eliminating human error. But implementing and executing a data-driven approach often requires collaboration with teams outside treasury, such as AR and credit collections—and some NeuGroup members are meeting resistance.

  • Solid support from leadership and showing the benefits of data analysis may make the transition smoother and help get members of other teams on board.
  • That key insight emerged from a recent discussion at a meeting of NeuGroup for Mid-Cap Treasurers, sparked by a presentation about data-enhanced cash flow forecasting from Cashforce. Read an earlier article from Neugroup here.
  • “A data mindset requires an analytical filter,” one member said, and if another team does not thrive on data, it takes some effort to get colleagues to buy in.

Overcoming intimidation. “I like to be very data-driven,” one member said. “Sometimes that doesn’t go over well in our company. It can be intimidating to people.”

  • “When you start questioning trends, it doesn’t always make people feel very good,” she continued. “I think there can be a lot of defensiveness.”
  • Another treasurer said that, in his experience, “having access to data and showing it to [staff] kind of scares them. People say they want to change—people don’t want to change.”
  • Though there can be a learning and implementation period, he said he was able to find success by stressing how much time data analysis could save in the long run.

Navigating collaboration. Some members said teams that consistently set low expectations for cash flow are often obstacles to using data that produces different, more accurate forecasts. “There can be sandbagging in the forecast, people can be resistant to being more optimistic,” one member said.

  • Another said that, though she would like to see the company implement a more data-focused model for cash flow, it would be too great a challenge to work with functions that don’t fit under the treasurer and do not share the data mindset.
  • One treasurer said his company is having these issues with its AR team, which does not report to him. “When you compare quarters, [we are] 10-15% over our forecast,” he said. “There’s a disconnect.”

Teamwork, dream work. That member said he was able to work with his company’s AR team to incorporate data and effectively eliminate the issue, though there was initial reluctance.

  • He recommends a single individual in a management role spearhead this kind of change. “If it is more driven by one leader, it is easier to shield criticism and make a right decision.”
  • The member said another source of friction can be FP&A and other finance or business leaders outside of treasury who want to maintain oversight of forecasts.
  • Though there is value in working together to incorporate data for forecasting, he said, “the entire organization needs to be ready to become more objective rather than try to manage divisions.”

 

Webinar Recording: The importance of cash management during the crisis | the impact of the pandemic

| 31-03-2021 | treasuryXL | Cashforce |ACT

Rewatch ACT’s session ‘The importance of Cash management during the crisis: the impact of the Pandemic’ with David Shinkins (Barclays), James Marshall (Virgin Media), Hailey Laverty Hotels & Resorts) & Nicolas Christiaen from our Partner Cashforce.

 

 

 

Webinar recording: Cashforce & TIS are Partnering Up to Deliver Best-of-Breed Technology

| 17-03-2021 | treasuryXL | Cashforce | TIS

Cashforce & TIS are partnering up to deliver best-of-breed technology. Watch the webinar recording with Nicolas Christiaen and Joerg Wiemer and get to know more about this best-of-breed approach and how this partnership can help you tackle your challenges in cash flow forecasting and corporate payments.

 

 

 

Corporate Liquidity Forum: The Resilient Digital Treasury

| 04-02-2021 | Cashforce

Next week, our Partner Cashforce is speaking at Citi’s 2021 Corporate #Liquidity Forum: The Resilient Digital #Treasury Global Conference together with their client Kiera Agnew, assistant treasurer at Kellogg Company. During this event, Treasury Trends & Priorities, Cash & Liquidity Management, and more interesting Treasury Topics will be discussed. Don’t miss it!

? February 10th, 10am – 12pm EST (4pm – 6pm CET)

Key Topics include:

  • Economic Outlook
  • 2021 Treasury Trends & Priorities
  • Global Outlook for Liquidity Management
  • New Business Models and the Evolution of Treasury
  • Cash Flow and Real-Time Liquidity Innovation

 

For More Information and How to Register click HERE ?

 

 

 

Getting Granular: A Tool to dig deeper and Improve Cash Forecasts

03-02-2021 | Cashforce | treasuryXL |

Covid-19 shook the foundations of Cash Flow forecasting and Working Capital Management for companies facing uncertainty about revenues, vendor payments, appropriate inventory levels and adequate cash reserves.

  • At a recent NeuGroup virtual interactive session, one participant impressed others by describing how a Fintech solution provided by Cashforce a year earlier allowed his company to dig into the weeds of business operations, examining line-item details of cash flows to prepare for and absorb shocks to liquidity.
  • That ability helped treasury provide real value to the company when the internal spotlight landed on the team during the pandemic.

Digging into details: Cashforce opened a window to a more accurate cash picture by revealing what was going on across the business and how various moving ‘levers’ were rapidly changing, the treasurer said.

  • The technology tracked the granular details of cash flows and highlighted respective drivers that helped identify areas of business behaving normally and those under greater stress from delays in customer receipts.
  • The resulting insights facilitate setting baseline expectations and seeing potential roadblocks so that treasury teams can have productive conversations with operations teams about changes, new products, etc. so that business intelligence is layered into forecasts appropriately.

The velocity and veracity of data. Covid-19 has called more attention to the need for banking APIs and the harmonization of data feeds into a single analytical source. Real-time mandates are now the norm: Everyone wants payment information in real time, with consolidated cash positions at the press of a button. This greater level of urgency has driven the need for cash flow forensics and analytics.

  • 82% of participants polled have accelerated plans to automate and digitize treasury operations since the pandemic (see chart above for details).
  • Cashforce stressed that all processes surrounding cash flow and working capital optimization must be revisited to accomplish real-time goals. Across companies, they are seeing an emergence of a cash culture away from the heavy focus solely on earnings.

 

 

This shift requires links to AI models so treasury practitioners can determine cash flow drivers not easily spotted by the human eye because they are in the weeds of massive amounts of data.

The data is there; why can’t we get to it? Simply put by one member: Most treasury management systems (TMSs) are not designed to house the magnitude of transaction-level data nor provide the analytic capabilities needed for transparent cash forecasting and best-in-breed working capital analytics.

  • For example, not all TMSs are able to take in various data streams or extrapolate trends to build cash flow patterns into a cash forecast. For companies with multiple ERPs, the complexity and volume of data becomes exponentially difficult to manage and impossible to analyze manually.
  • Algorithms designed to roll up your sleeves for you and dig into transaction-level detail to predict trends and flag anomalies provide a structure for cash optimization and a safeguard for deviations that threaten liquidity.
  • Measure KPIs to move the needle. Automated calculations and daily reporting on key indicators through Cashforce tools allow for expedited metrics that enable smart decision making and facilitate improving working capital through analytics.

Wedded bliss: Marrying short-term direct to long-term indirect cash forecasts! Treasury and FP&A forecast disconnects are common sources of reconciliation tension across companies.

  • Cashforce uses a “rules engine” that takes ERP data to transform the indirect P&L components into direct cash flow drivers and calculate timing parameters based on historical trends.
  • One member inquired about the possibility of forecasting by purchase order and was pleased to hear that once the purchase order details were transferred into the system, algorithms calculate cash amounts and timing for both “open ended or closed” purchase orders, taking the headache out of what is often a guessing game.

 

 

 

Cashforce & TIS – Partnering Up to Deliver Best-of-Breed Technology

| 29-01-2021 | treasuryXL |

In July 2020, Cashforce, the “next generation” cash forecasting & working capital analytics company and TIS, well known as a leading bank connectivity & payments provider formed a strategic alliance. This collaboration provides a unique solution for corporates looking for a rich cash forecasting and payment experience with seamless integration to their banks and enterprise systems (ERP, TMS etc.).

Join the webinar with Nicolas Christiaen, CEO & Co-founder at Cashforce and Jörg Wiemer, CSO and Co-founder at TIS and get to know more about this best-of-breed approach and how this partnership can help you tackle your challenges in cash forecasting and corporate payments.

Register Here

 

Date and Time
  • Tuesday, March 2nd 2021
  • 16:00-17:00

 

 

 

Digital Treasury: Can it Tackle the Cash Forecasting Challenge?

01-05-2021 | Cashforce | treasuryXL |

Several decades ago, Excel was invented to process/model inputs and generate outputs. Today, it is still by far the most used technology to generate a cash flow forecast. However, as we strive to achieve better forecasting accuracy rates, our desire for automation and the seamless processing of FX hedges, liquidity borrowings and deposits have underlined the need for more effective modelling and increasingly powerful data processing.

The good news is that we’re at the forefront of that digital treasury revolution, or so-called ‘Treasury 4.0’. This means:

  • Leaving the manual-driven Excel jungle behind us and adopting an automated, data-driven forecasting process
  • Automating decision-making based on logic (rules that are within corporate policies), which will drive our liquidity and FX hedge usage

THE CASH FLOW FORECASTING CHALLENGE

Last year, multiple treasury surveys from sources including the Association for Financial Professionals, the UK Association of Corporate Treasurers, PwC and Citi, concluded that cash flow forecasting remains the primary challenge for treasurers today.

What are the headaches behind the process? Why is it so difficult for a corporate treasurer to generate an accurate cash flow forecast? And do we currently have the opportunity to solve this challenge?

The cash flow forecasting challenge consists of multiple underlying process complexities. The aim is to create an accurate cash flow forecast that helps us to make optimal FX and liquidity decisions.

What is accurate? You could write a book about cash forecast accuracy, since accuracy levels are totally different when comparing forecasts between different industries, time horizons, cash flow categories etc. When we forecast with a time horizon of five years, the accuracy levels are, of course, nowhere near as precise as when we forecast something just a few days in advance – and more reliable data is available. Depending on the goal, the treasurer will need a specific form of accuracy.

In addition, cash flow forecast data, together with the forecast assumptions/used models, need to come together in a well-coordinated process. Other challenges lie behind this process, including a disconnect between different data sources/systems such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) and treasury management systems.

Furthermore, there are myriad data-related issues to contend with including: concerns regarding data quality inside these multiple systems; the sheer volume of data to be processed; the need for granular and/or high-level data; and whether reliable external data can be found to be used to further improve the model.

Finally, aligning and coordinating forecasting assumptions between the different company departments is a time-consuming exercise. Imagine pulling all these assumptions from both HQ and local levels into an Excel model. No easy task.

 

FIG 1: THE CASH FLOW FORECASTING CHALLENGE

Fig 1: The cash flow forecasting challenge

SO, WHAT HAS CHANGED?

Solving the cash flow forecasting challenge is easier said than done. Nevertheless, today treasurers can leverage several available technologies that, if used together intelligently, can tackle the described challenges head-on.

First, when we think about the goals and the accuracy levels that treasurers want to achieve, we can use different models to calculate those, such as accuracy heatmaps. Second, when we consider the data (ERP and non-ERP) required to run these cash flow forecasts, we can rely on big data engines, advanced extract, transform and load (ETL) processes, and application programming interface- (API) and non-API-based connectors that create an easy data flow into forecasting models. We have ways to analyse data quality as never before and we can set up a reliable work flow process to obtain assumptions from the decentralised business units all the way up to HQ level. This generates a cash flow forecast while keeping the granular detail.

Third – and we are only scratching the surface here – several machine learning models and algorithms are now at our disposal. These can be used to build and optimise cash flow forecasting models, so we can indeed solve the forecasting challenge in a reliable way.

Finally, armed with the right tools, the salient question is: what can we actually do with the cash forecast? We call it Cash Flow Forecasting 3.0: automating the decisions that are based upon the cash forecast (investing excess liquidity, performing a particular hedge, etc.) or the so-called post-forecasting decision-making engine.

By combining technologies we can not only automate manual and repetitive tasks, but effectively integrate the systemic data with human expertise and algorithmic trends from historic data. Add to this the use of recommendation engines and intelligent insights, and the interplay of data inputs can generate enriched decision support. Apparent visualisations and scenario analyses can offer a clear view of actionable results that treasury and management can use in their decision process. Reliable technology that enables people to make high-caliber decisions; this, we believe, is the true power of digital.

 

 

About Cashforce        

Cashforce is a Cash Forecasting & Working Capital Analytics platform for corporates, focused on analytics, automation and integration. Cashforce connects the Treasury department with other finance / business departments by offering full transparency into its cash flow drivers, accurate & automated cash flow forecasting and treasury reporting. The platform is unique in its category because of the seamless integration with numerous ERPs & banking systems, the ability to drill down to transaction level details, and the intelligent AI-based simulation engine that enables multiple cash flow scenarios, forecasts & impact analysis.