09-08-2022 | treasuryXL | Refinitiv | LinkedIn |
Banks face uncertainty over changing responsibilities under the Fundamental Review of the Trading Book (FRTB), but potential jurisdictional divergence on new requirements for data vendors could add greater complexity to the roll-out of these new rules.
08-08-2022 | treasuryXL | Kyriba | LinkedIn |
Nowadays if you work in treasury, probably not a day goes by without you seeing a social post or article from your subscribed newsletters on the topic of real-time Bank API. It stands for the future of bank connectivity, and it will change the way data is exchanged between corporates and banks. Trent Ellis, Senior Solution Engineer at Kyriba, spends his time assisting clients to evaluate what works the best for them from a solution point of view, with both their current and future business needs in mind. In his discussions with clients and prospects, bank connectivity has always been a focus area and recently he noticed a growing interest in real-time Bank APIs.
By Trent Ellis, Senior Solution Engineer
When it comes to real-time bank connectivity, the first thing I usually tell my clients is that it’s important to delineate between the different data flows such as inbound balance reporting, transaction details, confirmation reporting and outbound payment initiation. When an organization plans to make real-time bank connectivity a reality, the first thing they should do is to look at their data flows from daily operations. Identify and determine what data would benefit from a real-time update? Which items are critical for that real-time treasury decision making? Where are you going to maintain the balance and transaction data once it is received or payment data prior to it being transmitted to the bank?
Next, because many banks have grown their footprint by acquisition, bank accounts held in different regions (even regionally within a country) can be on different platforms with different technology. Therefore, within a single bank, API readiness can have a different status for different subsets of bank accounts based on branch and geographic location.
Now that the bank may have made an API connection available, how are you going to connect to it? Do you look at internal technical expertise and availability? Do you look to a third-party vendor? Consider a specialist that just does API connections or a TMS vendor that has other integrated modules and additional functionality beyond just the bank connection for statements and/or payments?
Banks are now offering bank balance API’s as well as transactional statement APIs, but sometimes not (yet) both. It’s more than likely not the same as what you would get from that same bank in the form of a BAI or MT940 standard bank statement as banks are still working on what data becomes available through the API. Bank balance reporting is important for real-time liquidity monitoring but will not always help your treasury or AP team confirm the status of a cleared payment, or the status of an important cash credit.
Yes, an API can deliver data in real-time but is the underlying platform that holds that data providing real-time data? Some banks are providing their “real-time” data on a predefined schedule throughout the day which means it is not what most would consider “real-time”. True real-time reporting requires process changes at the bank. Decreasing update time from day to hours or within the hour is an improvement that is easier to absorb without restructuring the process.
Real-time payments are payments that are cleared and settled nearly instantaneously. Real-time payments are generally facilitated by domestic or regional payment infrastructures on a 24x7x365 basis including weekends and holiday.1
Many may not be aware that globally real-time payment infrastructures have been around for as long as 40+ years, and real-time payments can be enabled via FTP or API based on Bank / FI’s offerings and the connectivity option preferred by the corporate customer. Relatively, it has been a recent development in the US payment ecosystem. In November 2017, The Clearing House launched the first real-time payment infrastructure RTP® network in the US, built on the same Vocalink technology that powers the UK’s Faster Payment System. The RTP® network was built for financial institutions of all sizes and serves as a platform for innovation allowing financial institutions to deliver new products and services to their customers. Financial Institutions can integrate into the RTP® network directly, through Third-Party Service Providers (TPSPs), Bankers’ Banks and Corporate Credit Unions.2 The US Federal Reserve will be launching its real-time payment infrastructure FedNowSM in the 2023 – 2024 timeframe.
Globally real-time payments are growing at a double-digit growth rate across all major markets. Adoption of real-time payments will continue to be use case specific, especially for use cases that are underserved by existing payment infrastructures. In the long-term, we should expect real-time payments to be an important part of corporate’s payments mix alongside other traditional payment systems. Like other real-time payment infrastructures globally, the RTP® network has been increasing its transaction limits, which currently stands at $1million. This makes it more relevant for B2B / Corporate payment use cases – a very good example from our client HUNT Companies being the intracompany transfers for efficient deployment of working capital. However, this also means that if you need to make payments with value greater than $1million, you would need an alternative type or method for the time being. You cannot rely on the RTP® network as your only means to make payments and will still require connections for other payment types such as Wire, ACH and international formats.
The world is certainly migrating towards real-time bank connectivity, but organizations will ultimately require various connectivity strategies to fit different geographical and banking technology. In 2022, most real-time Bank APIs are an incremental addition to existing connection methods and formats for both statements and payments. Currently, Bank APIs are not a replacement for other options, which are still required to get a complete picture of prior day statement activity and/or ability to send all required payments. Therefore, my recommendations to my clients always remain the same:
Find out more details on Bank APIs from the Kyriba Developer Portal, and watch any time an on-demand webinar on everything you need to know about APIs: Bank Connectivity and Beyond.
1 Real-Time Payments: Everything You Need to Know. Paymentsjournal.com. 2021
2 The RTP® Network: For All Financial Institutions. The Clearing House.
02-08-2022 | treasuryXL | GTreasury | LinkedIn |
01-08-2022 | treasuryXL | VU Amsterdam | LinkedIn |
(online) August 17 at 10.00 am CET, you are invited to join this expert session
Since 1998, the School of Business and Economics of the VU University offers the Post Graduate programme: Treasury Management & Corporate Finance. The programme focuses on professionals with an academic background in economics and/or finance and at least five years’ work experience in the financial sector. The philosophy of the programme is to develop ‘Treasury Academic Professionals’, able to analyze complex treasury management & corporate finance issues independently or in multidisciplinary teams and solve and report on them. The programme differs from other programmes/courses in the field of treasury management & corporate finance through the emphasis on developing graduates as ‘Treasury Academic Professionals’ and less emphasis on knowledge accumulating, readily available in the market.
To become a ‘Treasury Academic Professional’, graduates need an overview of the standard knowledge in the broad range of topics covered by Treasury Management and Corporate Finance and need a deep understanding of Treasury Management and Corporate Finance concepts as well in order to judge applicability, create new concepts or rapidly adjust to new concepts. This requires intellectual flexibility, obtained by regular acquisition of new (academic and professional) knowledge and being able to formulate and present on a regular basis your ‘Own Opinion’ on issues in the treasury discipline.
Therefore the programme organizes frequent discussions & debates in class and in the professional network. As a result, the Treasury academic professionals are able to think beyond the standard professional practice and judge and foster new development, act as true expert professionals by executing Treasury Management & Corporate Finance with a broad perspective on the corporate board level. And most and for all: Being able to enjoy the profession!
Below please find our 3 pillar approach to becoming a Treasury academic professional:
Robert Dekker is Associate Director at KPMG Netherlands. He studied Economics at the University of Groningen and did an Associate’s Degree in Risk Management at the University of Pennsylvania.
He is also programme manager for Risk Management for Financial Institutions and Treasury Management & Corporate Finance at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
Professor Herbert Rijken is Full Professor Corporate Finance at the department of Finance at VU University Amsterdam. He obtained his PhD (1993) in Physics at Eindhoven University of Technology.
His current research interests are corporate credit risk, structured corporate finance and economics of corporate governance.
Join the live session with Pieter de Kiewit, owner of Treasurer Search.
Strategic treasury career planning and the role of education
For a long time treasury has not been a conscious career choice for most practitioners. Nowadays an increasing number of professionals, including aspiring treasurers, think about and plan their professional goals. They think about drivers, companies, job types and also education.
In an interactive webinar Pieter de Kiewit will discuss the most relevant topics in strategic treasury career planning with a strong focus on the role of education in this. His career in international recruitment spans over 25 years. For almost 15 years his only focus is on recruitment in corporate treasury. Pieter is Member of the Management Board (curatorium) of the post-graduate programme Executive Treasury & Corporate Finance of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
01-08-2022 | treasuryXL | Kantox | LinkedIn |
When managing FX risk, CFOs could learn a lot from the world of asset management, where a revolution —led by indexing— has led to huge gains for investors. But how can you apply this to your business’s FX risk strategy? Watch below the video, or read the article!
Over the last couple of decades, the world of asset management —an industry with $100 trillion under management— has been turned upside down by a quite unexpected revolution: indexing. Instead of relying on managers’ capacity to time the markets, these firms have automated the selection of assets by quietly replicating stock indexes.
The answer is: yes, they can! Let us see why and how they can accomplish that feat.
Having embraced indexing early on, two leading firms have assets under management north of $15 trillion. What’s more, they have achieved such a spectacular result with fees that are only a fraction of the fees charged by those who embrace speculation. They have saved, and they are still saving, hundreds of billions in costs to investors.
Similar changes may be afoot in the business world. The term ‘exposure under management’, now used by CFOs and treasurers, comes from the expression ‘assets under management’. More importantly, CFOs are eschewing speculation — just like their cousins in asset management.
When managing currency risk in the one-trillion-a-day forward currency market, CFOs are using more and more digitised, automated solutions.
Once in a while, a lack of currency hedging or even speculating on an FX market move can yield a positive outcome for CFOs. But luck will run out at some point. Sooner or later, blindfolded by overconfidence, ‘speculative’ risk managers flounder in their vain attempt to time currency markets — with disastrous consequences for themselves and their companies.
Like stock prices and the price of other financial assets, exchange rates are not predictable. They follow ‘a random walk’ in which the forecast is set equal to today’s exchange rate (the spot rate). Accordingly, investors —and risk managers— should embrace markets rather than trying to beat them.
This is the thrust of the analogy between the asset management revolution and the coming revolution in FX risk management, an event that will ultimately enhance the strategic role of CFOs.
Let us go beyond the surface and take a closer look at the key tools and processes used by the most successful companies in asset management. These processes provide a useful template for understanding how CFOs will use Currency Management Automation solutions to manage FX.
We can single out at least five main lines of action:
28-07-2022 | treasuryXL | TIS | LinkedIn |
This blog gives you insights into the state of the treasury function in 2022 and a short list of recommended action items for better management of modern-day treasury operations
The insights highlighted in this article are based on a comprehensive set of studies conducted by TIS and our affiliates between Q1 2017 – Q2 2022. During this period, TIS held one-on-one interviews with hundreds of treasury experts and also released a suite of digital surveys that gathered feedback from thousands of financial practitioners regarding technology, staffing, and general operations.
Over the course of our research, TIS partnered closely with a niche team of industry experts, thought leaders, and consultants to interpret the findings. Historical treasury data was also obtained from the Association of Financial Professionals (AFP) and the consulting firm Strategic Treasurer to provide context regarding the evolution of treasury technologies and practices over time. Together, the expertise of our consortium and the extensive feedback collected from industry practitioners has provided us with unparalleled insights into the state of the treasury function in 2022.
While this article serves to highlight the summary findings and recommended action items from our studies, readers that would like more data and information are encouraged to download our full whitepaper for extended coverage.
The below surveys, polls, and interviews represent the full suite of research that TIS relied upon to complete our study. Links to the associated research conducted by our affiliates are provided as applicable.
This section provides a brief overview of the key points obtained through our research. For more information on any point of interest, please refer to the full whitepaper.
1. Treasury’s Responsibility List is Constantly Growing: The treasury function has never been more critical to the success of an organization, and this is being recognized internally by key stakeholders. However, treasury practitioners are now being handed additional responsibilities as executives and other departments realize the value they can provide, and nearly 80% of U.S. treasury teams saw their “net” list of responsibilities increase in 2022 vs 2021.
2. Stakeholders View Treasury as Equally Strategic & Operational: Over 50% of financial practitioners believe the treasury function holds key strategic value, which represents a significant shift from the traditional viewpoint of treasury being mostly an operational function. This shifting perspective is shared widely amongst internal stakeholders like accounting and AP. Today, treasury’s strategic influence is impacting areas like technology adoption, working capital management, bank connectivity, payment processing, and financial reporting.
3. A Saturated Technology Market is Confusing for Treasury: The growing importance of the treasury function and widespread digitalization of global financial operations has resulted in an abundance of Fintech and bank-led software products entering the market. While this has helped foster innovation, data also shows that many treasurers have become confused by the breadth of categories and service offerings in the market, which has led to greater indecision and headache during RFPs and implementations.
4. The Line Between “Treasury Expert” and “Tech Expert” is Blurring: As the treasury function continues shifting away from paper-based and manual workflows to digitally automated processes and software tools, treasury personnel are finding that their technological proficiency has a significant impact on their ability to perform their core financial responsibilities. This is leading many practitioners to seek out technology-based learning courses in tandem with their more traditional financial education.
5. Fraud & Security Concerns Remain a Critical Issue: In today’s remote and digitally-operated business landscape, tech-savvy criminals are presented with even more opportunities for infiltrating a company’s systems and processes. This is leading to a noted increase in fraudulent attempts across a variety of areas, and treasury teams are continuing to invest heavily in both technology and training to protect themselves.
6. Successful Treasury Teams Collaborate with Other Stakeholders: Research found that many of the most successful treasury teams are proactively working cross-collaboratively with other internal stakeholders and departments like accounting, AP, and IT to accomplish their objectives. These teams are also frequently partnering with external consultants, solution vendors, and bank personnel to ensure alignment and cohesion across all their various systems and operational workflows.
Based on the findings from our research and interviews, TIS experts have compiled a short list of recommended action items that treasury teams should consider as they seek to better manage their operations in 2022 and beyond. They are as follows:
1. Embrace the Opportunity to Provide Greater Strategic Input: As CFOs and other departments increasingly rely on treasury for reliable data and insights, practitioners should embrace the opportunity to expand their strategic influence internally. In the long run, this ability to provide value in new ways across the organization will benefit treasury when it comes to securing new budget and staffing approvals. However, in order to provide the most visibility and control over their operations without overloading their small teams, treasury must become highly adept at leveraging technology to eliminate manual workflows and repetitive tasks.
2. Becoming Proficient with Technology Should be Non-Negotiable: As technology continues to play a massive role in treasury, it’s crucial for practitioners to familiarize themselves with the core tenets of the modern technology landscape. This does not mean simply researching new buzzwords, but instead seeking to understand the unique differentiators that separate various bank and fintech product offerings in the market. Treasury should also not hesitate to seek out the help of specialized consultants or technology experts for help. Ultimately, treasury’s ability to effectively identify the solutions and capabilities that best fit their company’s needs will save significant time, money, and headache during implementations and migrations.
3. Managing Security for Remote Workforces Requires Extra Care: Given the continued prominence of fraud attacks within the treasury and finance environment, there is no room for error when it comes to protecting a company’s systems, workflows, and personnel. To secure their funds and assets, treasurers must implement multifaceted security controls and protocols that extend beyond the “frontlines” and include executives, administrators, and other “back-office” staff. Combining education and awareness with multiple layers of technology is the only way to gain the upper hand against a new era of tech-savvy criminal.
4. Building Strong Relationships with Other Stakeholders is Crucial: Today, most of the financial systems and workflows that exist within a business are closely intertwined. This means that treasury operations have a significant impact on other departments, and vice versa. Given the extent to which treasury workflows are integrated with those of other stakeholders, it’s vital for treasury to communicate and collaborate effectively with these groups. To ensure total alignment and cohesion, treasurers must be proactive in establishing solid relationships with internal IT, accounting, and AP departments as well as external banking and solution vendors.
5. Ongoing Education is Vital for Staying Ahead of the Curve: Treasury and finance teams have made it clear they are intent on furthering their education and professional skillsets. This professional development is not limited to any one area but encompasses a broad array of topics across both technology and finance. In a digital world, many practitioners are relying on remote seminars and webinars, but in-person events and training are still on the list for many teams as well. Moving forward, it’s highly recommended that practitioners who are serious about their careers undergo regular education and training so that they can stay abreast of new industry developments and innovations.
The TIS team hopes that the findings highlighted in our research are helpful for teams currently evaluating their own treasury structure, technologies, and workflows. For businesses that view these insights and find themselves in need for enhanced payments, cash management, and banking functionality, we would strongly urge you to consider the solution and services provided by TIS.
Today, TIS is streamlining treasury automation through a cloud-based platform that is uniquely designed to help global organizations optimize global payments and liquidity. In essence, the TIS solution is a multi-channel and multi-bank connectivity ecosystem that streamlines the processing of a company’s payments across all their global entities and systems.
Sitting above an enterprise’s technology stack and connecting with all its back-office, banking, and 3rd party solutions, TIS effectively breaks down department and geographic silos to allow 360-degree payments visibility and control. To date, the more than 200 organizations that have integrated TIS with their global ERPs, TMSs, and banking landscape have achieved near-real-time transparency into their payments and liquidity. This has benefited a broad variety of internal stakeholders and has also enabled them to access information through their platform of choice. Data is available either through dashboards or direct downloads but can also be delivered back to the originating systems.
As part of our client-centric service model, we fully commit our own resources to your implementation and manage the configuration of all required system functionalities, back-office integrations, and bank connections on your behalf. Beginning with project kick-off and lasting through testing and go-live, TIS’ all-inclusive approach to customer support means you never have to rely on internal resources to maintain our solution or integrate it with your existing technology stack.
This systematically controlled payments workflow is managed by TIS for both inbound balance information and outbound payments, and data can be delivered from any back-office system via APIs, direct plug-ins, or agents for transmission to banks and 3rd parties. No matter where you operate from, TIS provides global connectivity and provides the real-time data, control, and workflows needed for treasury to automate and control their end-to-end payments and liquidity processes.
For more information, visit our website or request a demo with one of our experts.
21-07-2022 | treasuryXL | GTreasury | LinkedIn |
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20-07-2022 | treasuryXL | The Working Capital Forum | LinkedIn |
On 1st December 2022, Working Capital Forum Europe brings together leaders in treasury, procurement, and payments to share ideas and techniques for better working capital management across supply chains.
That’s never been so important as in these times of rising interest rates, inflation, and supply chain shocks, when managing working capital is everyone’s concern.
From supply chain finance to accurate cash forecasting, solutions for every component of working capital management will be discussed on stage, demonstrated in our information area, and examined in our workshops at the world’s largest specialist working capital and supply chain finance event.
We’re delighted to return to Amsterdam for this one-day live event, with main stage keynote sessions, panel debates, and breakout workshops and demos.
If you’re interested in optimising working capital in your organisation, you need to join us in Amsterdam for the most productive day you’ve had in years.
Visit the Working Capital Forum: https://www.workingcapitalforum.com/
Join our events here: https://www.workingcapitalforum.com/events
Enter the Working Capital and Supply Chain Finance 2022 Awards here: https://www.workingcapitalforum.com/awards.html
18-07-2022 | treasuryXL | Pieter de Kiewit | Treasurer Search | LinkedIn |
Over the last weeks I saw the topic of fiscal expat rulings popping up in various media. The labour market is tight and governments want to support employers in attracting the best talent. Also internationally. In The Netherlands we have the “30% ruling” that takes care expats are not taxed over the first 30% of their income. Among politicians there is a discussion about this because, do we want to attract the best? Or do we consider lowering taxes for those who are already earning a lot not appropriate….?
14-07-2022 | treasuryXL | Refinitiv | LinkedIn |
A recent Refinitiv expert talk looks at the digital banking and fintech arena, unpacking the compliance challenges that dominate the sector and offering advice for a best-practice response.
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