College Tour International Cash Management 2019

| 04-11-2019 | treasuryXL | Vrije Universiteit

The treasurer’s professional environment is changing rapidly. Alongside the classic management of capital flows, treasurers are confronted with ever-increasing legislation. In addition, fintechs and cryptocurrency offer solutions which compete with traditional banking services. The International Cash Management module of the RT programme covers these topics extensively, clustered in several units. The Cash Management Fundamentals unit includes working capital management, liquidity forecasting and liquidity management. In addition, the structure of international banking is covered in detail. The role of correspondent banking, the principles of international payments and the main payment systems are examined in depth. In this context, the module also deals with the information technology which businesses require to create the interface with banking payment systems. Naturally, this covers the latest technological developments, including blockchain. The module also expands on netting and cash pooling techniques, the relationship with financial institutions and the organisation of an international treasury department. An overview of the legal and fiscal aspects is also included. Case studies are used to supplement the extensive practical knowledge provided.

Course Content
  • Management Account Structures: pooling Techniques, cash pooling, netting, tax and accounting impact
  • Working Capital Management: cash conversion cycle, working capital management, short term finance
  • Trade & Commodity Finance: identifying trade risks, trade instruments, trade finance solutions
  • Payment Services: payment instruments, collection instruments, clearing, bank connectivity
  • Relevant regulatory environment: Basel III, PSD2, bank relationship management
  • Cash flow forecasting methods
  • Treasury Management Systems: overview, treasury functions and evolution, selection of a treasury management system, implementation
  • Fintech: Payment innovations, Blockchain, Crypto currency

Course features

Primarily, the course gives an overview of this treasury
discipline, focussed on everyday practice and the latest
developments in this area. Sessions are interactive and
delivered by lecturers active in this field. There is an
opportunity to put knowledge sharing into practice with
the help of a game and case studies.

Exam/exemption

There will be an end-of-module examination. Participants
passing the examination will receive a certificate. This
certificate counts towards an exemption when enrolling
for the post-doctorate Treasury Management & Corporate
Finance programme; course language – English.

Coordination and lecturers

Professor Wilko Bolt (DNB) and Professor Herbert Rijken
(VU) will be the key lecturers for this module. Other lecturers will
include Rolf Michon and Nanno van der Werff.
Sybrand de Groes is responsible for the coordination of
this module. Maximum number of participants: 25

Admission requirements

The course is at Bachelor level. It is assumed that you
have work experience in the field of cash management.

Tuition fees & registration

The tuition fees are € 3,950. If there are enough places,
non-DACT members may also participate. The tuition
fees for non-members are € 4,750.

Send an email to [email protected] if you wish to register.

Location

VU Universiteit, Hoofdgebouw, Agora Zalen Complex,
De Boelelaan 1105, Amsterdam.

Course schedule

The course includes 8 double lectures (2 x 2 hours) each
week on Thursdays, starting Thursday 14 November 2019,
ending on Thursday 16 January 2019 (note: the lecture
planned on Thursday November 14, 2019 will be organized
in De Leeuwenhorst in Noordwijkerhout where the DACT
Treasury Fair will be held). Lectures are from 15:30 –
17:30 hours and 18:15 – 20:15 hours, including a meal.
The examination date is on Thursday 23 January 2020.

DOWNLOAD COLLEGE TOUR LEAFLET

Top 10 Treasury Priorities in 2020

| 29-10-2019 | TIS |

It’s webinar time! Our partner TIS will organize their next webinar on November 20, 2019.

The evolution of the Treasury function continues to accelerate with process automation and AI touching all aspects of Treasury Operations, and expectations to deliver more value across the enterprise.

How do you leverage technology to mitigate time spent on non-value add activities?

How do treasury professionals build the right relationships to deliver forecasts that matter, manage cash and bank relationships, and manage financial risks while communicating with impact to deliver business analysis that impacts performance?

Join Giancarlo Laudini, SVP Global Sales & Marketing Operations, TIS and Ernie Humphrey, CEO, 360 Thought Leadership Consulting to discover our ten priorities for Treasury teams for 2020 to tackle in order to deliver strategic value while facilitating a culture of collaboration and data-driven decision making within and beyond Treasury

 

Register here!

Date: Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Timing: 5.00 PM – 6.00 PM CET

 

 

 

 

 

 

8 Driving Factors for a Lean and Agile Treasury

| 28-10-2019 | treasuryXL | BELLIN

Dynamic processes in today’s world need lean and agile organizations. We have compiled 8 driving factors how the treasury department can achieve this goal easily.

1 Agile treasury thanks to simplified global statement collection

For businesses, a daily, group-wide, global financial status can now be a reality. It neither requires tedious manual data entry in Excel nor collecting data from subsidiaries by email.

Corporates can share their very own SWIFT BIC with all the banks they have accounts with worldwide and request to receive their account statements to this address (ideally in an MT940 format). One by one, all their banks are going to adopt this way of communication, and everything else is a question of technological automation.

2 Agile treasury thanks to netting and its effect on FX and cash management

Anyone still processing subsidiary payments as if they were customers or third-party suppliers is missing out on a number of potential benefits. This goes for anything from the reconciliation of invoices, to payments, optimized forward cover and efficient cash management. With the right intercompany netting setup, uncertainty and unknown quantities in relation to the amount, date or contents of a payment quickly become a thing of the past.

3 Agile treasury thanks to integrated IC trade documentation

Almost all group companies make use of intercompany loans – agreed to in writing, by email or by phone. If you’re lucky, the subsidiary in question can still find the agreement or has created an Excel sheet reminding them of their interest payments. If you’re unlucky, the auditor has to go in search of the correct documents, and tax authorities are knocking on your door to establish whether or not everything is compliant with the arm’s length principle. This is exactly the kind of scenario the BELLIN treasury management system can help you prevent: it creates a platform that allows both parties to demonstrate that payment dates, conditions and permissions in connection with IC loans are met and complied with, and that everything is documented properly.

4 Agile treasury thanks to digital matching

Exchanging confirmations for FX and Money Market deals is nothing new: for years, banks have been sending confirmation documents to their customers who had to return a signed copy. Ever since EMIR, this is no longer feasible and no longer makes sense. BELLIN’s treasury management system tm5 offers integrated electronic matching and has automated and digitized deal confirmation – technology that is easily implemented, saves time and identifies any errors in real time, in turn reducing risks.

5 Agile treasury thanks to collaboration and spreading the workload

The principle of Load Balanced Treasury® allows you to organize processes in a way that best meets skills and capacities. Depending on your Treasury Policy, you could for example delegate responsibility for local payments to subsidiaries or share responsibility, based on the permissions defined in the system. You can set the system up so that central treasury is automatically notified whenever they need to intervene – so they have the overview and the control.

The platform-based collaboration simplifies complex tasks, such as liquidity planning, for the whole group. Simply use the chat function to organize intercompany reconciliation and set up regular “information cycles” for funding requirements and the use of funds. This way you can stay on top of cash flows and obtain a quick and efficient overview of liquidity developments and any deviations from the planning scenario – so you are alerted straight away and can always react quickly.

6 Agile treasury thanks to agile reporting

The business world over, reports are considered time-consuming and tedious – but they don’t have to be. With all relevant data already entered and available in the system, you have everything you need to create reports at the touch of a button – tailored to the needs of your businesses. This way, you can keep all stakeholders in the loop directly from your treasury management system without the need for an additional tool.

7 Agile treasury thanks to automated processes

Repetitive user actions and recurring tasks can be done by a technological solution. The automation service schedules and automates recurring treasury tasks, such as market data import, account statement import and export, entering bulk payments or importing deals traded via a trading platform. The system automatically takes over tasks that would normally have to be done by a user. While process automation is not suitable for every task, it is also not necessary to do everything manually, again eating up resources; some tasks can easily be performed by the system.

8 Agile treasury thanks to mobile connectivity and payments authorization

Frequently, your financial challenges no longer play out behind a desk but in transit between business meetings or on your way to and from work. Or you are simply the one in charge of making that final decision based on the data gathered by your trusted team. On top of your agenda: mobile access to clearly presented information, the ability to focus on specific processes, and most importantly the knowledge that all your data and all your processes are secure!

The BELLIN Connect app allows users to access certain tm5 functions to facilitate remote working and to boost security. A straightforward interface presents data clearly, selection and configuration options are streamlined and processes are targeted and accessible.

7 New Register Treasurers

| 15-10-2019 | by treasuryXL | Kendra Keydeniers

Each year a new class starts with the two year RT program at the Vrije Universiteit (VU). That means that every year we can welcome new Register Treasurer (RT) graduates into the World of Treasury.
On October 3, 2019, the VU was proud to announce that they honored 7 new Register Treasurer graduates.

The post-graduate Executive Treasury Management & Corporate Finance programme at the VU has now been running for more than 20 years. The graduated RT’s of 2019 were part of the 21st class.

The RT programme and its benefits

The programme consists of 6 modules. Treasury (Financial) Risk Management and International Cash Management are traditional treasury disciplines. Corporate Finance is part of the Corporate Financial Management and Capital Markets and Funding module. The embedding of the treasury and corporate finance function in corporate organizations is discussed in the Treasury Organization module. An overview of relevant aspects in financial law and fiscal law is given in the Financial and Fiscal Law and Regulations module.

Each module is concluded with an exam. All modules are organized in such a way to allow for sufficient preparation time for assignments and exams.

5 key main benefits of the programme:

  1. Broad perspective on the corporate treasury and finance disciplines
  2. Master level and state of the art
  3. Interactive sessions
  4. Useful career development opportunities in a different setting
  5. Get connected to the treasury community
A career boost for the RT graduates

The main objective of the programme is to teach high-level courses that boost participants’ professional skills, knowledge and expertise in Treasury Management and Corporate Finance. Graduates of the RT programme recognize opportunities for exciting developments, are able to think out of the box and contribute to in-depth discussions with senior management and board members, which will lead to new career development opportunities and boosts job satisfaction.

Take a dive into RT career stories from graduates

The VU has been delivering RT graduates successfully for a few decades. That means that there are hundreds of graduates working, most of them in corporate treasury. How do their careers look like after they graduated? treasuryXL asked some of the RT graduates about their career development and their thoughts about the RT programme. Check it out:

Graduated as a RT and ready for a new treasury challenge?

Being a RT opens doors to new challenges more easily. Are you looking for an interim or a permanent position? Do you want to work in a small business or rather prefer a big corporation? If you want to make a switch in your career and you are open for a new adventure than I would highly recommend to contact our partner Treasurer Search. Treasurer Search is a successful treasury recruitment company, founded 10 years ago with consultants that have experience in treasury recruitment up to 20 years.

Do you have any questions about the RT programme? Are you a RT who want to share your career development via an interview? Or do you have any other related questions or remarks about the RT topic? You can contact me directly via:

Kendra Keydeniers
Community & Partner Manager at treasuryXL

 

 

 

 

 

 

Release your Working Capital and Treasury potential

| 26-09-2019 | treasuryXL | Cashforce |

Deriving meaningful information from extremely large volumes of data from multiple sources is time-consuming and inefficient for any finance or treasury function; whether that be to provide financial data or forecasts to the market, banks or internal stakeholders, the challenges are myriad. But the department cannot forecast without that insight.

To compound the problem, in a world where volatility and uncertainty have become the norm, treasurers are now part of their organisation’s strategic leadership and must increasingly find ways of bolstering their approach to gain a much-needed competitive edge.

This article considers three of the most common challenges for finance and treasury departments today, and explores how the Cashforce platform solves them:

  • Harnessing big data
  • Advanced cash flow forecasting
  • Implementing new technology.
HARNESSING BIG DATA: THE BIG PICTURE

Like many other departments within a business, most treasury functions have large volumes of consolidated data in complex spreadsheets, very rarely providing easy access to transactional data. Decision making is difficult as the answers are often buried in complicated formulas and countless links to excel templates. The problems caused by an inability to identify relevant data are compounded by any number of missed opportunities and risks. To put the big data problem into perspective, a report from McKinsey & Company suggests that a typical organisation uses less than 1% of the collected data to make decisions.

“A typical organisation uses less than 1% of the collected data to make decisions”

A major British retailer faced this very challenge — large volumes of data embedded in 10 different ERPs and no consolidated view on what was really tied up in working capital. To unlock the potential that already existed within the retailer’s own data, they asked Cashforce to implement a cloud-based solution with detailed dashboards to drill down from a consolidated position to core data by integrating with ERP systems. Within three weeks, this opened up over 20 million transactions per month, ready for analysis.

Cashforce‘s big data engine accesses vast volumes of data quickly and easily via a library of APIs and connectors which take raw data from multiple sources (including ERPs, Treasury Management Systems, data warehouses and banking platforms) and transforms it into meaningful, easy to understand dashboards — empowering the user with the big picture.

ADVANCED CASH FLOW FORECASTING: ML AND AI FOR INTELLIGENT SIMULATION

If cash is king, then accuracy in cash forecasting is the prodigal son. PwC‘s 2017 and 2019 Global Corporate Treasury Survey shows how forecasting accuracy is key to managing and running a business efficiently, and it continues to be a high ranking C-suite priority. A lack of transparency over data means that output from generic treasury management systems inaccurate and unfocused. To maximise predictive, trend-based behaviour you need access to the raw data. But how?

Far from the futuristic concepts, they were perceived to be, machine learning and artificial intelligence are being deployed right now, with stunning results. Smart algorithms are providing proactive optimisation actions to generate highly accurate forecasts, and intelligent simulation engines enable companies to consider multiple scenarios and measure their impact. Cashforce is unique in that the platform can be set up quickly, even in the most complex environments, seamlessly connecting with any ERP system. As a result, finance departments can be turned into business catalysts for cash generation opportunities throughout the company.

“If cash is king, then accuracy in cash forecasting is the prodigal son”

In the case of education company Pearson, CFO James Kelly was looking to improve the cash forecasting abilities of a TMS that was the equivalent of an Excel spreadsheet.

“If you don’t have predictability, you can end up overriding your forecast and saying ‘nine days out of ten I’m spot on, but there’s the risk that one day out of ten I’ll be miles out’ – so you decide to hold a lot of cash back just in case,” Kelly said.

Pearson partnered with Cashforce to deploy an AI-supported forecasting solution which integrated with the group’s systems, replaced manual keying with robotics, and provided multiple AI algorithms offering unprecedented insights into cash flow. AI-based forecasting unlocked significant amounts of trapped cash overseas, and balances were reduced by over £100 million — freeing up cash to invest elsewhere in the business instead of drawing down on credit facilities.

IMPLEMENTING NEW TECHNOLOGY: A NIMBLE APPROACH TO ONBOARDING

When it comes to the universal challenge of onboarding, the focus must be on simplification and streamlining. Central to this is the alignment of a library of connectors to data sources. This is why Cashforce’s working capital module integrates with multiple ERPs to provide granular detail within operational transactional data.  And because the user organisation may be running different or multiple ERPs in different regions, we recommend an ERP-agnostic solution.

The operational data in an ERP only provides half a story so our solution also sits on top of treasury systems to provide a holistic cash flow forecast combining both treasury and operations with data based on a client’s unique reporting requirements.

End-user flexibility is a key feature of any financial system today, so user roles can be defined and users added or removed by a client administrator.  The additional benefit of a SAAS platform means no heavy lifting is required by your IT department.

“With Cashforce, finance departments can be turned into business catalysts for cash generation”

In the course of a recent implementation, British manufacturer was faced with the challenge of Brexit-related contingency planning, when it decided to stockpile certain FDA-approved products destined for the US market.  The firm’s initial focus was on cash management and forecasting but refocused mid-way on working capital management with a major focus on inventory and traceability. Such a change in scope can often lead to significant delays in delivery, but with Cashforce driving the process, the project was delivered on time.

About Cashforce

Cashforce is a smart cash flow management and cash flow forecasting platform for working capital intensive businesses. Our technology is helping Finance departments save time and money by offering cash visibility & pro-active cash saving insights. CFOs and Finance departments can drill down to the cash flow drivers and smart algorithms are applied providing pro-active optimization actions. An intelligent simulation engine enables companies to consider multiple scenarios and measure their impact.  As a result, finance departments can be turned into business catalysts for cash generation opportunities throughout the company.

Cashforce is unique because it offers full transparency into what exactly drives the cash flow of complex (multinational, multi-bank, multi-currency, complex ERP(s)) enterprises, typically with revenues between € 50 million and € 10 billion.  It is the first cash management platform that builds a bridge between the treasury department and the actual business departments such as sales, logistics and purchasing. Unlike other enterprise software players, the Cashforce platform can be piloted within a few hours in complex environments, seamlessly connecting with any ERP system.

Currently users in over 40 countries are using our platform to streamline their cash management processes. Cashforce has proven its value in various complex environments, including environments where in-house banking, cash pooling, POBO, ROBO, etc. are used.

Cashforce is headquartered in Belgium with an office in New York City, serving customers such as Hyundai, Portucel, Alcadis among many others worldwide.

 

 

How will Open Banking impact Treasury?

| 20-9-2019 | treasuryXL | BELLIN

Interview with Karsten Kiefer on open banking, APIs and the future of bank connectivity

With financial data increasingly digitized and moved to the cloud, disruptive approaches have become available to fintechs and corporates have gained access to new and revolutionary opportunities. One such opportunity is open banking, also known as API banking. In this article, we take a closer look at open banking and the potential benefits of current trends for treasurers. Karsten Kiefer, Product Manager and Solutions Manager at BELLIN, introduces us to the latest developments and assesses their impact on corporate treasury.

The European Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2) sets rules for access to payment accounts but it has also caused great uncertainty. Is this the beginning of open banking for everyone in Europe? And what does the directive mean for treasury?

One of the provisions of PSD2 forces European banks to provide a standardized access interface, known as API, to third parties, which enables technical access to the bank’s customers’ accounts. This is an attempt by the regulator to break up the banks’ monopoly on account information and to boost competition amongst payment service providers.

The directive clearly stipulates the type of information banks have to give access to and the scope of services associated with it. For example, when it comes to payments PSD2 API access is restricted to SEPA single payments. Few banks, if any, will support bulk payments, FX payments etc. as additional services. This is why for the time being this technology is only of limited use to corporate treasury. It is definitely in no way comparable to established channels such as EBICS, H2H or SWIFT.

Where do you see the main advantages of open banking for treasury? When will corporate financial departments adopt open banking?

Changes have been flooding the international payments sector, and open banking is only one of the waves to ride. Demand is driven by developments in the consumer goods sector, where mobile, real-time payments are rapidly gaining ground, with providers springing up all over the place. 24/7/365 availability of payments services is highly relevant for treasurers. This has also been the driving force behind developments in connection with established channels, such as SWIFT or EBICS, including the SWIFT g4C technology that enables real-time information on payment transactions. For corporates who use a treasury management system with an integrated payments platform, open banking has already become a reality.

How does open banking with a treasury management system work?

A treasury management system with an integrated payments platform, such as tm5 by BELLIN, enables multi-channel access to banks. There are standardized channels for specific regions, such as EBICS, or the BELLIN SWIFT Service that provides access to the global SWIFT Network. Another connectivity option is direct host-to-host connections to specific banks and their networks. APIs represent an additional technology to connect banks and corporates, and in the future, this will become more and more relevant. Today, the BELLIN Payment Gateway enables access to real-time payment transaction information and a company’s global financial status.

Are there any challenges associated with API interfaces?

Many of the banks today that can connect via two or even three channels are working on APIs. So this will become an additional bank connectivity option. However, we need to bear in mind that such an API must bring added value and additional benefits. Otherwise, you are better off using one of the more established channels. Looking at the API specifications of several major banks in more detail, you will realize that there are minor standardization options at the moment. Everyone is talking about APIs but in fact, every bank has their own! Ultimately, it is irrelevant for the customer or the user which technological options we have available to connect a financial institution.

What new aspects does API connectivity bring and what makes it special?

The main difference is the way in which information is made accessible. Intraday account statements are a perfect example. Many banks provide this information at least once or twice a day, some more often. The times vary according to bank, which makes it difficult to gain a complete overview of your financial status at any one time. For EBICS and H2H connections, BELLIN has to actively retrieve this information for clients, while the banks send the data to a company’s BIC in the case of SWIFT Service customers. Corporates have little or no insight into any fluctuations outside these times.
API technology enables two systems to communicate directly. In theory, any API request to a bank requesting intraday account information or the current financial status could be processed and responded to in real time. This would be a huge leap towards the concept of an “instant treasury:” It would enable treasurers to trigger information directly and to receive the latest data at the touch of a button. Unfortunately, few banks are able to offer such a service, as it would require not just an interface but also powerful and modern banking systems.

So the flood of information triggered by APIs very quickly hits a wall, reined in by banking systems. Do you see any solutions to this problem?

So-called WebSocket interfaces are a step up from APIs. This technology would see a bank notify a client as soon as any relevant data has become available. Corporates could retrieve this information promptly and would always have the latest information. This is a very intelligent reversal of the logic described earlier and would get rid of any redundant data communication. Customers or their service providers would only ever communicate with a bank when the bank has notified them of available data. You could compare a notification that money has been credited to your account to notifications sent by LinkedIn or YouTube: As soon as something new happens, it’s shown to you and you’re notified.

Will these new technologies mean the end for existing solutions such as EBICS?

Not at all. EBICS is a great example. The EBICS standard is long established and thousands of corporate clients use it. Banks have invested a lot of money in these systems. Intelligent updates to these standards will be the key. The German Banking Industry Committee, the industry association of the German banking industry, is planning specifications for 2020 and working on introducing technology that will enable banks to notify corporate clients as soon as relevant data is available to be retrieved from the EBICS bank server. From a technological point of view, this will be a combination of the established EBICS protocol and the latest API technology. I think this is the perfect combination of old and new standards and brings enormous advantages to customers with little or no adjustments required.

What would you recommend treasurers do right now?

My advice would be to remain calm and wait it out. At the moment, APIs and the opportunities associated with them are being hyped up. But in reality, very few banks have actually developed new services.

At BELLIN, we develop and integrate APIs every day, whether it is to communicate with transaction repositories, to integrate SAP systems or to connect our BELLIN Connect app. We have decades of experience when it comes to banking communication and have just launched API projects with three major international banks. Our aim is to create viable use cases that add value to our treasury clients.

Authors:

Author picture ofKarsten Kiefer

Karsten Kiefer
As a Product Manager and Payments Specialist, Karsten Kiefer is responsible for any payments topics at BELLIN. The main focus of his work is on enhancing software functionality, supported payment formats and communications channels. Karsten has a background in IT and has over 20 years’ experience in the payments sector.



 

 

Author picture ofAnja BiehlerAnja Biehler
Anja has a PhD in German Philology and trained in a business communications agency before gaining valuable creative and marketing experience in a number of advertising agencies. For five years, she was in charge of the communications department of a renowned, private financial service provider. Her last position before joining BELLIN’s Global Marketing & Communications team in November 2014 was with Freiburg University where Anja was responsible for the marketing efforts of the EXIST business start-up program.

What is the cloud based system WalletSizing?

13-9-2019 | Vallstein |

What is WalletSizing?

WalletSizing® is a system in the cloud focused on giving full transparency to corporates on their spending and profitability for banks. All their banks globally, regardless of the number of banks and the type of products, varying from Fx, Cash Management, bonds, lending or asset management. Vallstein takes in all data a corporate has available on the products and invoices from the bank in an innovative easy way for the corporate where they do not need to do much with the data. Vallstein translates, maps and upload it into the system after which the corporate has all insight in their banking landscape and can do easy analysis with all the features the system offers.

What distinguishes WalletSizing® from its competitors?

Firstly, WalletSizing® looks at the entire bank relationship, across all product areas, not just transaction services or credit, but everything that is being used from all banks that maintain a relationship with the client concerned. Secondly, Vallstein takes an explicit view through the eyes of the bank on the relationship, taking all relevant Basel III /IV regulation into account. This kind of transparency is absolutely essential to identify the real room to negotiate and ensure terms and conditions that are truly fair for both sides of the table. Thirdly: technology. Vallstein provides analysis for clients maintaining multiple bank relationships across a multitude of countries with many different banking products, which is impossible to build and let alone maintain in spreadsheets.

ROS Calculation 2

 

Who will benefit from using this system?

CFO’s and Treasurers will benefit by having full transparency in the bank relationships and as a result they will have more meaningful bank reviews, RFP’s and Negotiations. Depending on the objectives a corporate has, it will allow them to be fair in their distribution of business towards banks, limit the number of banks used globally or keep banks costs in line with market practice as will be indicated by the system’s benchmarking capabilities. Where cost saving was an objective, corporates saved 26% on their bank costs on average, across the entire relationship, all products.

About Vallstein
Vallstein is the leading provider of Bank Relationship Management (BRM) solutions with a simple mission: no more black box but instead provide the full transparency that enables development of long term sustainable banking relationships.
Founded in 2000, Vallstein has a multinational team of experts dedicated to developing and implementing cutting edge financial technology solutions to help corporations constantly improve their BRM.
Having calculated and analyzed thousands of Wallets over 18 years, Vallstein brings together a unique combination of big data, innovation, analytical capabilities and banking knowledge. This provides the best practice in the optimization of bank relationships.

Is your company struggling with liquidity forecasting?

| 12-09-2019 | treasuryXL | Cashforce |

Is your company struggling with liquidity forecasting?
Find out how you can transform your forecasts from bad to best.

Too much manual effort and too little time for analysis, a statement (too) many treasurers can relate to. According to PwC and their Global Treasury Benchmark Survey, still 87% of treasurers use technology from the 1980s (i.e. spreadsheets) or have a disparate set of ERP systems, multiple bank websites and email. Consequentially, this leads to a lack of visibility and makes it very arduous to answer critical questions like “Is my company over borrowed, underinvested or overexposed?”.

An inability to answer this question not only constrains treasury’s ability to measure its success but could harm the future viability of the company. With automated and accurate forecasts & simulations within reach, this is a clearly avoidable risk.

During this one hour webinar, Bruce Lynn of the FECG and Nicolas Christiaen from Cashforce discuss how to radically optimize your cash forecasting workflows by:

  • Identifying the operating risks by utilizing existing resources
  • Quantifying the benefits to be gained by examining existing “flows” regarding cash, accounting, work, and information, whether across treasury, the business units or other financial parts of the company.
  • Using a step-by step approach to set up an accurate & automated forecast

About Cashforce

Cashforce is a ‘next-generation’ digital Cash Forecasting & Treasury Platform, 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 working capital analytics. 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.

Cashforce is a global company with offices in New York, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Paris & London and provides Cash visibility to multinational corporates across various industries in over 120 countries worldwide.

 

How do you find your Interim Treasurer?

| 09-09-2019 | by Pieter de Kiewit |

Treasury recruitment organisations and treasury consultants are both involved in interim treasury assignments. They often approach the same candidates but work with a different cost structure. Expertise of the service provider and interim manager are always important. If capacity is most important in your assignment, a recruiter might be best. If the project result dominates, a consultant.

Between the times of life-time-employment and the current flexible employment contracts some decades have passed. The Dutch have been among the trailblazers in making the labour market more flexible. These developments are being applauded by some and regretted by others. In our niche, corporate treasury, employers and employees are mainly positive. In this article I want to focus on two channels through which you can find your interim treasurer.

In my opinion the underlying agreement for labour, contractor or consultancy is secondary to what the company is looking for. If they are looking for a long term (a year or more) solution with a predictable set of tasks, an interim solution is not appropriate. Interim will not offer the stability and will cost too much.

Obvious reason for choosing an interim solution is the temporary need for capacity and/or expertise. This can be because you are looking for the permanent solution or the regular employee has taken a time-out. Also when you are shutting down your organisation, capacity is the dominating factor. In a build-up, implementation or crisis transition skills are important. In all described situations specific expertise, measured in experience and education, is a must. How does this help you choosing between a recruitment or consultancy firm?

When to use a treasury recruiter to find an interim treasurer

As treasury recruiters we find candidates for interim positions in various ponds. First there is a group of independent contractors with a track record in interim management, with a legal entity that can hit the ground running. Next to this group there is a group of candidates that are between jobs or just before retirement. Knowledgeable and motivated. Some of them can work from their own company, others will work through payrolling solutions we can provide. This second group is not always best in hitting the ground running but does have the knowledge level. Some of them can make the transfer from temporary to permanent employment. Most of the times the second group comes at a lower rate but sometimes need more time to bring the same results.

When to use a treasury consultancy to find an interim treasurer

Most professional consultancies work with the idea that they will solve the problems of their clients. In fee structure it is even possible to define a project and agree upon the cost in advance. A recruiter will not be able to do this. An interim manager working through a consultancy can do so with shadow management: he can call colleagues if he lacks knowledge. Furthermore the infrastructure and support is more substantial. All these benefits come at a price: the average hourly rate of a consultant is often 50% higher than an independent interim manager with a similar profile would charge.

Where recruiters and consultants overlap

In competition with consultants we often notice that we (recruiters) approach the same candidates and ask a lower price. Also it happens that an independent senior interim manager is compared with a medior consultant who is on the payroll of the consultancy. In that situation the client has to decide if he prefers apples over oranges.

Final remark and what to do?

Often all parties pretend recruitment (and other) processes are 100% rational. They are not and that is not a bad thing. You should choose for the interim manager and service provider that makes you feel good and who solve your problem. Sometimes a high hourly fee and few hours is better than a low hourly fee and many hours.

It is not rocket science but do think before you act. If you want to only steer upon results and high expertise, a consultancy is best, in other scenarios a recruiter might offer a better solution. What is your experience?

 

 

Pieter de Kiewit
Owner Treasurer Search

 

Do you want to make better decisions through real-time reporting?

| 05-09-2019 | TIS |

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About TIS
TIS (Treasury Intelligence Solutions GmbH) is the leading cloud platform for managing corporate payments, liquidity and bank relationships worldwide. The company delivers SMART PAYMENTS to help customers make BETTER DECISIONS.

TIS enables companies to make more efficient, more secure and more cost-effective payment transactions. In addition, TIS enables customers to make better decisions when analysing financial and operational performance based on real-time payment flows. All mission-critical processes related to payment transactions are integrated into a multibank-capable, audit-proof cloud platform. This is a single point of contact for enterprise customers when managing and analysing their payment flows across the organisation. TIS take care of managing various payment formats, communication channels with banks, and ERP-agnostic integration. Offered as Software as a Service (SaaS), the ISO certified TIS solutions are quickly up and running without the complexity and cost of a long IT project.