Closing Loops: Connecting FX Hedging and Cash Forecasts

08-06-2022 | treasuryXL | Cashforce | LinkedIn |

 

How one member uses Cashforce to save time and money on FX trades—and helped create an automated hedging process.

One assistant treasurer at a recent NeuGroup virtual interactive session said that her primary project for 2021 is “to make treasury as no-touch as possible.” This is a common theme for treasurers recently, though it’s not always clear where to start. Her first step was to seek potential connections in existing processes and platforms—which led to an overhauled and streamlined process for foreign exchange hedging.
  • The member already was using Cashforce, a fintech that allows deeper analysis of cash flow, to assist in cash flow forecasting, and saw potential in connecting it to Citibank’s CitiFX Pulse platform through the company’s TMS.
  • Through collaboration with Cashforce, Citi and her TMS, she was essentially able to turn the company’s hedging policy into an algorithm that reads the forecast and will potentially execute or propose trades all on its own.

From forecasts to forex. The member said this is only possible because Cashforce can forecast at a high level of granularity. The AT said she was “really lucky” that the tools work together so well.

  • “The forecast at that level of detail is a forecast in document currency,” she said. “And because I can have forecasting at nearly an invoice level, I know what that currency is going to be.”
  • Through the forecast, she said, the company is able to see what its FX position is going to be. “Then if I layer over what hedge I might already have in place, it will be able to tell me what are my gaps,” she said.
  • “The idea is to send it out so that we could auto-trade to fill the gaps below a certain threshold, let’s say 100 grand or less, and review above that just to check the data before we trade.”

A closed loop. Nicolas Christiaen, Cashforce’s CEO, said that, before this project, the member’s process was “very disconnected,” but all it took was connecting the dots.

  • “On the data input side, the ERP, TMS, P&L and bank statements are now put through [Cashforce’s] transformation layer, which results in a cash flow forecast,” he said. “As is very specific in this case, it’s a forecast by currency, by month.”
  • Currently, the company then uploads this forecast back into its TMS for review, and manually executes FX trades based on the company’s hedging policy.
  • “When these hedges are executed, the hedge amounts will pass back into Cashforce via the TMS, closing the loop,” Mr. Christiaen said.

A step further. With the proposed system that the member has designed with Citi, the company could include its hedging policies as a rules-based program in CitiFX Pulse that can read this forecast.

  • It would then “put in place the instruments used for the hedges for the thresholds that need to be taken into account,” Mr. Christiaen said. “Which ultimately results in a proposal.”
  • The chart below demonstrates the vision: As the data feeds into Cashforce, which outputs a forecast, that forecast is reviewed by the member and uploaded to CitiFX Pulse, which can automatically execute or propose FX hedges.

Constant change. Automation is “an awful lot to bite off,” the member said, and recommends starting slow on this kind of process:

  • The first step is to test what systems you already have. “A lot of us have pockets in the organization of different systems that can be leveraged. Some of them can’t do what they say they can or aren’t quite what you need—but sometimes you get lucky, as we did.”
    • She said it is also an opportunity for treasury to work with fintech partners to build exactly what it needs.
  • Collaboration and clear communication with IT is “super important,” which she learned the hard way. “Despite really clear instructions from Cashforce on the size of server we would need, [IT] gave us a quarter of that size and we now need a bigger size,” the AT said.
  • She warns that, although automation opportunities are promising, it’s not always smooth sailing. “Be aware of the opportunities, but also be aware of the work: automation is doable but takes an awful lot of time.”
  • “As the business changes, the structure changes as well,” she said. “The only constant within treasury is change.”

Article originally published by Neugroup here.

 

 

A guide to cash flow forecasting tools in 2022

07-06-2022 | treasuryXL | Nomentia | LinkedIn |

A company’s worst nightmare is to run out of cash or completely miscalculate future cash in- and outflows. To prevent such doom scenarios from happening, companies use cash flow forecasting tools to help them understand current or future cash positions. Having accurate cash forecasting analyses in place is important because they are fundamental for your company’s growth. You can base your strategic investments and financial decisions on them, and they help you decide on how you shape the future of your company.

Source

As with most things, cash flow forecasting is easier said than done. Developing accurate forecasts can be a challenging job. Especially when your business is increasing in size, you need to consider many aspects. Fortunately, there are several great cash flow forecasting tools to help you overcome the challenges you have, to make forecasting easier and more accurate.

 

What is cash flow forecasting? 

Simply put, cash flow forecasting is the practice of understanding your movement of money that goes in and out of the business, now, in the short-term, or in the long-term. A higher cash inflow than outflow results in a positive cash flow position. And when your cash outflow is bigger than your cash inflow, it results in a negative cash flow position.

Many professionals understand that analyzing cashflows is important yet fail to build reliable processes to do so accurately. Robust cash forecasting will help you understand what your cash position is now, and in the future, simply by analyzing cash in- and outflows.

 

The challenges of cash forecasting

We will not go too much into detail to discuss the challenges of cash forecasting, which we already did in this article. But commonly, treasury and finance teams struggle with two main reoccurring challenges:

 

1. Manual processes (lack of automation)

One of the key challenges in cash forecasting remains the amount of manual labor that goes into it. Especially when your organization is larger, and you need to combine financial data from different banks, subsidiaries, and ERP systems. Depending on how frequently your team runs the forecasting process, it can become very time-consuming.

According to different sources, it is recommended that treasury and finance teams run forecasts on a weekly basis to increase financial control. Imagine all the hours that go into this process by doing so manually: collecting data from multiple data sources and recording everything into your spreadsheets. And that doesn’t even include running the analyses to base your strategic decisions on. To top it off, the spreadsheets also contain many errors, which makes them less reliable.

To add to that, by collecting your forecasting data periodically you never have real-time insight into your cash position because your cash predictions may have changed already the day after you made your analysis.

 

Cash flow challenges graph
Having flexible cash flow and liquidity reporting, and collecting data on cash flows was found most challenging or very challenging for around 70% of decision-makers according to our study with Forrester.

 

2. Lack of centralization

As mentioned earlier, it is a very inconvenient aspect to create liquidity and forecast reports when the data you need is scattered across multiple systems. In global companies, you would need to access several bank accounts to check balances. Or you are working with different subsidiaries, where you need to rely on the timeliness and accuracy of your colleague’s input. Whatever systems you’re using, having a centralized place that automatically pulls all the data from them into one place in real-time can benefit you tremendously.

 

What is a cash flow forecasting tool?

Effective cash flow forecasting tools are there to help you overcome typical forecasting challenges. They help you manage and track all your business cash flows now and in the future. Allowing you to make better strategic and investment decisions for your business.

 

The advantages of using a cash forecasting tool 

There are various solutions available on the market, and they all work differently. Ideally, a tool should be able to help you with your cash forecasting in various ways.

Access real-time information

A great tool gives you an instant overview of your cash position, inflows, and outflows at any time you need it. The more up-to-date your data is, the better you can justify your decisions.

 

Connect and centralize all source-systems

Especially for larger enterprises with multiple banks, ERPs, and other source systems, a tool needs to be able to flawlessly connect to all of them. That’s the only way for you to combine all the financial data required to make accurate cash forecasts.

 

Automate the process of collecting data for you 

Both the gathering of real-time information and connection to all source systems should be automated by the tool or software. That way you can automatically gain real-time insight into your cash position without manual labour.

 

Automatically able to create reports and infographics based on your data

Following up on the previous point, once your tool has automatically-collected data, it should be able to visualize it in a customized way that suits your needs. Whether it is certain types of reports, graphs, or other dashboards.

 

Save resources while enabling better decision-making

Better and faster analyses of your cash position and forecast without creating reports manually will help you save the time that you can use for making strategic decisions.

 

The different types of cash forecasting tools

 

Basic tools for small and medium-sized companies 

Market research has shown that in the U.S. in 2018 alone, around 63% of companies used spreadsheets for budgeting and reporting purposes. Even though this number was declining, spreadsheets are still considered the most basic go-to tool for cash flow forecasting.

 

The two main (free) providers for cash forecasting tools on a basic level (they don’t need explanation):

  • GOOGLE SHEETS 

  • MICROSOFT EXCEL 

 

Of course, you can make your spreadsheets as advanced as you want. But the fact is that most smaller organizations traditionally use spreadsheets to do their cash flow forecasting. Their set-ups are less sophisticated and with fewer data sources. As a result, it’s easier to pull the data you need.

The advantage of spreadsheets is that they are very cheap and effective. Yet, once your organization grows bigger and you start using several banks, and other source systems like ERPs, they become unmanageable and start taking a lot of your team’s resources.

 

Intermediate tools for small and medium-sized companies

There are several intermediate cash forecasting tools that are increasingly helpful for smaller and medium-sized companies compared to the basic tools. Sometimes they can replace spreadsheets completely, but most often they complement them.

 

1. POWER BI

Microsoft’s Power BI is a tool that can collect data from different sources and allows you to visualize them through dashboards. Though it’s a handy tool, it requires quite a bit of training and getting used to. Connecting Power BI to your systems, importing data, and building the right reports can still require a lot of manual labor.  

Power BI’s list of systems you can connect to is limited. Especially bank and ERP connections are lacking which are usually required for bigger companies.

Power BI Dashboard
Power BI dashboard example

 

2. CAUSAL

If you have an accounting system, a CRM, and some data warehousing system, chances are that Causal can help you out collecting that data in one place. Their data visualization tool will help you better understand the combined data from your connected places.

Just like Power BI, Causal is unable to connect to financial institutions, like banks, that are often required to get a better understanding of your cash position.

 

3. SHEETGO 

Sheetgo is a handy tool when you want to combine the data from different spreadsheets. The more spreadsheets with financial data you have the more challenging it is to combine them and build accurate cash flow forecasts.

Sheetgo does not take away the manual work that includes pulling data from source systems. It is more a tool made to integrate with Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel.

Sheetgo cash flow template
Sheetgo’s cash flow template

 

4. NOMENTIA LIQUIDITY 

If you’re looking for a cash flow forecasting tool that can connect multiple source systems, banks, and ERPs – then Nomentia Liquidity is a great option. Nomentia Liquidity gives you visibility over your past, present, and future cash positions.

Nomentia automatically pulls all data from different source systems and visualizes them in a customized format for each client. The implementation is also done together with a dedicated customer specialist, so you don’t have to worry about any manual labor or integration problems.

Nomentia Liquidity dashboard
Nomentia’s liquidity dashboard

 

Advanced solutions for medium and big-sized companies

If you’re looking for more complete cash forecasting services, then you need to consider the top treasury and cash management vendors that are well known. Most of these vendors offer Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions which take away the work of managing the solution.

 

1. NOMENTIA CASH FORECASTING 

Nomentia’s cash forecasting SaaS solution allows you to do forecasts as detailed as you require. You can run real-time forecasts continuously based on a collection of all scattered systems that hold your financial data.

The platform works very intuitively, and you can even run simulations for possible scenarios. The data visualization can be customized by yourself or by specialists from Nomentia. In contrast with other vendors, you can only opt for the cash forecasting module without committing to any other modules offered by Nomentia.

 

2. KYRIBA CASH AND LIQUIDITY

Kyriba has a tool for cash forecasts that combines multiple data sources. They can provide you with daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly cash forecasts.

In their SaaS, Kyriba has a worksheet that can help you automate manual work and connect different systems to each other for better-centralized cash forecasting analyses.

 

3. GTREASURY CASH FORECASTING

The cash forecasting tool by Gtreasury allows you to combine data into a single worksheet and run different analyses within it. You can run forecasts daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually.

A recent feature GTreasury introduced is the trademarked SmartPredictions, which can predict future liquidity and changing conditions with the help of data imports and artificial intelligence.

 

4. COUPA CASH AND LIQUIDITY

Coupa’s treasury solution includes a cash forecasting module that can build scenarios, and do analyses to measure your short, mid, and long-term business liquidity.

The financial data is captured in a reporting functionality that treasury teams can easily analyze and share within the organization. Coupa offers both standard and customized reports.

 

5. SERRALA CASH MANAGEMENT AND FORECASTING

Serrala offers cash forecasting as part of its bigger cash management solution. The module can be set up for cash flow-based planning categories, scenarios, and simulations.

The solution helps you automate your processes by configuring the settings yourself, and it gives you insight into your cash position through the consolidation of various data sources.

 

The right tool for your company depends on your needs  

A cash flow forecasting tool can be beneficial for you to tackle the manual labor and time consumed due to a lack of centralization. If your set-up is not that advanced yet, you can rely on solutions like spreadsheets or intermediate tools like Power BI, Causal, Sheetgo, or Nomentia Liquidity.

For bigger companies with several source systems, we recommend looking into advanced cash forecasting tools that will significantly decrease your costs. Even if the initial investment of buying such a solution may appear slightly higher.

 

 

REMINDER WEBINAR | The Evolution of Open banking, Connectivity and Real time: How will APIs change the Treasurer’s daily life?

06-06-2022 | treasuryXL | Kyriba | LinkedIn |

Live session | June 14 | 11 am CET

Do you know how to take use of APIs’ benefits for small, medium, and large companies? APIs are a real-time catalyst for providing CFOs and treasurers with a 360-degree perspective of their liquidity management. Discover everything there is to know with our partner Kyriba; our next live session will take place on June 14 at 11 a.m. CET.

Join the panelist discussion to hear from experts in the field

  • Pieter de Kiewit, Owner of Treasurer Search is moderator of this session. With his passion for treasury and his wide industry knowledge he is the obvious person to ask the right questions to the experts.
  • Patrick Kunz, owner of Pecunia Treasury & Finance and highly valued treasuryXL expert. With Patrick’s impressive career within the World of Treasury, you can really say that he lives and breathes Treasury.
    Patrick is performance driven. He is an open minded, outgoing, rational person who is comfortable communicating and convincing on all levels of management. Patrick has worked with both international corporates from all fields of business as well as national non-profit organisations.
  • Félix Grévy, VP Product, Open API and Connectivity, Kyriba
    Felix Grevy has more than 20 years of experience working in Financial Technology and held various roles in product development, sales and product management.
    He has been working on API for the last 5 years, building and launching successful API platforms. He has joined Kyriba in 2020 to lead the API and connectivity strategy

We will go around several questions:

  • Who should, own/build the API; Bank, customer or TMS provider? If a bank builds one should it be open source?
  • How can APIs contribute to accounting or controlling, in situations where there are intraday statements, but accounting is only able to process them with end of day statements? Two-way traffic: API’s for both statements / Camt for instant payments
  • How does the CFO leverage the instant payments vs instant acknowledgement?
  • APIs vs Swift. How do they operate together?

Registration

Discover everything there is to know about APIs and how to unify data in a single platform to deliver key insights.

Register today for the next event on API and its advantages.

 

Recording Live Discussion Session | More reliable cash forecasting in a fraction of the time

01-06-2022 | treasuryXL | CashAnalytics | LinkedIn |

 

Recently, treasuryXL partnered with CashAnalytics on a LIVE discussion session about how much time, effort, and money can be saved by adopting a data-driven approach to cash forecasting.

During this session, Conor Deegan CEO of CashAnalytics was joined by Ron Wessels, owner of Term Finance and Interim Head of Tax & Treasury at Systal Technology Solutions, and Pieter de Kiewit, Owner of Treasurer Search. They have presented battle-tested methods for increasing the reliability of your data, breaking free from tedious forecasting processes, and freeing up more of your time for analysis.

Click on the image above to view the recording and learn how cash flow automation

 

Cuts your manual workload and reporting timelines by over 90%

Provides detailed insight into transaction-level data across all your entities

Frees you from Excel-based processes that are riddled with human errors

 

5 solutions how Treasury can add value to the company as a cost center.

30-05-2022 | Zhanna Irgaliyeva | treasuryXL | LinkedIn |

Treasury can act as a profit or a cost center in an organization. Usually, the treasury department is considered the cost center of the business as it is in charge of keeping costs in check and below budget.  However, the revenues and profits contributed by treasury in a cost center will not result directly result in profit within the organization.

treasury as a cost center

What is the Difference between a Cost vs Profit center?

The main function of treasury as a cost center is being responsible for reporting the cost processes of the company, and keeping these costs as low as possible.  The difference with treasury as a profit center, is that it thinks more strategically with the goal of increasing profits rather than cutting expenses. Nowadays, only those companies that manage to earn direct profit from a trade or risk management can classify treasury as a profit center.

Value of Treasury being a cost center

Despite this fact, treasury can make a meaningful contribution by capturing indirect profits and providing additional value to companies. Let’s look at five solutions by which treasury as a cost center can make a meaningful contribution.

 

  1. Money markets

If a treasurer is limited in his time to invest in free funds, then Money Market instruments can be a very suitable solution, as they are highly liquid and can be used to make additional profits for a period of less than a year. The treasurer can choose which instrument is more profitable and appropriate, taking into account the current position of the company, the number of funds available and the location.

 

  1. Risk Management

Key treasury decisions on Risk Management are a second way to bring additional value to the business. Implementation of policies and limitations is the first step for limiting, controlling, and reporting requirements. To avoid various risks in operational areas and maintain strict controls, treasury can be centralized. For managing financial market fluctuations treasury uses hedging which includes forwards, futures, and options with the aim of reducing or eliminating risks of changing interest rates, FX, commodity prices and also efficiently save funds.

 

  1. Accurate forecasting

Collecting the required data and setting up processes for accurate forecasting can not only safeguard the company’s funds and carefully plan its cash, but can also be used to predict future losses and find future cost-effective solutions. Fixed or variable costs can be revised to find the best opportunity for the company’s activity.

 

  1. Fintech Solutions

The rapidly increasing Fintech solutions are becoming even more popular in the world of treasury, which offers financial services the possibility to act as a link between providers and customers.  Currently, the main areas of Fintech solutions are:

 

  • Digital lending > The online disbursal of loans can generate significant growth in the current lending market,
  • Payments > The automation of account payable processes, electronic invoicing, and cross-border payments lead to the shortening of CCC and reducing bank fees.
  • Blockchain > This system of decentralized, distributed digital ledger (database) consisting of digital records called blocks, can influence cash management. It provides the option to reduce the speed of transaction settlement, leading to cost-saving and increasing the effectiveness of cash management.
  • Digital wealth management > The use of robot advisers can lead to effective money management.

 

  1. Transfer Pricing

Intercompany transactions (such as loans, funding, leasing, guarantees, interest rates, or FX) can influence the company’s profits and impact on its cash flow and cash position. Therefore, treasurers should carefully check and understand how transfer pricing should be applied in the company taking into account local laws. Treasury activities can affect the company’s tax revenue, therefore, a proper transfer pricing policy with the treasury will help. Best practices are important for the company’s activity.

Conclusion

All of these treasury cost center activities are to secure the money that was earned directly and provide the company with indirect revenues or cut expenses. So, even if treasury is a cost center, it can be of great value to the company and improve solid profits. Of course, this can only happen when the process is managed by a proper treasury professional.

Thank you for reading!

Zhanna Irgaliyeva

What could be the best solution for your company? Feel free to contact treasuryXL for professional treasury guidance!

 

Zhanna Irgaliyeva

Treasury Manager, CTP

References:

https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/documents/an-introduction-to-fintech-key-sectors-and-trends.pdf

https://www.afponline.org/ideas-inspiration/topics/articles/Details/how-will-blockchain-impact-the-future-of-treasury/

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/cost-center.asp

https://openlink.com/en/insights/articles/turning-treasury-into-a-profit-center/

Essentials of Treasury Management, 6th Edition

https://www.treasurers.org/transferpricing

LIVE SESSION | The Evolution of Open banking, Connectivity and Real time: How will APIs change the Treasurer’s daily life?

27-05-2022 | treasuryXL | Kyriba | LinkedIn |

Live session | June 14 | 11 am CET

How to benefit from the advantages of APIs, for small, medium, or large companies?

APIs are a key work in Treasury Management Systems and the link to multibank platforms. APIs are a catalyst in real time to grant CFOs and treasurers a 360 view of their liquidity management.

Webinar June 14, Kyriba and treasuryXL

Join the panelist discussion to hear from experts in the field

  • Pieter de Kiewit, Owner of Treasurer Search is moderator of this session. With his passion for treasury and his wide industry knowledge he is the obvious person to ask the right questions to the experts.
  • Patrick Kunz, owner of Pecunia Treasury & Finance and highly valued treasuryXL expert. With Patrick’s impressive career within the World of Treasury, you can really say that he lives and breathes Treasury.
    Patrick is performance driven. He is an open minded, outgoing, rational person who is comfortable communicating and convincing on all levels of management. Patrick has worked with both international corporates from all fields of business as well as national non-profit organisations.
  • Félix Grévy, VP Product, Open API and Connectivity, Kyriba
    Felix Grevy has more than 20 years of experience working in Financial Technology and held various roles in product development, sales and product management.
    He has been working on API for the last 5 years, building and launching successful API platforms. He has joined Kyriba in 2020 to lead the API and connectivity strategy

We will go around several questions:

  • Who should, own/build the API; Bank, customer or TMS provider? If a bank builds one should it be open source?
  • How can APIs contribute to accounting or controlling, in situations where there are intraday statements, but accounting is only able to process them with end of day statements? Two-way traffic: API’s for both statements / Camt for instant payments
  • How does the CFO leverage the instant payments vs instant acknowledgement?
  • APIs vs Swift. How do they operate together?

Registration

Discover everything there is to know about APIs and how to unify data in a single platform to deliver key insights.

Register today for the next event on API and its advantages.

 

Winding Down Russia: Treasury Challenges

23-05-2022 | treasuryXL | ComplexCountries | LinkedIn |

 

This was our third call on the situation in Russia. It focused on the practical challenges people are facing: nearly all participants are either running down their businesses or continuing on humanitarian grounds for products which are exempted from sanctions, particularly in the healthcare sector. However, as one participant put it, winding down is easier said than done.

This report was compiled by Monie Lindsey. based on a Treasury Peer Call chaired by Damian Glendinning.

We are happy to share a copy of the full report FREE, please contact us and mention ‘Russia Report’ in your message.

Source

Chair’s Overview

This was our third call on the situation in Russia. It focused on the practical challenges people are facing: nearly all participants are either running down their businesses or continuing on humanitarian grounds for products that are exempted from sanctions, particularly in the healthcare sector. However, as one participant put it, winding down is easier said than done.

  • Many businesses operate through franchises in foreign countries. Terminating the franchise agreement may not be enough to stop them from continuing the business and using the brand name – some high-profile companies which have stopped operations still have franchisees who are continuing to trade, using the name.
  • In some cases, the name remains on the business. This makes it difficult for the brand owner to walk away, as the reputational risk remains.
  • People in the healthcare sector feel a need to carry on for humanitarian reasons. For them, there are significant logistical challenges getting new shipments into the country: no flights, very little sea freight, so heavy dependency on road transport, with limited willing suppliers. They are encountering an additional issue: sanctions apply based on customs codes, and some health care products have not been appropriately coded.
  • In other sectors, companies continue to sell down their existing inventory – but even this can be complicated, as fresh inputs can be required to make goods saleable.
  • Still, other participants have operations that are purely local, and do not require imports. These will typically continue to function, though moves are being made to make them fully independent.
  • Despite all the above, most participants continue to be able to pay down intercompany debt, pay dividends and settle outstanding intercompany invoices.
  • Cash operations are complicated by the need to segregate payments emanating from sanctioned banks. Again, this seems to work, and customers are usually willing to transfer their payments to non sanctioned banks.
  • Many Russian entities have taken steps to disguise their real ownership as a means of evading sanctions: some participants are using a database to identify the true beneficial owners to see whether sanctions apply.
  • Most international banks continue to function, but SocGen recently announced it is selling Rosbank. This raises the concern it may be sanctioned in the future.
  • Most international banks are refusing to open new accounts, and none is interested in taking deposits. This is a concern for participants who are building up cash balances as they sell down inventory. Raiffeisen seems to be the major exception to this.
  • It continues to be possible to convert RUB into hard currency – as long as you are not using a sanctioned bank. Hedging is also possible, but liquidity is limited and deliverable forwards are not available. NDFs seem to work.
  • Several participants have had to remove their Russian subsidiaries from their centralised treasury structures and in-house banks. This has resulted in the hiring of new local staff to manage the newly independent operations.
  • One participant raised the concern that Russia may be branded as a state sponsor of terrorism. This would complicate matters even further.

Bottom line: despite the length of this summary, there are still further details in the report below. Please read it. The overwhelming feedback from the call was that everyone is trying to comply with the sanctions, and business is either being scaled back, or completely localised. People have stopped looking for ways round sanctions – but compliance is complicated.

The full report on Winding Down Russia: Treasury Challenges is available to subscribers. Please get in touch for details. Enquire

The Role of APIs in Strategic Cash Forecasting

19-05-2022 | treasuryXL | Kyriba | LinkedIn |

 

By Andrew Deichler, Content Manager and Strategic Marketing

Source

Cash forecasting has undergone some substantial changes over the past couple of years. While forecasting has always been important, the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted just how critical it is, and why CFOs are prioritizing it more than ever.

In a recent webinar, Bob Stark, global head of marketing for Kyriba, and Lisa Husken, value engineer at Kyriba, discussed the current and future state of strategic cash forecasting. When exploring the data, one key point became clear—APIs are the key to more accurate cash forecasts.

How Forecasting Has Changed

Prior to the pandemic, many organizations with high idle cash balances might not have prioritized forecasting, Husken noted. However, once the pandemic hit, as well as other issues that followed like supply chain disruptions, even cash-flush companies quickly saw the important role forecasting played in their liquidity strength.

Risk management has also become more of a focus in the pandemic era as macroeconomic factors impacted FX, interest rates, the supply chain, and inflation. This prompted a shift from organizations generally producing one cash forecast to looking at multiple scenarios for cash and liquidity. “The ‘what-if’ scenarios became increasingly important,” Stark said. “It’s not like they didn’t happen before… but everyone became intrigued by [scenario planning] come 2020.”

Data-Driven Decision-Making

Given the focus on risk and the necessity to explore multiple potential scenarios, today’s treasury functions are focusing heavily on data-driven decision-making. Organizations have more data than ever before, and they need real-time access to it in order to make strategic decisions. And the only way to facilitate that is through APIs; “You can’t become more data-driven without actually having integrated platforms with APIs,” Stark said.

While many organizations view APIs as connectors that allow companies to access their banks and real-time payments, they have much greater potential. They have the ability to unify data, bringing information together into one, composable system, Stark explained. They can take a company’s system of record (the ERP), merge it with a treasury management system, and also bring in data sets from other internal and external sources, such as purchase requisitions, purchase orders, invoices, sales forecasts, etc.

With such expansive capabilities, it’s plain to see why APIs are the perfect tools for forecasting. A survey of over 800 finance executives by IDC and commissioned by Kyriba revealed that 88% of them are prioritizing APIs this year. That’s because CFOs understand that APIs can unify forecast data across their organizations so that they can make better decisions. They are demanding more precise cash forecasting and liquidity planning.

And they are right to demand it, because at the moment, they don’t have the insights they need. The survey also revealed that currently only 15% of finance leaders leverage real-time data to drive insights, and only 25% of finance teams reliably forecast cash and liquidity beyond one month.

Husken noted that those two data points go hand in hand. Reflecting on her previous role as a treasury practitioner, she noted that once forecasts go beyond 4 weeks, their accuracy tends to be 50% at best. “If you don’t have access to that real-time data, then you’re not utilizing the most up-to-date information,” she said. “Then how could you be as accurate as you could be going out further than four weeks.”

Better Forecasting Rewards

Improving the forecast would provide treasury and finance teams with more confidence to capture higher yield, which is desirable in a rising interest rate environment. With the insight strong forecasting provides, some Kyriba clients have been able to decrease the amount of cash they commit to working capital on a both short-term and a long-term basis and divert it to higher-yielding activities.

For example, through improved forecasting with Kyriba, Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC) was able to reduce working capital holdings by nearly $4 billion. The health insurance company was then able to make more strategic investment decisions earlier in the day, resulting in a 5% increase in investment returns. Short-term returns grew by $40 million, while long-term returns have seen an increase of $140 million.

Looking ahead, treasury teams may reap even higher rewards as interest rates increase. The culmination of data that APIs facilitate will create better forecasts, enabling organizations to put cash on the balance sheet to the best possible use. Borrowing will get more expensive as interest rates increase, but APIs can vastly enhance the decision-making process.

Listen to the full webinar here. And for even further insights, download the AFP Treasury in Practice Guide, Treasury Opportunities in Strategic Cash Forecasting.

Click here to view all blogs by Kyriba

Fraud Check Up

17-05-2022 | treasuryXL | TIS | LinkedIn |

Fraud as a threat: Evaluate your risk!

Source

Record high of fraud threat level: 87% of professional treasurers from companies and banks worldwide have perceived an increase in fraud threat in comparison to the year before. * Attacks on companies have intensified significantly, threatening all processes of financial transactions and payment relevant courses.

Additionally, due to the rapid change to remote work since the start of the pandemic, security strategies have undergone the greatest stress test. New and secure means are available and necessary to protect your company against rapidly evolving fraud schemes.

 

Is your company at risk? Find out now by answering a couple of questions.

* Strategic Treasurer – 2021 Treasury Fraud & Controls Survey Report

Marcus Evans | 9th Annual Credit Risk Modelling and Validation | 12-14 September | London

16-05-2022 | treasuryXL | marcus evans | LinkedIn |

 

We are proud to announce our media partnership with marcus evans group for the 9th Annual Credit Risk Modelling and Validation conference taking place in London on the 12th-14th of September, 2022.

London, UK

12th – 14th September, 2022 | 08:30 CET

The marcus evans 9th Annual Credit Risk Modelling and Validation event taking place in London, UK on 12-14 September, 2022 will provide practical and experienced perspectives to help delegates adapt their credit risk modelling and validation strategies to the evolving environment of credit risk. This event features in-depth sessions on the optimisation and best practices in IFRS9 and IRB/AIRB spheres, maximising efficiency and accuracy in validation, implications and applications of AI and Machine Learning, integrating climate risk and credit risk in an ever-changing environment, anticipating new regulatory requirements, cleaning and structuring internal and external data, and adapting models to macroeconomic events as they occur. These hands-on sessions will be delivered by best-in-class industry professionals and cutting-edge global leaders who are uniquely equipped to pass on their expertise in this field. This event will enable banks to conquer emerging credit risk challenges in regulatory models, validation, climate risk, and ensure their increased trustworthiness and competitivity.

Special discounts available to Treasury XL subscribers! For more information please contact: Ria Kiayia, Digital Media and PR Marketing Executive at [email protected] or visit: https://bit.ly/33fHaiC

“The optimisation of these models can be significantly improved from where we are today by using more common libraries or similar tools between development and validation” Head of credit risk model validation at a global banking institution

marcus evans