Hoe kunnen bedrijven hun bedrijfsresultaten beschermen tegen de valutamarkten? (Dutch item)

25-03-2021 | treasuryXL | XE |

Komt uw bedrijf in aanraking met vreemde valuta? Wybe Schutte legt in onderstaand interview uit hoe bedrijven de complexiteit van FX kunnen aanpakken.

Maak kennis met…

Wybe Schutte is Head of Business Development Europe bij Xe. Wybe’s carrière is altijd gericht geweest op internationale bedrijfsontwikkeling en het beheren van relaties. Binnen XE spelen beiden een belangrijke rol, aangezien Xe wereldwijd de vertrouwde partner zijn van veel bedrijven en hun helpen bij het beheren en verminderen van het risico die gepaard gaan met internationaal zakendoen en valuta’s.

INTERVIEW

1. Kun je iets vertellen over Xe en haar missie?

Bij Xe draait alles om valuta’s. De meeste mensen kennen Xe van de “Currency Converter”, maar we bieden al meer dan 25 jaar internationale betalingsverkeer diensten aan voor bedrijven. Xe’s Business Solutions ondersteunt bedrijven die in aanraking komen met vreemde valuta door hun te ondersteunen bij het beschermen van de winstmarges, en het verbeteren van de cashflow. Dit onder andere door het valutarisico waarmee ze worden geconfronteerd te kwantificeren en door strategieën te implementeren om dit te beperken. Zodat onze klanten zich kunnen concentreren op hun corebusiness en zich geen zorgen hoeven te maken over hun FX.

2. Welke soorten valutarisico’s zijn er en hoe gaat XE ermee om?

Binnen elk bedrijf kijken we waar de valutarisico’s zitten en hoe we deze risico’s kunnen beperken. Waarbij er verschillende opties zijn voor bedrijven om bescherming te bieden tegen het risico, zoals termijncontracten. Valutarisico kan worden onderverdeeld in drie soorten: 1) Transactie risico, wanneer een bedrijf zaken doet in een land dat verschilt van de basisvaluta; 2) Translational risico, wanneer een bedrijf een activa of passiva in een vreemde valuta op de balans heeft staan, en 3) Economisch risico waarbij een verandering in de wisselkoers een bedrijf een concurrentievoordeel kan geven in de markt.

3. Hoe kan je de verschillende soorten valutarisico’s meten?

FX-risico kan een negatieve of positieve invloed hebben op de bedrijfsresultaten. Als je terugkijkt op de afgelopen 10 jaar, valt er te zien wat de potentiële impact zou kunnen zijn in de meest extreme, minst extreme en gemiddelde scenario’s op een gegeven tijdlijn.
Dit kan worden gedaan door te kijken naar de hoogte- en dieptepunten van de markt en de valutapositie van een bedrijf. Deze stap helpt bedrijven te begrijpen wat de impact op het bedrijfsresultaat kan zijn.

4. Wat zijn de meest voorkomende kritieke FX-problemen die bedrijven hebben?

Bedrijven die een transactionele risico hebben, kunnen een onderscheid maken tussen gecommitteerde of verwachte blootstelling aan valuta risico. Een gecommitteerde blootstelling is wanneer de prijs voor goederen of diensten in een vreemde valuta bekend en gecontracteerd zijn. Hierdoor heeft elke wisselkoersschommeling een directe impact op hun winst of kosten, tenzij ze worden afgedekt. Een verwachte blootstelling is wanneer een bedrijf een inschatting maakt om te zien wat hun vereisten kunnen zijn. De betrouwbaarheidsniveaus in de voorspelde perioden kunnen sterk variëren en het is normaal gesproken zo dat hoe groter de periode, hoe lager de betrouwbaarheidsniveaus.

5. Hoe kunnen bedrijven hun bedrijfsresultaten beschermen tegen de valutamarkten?

Er zijn een aantal belangrijke stappen die een bedrijf kan volgen om de FX-volatiliteit te verminderen. De eerste is het type risico te identificeren om daarna de risico-elementen te kwalificeren en vervolgens een strategie te ontwikkelen en deze tijdens het implementatieproces te implementeren. In deze fases kunt u beslissen welke producten het meest geschikt zijn, zodat u vervolgens over kunt gaan op markttiming en uitvoering. Ten slotte moet u uw aanpak regelmatig analyseren, herzien en aanpassen. Het is belangrijk om te onthouden dat het niet om marktspeculatie gaat, maar om het beperken van uw risico.

6. Wat is volgens jou het grootste voordeel van een werkende FX strategie?

Gezien de altijd onzekere wereld waarin we momenteel leven, kunnen financiële afdelingen en treasury teams op zoek zijn naar een strategie om met deze valutaschommelingen om te gaan. Een strategie die na verloop van tijd een aanzienlijke invloed kunnen hebben op de bedrijfsresultaten van een bedrijf. Een gestructureerde benadering van valutarisico’s kan een bedrijf in staat stellen om strategische beslissingen te nemen, in plaats van te proberen in te spelen op de dagelijkse ontwikkelingen in de markt.

7. Ervaar je verschillen in FX vóór COVID19 en de tijd waarin we nu leven? Wat zijn de verschillen?

Er hebben zich aanzienlijke bewegingen voorgedaan op de valutamarkten tijdens de Covid19-periode en er zijn nog steeds veel factoren die de dagkoersen beïnvloeden. In deze onzekere tijden zijn onze opdrachtgevers op zoek naar zekerheid en stabiliteit. En hoewel prijs altijd belangrijk is, werden andere sleutelfactoren zoals veiligheid en geloofwaardigheid belangrijker. Uiteraard was de impact op onze klanten heel verschillend en we hebben met hun samengewerkt om de oplossingen en flexibiliteit te bieden die ze nodig hadden. We hebben veel nieuwe klanten verwelkomd uit nieuwe industrieën terwijl ze groeiden, en we ondersteunen nieuwe en bestaande klanten die groeiden, het lastig hadden, of hun bedrijfsmodellen aanpasten aan de veranderende markt.

8. De markt verandert voortdurend, hoe blijft XE op de hoogte van de laatste ontwikkelingen in de valutawereld?

We werken nauw samen met onze klanten om hun behoeften continu te begrijpen en hierop aan te passen. Onze deskundige dealers houden de markt nauwlettend in de gaten. Inzicht in de bewegingen, weerstandsniveaus en belangrijke economische en politieke updates die de markt kunnen beïnvloeden zijn erg belangrijk, en we houden die in de gaten zodat onze klanten zich daar geen zorgen over hoeven te maken. Xe werkt ook nauw samen met onze zusterbedrijven en moederbedrijf Euronet Worldwide.

9. Hoe ziet de toekomst van FX er in jouw perspectief uit?

De nabije toekomst zou het hoofd kunnen bieden aan buitengewone niveaus van balansuitbreiding en recessie, wat mogelijk zou kunnen leiden tot een langer stimulerend/ expansief monetair beleid dat op zijn beurt de valutakoersen van de landen die ze dragen, zou kunnen drukken. De gevolgen hiervan op de korte tot middellange termijn zouden een gebrek aan grote economische expansie kunnen zijn, aangezien het kapitaalrendement vaak negatief is wanneer de inflatie wordt meegerekend. Dit kan betekenen dat we een herschikking van de FX-sterkte zien naar op commodity based valuta’s (CAD / AUD / NZD) en alternatieve veilige havens (CHF). We zouden deze verschuiving echter op langere termijn kunnen zien, aangezien met name de overheidsschuld houdbaarder en aantrekkelijker wordt tegen zulke lage rentetarieven en bredere investeringen zou kunnen uitnodigen voor landen en tot op zekere hoogte de particuliere industrie.

We zijn getuige geweest van een grote volatiliteit in de FX-markt door een grotere afhankelijkheid van een smallere data kern. Inflatie en rentetarieven, maar ook verhalen over de overheidsschuld en de uitbreiding van de balans hebben de meeste invloed op de renteschommelingen.

10. Wat is tot nu toe jouw beste ervaring ooit in de wereld van valuta’s?

Een scale-up ondersteunen met hun complexe FX-vereisten en hen in staat stellen hun bedrijf in een korte tijd te laten groeien door het FX-risico te elimineren en gaandeweg aanzienlijke kostenbesparingen te realiseren.

 

Meer over XE

Bij XE draait alles om Valuta. We bieden een uitgebreid portfolio van valutadiensten en -producten aan, waaronder onze valutacalculator, marktanalyses, valutagegevens-API en snelle, gemakkelijke en veilig betalingsverkeer voor consumenten en bedrijven.

XE faciliteert wereldwijd meer dan 13.000 bedrijven per jaar bij het beheren van hun vreemde valuta en het vooruit plannen om de risico’s van valutaschommelingen te beperken.

XE is onderdeel van Euronet Worldwide (EWI), een aan Nasdaq genoteerde wereldwijde aanbieder van elektronische en transactie verwerkingsoplossingen met een marktkapitalisatie van ongeveer 7,5 miljard dollar.

XE Business Services

Internationale betalingen en beheer van valutarisico’s van ‘s werelds vertrouwde autoriteit op valutagebied. De concurrentie voorblijven is al moeilijk genoeg zonder de complexiteit van vreemde valuta. XE kan u helpen tijd en geld te besparen, zodat u kunt blijven doen waar u goed in bent: uw bedrijf runnen. Onze oplossingen bieden u zekerheid in een onzekere wereld en stellen uw bedrijf in staat om de juiste beslissingen te nemen.

Bezoek XE.com

Lees XE blogs

 

 

Digitalizing Treasury with a Best-of-Breed Ecosystem

24-03-2021 | TIS |

The idea that best-of-breed selection, as opposed to a traditional “full stack” TMS, is the way forward gets the TIS “Executive Briefing” treatment in its latest paper. Are treasurers ready to abandon their love of TMS’ and migrate to best-of-breed solutions instead?

Read the Executive Briefing and find out more about:

  1. Advantages of specialist vendors compared to All-in-One solutions for treasury
  2. How seamless data flow through API integration can deliver better user experience and faciliate strategic business decisions
  3. How to set up a best-of-breed solution that is tailored to your company’s treasury needs and future growth

Leverage the expertise of multiple specialists with seamless API integration and cloud technology.


About TIS

TIS (Treasury Intelligence Solutions GmbH), founded in Walldorf, Germany in 2010, is a global leader in managing corporate payments. The Financial Times named TIS one of “Europe’s Fastest Growing Companies” in 2019, 2020 and 2021. Offered as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), the TIS solution is a comprehensive, highly-scalable, cloud platform for company-wide payments and cash management. The TIS solution has been successfully used for many years in both large and medium-sized companies, including Adecco Group, Hugo Boss, Fresenius, Fugro, Lanxess, OSRAM and QIAGEN. More than 25% of  DAX companies are already TIS customers.

Your world of Payments. ONE Login.

www.tis.biz

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

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

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

 

 

 

5 concrete tips for preventing Payment Fraud

| 16-03-2021 | treasuryXL | Nomentia |

Payment fraud has become a real and permanent threat for companies of all sizes. No company can afford to close their eyes on the risks – fraudsters target all industries, and large and small businesses alike. It is the eleventh hour to start focusing on the safety of your payment process if you want to avoid financial damage.

The good news is that the fraudsters prefer easy targets, so even raising awareness on the topic in your organization is a step in the right direction. With this blog, I want to share 5 concrete tips for preventing payment fraud and improving the safety of your organization’s payment process.

Get rid of risky task combinations

Do you know who has access to your payments at each stage of the process? Risky task combinations may have formed overtime without anyone noticing that a single person can, for instance, create a new payment in the system and approve it to be paid. Overly broad user rights leave unnecessary room for both malpractice and costly mistakes. Applying strong user rights management – the four-eye principle, for example – is a quick way to reduce the risks. You should require double approval also on the changes made in the vendor master data, as well as user rights.

Build your payment process on best practices

Design a secure payment process with best practices approach. Establishing a “no PO, no pay” principle where invoices are approved for payment only if they have a purchase order number or if they are paid to registered suppliers supports preventing payment fraud. You can improve the safety of manual payments when you utilize the ready-made templates of a payment system and demand multi-factor identification from the person who makes the spontaneous request for payment. Many CFO attacks could have been prevented if the origin of an email payment request had been confirmed via another channel.

Automate and focus on end-to-end safety

You would be surprised if you knew how many companies have gaps in their payment process, creating payment fraud risk. For example, if the payment file batches are waiting to be uploaded to bank in a folder or file share, it leaves the data open for tampering even if the process up to that point had been secure. Eliminating manual phases through automation is one of the best ways to increase safety as it reduces not only the risk of fraud but also the risk of mistakes.

Improve transparency

Standardized and harmonized practices build up transparency, which makes spotting and preventing payment fraud easier. Create a uniform, company-wide process for handling payments and make sure that there are no routes round it. By centralizing all your bank connections to a single system, you will take transparency to another level, and, in addition, you are able to better control the risk related to data transfer and system management.

Keep an eye on deviations

It is not rare that payment fraud is discovered only by accident. As a part of good risk management, you need to focus also on the measures that help you spot the fraudulent payments that manage to go through your defenses. Keep an eye on payments that are going to unknown bank accounts or that are made outside normal payment schedule. Your payment system should support you in risk management and filter out deviations from your payment flows before they are paid. Machine learning and artificial intelligence will soon create new possibilities for recognizing and managing deviations in accounts payable in a more real-time and automated fashion.

Preventing payment fraud in an ever-changing threat landscape requires that you take a comprehensive and proactive approach. I recommend that you download and read our e-book, where we take a look at this topic in detail, and provide you with all the different perspectives a corporate payment process should be examined from. In the e-book, you will find best practices and concrete advice you need to keep your organization from falling victim to payment fraud.

About Nomentia

Nomentia is a Nordic powerhouse for global cash management. We believe in a world in which businesses can make the right decisions no matter how unpredictable the times are. Our SaaS-based platform offers solutions for cash forecasting and visibility, global payments with bank connectivity, reconciliation, in-house banking, guarantees, and FX dealing. We serve 2,300+ clients in over 100 countries processing more than 200 billion euros annually. Cash is king!

Meet Jukka Sallinen

 

 

[Developer Webinar] Instrument Pricing Analytics for Bond Pricing and LIBOR alternatives

10-03-2021 | treasuryXL | Refinitiv |

Webinar on March 30 at 10 am BTS

LIBOR is widely embedded in operating models and a transition to alternative rates will affect how many contracts are priced and risk managed.

Join this webinar where Refinitiv will showcase and demonstrate examples in Python. Register by entering your details by clicking the banner above.

Refinitiv will be using Instrument Pricing Analytics API to price:

  • Fixed Rate Bonds
  • Floating rate notes on new Risk-Free Rates

From a Quantitative perspective exploring: 

  • Impact of LIBOR transition on Bond Pricing & generating yield curves

 

Nomentia Webinar: Payment Templates

| 15-02-2021 | treasuryXL | OpusCapita |

Live Demo: Unleash your payments with payment templates

Maybe not quite unleash but the better word might be superpower. Because payment templates are truly what will take your set-up to the next level. We are continuing our popular live demo webinar set-up where our solution managers will provide a quick deep dive into one topic and how this is working in our solution.


Payment templates allow you to publish templates for manual payment that you can use to process payments.

In this webinar we will show you how you can:

  • Lock and hide fields, and mark the desired fields required. You can also define whether a section is automatically expanded or not when a payment template is selected.
  • What type of security settings you can and possibly should set up for payment templates.

And on top of that we will provide a practical application to how those templates can make your daily life easier.

When?

  • February 18th, 2021
  • 13:00 CET / 14:00 EET

Who should attend?

Cash Managers, Treasurers, and anyone looking to optimize their payment processes.

Meet the speaker

Jouni Round

Jouni Kirjola

Jouni is Solution Manager at Nomentia and has over 10 years of experience in corporate cash management and has deep expertise in cash forecasting, payment factories and in-house banking, and process development. Previously Jouni has worked in product management, consulting and R&D.

Register Here

About Nomentia

Nomentia is a Nordic powerhouse for global cash management. We believe in a world in which businesses can make the right decisions no matter how unpredictable the times are. Our SaaS-based platform offers solutions for cash forecasting and visibility, global payments with bank connectivity, reconciliation, in-house banking, guarantees, and FX dealing. We serve 2,300+ clients in over 100 countries processing more than 200 billion euros annually. Cash is king!

Nomentia – Treasury Trends 2021

| 10-02-2021 | treasuryXL | Nomentia |

Recently, Nomentia held a webinar about the key Trends in Treasury and Cash Management. The recording of this webinar “Treasury Trends 2021” is now available for you on demand. Feel free to rewatch it as much as you like!

Watch The Webinar

About Nomentia

Nomentia is a Nordic powerhouse for global cash management. We believe in a world in which businesses can make the right decisions no matter how unpredictable the times are. Our SaaS-based platform offers solutions for cash forecasting and visibility, global payments with bank connectivity, reconciliation, in-house banking, guarantees, and FX dealing. We serve 2,300+ clients in over 100 countries processing more than 200 billion euros annually. Cash is king!

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

| 29-01-2021 | treasuryXL |

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

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

Register Here

 

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

 

 

 

How can businesses protect their bottom line against the currency markets?

28-01-2021 | treasuryXL | XE |

Does your company have an exposure to foreign currencies? Wybe Schutte explains in below interview how business can tackle the complexity of FX.

AN INTRODUCTION TO

Wybe Schutte is head of Business Development Europe at XE.com. Wybe’s career has always centered around international business development and managing relationships. Within XE.com both play an important part as globally we XE is the trusted partner of many business in helping them manage & mitigate the risk that is associated with dealing with multiple currencies, be this through simple rate regulation or looking at high level currency risk management & hedging solutions.

We asked him 10 questions. Let’s go!

 

INTERVIEW

1. Can you tell something about XE and its mission?

At Xe, we live currencies. Most people know Xe from the currency converter, however we also provide international money transfer services for business for over 25 years.  Xe’s Business Solutions supports company’s that have an exposure to foreign currency, supporting them to safeguard profit margins and improve cashflow through quantifying the FX risk they face and implementing strategies to mitigate it. So that our clients can focus on their core business and do not have to worry about their FX.

2.What kind of FX risk types exists and how does XE deal with it?

We look within each business to see where the currency risks are, and whether these can be offset. For example, any sales made in Euros could be offset against Euro costs. If there is still an exposure this is where products such as Forward Contracts can be considered in order to provide protection against the risk. Currency risk can be divided into three types: Transactional Risk, when a business deals in a country that differs to their base currency; Transnational Risk, when a business has an asset or liability overseas on their balance sheet, and Economic Risk where a movement in the exchange rate can give a business a competitive advantage when competing for a particular market.

3. How can you measure the different types of FX risk?

FX Risk can either have a negative or positive impact on a business’ bottom line. If you look back over the last 10 years you can understand what the potential impact could be in the most extreme, least extreme and average scenarios over your given timeline.

This can be done by looking at the high & low points of the market and a business’ FX exposure. This step helps companies to understand what the impact of the net exposure can have on the bottom line.

4. What are the most common critical FX problems that businesses have?

Businesses that have a transactional exposure to the currency markets can differentiate between committed and forecasted exposures. A committed exposure is when the price for a good or service in a foreign currency is known and contracted. Therefore, any movement in exchange rate has a direct impact on their profit or cost unless hedged. A forecasted exposure is when a business looks to the period beyond the committed period to see what their requirements may be. Confidence levels into forecasted periods can vary largely and it is normally the case that the further out a business forecasts, the lower the confidence levels.

5. How can businesses protect their bottom line against the currency markets?

There are a number of key stages that a business can look to follow in order to mitigate FX volatility. Firstly, Identify the type of risk, quantify the risk elements, and then look to build a strategy and agree the implementation process. These stages will allow you to decide the products that are most suitable, so you can then move to market timing and execution. Lastly, you should look to review, revise and adjust your approach on a regular basis. It is important to remember that it is not about market speculation but about mitigating your risk.

6. What is, in your perception, the biggest benefit of a working Foreign Exchange strategy?

Given the ever-uncertain world in which we currently live in, finance departments and treasury centres could be looking to build a strategy to deal with currency fluctuations, which over time could have a considerable impact on your company’s bottom line. A structured approach to foreign exchange risk can enable your business to make strategic planning decisions, rather than attempting to respond to day-to-day developments in the market.

7. Do you experience differences in FX before COVID19 and the time we live in now? What are the differences?

There has been significant movements in the currency markets during the Covid19 period and there are still many factors that influence the daily rates. During these uncertain times our clients are looking for certainty and stability. And although price is always important, other key factors like security and credibility became more important. Naturally each of our clients has been impacted very differently and we have worked with them to provide the solutions and flexibility they needed. We have welcomed many new clients from new geographies? as they were growing, and we supported existing clients that were growing or adapting their business models to suit the changing market.

8. The market is always changing, how does XE stay top of mind of the latest developments in the currency world?

We work closely with our clients to continuously understand their needs and adjust accordingly. Our expert Dealers keep a close eye out on the market. Understanding the movements, resistance levels, and key economic & political updates that can influence the market so that our clients do not have to worry about that. Xe also works closely with our sister companies and parent company Euronet Worldwide.

9. How does the future of FX look like in your perspective?

The near future could be set to weather extraordinary levels of balance sheet expansion and recession, potentially leading to a longer stimulative/expansionary monetary policy which could in turn depress currency rates of the countries that bear them. Near to medium term impacts of this could include a lack of major economic expansion as capital returns are often negative when factoring inflation. This may mean that we see a re-composition of FX strength toward commodity-based currencies (CAD/AUD/NZD) and alternative safe havens (CHF). However, we could see this shift in the longer term as public debt, in particular, becomes more tenable and attractive at such low interest rates and could invite broader investment for countries and to a degree private industry.

We have witnessed ample FX market volatility from an increased reliance on a more narrow data core. Inflation and interest rates and also public debt and balance sheet expansion narratives are having the most impact on rate movements. With this in mind; where much of the corrective forces required are formed around policies related to these key issues, it appears that volatility could behere to stay for at least the coming 6-12 months and beyond.

10. What has been your best experience ever in the world of currencies?

Supporting a scale-up with their complex FX requirements and enable them to grow their business in a short period of time by eliminating the FX risk and provide significant costs savings along the way.

 

About XE

At XE, they live currencies. XE provides a comprehensive range of currency services and products, including their Currency Converter, Market Analysis, Currency Data API and quick, easy, secure Money Transfers for individuals and businesses. They leverage technology to deliver these services through their website, mobile apps and over the phone.

Last year, XE helped nearly 300 million people access information about the currencies that matter to them and over 350,000 people used XE to send money overseas. Thousands of businesses relied on XE for information about the currency markets, advice on managing their foreign exchange risk or trusted XE with their business-critical international payments.

International Payments & FX Risk management for business

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

At XE, they share the belief that behind every currency exchange, query or transaction is a person or business trying to accomplish something important, so XE works together to develop new and better currency services that put their customers first.

XE is proud to be part of Euronet Worldwide (Nasdaq: EEFT), a global leader in processing secure electronic financial transactions. XE is part of the Money Transfer Division of Euronet and is the unification of HiFX and XE.com.

Visit XE.com

Read XE blogs

Crisis Management: Why Treasury & Finance are pivotal to recovery

| 26-01-2021 | treasuryXL | Nomentia |

Initiating a crisis management strategy is now top priority for people, businesses and Governments alike. Utilizing and developing survival capabilities is proving challenging for many organisations, including cash flow forecasting and managing risk around major supply chain disruptions.

Diligent Cash Management and scenario analysis are both integral to managing uncertainty during the current crisis but also positioning finance and treasury leaders as pivotal to driving successful recovery planning.


Top things businesses should be concentrating on during the current crisis

Most organisations have a real need to understand what their current liquidity is: today, tomorrow and into the future. Finance and treasury must continue to run the business as best as they can but, to do this effectively, they need to know how much cash they have to work with on a daily basis. Therefore, group-wide, real-time cash visibility and future cash forecasting are crucial – if you don’t have enough liquidity in the business then trouble could be looming on the horizon.

The first step is to figure out what the real cash picture looks like, identify gaps and put the necessary measures and contingencies in place to avoid nasty surprises. Bill payment periods may have to be extended, funding requirements and arrangements revisited, hedging policies re-worked etc but the big picture i.e. cash visibility, is critical.

Cash forecasting comes next in order of priority, gathering a full and concise picture of short-term cash availability is imperative. Maximising business agility with some ‘what if’ scenario modelling may be required, for example: what happens if we don’t get paid a percentage of what we are expecting, what fall back positions do we have on government grants, loan agreements etc. Again, the key driver is knowing your current cash picture now and today, allowing you the best possible position for making strategic, next-step decisions. And the situation is real, a Guardian report, on the 2nd April, states 6 out 10 (60%) UK firms have no more than 3 months of cash left!

Many companies are struggling with cash forecasting, they simply don’t have adequate tools in place. What can they do, right now, given the logistics of remote working?

Thankfully there’s a lot they can do, and quickly. Ensuring whatever systems they have in place for managing liquidity are as automated as possible to enable real time, up to date information access on cash visibility. If automation is a problem or the company is still using traditional manual processes, then change as soon as possible. This is not as difficult as it sounds as many cash management solutions are now available on monthly on-demand payment plans, cloud based and can be installed quickly and efficiently without the need for IT involvement, onsite implementation teams or large upfront fees.

Given the availability of cloud-based cash forecasting solutions, systems can also be accessed remotely so staff working from home can work as efficiently and effectively as if they were operating from their respective office environments.

Actionable advice for post-crisis future planning

Preparedness. Post-crisis analysis will be critical for all organisations. Some will have managed better than others, particularly those who had previously invested in technology upgrades and system automation. Questions around: how well we were prepared, what worked or didn’t work so well, will be food for thought for all business leaders.

But the fact remains technology is absolutely key to maintaining business agility and formulating crisis preparation. Automating as many tasks as possible, in order to provide real-time access to all the data and information needed to make quick and informed decisions, can mean the difference between success and failure. Many organisations will use the time now and post-crisis to reassess technology needs and processes and plan investment in tech upgrades and automation to improve agility, accuracy and efficiency for the future.

Here’s a round-up of some actionable advice for finance and treasury leaders:

  • Know your cash availability today and going forward, focus on: group wide, real-time cash visibility and future cash forecasting
  • Consider bill payment extensions & re-visit funding requirements
  • Cash forecast regularly & consider fall back positions across a range of scenarios
  • Automate as much as possible so you’re benefiting from real-time, up to date information on cash visibility – make those upgrades as soon as possible
  • Cloud-based cash forecasting tools are more affordable and easier to implement than you might think – empower your staff with the ability to work as effectively as required, remotely
  • Reflect on how well you were prepared for this current crisis. What worked and what didn’t work so well
  • Automate as much as possible so that you benefit from real-time, accurate data to enable you to make key decisions as quickly as possible

Information is power, now more than ever.

About Nomentia

Nomentia is a Nordic powerhouse for global cash management. We believe in a world in which businesses can make the right decisions no matter how unpredictable the times are. Our SaaS-based platform offers solutions for cash forecasting and visibility, global payments with bank connectivity, reconciliation, in-house banking, guarantees, and FX dealing. We serve 2,300+ clients in over 100 countries processing more than 200 billion euros annually. Cash is king!