RECAP | Cash and Treasury Management Event Copenhagen | By Pieter de Kiewit

06-09-2022 | cashandtreasury.dk | treasuryXL | Pieter de Kiewit | LinkedIn

 

Last week, Pieter de Kiewit was Chairman of the Cash & Treasury Management Conference in Copenhagen. Pieter decided to take the effort to share his experience with you.

 

By Pieter de Kiewit, Chairman of the event

Corporate treasury events come in many shapes and sizes. Earlier this year, I reported on my visit to Mannheim, in a few weeks you can expect a blog about Vienna, in this blog more about Copenhagen. I can already tell you that I liked the format and set-up of this event.

Corporate treasury markets will always be very niche. The event organiser, Insight Events, targeted a mainly Danish-Scandinavian audience. The sessions were all in English and the venue was the beautiful Hotel D’Angleterre in the heart of Copenhagen. It was also a conscious choice to keep the audience small, just under 150 and of high calibre: almost all treasurers, most of them quite senior and well informed. The consequence of this choice is also that there were no parallel sessions, all sessions were attended by the entire audience. During the break one could meet the various treasury service and product providers, including treasuryXL partner Nomentia.

Last year, I was asked to present on “how to get hired for your next treasury position” and had some questions during other sessions. Based on the bond we built, I was asked to be moderator/chairman of this year’s event. I thought it was a great gig, if it was appreciated, you just have to ask others.


The programme consisted of presentations and panel discussions led by Nordea. I was impressed by the level of quality offered. There were two macro-economic presentations, one by the Chief Economist of Nordea, a well-known TV personality in Denmark and the other by a senior director of EKF, the Danish export credit agency. Both gentlemen brought very thorough interesting insights but, given the current global developments, also a gloomy and dark future.

Another highlight was the input on ESG financing where treasurers and senior sustainability experts together informed the audience about the reality of this type of funding making in, at least for me, an inspiring way. In a cleverly constructed format, credit rating and Basel IV developments were linked in a session with the most questions from the audience.

In other, more traditional but also essential and informative sessions, building treasury teams, mergers and career development were on the agenda. And the non-treasury topic was brought up in a very entertaining way about a hacked company that does not want to pay a ransom. Relevant not only for treasurers and definitely food for thought.

Looking back, I see a very successful and high quality event. On a personal note, I always enjoy the international in my work. Me as a Dutchman, extrovert, direct and sometimes unintentionally rude, communicating with civilised, reserved Scandinavians who do not ask too many questions hopefully did not result in not being invited for next year. We shall see…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading!

Pieter de Kiewit

Managing working capital in challenging times | Attend on December 1st 2022

31-08-2022 | treasuryXL | The Working Capital Forum | LinkedIn |

 

Are you a Corporate Treasurer? Attend The Working Capital Forum Europe 2022 for free: use code TXL22CG

  • Banks, fintechs, and other solution providers can get 25% off the cost of a ticket using this TreasuryXL code: TXL2225

 

 

Mark your calendar for the 1st  of December 2022! The Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam will open the doors for The Working Capital Forum Europe. This event brings together leaders in treasury, procurement, and payments to share ideas and techniques for better working capital management across supply chains.

That’s never been so important as in these times of rising interest rates, inflation, and supply chain shocks, when managing working capital is everyone’s concern.

From supply chain finance to accurate cash forecasting, solutions for every component of working capital management will be discussed on stage, demonstrated in our information area, and examined in our workshops at the world’s largest specialist working capital and supply chain finance event.

We’re delighted to return to Amsterdam for this one-day live event, with main stage keynote sessions, panel debates, and breakout workshops and demos.

If you’re interested in optimising working capital in your organisation, you need to join us in Amsterdam for the most productive day you’ve had in years.

Among the topics we will be covering are:

  • Cash forecasting and cash visibility
  • Payables finance
  • Receivables finance
  • Optimising receivables – get paid faster
  • Inventory management and inventory finance
  • Supply chain finance
  • ‘Deep tier’ supply chain finance
  • Funding options for trade and supply chain finance
  • Using working capital tools for ESG objectives
  • Credit insurance
  • Disclosure rules on supplier finance
  • Ratings agencies and their view of working capital solution

TO REGISTER AND FIND OUT MORE VISIT:  WORKING CAPITAL FORUM EUROPE 

Visit the Working Capital Forum: https://www.workingcapitalforum.com/

Join our events here: https://www.workingcapitalforum.com/events

Enter the Working Capital and Supply Chain Finance 2022 Awards here: https://www.workingcapitalforum.com/awards.html

 

 

When Should You Start a Hedge Program?

23-08-2022 | treasuryXL | GTreasury | LinkedIn |

A popular Chinese proverb says “the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.” This is equally true in the world of hedging.

Source: Hedge Trackers, a GTreasury Company

We’ve seen volatility in currency markets, with the EUR falling 9 percent between Labor Day and Thanksgiving. We’ve seen volatility in commodities, with some commodity prices doubling and tripling and oil prices approaching 10-year highs. And short-term interest rates may quadruple in a year.

Companies that have well-run hedge programs have time to prepare and adjust to these forces. But what if you’ve been waiting for “the best time” or “the right time” to hedge?

Two years ago, we were surprised with a global pandemic – when everything settles down, will it be a good time to start a hedge program? Before we even have a chance to assimilate that, we are now faced with war in Europe. Sanctions, which will almost certainly be followed by more sanctions and more volatility, and which will be followed by what? Are you feeling like you’ve missed the opportunity to start hedging?

It’s never too late to set up a hedge program.

Now, just like last week, last year, and five years ago, the steps are the same.

  • Determine what your objective is. As our own Helen Kane says, “I believe that most hedge programs should take a deep breath, step back and determine what is really the objective…. Are they trying to protect margins? Are they trying to lock in budgeted earnings? Are they smoothing the year-over-year impact of currency into their financials?”
  • Once you know your objective, identify and quantify your exposures. Investigate the start of the exposure (often not easy to identify) and its end. The answers will be different depending on your hedge objective, and that’s why it’s critical to get that objective determined first. It is expected that you would have different objectives for different exposures.
  • You’re ready to start working on your policy, detailing what exposures will be managed with what strategies/derivatives over what time frame. You may want to consider some flexibility in the policy to systematically take advantage (or not), with clear guidelines generational rate movements – allowing more or less (but not zero) hedging in those times when rates hit 5- or 10-year highs or lows. This provides a framework to contemplate those things that we thought were so rare that we wouldn’t see them in our lifetime. Remember those days?
  • There are other documents that will be necessary. If not addressed directly in your policy, you’ll want a guideline for accounting and an appropriate control structure. You’ll also need to make sure that inception documentation supporting any special hedge accounting is compliant.
  • You’ll need to set up a process for collecting exposures at different stages (anticipated, recognized, impacting earnings, settled).
  • Make sure that you have a good working relationship and legal framework (ISDA) with your counterparties and that you set up a good process for trading and competitive bidding.
  • Of course, trade management and special hedge accounting should not be left to spreadsheets. We’d be happy to introduce you to CapellaFX, which not only is a trade repository but also accumulates your exposure data (existing and anticipated), applies hedge decisions, designates and documents exposures, drives your hedge accounting and provides effectiveness tests. Most importantly, it is user-friendly for both Treasury and Accounting and doesn’t require a derivative specialist to use or implement.

Conclusion

Does all of this seem daunting? It doesn’t have to be. Hedge Trackers can help you with every step. We have the people and the systems to assist your team, or you can offload some or all of the process to us.

Returning to our original question on the best time to plant the tree – or start a hedging program. If you haven’t already done so, recall that the next best time to start is right now.

Harmonisation of FRTB data compliance requirements by local jurisdictions is crucial

09-08-2022 | treasuryXL | Refinitiv | LinkedIn |

 

Banks face uncertainty over changing responsibilities under the Fundamental Review of the Trading Book (FRTB), but potential jurisdictional divergence on new requirements for data vendors could add greater complexity to the roll-out of these new rules.

Read more

Cash & Treasury Management: Join The World’s Leading Experts in Copenhagen

04-08-2022 | cashandtreasury.dk | treasuryXL | LinkedIn

 

Featuring Chairman of the event, Pieter de Kiewit – Owner of Treasurer Search

 

Be a part of the exclusive Cash & Treasury Management Conference on the 1st of September 2022, which will be held in the extraordinary luxury settings at Hotel d’Angleterre in Copenhagen.

Get updated, expand your network, and get inspiration for optimizing your work within the Cash & Treasury Management community.

 

 

The international program consists of selected and experienced speakers that have proven success within a certain area of Cash & Treasury as e.g., ESG, digitalization and Cash Management. The conference brings together a selected group of high-level senior treasurers from global organizations. Learn from your international peers and join the exclusive network. The event ensures you a full day of new knowledge and inspiration made for high level Treasurers. You get in-depth with the latest trends, valuable content from recognized speakers and extensive networking opportunities.

Among others, these topics have been selected for this year’s conference:

  • Sustainability financing – experiences one year down the road
  • Proprietary data driven cash flow forecasting model
  • How we integrated Nets Group Treasury in to Nexi Group treasury
  • Experiences from a massive hacking attack
  • A career within Novo Nordisk treasury
  • Macroeconomic trends and predictions
REGISTER VIA TREASURYXL

 

As part of TreasuryXL’s network we offer treasurers 25 % discount.

Sign up now and join us 1 September – Remember to use the code when signing up: TreasuryXL25

 

 

Read the program and learn more about participation and sponsorship opportunities: cashandtreasury.dk

 

 

 

 

Treasurers Get Strategic About Hedging Programs as Interest Rates Keep Rising

02-08-2022 | treasuryXL | GTreasury | LinkedIn |

The current interest rate landscape (read: rates going up for the foreseeable future) is spurring treasurers and the office of the CFO to implement rate hedging strategies at a faster clip. For many organizations, hedge programs are a new initiative—and it can take some understanding to know what they do and what to look for from companies that offer them.

Farah Lotia, the Director of Interest Rate and Quantitative Analytics at Hedge Trackers (a GTreasury company), discusses what interest rate hedge programs are, the ROI benefit they deliver treasures, how to get started with them, and why there has never been a more advantageous time to implement them.

Zeroing in on 4 Specific Ways Treasurers’ Can Improve Cash Forecasting

21-07-2022 | treasuryXL | GTreasury | LinkedIn |

Particularly with continued financial headwinds, accurate-as-possible cash forecasting and visibility are more critical than ever. But, according to a recent survey of hundreds of global treasurers, the process of generating forecasts has been either “somewhat difficult” or “extremely difficult.”

—

Jo Stevens, a senior product manager at GTreasury, wrote for Treasury & Risk on four specific best practices around how treasurers can improve cash forecasting and optimize their use of sophisticated forecasting technologies. Jo discusses how to capture more accurate data, how to best process that data with machine learning, how to approach cash visibility, and, crucially, how to continually adapt to meet ongoing forecasting challenges.

The Working Capital Forum Europe | Amsterdam 2022

20-07-2022 | treasuryXL | The Working Capital Forum | LinkedIn |

 

MANAGING WORKING CAPITAL IN CHALLENGING TIMES

 

 

On 1st December 2022, Working Capital Forum Europe brings together leaders in treasury, procurement, and payments to share ideas and techniques for better working capital management across supply chains.

That’s never been so important as in these times of rising interest rates, inflation, and supply chain shocks, when managing working capital is everyone’s concern.

From supply chain finance to accurate cash forecasting, solutions for every component of working capital management will be discussed on stage, demonstrated in our information area, and examined in our workshops at the world’s largest specialist working capital and supply chain finance event.

We’re delighted to return to Amsterdam for this one-day live event, with main stage keynote sessions, panel debates, and breakout workshops and demos.

If you’re interested in optimising working capital in your organisation, you need to join us in Amsterdam for the most productive day you’ve had in years.

Among the topics we will be covering are:

  • Cash forecasting and cash visibility
  • Payables finance
  • Receivables finance
  • Optimising receivables – get paid faster
  • Inventory management and inventory finance
  • Supply chain finance
  • ‘Deep tier’ supply chain finance
  • Funding options for trade and supply chain finance
  • Using working capital tools for ESG objectives
  • Credit insurance
  • Disclosure rules on supplier finance
  • Ratings agencies and their view of working capital solution

USE YOUR COUPON CODE VIA TREASURYXL

  • Banks, fintechs, and other solution providers can get 25% off the cost of a ticket using this TreasuryXL code: TXL2225
  • Corporate Treasurers can apply for a free ticket using this Treasury XL code: TXL22CG

TO REGISTER AND FIND OUT MORE VISIT:  WORKING CAPITAL FORUM EUROPE 

Visit the Working Capital Forum: https://www.workingcapitalforum.com/

Join our events here: https://www.workingcapitalforum.com/events

Enter the Working Capital and Supply Chain Finance 2022 Awards here: https://www.workingcapitalforum.com/awards.html

 

 

5 steps to effective fraud prevention in fintech

14-07-2022 | treasuryXL | Refinitiv | LinkedIn |

 

A recent Refinitiv expert talk looks at the digital banking and fintech arena, unpacking the compliance challenges that dominate the sector and offering advice for a best-practice response.

Read more

GTreasury Launches New Connectivity Suite for Treasurers

12-07-2022 | treasuryXL | GTreasury | LinkedIn |

 

Workflow Brings in Third-Party Banking, Payments, and Financial Data

ClearConnect ensures the fidelity of data essential to treasurers and CFOs

CHICAGO, Ill. – July 12, 2022 – GTreasury, a treasury and risk management platform provider, today announced the launch of ClearConnect. Featuring more than 80 API calls in a dozen key categories, ClearConnect offers the most robust connectivity suite available to treasury teams and the office of the CFO. The solution provides immediate access to the comprehensive data required for confident and actionable treasury insights, and ensures the fidelity and security of that data through purpose-built connections bolstered by GTreasury’s support.

While “API” is becoming a buzzword often associated with data connectivity solutions, the terms are not synonymous. API connections are only as powerful as the underlying workflows that support them. Activating an out-of-the-box API is not an instant panacea for an organization’s data needs. Without the right underlying workflows, APIs not attuned to a business’s specific requirements will drop or fail to capture all the data sets necessary to power effective analytics and data lakes. Given the complexity of treasury and risk management, those missing insights can result in significant consequences for treasury teams and CFOs.

ClearConnect provides both the powerful underlying workflows and the multifaceted purpose-built API-enabled connectivity to ensure that data capture is consistently done correctly and thoroughly—providing all the analytics an organization needs from a particular connection. The solution creates certainty, security, and seamless connections by integrating all data from business systems and financial institutions, and is capable of combining connection types for uniquely complete data sets and data fidelity.

Specifically, ClearConnect creates value for treasury teams and the office of the CFO by delivering:

  • Secure connectivity across the financial value chain
  • Extensions to corporate treasury workflows
  • Access to specialist solutions within the integrated platform
  • Lower bank fee costs through seamless connectivity
  • Access to multiple innovative FinTech products and services

ClearConnect’s market-leading API catalog features over 80 API calls, augmented by host-to-host connectivity wherever needed to bolster capabilities. The solution enables robust functionality across a dozen categories, including payment approval rules, payment workflows, payments and templates, balances and transactions, general ledgers, deal management, bank accounts, bank account management, legal entities, forecasts, operators, and data extracts. ClearConnect’s flexible connectivity architecture uses best-in-class API-enabled connections to ensure fidelity and continuity of customers’ most vital data. Connectivity into Swift, Fides, and others provides a single source of truth and visibility into an organization’s cash and financial risk, and delivers transparent workflows for payments, bank file monitoring, and more.

GTreasury’s always-expanding partnerships with leading global financial institutions and market data partners ensure seamless bank and ERP connectivity, domestic and international transactions, and access to market insights. As client needs change, GTreasury’s active collaborations with product partners further ensure the creation and delivery of modernized products and services, securing ClearConnect’s place as a market-leading solution always aligned with customers’ current data requirements.

From risk management capabilities powered by Moody’s Analytics and KYOS, to market data provided by Refinitiv and Fenics MD, to banking, ERP, investments, and payments partners, ClearConnect now enables customers to wield the full power of the GTreasury ecosystem even more easily and completely.

“ClearConnect doesn’t just offer a significantly greater breadth of connectivity options than anything else available, it also underwrites those capabilities with foundational workflows for data integrity and ease of use,” said Pete Srejovic, Chief Technology Officer at GTreasury. “Investing in API technology only to realize that you are dropping crucial data is a nightmare that has come true for many CFOs and treasury teams. With today’s launch of ClearConnect, we’re proud to offer not only the largest and most powerful API connectivity solution on the market, but one that customers can entrust to deliver absolute data integrity along with the comprehensive and future-proof solutions of the GTreasury ecosystem.”

       

About GTreasury

GTreasury believes there is opportunity in complexity. We connect treasury and finance teams with industry-leading experts, technology solutions and untapped possibility. By simplifying complexity, teams can unleash their organization’s potential to gain strategic advantages and grow. GTreasury helps organizations reach that potential by connecting treasury and digital finance operations through a world-class SaaS treasury and risk management platform and integrated ecosystem where cash, debt, investments, and exposures are seamlessly managed within the office of the CFO. GTreasury delivers intelligent insights, while connecting financial value chains and extending workflows to third-party systems, exchanges, portals, and services. Headquartered in Chicago, with locations serving EMEA (London) and APAC (Sydney and Manila), GTreasury’s global community includes more than 800 customers and 30+ industries reaching 160+ countries worldwide. Visit GTreasury.com