Tag Archive for: non-treasurers

Our banks are not like theirs (if they even have one)

| 08-10-2019 | by Pieter de Kiewit |

Recently Bloomberg reported about the authorities in Indonesia closing down 826 Fintech startups. My first assumption was this has to do with tax evasion and a very controlling government. Indonesia is most definitely not my field of expertise. Reading the article it struck me that my mindset concerning banking is quite limited and restricted to western standards. And over time I have noticed that I am not the only one. Reason to browse the internet, tell you about my findings and issues this concerning.

Even European banks are not all the same
In The Netherlands the retail banking standard was: banking services are for free and you get a decent percentage on your savings. Furthermore cheques were left in the previous millennium and even my grandmother uses on-line banking. Italian retail banking already came with an invoice long ago and cheques were and still are a standard in Germany. As many Europeans have no regular access to the (mobile) internet, banking on their computer or phone is not an option. One can also take this from the average number of banking offices to be seen in the streets of Amsterdam versus the ones in Bucharest.

Banking differences in the rest of the world
I did not do a comprehensive study but do know that for many of us Europeans a personal credit rating does not very sound familiar. When I lived in Canada I learned that you need a personal credit to get a cheque book. You get your credit rating by having an account where a regular income lands and improve it by leasing a car and pay your credit card bills in time. Without a credit rating no mortgage, a better credit rating results in a lower interest rate.
In some African countries telephone landlines were never installed and the first regular telephone was a cell phone. In parallel, bank accounts were skipped and cash is replaced by credit on this same cell phone. I think all these systems are doing a more or less proper job. Only if you want to cross the border you will need to help.

Problems with inadequate banking services
EY reports that over 200 million SMEs do not have access to banking services putting them in an offside position in the global economy. All this because the regular big banks want to deal with them as if they are a Western company. The Bloomberg article describes a situation where 90% of the Indonesian population has no credit card or access to banking services. Of course this is a facilitator for the black market economy. But also, there are examples where Fintech and loansharking are being combined with all related criminal behaviour and excessive interest rates. And, in a society without banks, what can you do with your savings? I think these are real issues.

Having browsed and learned I don’t think we should aim for a worldwide standard in banking. I hope we can learn from each other and that the banking landscape will be more honest, enabling a fair global economy. With this in mind I think I will have another look at cryptocurrencies introduced by Facebook and other new kids on the block. That is for another blog and by now I think I understand the Indonesian government better.

What are your thoughts and which interesting examples do you see around the world?

 

 

Pieter de Kiewit
Owner Treasurer Search

 

How do you find your Interim Treasurer?

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

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

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

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

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

When to use a treasury recruiter to find an interim treasurer

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

When to use a treasury consultancy to find an interim treasurer

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

Where recruiters and consultants overlap

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

Final remark and what to do?

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

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

 

 

Pieter de Kiewit
Owner Treasurer Search

 

Platform Interim Treasury Masterclass

| 06-09-2019 | by DACT |

Masterclass Succesvol Pitchen en Presenteren
Kunnen we nog afkicken van 8 jaar monetaire morfine van de ECB?
Trends in Export financiering

De DACT nodigt je uit voor de volgende PIT-bijeenkomst op dinsdag 10 september 2019 op een bijzondere locatie: De Beurs van Berlage (Beursplein 5) , waar de DACT gast is bij AFS Group. Je bent vanaf 17:30 uur welkom, de bijeenkomst start om 18:00 uur en zal rond 21:00 worden afgesloten. Broodjes en drankjes worden door AFS aangeboden op de beursvloer.

PIT is een DACT Netwerkgroep gericht op de Treasury professional die niet in vast dienstverband zijn beroep uitoefent, maar op basis van tijdelijke (arbeids)overeenkomsten. PIT wordt bestuurd door Ingmar Bergmann, Peter Heymans, Patrick Kunz, Dennis Schmidt en Bart Steens. Tijdens de periodieke PIT-bijeenkomsten wordt er niet alleen vakinhoudelijk met elkaar van gedachten gewisseld, maar ook worden er thema’s behandeld die specifiek zien op de rol als interim professional. Zoals altijd wordt een actieve participatie van alle deelnemers gevraagd. Met name de Masterclass Succesvol Pitchen en Presenteren kan niet zonder die actieve deelname!

Voor de bijeenkomst op 10 september a.s. hebben wij het onderstaande programma samengesteld.

  • Introductie AFS Blue – Bringing issuing and trading debt into a digitized world door Marcel Coppejans, Managing Director AFS Group. Presentatie van AFS’ internet based platform dat is ontwikkeld om de brokerage van schuldpapier in de primaire en secundaire markt transparanter en efficiënter te maken.
  • Masterclass Succesvol Pitchen en Presenteren door Patrick van Gils, pitchcoach en presentatietrainer. Oprichter van TOPpresentaties. Hoe kunnen we onszelf nog beter in de markt zetten? Hoe kunnen we kort, krachtig en overtuigend communiceren? Tijdens zijn interactieve presentatie ontdek je zijn beproefde 6 staps pitch-formule en komen zaken als woordkeus, powervragen, ‘pijn & fijn’ en overtuigingskracht aan de orde. De nadruk ligt op directe bruikbaarheid en praktische toepasbaarheid. Zijn doel is “om er zelf direct mee aan de slag gaan en de vruchten te plukken!”.
  • Kunnen we nog afkicken van 8 jaar monetaire financiering? door Arne Petimezas, Macro Analist AFS Group. Als specialist in de Europese en Amerikaanse geld- en kapitaalmarkten wordt hij vaak gevraagd zijn visie te delen met professionele partijen en de media, zoals het Financieel Dagblad en nieuwszenders op televisie. Ook met ons zal hij zijn visie delen over het monetaire beleid van de ECB.
  • Trends in Export Financiering door Stephen Maduro, AFS Corporate Finance. Is het huidige instrumentarium van Nederlandse exporteurs voldoende om de export te bevorderen? Past de rol van banken en Export Krediet Verzekeraars nog in de huidige markt? Hoe kunnen Nederlandse exporteurs het beste ondersteund worden?
    Hoe kan deze markt toegankelijker en transparanter gemaakt worden?
  • PIT-zaken

Alle geïnteresseerde DACT-leden zijn uitgenodigd voor deze nieuwe PIT-bijeenkomst, dus ook de niet interim Treasurers, zolang zij bereid zijn om actief en open deel te nemen aan de discussie; uiteraard is er alle respect voor de vertrouwelijkheid die een ieder op sommige terreinen moet betrachten.

Aanmelden doe je hier

Corporate Treasury have a problem and this is why…

| 23-07-2019 | by Pieter de Kiewit |

Cost savings created by good treasurers easily exceed the sum of salaries of their team. They can help open doors that otherwise stay closed for their business colleagues and they can help avoid risks. Then why do they have this modest seat at the table of CFOs and are they often not considered for succession of her/him? Why are SMEs complaining about the lack of funding opportunities, when treasurers have them available? Why are Basel regulations made by bankers and politicians, where are the corporate treasurers? Why does treasury education not have a more prominent place in education? Why do bankers earn the bigger bucks? Corporate treasury has a PROBLEM!

The non-treasurers (CFOs and business owners) often do not know, so they do not consider this a problem. I think they should, given my introduction. The treasurers I meet often experience the problem: they want to be educated, make career progression, be involved in business and have better salaries. Why do controllers or non-financials not encounter this issue, or at least in a lesser degree?

Based upon my many interview notes and the first results of the dataset of the Treasurer Test I have a first hypothesis (there will be more): the personality of people working in treasury. A Big5 personality assessment has been done in a treasury population of 100. What I see is that treasurers, on average, are easily as driven as the general population. That should be a proper foundation. Where they score substantially different is in two aspects:

  1. They do not make contact quickly
  2. They are not focused on convincing other people.

The two obvious solutions are bringing people with a different personality into the treasury field and stimulating the current population to speak up. As recruiters we hope to contribute by bringing (for example) bankers into corporate treasury. Bankers often show a different personality profile. Furthermore I think we should not try to change the personality of the current population, but skills training will most definitely help.

Do you see the problem and want to step up? I hope so.

 

 

Pieter de Kiewit
Owner Treasurer Search

 

Introduction of two Community Ambassadors: Francois and Marco

| 11-07-2019 | by Kendra Keydeniers |

treasuryXL is happy to announce a close cooperation with François De Witte and Marco Lassche. As community ambassadors they will contribute to further raise the level of the treasury function, both for the inner circle: corporate treasurers, bankers & consultants, as well for the non-treasurers.

François De Witte has worked over 30 years in banking and is founder of FDW Consult, specialized in finance and treasury consulting. With his broad treasury career, his key areas of expertise are International Payments & Cash management, treasury, working capital management, financing & advisory, open banking, digital banking and IT strategy.

“I am eager to share my large experience in treasury, banking and innovation with the TreasuryXL community” said François.

François will bring added value to the community with its innovative and broad corporate finance and treasury experience. He operates from Belgium.

 

 

Marco Lassche started his ‘World of Treasury’ career in 2002 and has become a professional in  banking, corporate treasury both in large, international corporates as well as mid-sized

companies. In 2018 Marco founded ‘Bedrijfskostenexpert’, a Dutch company specialized in Cost Reduction, working on a No Cure, No Pay

base. Marco his core expertise’s are Cash management, Funding, Risk Management, Setup in-house bank and cost savings.

“I am looking forward being part of this growing treasury community. Let’s take treasuryXL together to the next level as a leading portal for treasurers and non-treasurers.” said Marco

 

Marco will give the community an energy boost and he can’t wait to share his knowledge to enhance the treasuryXL platform. He operates from The Netherlands.

The club of treasuryXL ambassadors now exists out of three: François De Witte, Marco Lassche and Pieter de Kiewit – owner of Treasurer Search.

 

 

“Large corporates invest substantially in continuous improvement and innovation of their treasury function. Mid-sized corporates often miss opportunities in, and pay too much for basic treasury. I think there is a lot to be gained in increasing the acceptance of corporate treasury and its’ development. I would like to contribute.” Said Pieter de Kiewit, owner at Treasurer Search.

 

 

Keep an eye out for these treasuryXL ambassadors, they will deliver useful and inspiring topics throughout the year.

About treasuryXL
treasuryXL is built by treasurers to serve treasurers and non-treasurers. treasuryXL offers:

  • professionals the chance to publish their expertise, opinions, success stories, distribute these and stimulate dialogue.
  • a labour market platform by creating an overview of vacancies, events and treasury education.
  • a variety of services in collaboration with flex treasurers.
  • a broad network of highly valued partners and experts.

 

 

Kendra Keydeniers
Community & Partner Manager at treasuryXL