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Cashforce raises €2 Million to accelerate international rollout
| 27-02-2018 | Nicolas Christiaen | Cashforce | sponsored content |
“Cash management & Treasury is evolving from a focus on data acquisition to Treasury automation and data analysis, enabling Treasury departments to bridge the gap between the Finance and other operational departments and enable data-driven strategic decision making. On top of that, Cash flow forecasting has become the major focus of the industry.”, said Nicolas Christiaen, CEO and co-founder of Cashforce. “This investment also re-confirms our investors’ confidence in the leadership that Cashforce has established in the Treasury space, our continued rapid growth and the potential to re-define the category.”
Additionally, Cashforce announced that Michel Akkermans will become Chairman of the board. Michel Akkermans is a serial entrepreneur in fintech companies. Amongst others, he was the Chairman and CEO of successful companies such as FICS and Clear2Pay. After the global payment solution company Clear2Pay was acquired by FIS in 2014, he became an active investor and board member in several companies and private equity organisations, as well as a venture partner and Chairman of Volta Ventures.
Cashforce: The Leading Cash forecasting platform for the Modern Corporate
Cashforce is a next-generation Cash forecasting & Smart Treasury Management System, focused on automation and integration for corporates. It helps corporate finance/treasury departments save time and money by offering accurate cash flow forecasting, pro-active working capital management analysis as well as flexible Treasury reporting & automation.
Cashforce is unique because it offers full transparency into what exactly drives the cash flow of mid-size & large corporates with different complexities such as multi-entity, multi-bank, multi-currency and complex ERP(s). Smart algorithms are applied to generate highly accurate Cash forecasts. The intelligent simulation engine enables companies to consider multiple scenarios and measure their impact. Its intuitive user interface allows for extensive and tailor-made analysis & reporting possibilities. Unlike other enterprise software players, the platform is set up quickly, even in the most complex environments, and connecting seamlessly with any ERP system through its ‘plug-and-play’ connectors. As a result, finance/treasury departments can be turned into business catalysts for cash generation opportunities throughout the company.
“While we started off as a Cash forecasting tool, we have added Advanced Working Capital analytics and Smart Treasury functionalities, and are now operative as a comprehensive modular Treasury Management System (TMS). This makes Cashforce a one-stop-shop for the many analytical and operational practices that benefit Financial and Treasury departments,” says Nicolas Christiaen, CEO of Cashforce. “The endorsement we get from both industry experts and clients progressively confirms that our solution really does bring change into the Treasury market. We now see that potential customers compare the classical TMS providers to Cashforce with Cashforce ending up as the preferred solution! Then you know you’re on the right track. We therefore strive to continue our vision to further integrate and automate to provide our customers with an even more effortless experience.”
“Cashforce has brought a very compelling solution to the corporate Cash management market, which is clearly seen in its results. Since its last financial injection in early 2016, Cashforce has demonstrated a rapid growth, including well over 100% annually recurring revenue growth”, explains Michel Akkermans, the company’s recently appointed chairman.
“With a surge in employees to over 25, an increasing and global interest from the market and partnerships with leading corporate banks, private equity firms & Treasury consultants, Cashforce has been expanding both reach and product. We have heard back from multiple existing customers about their positive experiences with the solution and its impact on their business, and they strongly believe in its trajectory moving forward”.
“Cashforce set foot in the Netherlands this year and has been growing substantially, proving that the company can be scaled up relatively easy,” says Nicolas Christiaen. “This would not be the case without the help of Volta Ventures and Michel Akkermans, who not only provided funding, but also lent their vast strategic experience in our market. The plans for Western-Europe as well as the US are outlined, and this funding round will be valuable to accelerate the international roll-out.”
About Cashforce (www.cashforce.com)
Cashforce is a ‘next-generation’ Cash forecasting & Smart Treasury platform, focused on integration and automation. With its technology, Cashforce is helping Treasury departments from large capital-intensive businesses save time and money by offering cash visibility & pro-active cash saving insights. The platform is easy to use and install, and connects seamlessly with any ERP system. Cashforce is headquartered in Belgium with an office in Amsterdam and New York, serving customers globally such as TomTom, Hyundai and Greenyard among many others worldwide.
About Pamica (www.pamica.be)
Pamica is the investment company of Michel Akkermans.
About Volta Ventures (www.volta.ventures)
Volta Ventures Arkiv invests in young and ambitious internet and software companies in the Benelux. The fund has € 55 million under management and is supported by EIF and ARKimedesFund II.
Press Contact Information
Nicolas Christiaen – [email protected] – +32 479 65 52 95
Michel Akkermans (Pamica NV) – [email protected] – +32 3 202 40 30
Looking back after 10 years of SEPA
| 26-02-2018 | Paul Stheeman |
Last month we saw the anniversary of several historical moments. 1000 years ago, in January 1018 the Peace of Bautzen ended the German-Polish War. More recently, in January 1998, American President Bill Clinton surprised the world by denying in a press conference that he had sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky. More importantly for Treasurers and the citizens of Europe January 2018 marks the tenth anniversary of the establishment of SEPA, the Single European Payments Area.
In Europe we have become used to SEPA. Initially we all groaned at the idea of having 22-digit long bank accounts numbers called the IBAN, nicknamed as “IBAN the Terrible”. But the introduction of SEPA in January 2008 has brought a number of benefits to over 520 million citizens in Europe. Not only are the 19 Eurozone countries members of SEPA. All other EU countries participate as well as countries such as Norway or Switzerland.
The main benefit is that we now have one payment zone. Previously, making a transfer from Italy to the Netherlands was a cross-border payment. This meant that a whole week could pass between the time when the payer initiated the transfer in Italy and the recipient actually received the funds on his Dutch bank account. In addition, banks in both countries would charge considerable fees for making the transfer. Payment is now done within 24 hours and banks should not charge more than for a domestic payment.
SEPA not only covers transfers. Direct debits and debit cards also are handled in a similar manner through SEPA. And a new instant payment scheme is currently being rolled out, allowing payments to be completed within seconds on a 24/7/365 basis.
SEPA is also strongly regulated. The European Commission established the legal foundation through the Payment Services Directive or PSD. Payment products are overseen as are technical standards.
In the last ten years SEPA has established itself as being the platform for payments in Europe. Due to its wide acceptance and success in its first decade it is likely to accompany us for many years ahead as new payment methods are developed in the digitalised world.
Paul Stheeman
Owner of STS – Stheeman Treasury Solutions GmbH
Internal Fraud – or how not to cheat yourself
| 22-02-2018 | Lionel Pavey |
Fraud is normally caused by false representation, failure to disclose information and abuse of power and position. As fraud is performed by people and their actions, a first step to prevent fraud would be to look at the current working environment within a company. If a company is putting extra stress on employees – bigger targets, loss of overtime payments, reductions in secondary benefits, no pay rises nor promotions etc. whilst the directors receive bonuses– this can lead to employees becoming aggrieved and seeking retribution. Furthermore, employing more temporary staff and external contractors, can distance the remaining employees and challenge their allegiance and loyalty.
Internal procedures
One of the least sexy components within a company is internal procedures. They need to be drafted, amended, agreed, published, implemented and reviewed on a rolling basis. Very few people enjoy writing these manuals, but they are essential to ensure that everyone is aware of the correct procedures that have to be followed to perform any tasks. Often there is talk of a “four eyes principle”. Personally, I have always believed in a “six eyes principle” as it requires more independent control and makes fraud less easy to perform. Most of the procedures are, of course, built around common sense. Duties should be segregated – different departments have different roles to perform in ensuring the complete procedure is followed throughout the company. Even within a single department, attention should be paid to segregating duties.
An example would be the administrative function relating to a purchase. There are 4 distinct stages – procurement, arrival, warehousing and dispatch/shipment. If one member of staff was responsible for the relevant data input for all 4 stages, there is an increased risk that fraud could take place. This is not to say that work should be segregated that one employee only ever does one function – this could also lead to fraud either through disenchantment or over familiarity of the systems and procedures used at one specific point in the production chain.
External procedures
Certain departments within a company have contact with external sources – suppliers, clients, financial institutions. Anyone who has contact with an external counterparty can be swayed by opportunity if the controls are not in place. In respect of purchasers – what contact do they have with suppliers outside the office? Are they entertained – restaurants, sports events etc? How often do they have contact? In respect of sales – are they responsible for determining the sales price? How often do they see clients and spend money on them? The same also applies to treasurers, cash managers, risk managers etc.
The necessary checks and balances need to be put into place. A record of all contact with external parties needs to be kept, updated, verified and stored. Temptation can be caused by personal hardship, flattery or grievance at how the person is perceived to being treated by the company.
Standing up to the boss
As stated, a healthy company should have procedures and statutes in place. These need to be adhered to at all times – there can be no exceptions. However, a mechanism for escalation is often missing. Example – someone sends in an expense claim approved by their manager. The treasurer or controller might question the veracity of a particular entry. A proper mechanism to escalate the discrepancy needs to be firmly established. That a manager has signed off on the expense claim does not mean it is correct.
Even directors have to make sure that their claims are signed off by other members of staff. Being at the top does not mean that the procedures do not apply. Requests for a priority payment outside of the agreed procedure should always be questioned. If everyone has agreed to the standard procedures, then there can be no justification to make a payment outside of the normal procedure, just because it has been deemed a priority. If truly deemed necessary, then authorisation must be given not only by management and directors, but also by the legal department. If this occurs, then the existing procedure needs to be examined as to why the incident occurred and where the procedure broke down. This all has to be detailed in writing – fraud can happen at the highest level as well as low down with an organisation.
Static data
Every contact both inside and outside of the company should be recognised and recorded in a data system. Static data refers to all relevant data concerning an entity – full name, registered address, bank details, contact details etc. This data should be fed into all other systems, but data input should be restricted to a small number of employees. These employees should not have access to any of the systems that are used to input data relating to daily operations.
Another key area is in the cash management side – book keeping can be complex and differences not noted until the yearly audit. However, cash movements contain plentiful details – name of beneficiary, account numbers etc. This can be reconciled against the prevailing static data – are the bank account numbers the same?
Fraud can never be eradicated, but by being open, allowing questions to be asked, even performing unexpected checks on the system and its integrity, and creating an atmosphere where staff know that they can question without fear of reprisal, then at least everyone will know that the company is alert and vigilant.
That knowledge and awareness will make a potential fraud think twice.