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Justin Jones

Risk Management
March 23, 2023

Hedging Commodity Risk: How Polaris Put the Pieces Together

Treasury, backed by the C-Suite and Chatham Financial, worked with procurement to better manage commodity risk exposure. Starting or reviving a commodities hedging program requires risk managers in treasury to collaborate with procurement teams and secure the backing of the C-Suite to overcome challenges in securing changes in contracts that facilitate the use of hedge accounting. In addition, some corporates will benefit from having a knowledgeable advisor help navigate the complexities of hedging commodities. Those are few of the takeaways…
Justin Jones
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Diversity & Inclusion
March 23, 2023

Seeking Out Mentors Who Balance Advocacy With Frank Feedback

The best advocates are also willing to give honest appraisals of where there is room for improvement. Mentorship and sponsorship are recurring themes at sessions of Women in NeuGroup where women in finance discuss the benefits of having supporters who help sharpen their skills, guide their careers and stand up for them. In a video you can watch by hitting the play button below, Kristen Michaud, a principal in PwC’s Finance Transformation group, talks about the support of colleagues who have stepped in and…
Justin Jones
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Treasury Management
March 23, 2023

Clearing a Path to Effective Change Management

Finance teams in the throes of change need leadership, resources and collaboration with HR to overcome obstacles. Recession fears are intensifying the pressure on finance and other G&A functions to cut costs. The result is often a reduction in headcount. To meet the challenge of doing more with less, treasury and finance organizations are looking for new ways to work more efficiently. At the spring meeting of NeuGroup for Mega-Cap Treasurers, one member reported that his group has already been asked…
Justin Jones
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BankingRisk Management
March 16, 2023

Finance Fallout: SVB’s Head-Scratching Risk Management Failure

SVB insights from NeuGroup founder Joseph Neu and senior executive advisors Paul Dalle Molle and Jerry Olivo. Financial crises like the failure of Silicon Valley Bank reveal the grit, dedication and skill of first-rate treasury and finance teams—and their ability to manage risk when battling forces they can’t control. Upheaval, volatility and uncertainty also test the mettle of NeuGroup, whose mission is to help members, sponsors and partners withstand the blows. Hours after regulators shut down SVB last Friday, the…
Justin Jones
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FXTechnology
March 16, 2023

Advancing Analytics: FX is Embracing AI and ML

Rising pressure to protect earnings from currency volatility is prompting FX risk managers to pursue more advanced analytics.Sixty-nine percent: That’s the percentage of participants in a recent NeuGroup for Foreign Exchange monthly session who are already using or are exploring the adoption of advanced analytics solutions. Their reasons include improving the quality of the FX exposure forecast, conducting scenario planning and having a more refined capability to measure hedge program performance in terms of volume, effectiveness and cost. A sweeping trend. The pursuit…
Justin Jones
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Diversity & InclusionThe NeuGroup Insights Interview
March 16, 2023

Nurturing a Finance Career and a Family: One Woman’s Journey

How Emily Backstrom of General Mills navigates career and family, and how the company supports women in finance.In this Strategic Finance Lab podcast marking Women’s History Month, Emily Backstrom, vice president for corporate finance at General Mills, shares with NeuGroup’s Nilly Essaides how she has successfully managed a 21-year career at the company, rising to her current position overseeing enterprise FP&A among other responsibilities. Ms. Backstrom also discusses the value of deciding to lean into your career at certain times and,…
Justin Jones
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Risk Management
March 16, 2023

Striking a Balance: Simplicity and Complexity in Audit Reports

How internal auditors manage audit ratings and opinions is key to clear communication with the audit committee and management.There is no one way to present an update to the audit committee (AC) of a board of directors. But there is a general consensus that internal auditors must be succinct and not drag AC members into the weeds with too many details. That takeaway emerged at a recent monthly meeting of NeuGroup for Internal Audit Executives designed to help one group member create…
Justin Jones
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Technology
March 9, 2023

Making the Leap: SAP Treasury Solutions That Run on S/4HANA

PwC insights on corporates using SAP treasury tools and S/4HANA to ease automation and data analytics. Implementing S/4HANA, the SAP ERP, and using SAP’s growing number of treasury modules is one way to accelerate treasury’s digital transformation—a route being taken by some multinationals that are deciding to forgo the use of a traditional treasury management system (TMS). PwC consultants discussed the benefits of this approach at recent NeuGroup meetings, including one that focused on the role of cloud-based ERPs and…
Justin Jones
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Capital MarketsDiversity & Inclusion
March 9, 2023

Win-win: Prioritizing D&I Firms for Share Repurchase Programs

Many NeuGroup members say diverse-owned firms excel at open market share repurchases. A long-simmering debate over share repurchases is heating up, generating headlines featuring President Biden and Warren Buffett. But there is no debating that stock buybacks remain a hugely significant tool for corporate capital allocation: they’re projected to exceed $1 trillion in 2023. Bigger insight: Comments about buybacks by NeuGroup members at recent meetings also reveal growing agreement that diverse-owned banks and brokerage firms are distinguishing themselves on share repurchases, providing treasury teams with top-rate…
Justin Jones
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RegionalTreasury Management
March 9, 2023

Reimagining the Regional Treasury Center’s Strategic Role

Post-pandemic thinking on the role of Asian regional treasury centers, often based in Singapore.By Joseph NeuI was excited to return to Singapore in February for the first time since 2019 to address NeuGroup for Asia Treasury, a group launched in 2011 to connect member companies to this vital region. While much has changed in a dozen years, Asia in 2023 remains crucial for MNC growth plans, so the group’s bridging mission remains more important than ever. When I met with members before…
Justin Jones
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