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Justin Jones

Technology
December 8, 2021

Connecting to Data to Drive Insights: Ed Barrie on Tech and Finance

The former treasurer of Tableau Software on what questions today’s treasurers need to ask before investing in tech solutions.In a treasury career that includes positions at Microsoft, Itron and Tableau Software—where he built treasury from scratch—Ed Barrie has made it his mission to dive deep into how corporate finance teams can better leverage technology to connect to data, analyze it and extract insights that drive strategic decisions. In the interview below with NeuGroup CEO Joseph Neu, Mr. Barrie does what…
Justin Jones
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Capital MarketsCash InvestmentsCompliance
December 8, 2021

Pain You Can Manage and Pain You Can’t: Separately Managed Accounts

SMAs mean accepting KYC and legal dept. pain, but clear communication can save plenty of heartache with managers. Members joined forces for a panel discussion on the pain points associated with setting up, maintaining and reporting for separately managed accounts (SMAs) at a recent meeting of NeuGroup for Cash Investment. Not surprisingly, the most painful parts are the know-your-customer (KYC) obligations and the legal agreement tug-of-war needed for account setup. The encouraging, somewhat unexpected takeaway: Effective communication and a strong relationship…
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Cash & Working CapitalTechnology
December 8, 2021

Cashing in on AI to Boost Accuracy in Forecasting Receivables

Danone North America took an overly manual process, added artificial intelligence, and now gets close to 100% accuracy. Cash collection during the pandemic has been a big issue for corporates, with many facing uncertainty and lower cash flows. That’s why cash forecasting, and one of its main components, receivables calculations, have become more important than ever. And it’s also why more companies are turning to automation and artificial intelligence (AI) to improve the accuracy of those forecasts. Fewer lumps and errors. At…
Justin Jones
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Capital MarketsTreasury Management
December 8, 2021

Trading with Real Money: Good Schooling for Future Finance Talent

Corporates give high marks to a University of Idaho program where students learn real-world lessons by trading.Treasury and finance teams searching for talent with the right stuff—and an edge in this tight labor market—might want to take a page from Starbucks and Micron Technology by strengthening their ties to colleges and universities that are finding innovative ways to teach students financial decision-making skills. Micron treasurer Greg Routin and Melanie Canto, a former Starbucks treasurer who is now a senior business transformation…
Justin Jones
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Capital Markets
December 1, 2021

Using a Framework to Level a Fixed- vs. Floating-Rate Debt Imbalance

The case for having a programmatic, market-agnostic approach to keep floating-rate debt at a desired level.The vast majority (88%) of corporates polled (see below) at a recent NeuGroup for Capital Markets meeting sponsored by Deutsche Bank are above their target percentage of fixed-rate debt relative to floating-rate; but nearly two-thirds (63%) of the companies either don’t plan to make significant changes (42%) to their fixed-to-floating-rate ratio in response to the current market environment, or they aren’t sure about it (21%).…
Justin Jones
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Cyber riskRisk Management
December 1, 2021

Cyber Insurance Reality Check: Stress Testing to Set Coverage Goals

One company got help doing stress tests to report to senior management what cyber coverage it needed and why. Corporations scrambling to cope with the rising threat of data breaches and ransomware attacks face the additional, unpleasant reality of soaring premiums (see chart) and shrinking capacity in the cyber insurance market. That’s putting more pressure on finance teams to weigh the potential risks of forgoing or reducing coverage against the high price of having protection. At a recent meeting of NeuGroup…
Justin Jones
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COVID-19Treasury Management
December 1, 2021

The Great (Treasury) Resignation

Insights and advice for treasury teams grappling with new challenges in recruiting talent and holding on to it.Treasury departments are not immune to the tight labor markets and higher workforce churn rates roiling employers at the same time they grapple with managing remote workers and the entry of a new and younger generation with different work expectations. That reality formed the backdrop for a conversation at a recent meeting of NeuGroup for Mid-Cap Treasurers on how to attract and retain talent,…
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Investment ManagementTalking Shop
December 1, 2021

Talking Shop: Risks of Extending Duration in Investment Policy

Editor’s note: NeuGroup’s online communities provide members a forum to pose questions and give answers. Talking Shop shares valuable insights from these exchanges, anonymously. Send us your responses: [email protected] Member question: “I’d appreciate your insights and experience on the following questions regarding changes in investment policy: “If we extend the duration and/or the maximum maturity of a single instrument, is there any statistic, research report, etc. which could help illustrate the level of increased risk associated with longer tenors?“Overall, how do…
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NeuGroup News
November 24, 2021

Happy Thanksgiving from NeuGroup

With 2021’s second-half meeting cycle drawing to a close, a message of thanks from NeuGroup founder and CEO Joseph Neu.  To all our members, thank you so much for your continuing trust and for allowing us to connect you with peers and others to exchange knowledge and distill insight to help you move beyond best practice. We are extremely pleased that, as a group, you have renewed memberships for 2022 at an unprecedented rate. If you have yet to renew…
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NeuGroup News
November 18, 2021

NeuGroup Employees Lighten the Load With Lunch & Learn

Here at NeuGroup, our employees spend a lot of time (a LOT of time) on Zoom calls, Microsoft Teams meetings and just old-fashioned phone calls. While we love to help our members share and learn together, we also like to connect behind the scenes. To give everyone a consistent break, keep the mood up and stay in touch outside of work tasks, once every two weeks our employees meet for Lunch & Learn, an hour long session where two employees…
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