Finance teams balancing worker desires and corporate needs favor hybrid models, but the details are a work in progress.Companies’ timelines for returning to the office vary widely, according to assistant treasurers at recent meeting of NeuGroup’s Assistant Treasurers’ Leadership Group. Some are scheduling returns imminently while others only tentatively plan to return next fall. There was consensus, however, that requiring everybody to come back all at once is probably no longer feasible. Still, remote work’s advantages are likely outweighed by…
June 10, 2021
Want to Add Value? Get Creative
An internal auditor explains how he’s been able to not only provide assurance but also add value in other ways.Even before the onset of the pandemic, the scope of just about all corporate functions was widening. New regulations, new technology and new cultural trends (read: reputational potholes) all tended to have people doing more with less. That’s why creatively sharing the load can work best and where one function, internal audit, has found it can add extra value. This was…
More takeaways from a NeuGroup pilot meeting of oil and gas treasurers weighing the role of finance in energy transition strategies, conducted in partnership with Societe Generale.By Joseph NeuOur discussion with oil and gas treasurers validated that there is a strong belief that investors (and especially on the bond side) want capital discipline and not just a commitment to ESG initiatives. ESG mandates are sold as an indicator of strong returns, especially in the long run; so if companies underperform…
For projects in volatile economies, creative thinking from treasury could be critical.Profit is not a profit until it’s back in the US. That reality for many multinationals formed the backdrop at a recent NeuGroup meeting for treasurers of large-cap companies where members shared their approaches on how to react when a country’s economic environment takes a problematic turn. Emerging market nations including Argentina, Turkey and Brazil dominated the conversation, as their currencies carry risk of intense devaluation, exacerbating regulatory rules that can trap…
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: “What solutions are available to reduce the impact of negative interest rates in the eurozone? “Our bank there charges 1% on euro deposits. We have cash pooling, but converting to USD daily seems like a pain.” Peer answer 1: “Our global bank charges us 0.5% at the moment, but…
How much time do companies have? Takeaways from the first meeting of a NeuGroup focused on oil and gas treasury support of energy transition conducted in partnership with Societe Generale.By Joseph NeuLast week shook the oil and gas sector. Exxon Mobil saw two board seats go to directors backed by the energy transition activist hedge fund Engine No. 1 (yesterday, the company said a third seat will likely go to the fund), which convinced big asset managers to back its…
Can corporate pension managers learn from how insurance companies invest their pension-related assets?So-called pension risk transfers (PRTs) allow corporates to negotiate with insurance companies to take on a pension plan’s liabilities and remove interest rate and longevity risk from the company’s balance sheet. In the US, PRT transactions totaled about $25 billion in 2020, with $14 billion of that coming in Q4, the highest quarterly volume since 2012.That context formed the backdrop for a recent meeting of NeuGroup for Pensions…
ARRC Chair Tom Wipf and Nate Wuerffel of the New York Fed on the benefits of SOFR vs. other rates.Know your Libor replacement term rate inside and out. That was the message delivered to regional bank treasurers by top officials leading the effort to replace USD Libor that has led to the development of the secured overnight financing rate (SOFR). More than $200 trillion in transactions are priced over Libor, but the interbank lending market on which the floating-rate benchmark…
Treasurers seeking clarity on bank fees and product profitability get insights from Chatham Financial and NeuGroup.At a recent meeting of NeuGroup for Large-Cap Treasurers, members compared notes on revolving credit facilities, bank groups and share of wallet issues, including which products produce the greatest return for banks. A survey taken before the meeting revealed that despite market volatility last year that could have convinced corporates to replace some banks, most members did not see the size or composition of their…
NeuGroup’s Diversity & Inclusion Working Group meets with leading MDIs/CDFIs to identify ideal collaborations.Just over a year ago, the death of George Floyd led to a widespread cultural reckoning, with many companies pledging millions toward social justice initiatives. Some corporate treasurers are now viewing so-called impact investing as a part of regular, day-to-day activity. At a Q&A session with executives from five leading minority depository institutions (MDIs) and community development financial institution (CDFIs), NeuGroup’s Diversity and Inclusion Working Group shared…