COVID-19TechnologyTreasury Management
January 7, 2021

The Post-Covid Playbook: WFH Flexibility and Office Collaboration

The goal is keeping the good parts of work from home, replacing the bad with the benefits of office teamwork.Corporates looking ahead to a post-Covid world are taking stock of how the shift to work from home (WFH) has changed the ways that teams function—for better and worse. This requires weighing the beneficial flexibility offered by remote work against the detrimental loss of collaboration that is only possible when people are in the same building. As some companies consider abandoning…
BankingTalking Shop
January 7, 2021

Talking Shop: Allowing Vendors to Directly Debit Bank Accounts

Member question: “What are your policies with respect to allowing vendors to direct debit your bank accounts for invoices due? “Our policy does not support vendor direct debit of our bank accounts. We do have an exception process for situations where vendor stoppage may have material impact (i.e. utilities for a manufacturing plant) or the vendor requires DD and there are no other alternatives (i.e. postal service).“I think part of our position is a historical perception that it is ‘bad’…
Cash & Working CapitalTechnology
January 5, 2021

Getting Granular: A Tool to Dig Deeper and Improve Cash Forecasts

How Cashforce built a stronger foundation for one member’s cash flow forecasting and working capital optimization.Covid-19 shook the foundations of cash flow forecasting and working capital management for companies facing uncertainty about revenues, vendor payments, appropriate inventory levels and adequate cash reserves. At a recent NeuGroup virtual interactive session, one participant impressed others by describing how a fintech solution provided by Cashforce a year earlier allowed his company to dig into the weeds of business operations, examining line-item details of…
Cash & Working CapitalRegional
January 5, 2021

The Right Steps on the Path to Optimizing Working Capital Management

MUFG presents a working capital road map for technology companies at NeuGroup’s AsiaTech20 pilot meeting. At the inaugural meeting of NeuGroup’s AsiaTech20 Treasurers’ Peer Group, sponsor MUFG led a session titled “Optimizing Working Capital (in Uncertain Times)” and participants discussed challenges including how to get vendors to extend payment terms, the need for efficient collections processes and developing KPIs around working capital.Working capital cycle. MUFG’s presentation identified four areas, and goals for each, in the working capital cycle. Big Picture. The…
BankingCapital Markets
January 5, 2021

Banks Craving Yield Hear Case for Lightly Structured Corporate Notes

An option for members of the Bank Treasurers’ Peer Group coping with excess liquidity amid rock-bottom rates.Many members of the Bank Treasurers’ Peer Group (BTPG) find themselves looking to their investment portfolios as they search for yield in a manner that complies with policy risk parameters—a theme heard at other NeuGroup meetings in the second half as interest rates fell. Banks face the added challenge of tepid loan growth amid a surge in deposits driven by a flight to safe…
Risk ManagementTalking Shop
January 5, 2021

Talking Shop: Remittance Verification Options for Treasury Payments

Member question: “How do others handle remittance instruction verification for treasury payments? Callback? Third-party service? Any ML or technology? “We are reviewing our verification process for remittance instructions for payments processed through treasury. Today, we require it to be on the bene’s letterhead, or bank letter, or imbedded in the contract, but have not implemented a callback. Who does the verification in your organization? Are you looking at any third-party services or ML-type models for additional controls?” Peer answer 1:…
Capital MarketsESGTechnology
December 22, 2020

Best of NeuGroup Insights 2020

2020 was a year to remember—even if it left us with much we would rather forget. Editor’s note: The power to move forward is the best gift any of us will receive this year. In 2021, our team will use that gift to redouble our efforts to bring you valuable insights that help you thrive in an uncertain world. You can read those insights here on our website or by signing up for our email newsletter (click here). This week’s newsletter, our…
BankingESG
December 22, 2020

M&A Deals Reveal Growing Power of ESG Ratings, Research

In a recent NeuGroup Virtual Interactive Session, Deutsche Bank weighed in on the changing face of the players doling out ESG ratings which are increasingly important to investors and issuers. As the graphic below makes clear, credit rating agencies and other companies are racing to get in on the action through acquisitions. Trisha Taneja, Deutsche Bank’s head of ESG advisory, identified MSCI and Morningstar as two popular ratings providers, adding that Moody’s and S&P are growing. “The two current main…
BankingCapital Markets
December 17, 2020

Wild Rides: Three Treasurers Rise to the 2020 Financing Challenge

Lessons from three companies whose equity, debt and bank credit transactions required flexibility, speed and more.The scramble for liquidity during the pandemic underscored the need for treasury to be prepared—at any point—to snap into action and access capital or credit. And while each company’s circumstances are different, there are some lessons that emerged from this year’s financings that should interest almost any treasury team. At a second-half meeting of NeuGroup’s Life Sciences Treasurers’ Peer Group, three members described funding transactions…
FXRisk Management
December 17, 2020

Laddering: FX Risk Management with Less Work, Fewer Transactions

Wells Fargo explains an alternative to layering for corporates hedging cash flow exposures. Who doesn’t want to get more for less? As in less work, more efficiency and fewer transactions, all while still meeting risk management goals. To take advantage, though, you have to be willing to look closer at the shortcomings of the very common cash flow hedging approach known as layering. During a recent interim meeting of NeuGroup’s two FX managers’ peer groups, the quantitative solutions team at Wells…