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Cash & Working Capital

Cash & Working CapitalTechnology
July 28, 2022

The Undiminished Prominence of Excel

Why the overwhelming majority of treasuries producing cash flow forecasts still use Excel and won’t likely stop anytime soon. Despite decades of technological advances, Excel remains the predominant tool that treasury teams use to generate cash flow forecasts, according to the results of NeuGroup’s May 2022 Cash Forecast Survey (see chart below). That includes teams that have a treasury management system but use Excel along with it because the TMS doesn’t offer the same degree of modeling flexibility. Yes, a…
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Cash & Working CapitalFP&AThe NeuGroup Insights Interview
July 28, 2022

How the FP&A Team at WM Is Preparing for Recession

Looking back, looking forward: WM’s Eric Davis on how data and analysis guides planning as the economy weakens. How do the best financial planning and analysis (FP&A) teams rise to the current, critical challenge of planning, budgeting and guiding corporate leaders in periods of high uncertainty and volatility as recession fears mount? To answer that question, we turned to Eric Davis, vice president of finance at WM, formerly known as Waste Management. Listen to his response by hitting the play button…
Justin Jones
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Cash & Working CapitalTechnology
July 14, 2022

Cash Never Lies—but Data May Not Tell the Whole Truth

More than two-thirds of respondents to a NeuGroup survey ranked the difficulty of producing the cash flow forecast at 6 or above on a scale of 1-10. Rising rates and a slower economy present treasury with a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge is safeguarding the company’s liquidity. The opportunity is investing excess cash to earn higher yields. In both cases, treasury teams must have a line of sight into how much cash is on hand, and how much more…
Justin Jones
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Cash & Working CapitalTalking Shop
May 19, 2022

Talking Shop: Payments to Support Relocation for Russian Nationals

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: “As a result of the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, we have Russian national employees based in Russia who are looking to relocate and effectively become employees of our Dutch entity. Because of the restrictions on getting cash out of the country from employees’ personal bank accounts, we’re looking to support…
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Capital AllocationCash & Working Capital
May 12, 2022

A Treasury Mind Shift: Focusing On Operational Cash

Many treasuries have grown complacent about cash levels, but concerns about a recession are triggering a renewed focus on optimizing the management of working capital.The debate about whether the US economy is headed into a recession because of higher interest rates and the Fed reducing its balance sheet is heating up. While some economists are bullish, many corporate treasuries are not: In a poll last week, 71% of members of NeuGroup for Global Cash and Banking said a recession is…
Justin Jones
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BankingCash & Working CapitalRegional
April 28, 2022

Slim Down: A Bank Tells Corporates to Cut Account Balances in Russia

Settling intercompany invoices emerges as the best option for some members to quickly reduce deposit balances in Russia. A major US bank used by scores of NeuGroup member corporations in Russia has recently been making strong recommendations to some of them—in conversations, not in writing—that they find alternatives to the bank as the war with Ukraine enters its third month and the bank further reduces its exposure to Russia. This development sparked discussion among members about contingency plans and how…
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Capital MarketsCash & Working Capital
April 14, 2022

The Beauty of CP Attracts Many—but Not All—Corporates

CP’s flexibility and low cost beckon, but liquidity risk is a key reason one member says his company is avoiding it—for now.What’s not to like about commercial paper (CP)? This popular form of unsecured short-term debt used in the capital structures of many companies for working capital and other purposes gives issuers a relatively inexpensive, cost-efficient source of funding. Members at a recent meeting of NeuGroup for Capital Markets sponsored by Wells Fargo agreed that CP also gives them flexibility, relative…
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Cash & Working CapitalRegional
April 7, 2022

High Hopes for a High-Tech Platform to Revolutionize Nordic Payments

Treasury teams frustrated by complexity in cross-border payments see reason for optimism as the ‘P27’ clearinghouse moves ahead.Nordic countries are on the cutting edge of digitizing their economies by embracing new technologies and creating near-cashless societies. But until recently, they had ignored the myriad legacy technologies supporting cross-border payments systems that NeuGroup members say are needlessly complex. Sending money from one nation to another requires jumping through too many hoops, with each country using its own currency and payment infrastructure. Now,…
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BankingCash & Working CapitalRegional
March 17, 2022

Liquidity and Payments in Focus as Sanctions Deadlines Loom 

Top concerns remain paying salaries to staff and ensuring local businesses have enough liquidity to meet their obligations.   Editor’s Note: NeuGroup is running weekly special sessions on the Russian-Ukrainian crisis. Senior executive advisor Paul Dalle Molle, a former banker with extensive European experience, leads the discussions. By Paul Dalle Molle Thousands of international companies have been weighing their options since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. These range from full and immediate pullouts to doing business as usual—and many nuanced positions in between. Even corporates…
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Cash & Working CapitalInvestment Management
March 10, 2022

Tailoring Investment Policies to Suit the Size of the Cash Stockpile

For treasurers at acquisitive mid-cap companies with limited cash, short maturities and liquidity are critical. The size of a company and how much cash it has on hand play key roles in shaping corporate investment policies, with the breadth of investment options in a policy closely correlated with the amount of cash—i.e., the more cash, the more options. That takeaway emerged at a late fall meeting of NeuGroup for Mid-cap Treasurers during a session on investment policies featuring a presentation by…
Justin Jones
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