One treasury team made a winning case that the governance group should own KYC.Call it reaching the treasury promised land or a dream come true. Whatever you call it, one treasury team’s early-stage success at shifting responsibility for know your customer (KYC) compliance to a corporate governance group generated plenty of buzz and some envy at a recent meeting of NeuGroup for Global Cash and Banking. “I’m really excited to get out of the KYC business,” the member told his peers…
September 23, 2021
Caution at the 10b5-1 Intersection: Buyback Plans and Insider Sales
Companies using 10b5-1 plans for buybacks should keep informed about possible SEC rule changes aimed at executive stock sales.The treasurer of a mega-cap tech company told peers at a recent NeuGroup meeting that he’s been hearing more “noise with regards to the SEC tightening up controls around repurchase windows” from the company’s legal team. He added, “We’re going to keep a close eye on it. We may tighten up our rules.” The very same day—Sept. 9—SEC Chairman Gary Gensler thanked…
An FX risk manager faces hedging and forecasting challenges amid changes made in response to BEPS regulations. It’s no surprise that the 15-point action plan announced by the OECD in 2015 to address base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) would create various headaches for finance teams at multinational corporations. But a member presentation at a recent meeting of NeuGroup FX risk managers provided a fuller picture of some specific challenges facing companies as they comply with the new regulations.At issue for…
January 28, 2021
Documentation Overload: Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting
A survey of financial executives includes complaints of excessive documentation required by external auditors.Finance executives at large US companies are finding it increasingly difficult to document internal controls over financial reporting (ICFR) to the satisfaction of their internal and external auditors, according to a study recently published by the Financial Executives International’s research arm. Several of the most difficult controls to design, implement and operate are common in corporate treasury. Pain points. Controls around non-routine transactions—bond issuances, significant one-off payments…
January 12, 2021
Why Internal Audit Needs to Blow Its Own Horn
Like other functions, internal audit needs to publicize its value to senior executives and the broader corporation.After the completion of a lengthy process audit at a multinational company, the chief audit executive (CAE) reported results to the owner of that process. After a cursory review, the process owner, also a senior executive, asked, “What else have you done?” The CAE was somewhat taken aback. The audit took several months and ate up lots of FTE hours. But since it only…
January 12, 2021
Talking Shop: Derivative Regulatory Compliance in Hedging Programs
Member question: “Our hedging programs have trading entities in multiple jurisdictions requiring continual monitoring of derivative regulatory compliance regulation. This is mostly handled internally, leveraging external counsel to advise on specific topics and questions. “How do others manage derivative regulatory compliance such as EMIR (European Market Infrastructure Regulation), FMIA (Financial Market Infrastructure Act) and others? Do you outsource, handle internally, hybrid solution or is it not applicable? Are there advisors that you would recommend?” Peer answer 1: “My company is…
December 10, 2020
How to Engineer Complicated Engineering Audits
Recruiting engineers to join audit teams bolsters accuracy as well as credibility.Highly technical engineering audits can be among the most challenging for internal auditors. A member of NeuGroup’s Internal Auditors’ Peer Group (IAPG) queried fellow internal auditors in a recent meeting about what parts of engineering they audit and the makeup of those auditing teams. Expertise in short supply. A peer said engineering takes up more than 30% of his team’s 100-audit plan, and one of the challenges is finding sufficient…
November 19, 2020
Right on Target: Tracking Companies’ Changing Risks
One member’s “risk radar” facilitates explaining evolving risks to audit committees. Corporate risk is no easy concept to convey, especially when risks are numerous and shifting in intensity over time. Equally challenging is explaining a risk’s evolving urgency to board members, who must concurrently digest reams of information. Responding to a query about how peers justify urgent audit-plan changes to audit committees, a member of NeuGroup’s Internal Auditors’ Peer Group described the “risk radar” he presents quarterly to illustrate dynamically the…
October 22, 2020
Cash Pooling: What Treasury Teams at Multinationals Need to Know Now
An update of a story—one of NeuGroup’s most-read articles—about physical and notional cash pooling. By Susan A. Hillman, Partner, Treasury Alliance Group LLC Eight months into the global pandemic, liquidity and cash remain top-of-mind for many multinational corporations coping with uncertainty over the shape and timing of economic recovery. That makes this an opportune time to reexamine a critical liquidity management tool that has been around for decades but has always required careful evaluation before implementation: cash pooling. Further due…
August 6, 2020
When an Auditor Puts on the Consultant’s Hat
How much and when should internal auditors report about projects outside of their audit plan? Internal audit is increasingly being called upon to get more involved in nontraditional types of engagements—projects that don’t fall within the scope of the audit plan. These might include counsel, advice, facilitation, data analytics and automation. From company to company, managing these projects varies, according to members of NeuGroup’s Internal Auditors’ Peer Group. In a recent virtual discussion with IAPG members, the question was whether they…