Category

COVID-19

COVID-19Treasury Management
May 5, 2022

Talent Travails: Loose Lips About Pay and Hybrid Headaches

A younger generation’s transparency about what they earn creates another challenge for finance leaders coping with hybrid work woes. A session on talent at a recent meeting of NeuGroup for Mega-Cap Assistant Treasurers revealed that finance teams already struggling to hire workers amid tight labor markets, demands by candidates for higher compensation and the unwillingness of some of them to spend much, if any, time in the office face additional, less publicized problems: Many younger workers speak freely about how…
Justin Jones
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COVID-19FP&ATechnology
January 4, 2022

Moving Finance Beyond Resiliency in 2022 Amid the New New Normal

How to approach finance this year while addressing unknowns and going beyond best practice, toward innovation.By Nilly EssaidesIn 2021, finance organizations focused on building their companies’ capacity to withstand shocks and bounce back. They automated existing processes so they can be executed remotely and with fewer staff. They forecasted more frequently. They continued to pile up cash (see companion piece by NeuGroup founder and CEO Joseph Neu). They integrated planning activities and embraced scenario analysis to account for a lack of relevant…
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,…
Justin Jones
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COVID-19FP&A
October 28, 2021

Forecasting in the Fog: FP&A Teams Become a Lighthouse—And a Rudder

With supply chains still in flux and Delta not quite in the rearview, FP&A teams need to shine a brighter light on future developments.The pandemic rendered most corporate budgets and forecasts obsolete, and FP&A had to quickly step in to provide some visibility into future performance.  According to peer group leader Brian Kalish, the Covid-19 pandemic was like “a bank of fog rapidly and unexpectedly engulfing a ship at sea.” Teams must now find new ways to pilot the ship…
Justin Jones
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COVID-19Treasury Management
October 21, 2021

Work in Progress: Finance Teams Strive to Make Hybrid Models Work

The gradual and partial return to offices in a hybrid work world presents challenges and some potential opportunities. The hybrid work model many corporates were leaning toward last spring as the vaccine rollout began and infection rates dropped appears to have solidified as companies confronted the curveball sent by the Delta Covid-19 variant. Some treasury team members are itching to return while others are lobbying to stay home; with staff turnover reaching all-time highs at some companies, it’s critical to find…
Justin Jones
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COVID-19Treasury Management
July 29, 2021

Free Lunch as Bait: Trying to Make Returning to Offices Appetizing

Another challenge: filling open positions when many applicants won’t accept jobs requiring extensive time in the office.More than one company in the NeuGroup network is trying to make returning to the office a bit more appealing to workers whose managers are requiring them to start commuting again—at least for part of the work week. One method: offer employees the proverbial free lunch (it’s not truly free if you have to come in to get it). This morsel emerged at one…
Justin Jones
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COVID-19Treasury Management
June 24, 2021

Hot Desks, Hybrids and Introverts: Managing Post-Pandemic Work 

Takeaways on talent management as 100% remote work gives way to hybrid models and new hiring challenges.The transition from completely remote work to whatever comes next—back to the office, work at home, a bit of both—is in full swing across companies in the NeuGroup Network. The topic is generating lots of interest at meetings as finance teams plot a course for post-pandemic work that will in many cases be unlike what work life resembled pre-pandemic.NeuGroup founder and CEO Joseph Neu…
Justin Jones
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COVID-19Treasury Management
June 10, 2021

Hard Work: Creating a Flexible Workplace Combining Office and Remote

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…
Justin Jones
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BankingCash & Working CapitalCOVID-19
May 27, 2021

Too Much Money: Banks Struggle With Surging Deposits

Banks awash in deposits need to prioritize active accounts making use of services that generate fees and revenue.Originating loans as the pandemic recedes and the economy revives is a major challenge for banks today—but so is the surge in deposits since spring 2020 and just what to do with them given the lack of precedent. Consumer and commercial deposits increased by more than $3 trillion, or roughly 20%, since the onset of pandemic through the end of December, according to…
Justin Jones
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BankingCapital MarketsCOVID-19
May 20, 2021

Bounce Back: Bank Loan Market Quickly Sees ‘Amazing Recovery’ 

U.S. Bank describes the speedy recovery of revolving credit facility issuance.Talk about a rebound: In the depths of the Covid-19 pandemic, the value of bank loan facilities put in place by corporates tanked by more than 50% to about $200 billion. In the first quarter, it topped $500 billion, above the level reached a year prior (see chart), due in part to plummeting pricing. This was among the key insights from a loan market update by Jeff Stuart, EVP and…
Justin Jones
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