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COVID-19

COVID-19Risk ManagementTreasury Management
December 1, 2020

Unearthing the Risks—from Printers to Stress—of Working from Home

Internal auditors discuss WFH challenges including data security and the mental health of employees.Internal auditors are trying to keep on top of myriad risks brought about by millions of employees at thousands of companies working from home as a result of the pandemic. At a recent NeuGroup meeting, two of the risks discussed demonstrated the wide spectrum of issues companies face, ranging from the somewhat mundane (printers) to the very personal (mental health). Risky printers. One member said her company…
Justin Jones
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COVID-19RegionalTechnology
December 1, 2020

China’s Digitalization, Quick Covid Recovery and Tension with the US

Key takeaways from the 2020 H2 Asia CFOs’ Peer Group meeting sponsored by Standard Chartered.By Joseph Neu2019 as the 2021 baseline. China has been the economy to bounce back soonest from Covid-19 and is up substantially in H2. Standard Chartered is forecasting 2020 GDP growth of +2.1% for China. Meanwhile, many of our member CFOs for greater China are hopeful that they will get back to flat for the year since some have had stellar Q3s and good Q4 outlooks,…
Justin Jones
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COVID-19Risk Management
November 24, 2020

Rightsizing and Reshaping: What Post-Covid Corporates May Look Like

Internal auditors assess risks as companies shift where and how employees work. Members of NeuGroup’s Internal Auditors’ Peer Group (IAPG) agreed that the pandemic will quite literally reshape the physical look of companies—mostly large technology firms—as well as introduce a host of new risk concerns that are just starting to be considered. Companies’ real estate is bound to shrink as they consider how and when to support the significant number of fully remote and hybrid employees—those coming to office less frequently—that…
Justin Jones
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COVID-19ESGInsurance
November 24, 2020

The ESG Halo Effect, Insurance Pain and Financing Lessons Learned

Key takeaways from the 2020 H2 Life Sciences Treasurers’ Peer Group meeting sponsored by Societe Generale. By Joseph NeuA halo effect from the business we are in. In an exchange on ESG-related financing and ESG scores, our life sciences treasurers noted that sustaining life is core to their business; hence, sustainability is part of their companies’ DNA. Why then should they need to issue a green bond or execute some other sort of sustainability-linked financing to earn a so-called ESG halo effect? …
Justin Jones
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COVID-19Technology
November 12, 2020

Retailers Connect With Customers Using Touchless Payments

Smartphone apps, some using QR codes, give customers another way to pay without touching keypads or swiping a card. Members at a recent meeting of NeuGroup for Retail Treasury reported a significant drop in cash transactions since the start of the pandemic, and some are turning to what they’re calling touchless methods of payment to meet consumers’ needs. These innovations depend on using smartphone apps and the internet instead of so-called contactless payments including Apple Pay and Google Pay. Those require a device…
Justin Jones
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Cash & Working CapitalCOVID-19Risk Management
November 5, 2020

Policies Resembling Guardrails That Withstand Trigger Events

Key takeaways from the Assistant Treasurers’ Leadership Group 2020 H2 meeting, sponsored by Chatham Financial.By Joseph NeuPolicy and procedures off the back burner.  The pandemic put a wide range of policy and procedure review projects on the back burner and more members are starting to refocus on them now as immediate liquidity concerns recede. A session on risk policy reviews, for instance, highlighted how valuable a review can be after an event trigger from a change in business, such as…
Justin Jones
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COVID-19Treasury Management
November 3, 2020

No More Offices? Corporates Debate Making Work from Home Permanent

NeuGroup members face a future where some workers may never return to office buildings. NeuGroup members have learned to adapt to working from home (WFH) during the pandemic. Some like it, some don’t. But nine months into Covid, many remain uncertain about what role actual, old-school offices will play moving forward. Several discussed their thinking at a recent meeting of the Assistant Treasurers’ Leadership Group. Two members work for companies that have announced plans to close all office buildings, although many…
Justin Jones
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Capital MarketsCOVID-19
October 15, 2020

Pandemic Shows Corporates Which Credit Analysts See Beyond the Crisis

Volatility and uncertainty boost the importance of analysts with experience and perspective.The pandemic has been a first-of-its-kind challenge for corporates, their banks and investors, each trying to make sense of extreme circumstances and forecast what it all might mean. Credit rating agencies face their own challenges and are taking different approaches to the crisis that, according to participants in a recent NeuGroup meeting for large-cap companies, reflect relative strengths and weaknesses.   One member whose company had plenty of liquidity…
Justin Jones
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BankingCapital MarketsCOVID-19
October 8, 2020

Why Some Bankers May Root for a Democratic Sweep

Founder’s takeaways from the Bank Treasurers’ Peer Group’s first fall meeting. By Joseph NeuMembers of the BTPG have been meeting in the spring for 16 years running, and debuted their Fall Edition meeting this week, sponsored by Morgan Stanley. Here are a few takeaways I want to share. Banks have enough capital. The expectation is that US banks will pass the next two stress tests, even with with Covid-19 inspired stress scenarios, indicating everyone is well capitalized. This will free up buybacks and…
Justin Jones
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COVID-19TechnologyTreasury Management
October 8, 2020

Tonic for Zoom Fatigue: Shorter Meetings—and a Day Without Them

NeuGroup Members discussed their approaches to making WFH situations more palatable.“Six hours on Zoom is like 10 hours in the office,” one treasurer of a mega-cap company said during a recent NeuGroup meeting (yes, a Zoom meeting), quantifying a feeling about the side effects of virtual meetings. Almost everyone who has been working from home for seven months knows what she means. At the same meeting, another treasurer said he is encouraging his team “not to book 30-minute calls, to…
Justin Jones
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