Investment ManagementTreasury Management
May 6, 2021

Spreading the Word: Investment Reporting and Who Sees What When

The head of investments at a large company with a sizable portfolio describes reporting processes and paths.A member of one of NeuGroup’s two investment management groups who oversees a significant investment portfolio at a major tech company recently described to peers what reports he receives daily as well as what information is reported within the company and how often. The member receives approximately 15 reports daily by email, his preferred delivery method. The emails are sent to the team and…
NeugroupRisk ManagementTreasury Management
April 13, 2021

Flying Higher: Moving ERM Beyond Safety Net to Strategic Partner

ERM is reaching new heights as risk exposures multiply and rising insurance premiums drive a search for options. Enterprise risk management is having a moment amid a seeming explosion of risk exposures facing corporates since the pandemic began. And as the function grows in importance, at least a few ERM teams are heading toward inclusion in corporate strategy groups—a trend definitely worth watching. One member at a late March meeting of NeuGroup’s Corporate ERM group said his goal since recently…
FunctionalNeugroupRisk ManagementTreasury Management
April 8, 2021

Making the Devil’s Advocate an Angel on Your Shoulder

NeuGroup risk managers make space for contrarians to question decisions and combat overconfidence.Rather than shunning contrarians for challenging conventional thinking, corporates need to make sure their decision-making processes always include a constructive devil’s advocate—someone who forces teams to consider all the ramifications of whatever action—or inaction—a company is contemplating. This was among the key pieces of advice given by Michael Zuraw, head of enterprise risk management at ON Semiconductor, during a presentation on decision-making at a recent ERM-focused NeuGroup meeting.…
BankingNeugroupTalking ShopTreasury Management
April 8, 2021

Talking Shop: Who Is Allowed to Open Bank Accounts at Your Company?

Editor’s note: The NeuGroup Process brings members together to solve problems and answer each other’s questions in a variety of forums, including online communities for specific groups—one of many benefits of membership. Talking Shop shares valuable insights from these members-only exchanges (anonymously) with all members and NeuGroup Insights readers. We welcome your responses—and any questions you want answered: [email protected]. Member question: “We are trying to do some benchmarking: Do your board resolutions allow the treasurer (and others?) to open bank…
BankingCapital MarketsTreasury Management
January 21, 2021

Tear Down, Rebuild: A Treasurer Lays a Foundation for Best Practices

How a newly hired treasurer revamped her company’s capital structure, banking group and her team. Soon after arriving at a fast-growing midsized multinational company, a newly-hired treasurer with extensive experience in loan restructurings and amendments launched a loan compliance cleanup. That was the first step on the path to establishing best practices at a company that had never had a treasurer with experience in treasury. The treasurer described what she did and her thinking at a recent meeting of NeuGroup’s Treasurers’…
TaxTreasury Management
January 19, 2021

Learning New Strokes: A Treasurer Adds Tax to Her Skill Set

One NeuGroup member has “had to learn from doing” to tackle tax—and also tap internal and external experts.When the head of tax at a midsized multinational company left to take another job a couple of years ago, the CFO tapped the treasurer to run tax, too. The treasurer shared some of the challenges she faced and how she addressed them at a recent meeting of the Treasurers’ Group of Thirty and in a follow-up interview.A difficult beginning. Three of four…
COVID-19TechnologyTreasury Management
January 12, 2021

Bridging a Skills Gap Facing Finance Teams as Businesses Transform

Data from The Hackett Group show more companies plan to launch talent development initiatives this year. The good news is that more finance teams are placing a higher priority on aligning the skills and talents of their members with changing business needs amid digital transformation. The somewhat bad news is that many of those teams currently lack the abilities necessary to make that alignment a reality. Those are among the takeaways from survey data collected and analyzed by The Hackett Group…
TaxTreasury Management
January 7, 2021

Learning a New Language: Tax Experts Who Become Treasurers

Insights and advice from a tax professional who left her comfort zone to become treasurer. A “steep learning curve” is how one member of NeuGroup’s Treasurers’ Group of Thirty (T30) who has extensive experience in tax described what she encountered in taking on the added responsibility of treasury at her company at a recent meeting sponsored by Standard Chartered. She is one of several members in the group who previously led tax teams and are relatively new to leading treasury. Below…
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…
FunctionalTreasury Management
December 15, 2020

Test Your Knowledge of Treasury! A Trivia Contest to Attract Talent

One treasurer uses a quiz to educate, promote communication and build interest in treasury among finance teams. Treasury teams often struggle to attract talent when competing with more glamourous finance functions. Part of the problem is a lack of understanding of what treasury does. To build awareness and interest in treasury and enhance communication with other finance teams at his company, one treasurer created a contest to test the knowledge of senior leaders.He described the quiz at a recent meeting of…