Maximize Cash Flow

Are you facing international cash management challenges without uniform internal systems – and with thinly-spread local staff?
According to a 2016 Ovum survey of 200 treasurers in 23 countries, only 13% of multinational corporates can see their real-time global cash position. Treasury teams need to achieve a greater degree of centralization and regain control of their company’s most important asset: cash.

Companies must implement secure and efficient payment processes in the face of a complex and an evolving web of customs, laws and regulations that varies from country to country.
Best practices cover payment instructions, understanding local rules, tax implications, using local currency, and collaborating with your bank.

Is your suppliers’ reluctance or refusal to accept electronic payments a barrier to increased usage? Here are some tips for driving increased commercial card acceptance.
Integrate supplier calls into your Accounts Payable (AP) department to introduce commercial card as a payment option that creates benefits for both parties. Incorporate commercial card payment information into standard communications (e.g., emails, check communications) with suppliers. Contact suppliers regularly to engage them directly on commercial card acceptance.

Between 2009 and 2015, commercial card volume almost doubled, as more companies switched from checks to electronic payments.
However, the rate of growth in commercial card volume has been slowing in recent years and fell to just 8% in 2015. This slowdown can be attributed to a number of factors, including organizational inertia, reluctance to overhaul legacy payment systems, or the belief that suppliers will not accept electronic payments.

One of the operational areas that offer considerable potential for technology-based transformation is the payments system.
Your financial institution should support you in recruiting suppliers to accept electronic payments, continually monitor the effectiveness of optimization efforts, identify issues with supplier recruitment, and activation of suppliers who have agreed to accept electronic payments.

Today’s rising interest rate environment may make it possible to improve your return on short-term cash.
Investment policies should include formalized forecasting and contingency plans to prepare key decision-makers for unexpected events. Contingency plans should include a scenario analysis that details events of varying risk or magnitude and how the company will react. For example — divest, stay the course or become more conservative.

Healthcare systems should examine their current strategies, the adequacy of their information systems and the revenue and cost assumptions under which they are operating.
The uncertainty of the Affordable Care Act, cyber security, value-based payment models, mergers and consolidations, monetization of data, transformation of the care continuum and blockchain solutions are among the issues that successful healthcare systems have addressed. Find out what has worked.

Corporate financial managers must consider the impact of interest rate forecasts, future GDP estimates and potential tax reform on corporate cash strategies.
A number of short-term investment options have become part of the consideration set because of the rising market. They include variable net asset value prime money market funds, separately managed accounts and conservative ultra-short bond funds.

Three key areas of focus emanating from the new Administration and Congress are positive for the economy and growth: cutting taxes, infrastructure investment and less regulation.
As was revealed in the just-released 2017 AFP Risk Survey, one of the top three risk factors having the greatest impact on organizations’ earnings in the next three years was “U.S. political and regulatory uncertainty.”

The corporate treasurer needs to be looking forward, even trying to peer around the corner to see what risks and opportunities exist ahead of them.
Treasurers are helping to fight cyber risk issues, dealing with high-impact regulatory challenges, TWS/ERP integration, and FinTech challenges and opportunities. At the same time, the convergence of finance and technology is increasingly giving treasurers an advantage in attracting the best and brightest professionals as the field becomes more compelling and exciting.

Technological advancements have led to shortened product development times, faster products to market, better distribution systems and streamlined purchasing.
While banks and FinTech providers can at one level be seen as competitors, there is increasing recognition by both sides of the strengths and limitations each possesses. This mutual recognition of their relative strengths and limitations is leading to increased collaboration between the two.

FinTech’s significance is underscored by the exponential growth in venture capital investing in the sector in recent years.
Going forward, FinTech is expected to impact a broad mix of financial service categories, including payments. Many financial service providers are preparing for this new reality by making strategic investments in and partnering with FinTech firms, as well as developing their own solutions.

Distributed ledger technologies record transactions in a decentralized network. The record of each transaction is shared across a network of computers.
While FinTech firms are helping to accelerate the pace of technological advancement within the industry, banks are investing in new technologies to provide better/faster/cheaper and more secure services to their client base.

Along with consistent growth, U.S. insurance firms are facing pressure on their bottom lines due to increased competition, low interest rates and regulatory changes.
By automating claims payments, insurance firms can reduce their reliance on checks and add disbursement options including ACH, prepaid cards and even same-day or real-time mobile solutions. Insurance firms can also improve receivables processing as well by accepting premium payments and contributions to annuities or other investment accounts in a variety of formats.

Long a trusted resource for financial institutions, SWIFT also supports corporate treasurers as they face expanding roles and shrinking resources.
SWIFT provides messaging standards that define a common means of structuring data for a broad range of financial purposes, from cash management and foreign exchange to trade finance. Additionally, SWIFT provides a highly secure proprietary communication platform and products such as SWIFT FileAct, which supports the exchange of bulk files between corporates and banks.

As e-commerce moves towards 10% share of total retail sales, mobile commerce is expected to grow exponentially in the coming years.
Widespread consumer adoption of payment technologies can lead to demand in the commercial space. For these reasons, trends in consumer payment innovation can be early indicators for changes in commercial payments.

The controls that come with the latest commercial payment methods enable CFOs, controllers and program administrators to exercise greater control over payment systems and practices.
The potential benefits associated with strong controls can be significant in terms of cost savings and peace of mind. Conversely, failure to implement appropriate payment controls can subject an organization to unnecessary financial risk.

You can find relief by improving management of invoice processing through payment.
Invoice automation can help you optimize the use of employee resources, significantly decrease the cost of processing invoices, help you capture vendor discounts more reliably and increase scale within your back office.  

Chart provides detailed information on Money Market Fund regulation considerations at a glance.
Intended to preserve the benefits of money market funds while increasing transparency and strengthening investor confidence, new regulations effective in October 2016 will require a re-evaluation of your cash management strategy.

When outside capital is needed, good cash flow and working capital management will make it easier to find and less expensive no matter what the economic cycle.
Companies that make working capital efficiency part of their organization’s culture have the opportunity to generate more of their working capital internally, thereby lowering costs, improving their performance and boosting their competitive position.

If you are one of the growing number of companies doing business in China, recent moves to liberalize its currency can have substantial bottom-line benefits for you.
Although U.S. companies have historically believed that negotiating international agreements in USD insulates them from exposure to currency volatility, it also puts them at a competitive disadvantage compared to companies that transact in local currency.

Changes to the NACHA Operating Rules will allow ACH participants to speed delivery of transactions that are more time sensitive than traditional ACH transactions.
Employers who want more flexibility in timing payroll, insurance carriers committed to fast payout of claims and reimbursements, individuals who need to get money to family members quickly, and billers wanting to offer a same day bill payment option are just a few of the groups looking forward to Same Day ACH.

Around the world, the momentum behind the move to real-time payments (RTP) — or “Immediate Payments,” as they’re often termed — is unstoppable and growing.
The U.S. has been conspicuous in its absence from the list of countries embracing RTP. That’s changing fast, with a surge of activity and initiatives under way to bring payments in the U.S. up to speed with the rest of the world. These moves involve a broad range of players, and an approach specifically geared to the unique needs and requirements of the U.S. market.

In our fast-moving world, payment systems must evolve to keep pace. Quicker payout, more flexibility, better control and improved cash flow are what customers expect today.
With encouragement from the Federal Reserve, the industry is responding to the demand for faster payments. Three leading organizations are already rolling out new payment options.

Many companies have found growth opportunities elusive and are focused on maintaining operational efficiency.
The increasing speed of doing business, the rise of globalization, the continued drive to identify and capture efficiencies, and the need to optimize relationships with suppliers and customers are driving companies to incorporate new technologies into their business processes.

Debt Capital Markets Group third annual CFO survey
This year’s survey looks at what financial leaders are currently thinking about the overall economy, acquisitions, hiring and growth. Their opinions can provide valuable insight as you plan for your company’s future.

Many companies are interested in realizing the potential bottom-line benefits of payables automation but are unsure of how to introduce it. These 10 steps can help.
Among the steps companies can take toward payables automation are reaching out to their bank's treasury management officer, crafting a strategy, obtaining active buy-in from senior management, designating an executive sponsor and forming a payables auotmation project team with representation from various units.

In navigating through the sluggish growth environment of recent years, U.S. companies have increasingly focused on improving efficiency throughout their organizations.
Many companies have found significant opportunities for efficiency gains by introducing automation into their accounts payable opertaions. In addition to helping with efficiency, automation can offer a number of other benefits, including reduced costs and greater visibility into their pending financial obligations.

Companies are beginning to recognize the importance of having an investment policy that provides clear direction on how investments will be managed and how much risk is acceptable.
A solid investment policy include formalized forecasting and contingency plans to prepare key decision-makers for unexpected events. Contingency plans should include a scenario analysis that details events of varying risk or magnitude and how the company will react. For example — divest, stay the course, or become more conservative.

Too many of our nation's businesses have been hit by cybercrime. Yours doesn't have to be one of them. Find out how to fight the latest ploys.
Just as the financial marketplace is driving to faster and more anonymous transactions, fraudsters are increasingly using old-fashioned methods to collect financial information that can enable them to compromise your accounts. Corporations, both large and small, as well as government entities, school districts and individuals, are vulnerable.

Does your company have a well-thought-out investment policy? Does your policy have clear, measurable objectives? Has it been written down and shared with the appropriate team?
Putting your investment policy in writing is the foundation of effective investing.  Your policy should provide benchmarks to help you evaluate how well it is working and what changes may be needed to make it more effective. While every company is different several elements should be part of every policy.

Webinar covers cash flow as a measure of performance, capital allocation as a determinant of value creation, how key metrics apply to private and public companies and other issues.
Cash flow metrics can help you better understand your own company or a company that you might want to invest in or acquire.Explore the  importance of cash flow to a business and how using ROI measures is important to understanding companies.These metrics differ from  using earnings for publicly-traded companies and can be used to value investment opportunities.