This article is written by Pecunia Treasury and Finance.
In the evolving landscape of corporate finance, companies often need specialized financial leadership but may not require or cannot afford full-time executives. This is where roles like interim treasurer, fractional treasurer, and treasury consultant come into play. Each brings a unique set of skills and functions tailored to the needs of the organization. Let’s explore the differences between these roles and how they can benefit businesses.
An interim treasurer is a temporary executive brought in to manage a company’s treasury functions during a transitional period. This role is often critical during times of significant change, such as a leadership gap, restructuring, mergers, or acquisitions.
A fractional treasurer is a part-time executive who provides ongoing treasury management services to one or multiple companies. This role is ideal for smaller businesses that need expert financial management but do not require a full-time treasurer.
A treasury consultant is an external advisor who provides specialized expertise on a project basis. This role focuses on specific challenges or opportunities within the treasury function, offering solutions and strategic insights.
The choice between an interim treasurer, a fractional treasurer, and a treasury consultant depends on the specific needs and circumstances of the business.
This article is written by Pecunia Treasury and Finance
International Bank Account Number (IBAN) discrimination occurs when individuals or businesses are denied financial services or face obstacles in making or receiving payments due to the country code in their IBAN. This form of discrimination undermines the efficiency and inclusivity of the European payments market. Leading to challenges in cross-border transactions and affecting economic development.
The European Union addresses IBAN discrimination through SEPA Regulation (EU) 260/2012. This ensures the smooth functioning of the European payments market. Article 9 of the regulation explicitly prohibits specifying the Member State in which an account to be debited or credited is located. This rule aims to guarantee that any IBAN from an EEA country is treated equally. And can be used to make or receive cross-border euro payments as efficiently as domestic transactions.
Despite the regulatory framework, IBAN discrimination persists across the EEA. This discrimination can manifest in various forms, including:
The practice has a direct impact on individuals and businesses, disrupting financial stability and operations. For example, individuals may struggle to receive wages, while businesses face challenges in conducting international trade.
To address IBAN discrimination, the European Commission has made efforts to simplify the reporting process and increase awareness of the issue. In 2014, a registration center was established to track reports of IBAN discrimination. Additionally, the website www.acceptmyiban.org provides a streamlined way for individuals and businesses to report incidents of discrimination. Increased reporting has shed light on the extent of the issue, with several thousand reports in 2021 alone. This has led to greater scrutiny of companies and institutions that engage in discriminatory practices.
If you encounter IBAN discrimination, follow these steps:
IBAN discrimination poses significant challenges to financial inclusivity and cross-border transactions. By understanding the issue and taking action when faced with discrimination, individuals and businesses can contribute to the ongoing effort to eliminate this unfair practice. Increased awareness and streamlined reporting mechanisms will help ensure the smooth functioning of the European payments market and support economic growth across the region
This article is written by Pecunia Treasury & Finance B.V.
In an previous article I have talked about the IT changes that make life easier for a treasurer in the future (or now already). In this article I want to talk about the digital mindset of the person using the IT – the treasurer. Treasury is a numbers game. We treasurers use these numbers to optimize the cash or risk of the company. We make money with money. These numbers have to come from somewhere in the organization and it is usually never treasury itself.
Big data is a hot topic in treasury but for treasury it was around longer. The treasurer needs to get their input information for all over the company. Cash inflow from sales, cash outflow from procurement and investment teams, HR etc. All this data needs to be gathered. The digital minded treasurer thinks about optimal ways of gathering this data: automatically. The treasurer starts its day with the actual cash balances and then looks forward. They basically need to predict the future. How great would it be if all this data would be available with the push on a button. An ideal world ? Maybe, but it is possible. Bank statements can be automated to be loaded collectively or in a Treasury Management System. The treasurer starts the day with up to date cash balances, and he has not started working yet as this was automated. He then updates the cash forecast. How? By pushing update in his cash forecasting system. Sounds too easy? True, it took weeks to find out where to find the needed input information and to automate getting this data grouped together and in a structured way. But a digital minded treasurer knows that the data is somewhere in the organisation; it only needs to found and linked to the treasurers information recourses so it is always available. The treasurer only has to check the validity and the quality of the data and see if it needs improvement. In this way the digital minded treasurer can automatically create a cash forecast and continually improve it. A cash forecast should be ready before the second morning coffee. In an ideal world it would be ready with a push on a button. Artificial intelligence makes it possible. The digital minded treasurer is steering it.
The digital treasurer looks at ways to improve its document flows and payments. Not only looking at costs but also looking at how many (manual) interventions are needed. FX deals can be setup to straight through processed (STP) while blockchain would make it possible to improve the speed of payments or document flows globally. Everything is connected, as payments go from a process to straight through and instant it has an immedicate effect on the cash availability and forecasting. While now the bank is the place to go for bank accounts and payments this might not be the case in 10 years. The digital treasury might be able to setup his own bank in the future. By using technology.
The treasurer makes sure that he is on the steering wheel while technology makes it possible for him/her to check his surroundings so he does not crash. A bigger front window makes for a better view forward (forecasting), a higher max speed makes for quicker travel (updating changes in forecasting), adaptive cruise control saves effort on speeds control (automatic updating and AI, STP). The treasurer knows he needs to keep the engine running to keep moving. He also realizes that he does not need to be a mechanic to do this; however he needs to be able to tell the mechanics quickly why the car is not moving as the treasurer wants it to be so the mechanic can fix this. Or maybe the digital treasurer might change the car for a plane in the future, or even a rocket?
It is clear that technology and treasury are interconnected. Already now and even more in the future. A treasurer therefore needs a digital mindset to survive and keep up with the information needs of his department and the company as a whole. And it’s not rocket science (yet).
Treasury Masterminds is a community of professionals working in treasury management or those interested in learning more about various topics related to treasury management, including cash management, foreign exchange management, and payments. To register and connect with Treasury professionals, click [HERE] or fill out the form below to get more information.
