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KYRIBA BLOG
Optimize Your Cash Forecasting with AI
Imagine a world where manual processes and guesswork don’t bog down forecasting.
Instead, your forecast is created easily using real-time data and predictive
analytics. This is the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in modern
financial operations; this is the power of AI in cash forecasting. AI’s ability
to process vast amounts of financial data in...
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* Optimize Your Cash Forecasting with AI
Imagine a world where manual processes and guesswork don’t bog down
forecasting. Instead, your forecast is created easily using real-time data
and predictive analytics. This is the potential of artificial intelligence
(AI) in modern financial operations; this is the power of AI in cash
forecasting. AI’s ability to process vast amounts of financial data in...
Read more
* Key Insights from the Latest Fed Meeting and What They Mean for CFOs
The U.S. Federal Reserve decided to keep interest rates unchanged from
5.25%-5.5% during its June 12, 2024 meeting. This decision, like all
decisions from a governing body overseeing monetary policy, has far-reaching
implications for corporations and how they manage liquidity performance. How
We Got Here For decades, monetary policy had been geared towards growth
with...
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* The Tip of the Spear and Why Pride and ERGS Matter More than Ever
Happy Pride to all of you. Pride Month is a time of celebration. A
Celebration of the progress we’ve made, the friendships we’ve established,
and the lives we’ve won the right to create, just as others around us have
done for centuries. Pride was born in 1969 in a riot at the Stonewall Inn
in...
Read more
* Decoding the Impact of ChatGPT for Treasury
Generative AI, represented by groundbreaking models like ChatGPT, is poised
to revolutionize treasury management. However, its integration brings forth a
spectrum of implications, from promising opportunities to potential risks. We
highlight the potential benefits and risks associated with integrating
generative AI in treasury and finance operations. Exploring Generative AI
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is a...
Read more
* Six Tips to Protect Your Organization Against Payments Fraud
Payments fraud increased 71 percent from 2022 to 2023, with 96 percent of
companies targeted by at least one payments fraud attempt in 2023. Regularly
reviewing your infrastructure and verifying your enterprise security measures
are robust is crucial, especially to ensure payments fraud protection. One
message is clear–if you have strong, consistently executed processes
safeguarding...
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* The Threat of Deepfake Frauds in Payment
Imagine this: your CEO’s voice or your CFO’s face—and a request for funds.
Something in your gut is telling you that this situation feels ‘off’ but what
can you do? It’s the CEO or CFO of the company after all. This is the reality
of deepfake fraud, a clever ruse that is not only making...
Read more
* Welcome to Liquidity Performance
Today marks an exciting new chapter for Kyriba as we unveil our new brand
identity. This transformation symbolizes far more than just a visual refresh
– it represents our vision and approach to elevating liquidity as a powerful
catalyst driving business resilience, agility and growth. At the heart of our
brand refresh are three key...
Read more
* Fiat Currency Management Crypto Challenges
Finance leaders have reason to avoid the volatility of alt coins but their
lack of visibility into currency exposure could be leaving them vulnerable to
a similar risk with some fiat currencies. Bitcoin’s skyrocketing and
subsequent free fall in value should be a wakeup call to CFOs, corporate risk
managers and others focused on currency...
Read more
* 10 Things You Need to Know about APIs for Treasury
APIs continue to be one of the most talked about technologies, as finance
leaders look to make their treasury and payments operations more real-time
and responsive to market volatility. APIs are critical to the future of bank
connectivity, yet they offer significantly more value than connecting
treasury systems and ERPs to banks. In a recent...
Read more
* Navigating in High-Interest Rate Environment Infographic: A Step-by-Step CFO
Guide
The problems associated with spreadsheets are well documented, yet many
treasury professionals continue to overlook these shortcomings when it comes
to running their overall treasury operations.
Read more
* Three Strategies to Navigate the High-Rate Environment
Businesses face a complex array of challenges in managing liquidity,
magnified by the decisions of pivotal global entities. Foremost among these
is the direction chartered by the Federal Reserve, which not only sets the
course for monetary policy but also cascades its influence across countless
corporate decisions. In light of these policy shifts, there is...
Read more
* How to Cut Costs Without the Cutbacks
For the past two years corporations have been in a constant battle to
maintain profitable margins while combating rising labor costs, inflation and
supply chain disruptions. Labor costs resulting from shortages and the need
to retain talent. High inflation resulting from global government spending to
sustain economies in times of pandemic distress impacting a rise...
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* Infographic: How Kyriba Helps Clients with Value Realization
The problems associated with spreadsheets are well documented, yet many
treasury professionals continue to overlook these shortcomings when it comes
to running their overall treasury operations.
Read more
* Kyriba Celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month
Each year, we honor Hispanic Heritage Month, an annual observance running
from September 15 – October 15 to recognize and celebrate the histories,
cultures, and traditions of the Hispanic and Latinx communities. While
Hispanic Heritage Month began in the United States, Kyribian’s across the
globe are honoring their diverse backgrounds and reflecting on how their...
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* Kyriba Leading the Charge in Cloud TMS for Both Enterprises and Midmarket
In the wake of escalating global uncertainties, businesses are constantly
grappling with unknowns, making liquidity management a top priority. The
recent IDC MarketScape Assessment of World-wide Saas and Cloud Treasury
Management Software (TMS) Vendors for 2023 provides a compelling testament to
the increasing significance of treasury software and the importance of
selecting the right technology...
Read more
* Tackling Currency Risk in Today’s Economy
In today’s highly volatile foreign exchange market, companies must be
strategic to ensure that their foreign exchange (forex) programs are running
as efficiently as possible. With many factors affecting forex exposure, from
interest rate movements to political instability, currency volatility and
uncertainty show no signs of settling down. During KyribaLive 2023, Andy
Gage, SVP of...
Read more
* How API and ERP Integrations Are Transforming Corporate Treasury
Adopting API technology to integrate ERP systems with treasury systems is a
transformative step for corporate treasury management. Such integration
facilitates real-time data transfer, ensuring that treasurers are equipped
with the most up-to-date financial information for accurate stakeholder
reporting and enhanced decision-making. Additionally, APIs bring heightened
security in data transfers, offer scalability for growing business...
Read more
* Avoid Financial Woes with Cash Management Best Practices
Cash management is fundamental to the treasurer’s role, but all too often,
inefficiencies and inadequate visibility prevent treasurers from putting
their company’s cash to the best use. As an example, a recent PwC Global
Treasury Survey still identified cash and liquidity management as the top
priority for treasurers. Yet, maximizing returns without increasing risk
is...
Read more
* Optimizing FX Balance Sheet Hedging with Efficient Frontier Concepts
The desire for incorporating efficient frontier concepts within FX balance
sheet hedging programs has been bubbling up over the past several years. One
obvious reason is the ability to execute portfolio hedging decisions that can
yield effective risk mitigation results while also minimizing the cost of
hedging. However, there have also been hurdles to putting...
Read more
* How to Maximize the Value of Your Kyriba Application
Using a Treasury Management System (TMS) can help organizations monitor cash
flows, automate processes, prevent fraud, and make informed liquidity
decisions to stay competitive in today’s uncertain economy. Looking to
improve their cash visibility and cash forecasting, Bray International chose
Kyriba’s TMS solution to tackle their cash management challenges. After a
successful TMS implementation, Bray...
Read more
* Why I Chose Kyriba
In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, selecting the right treasury
management system (TMS) is crucial for companies seeking to optimize their
financial operations. The TMS selection process involves careful evaluation,
where the unique needs and goals of the organization are considered. In this
panel session from KyribaLive 2023, moderated by Chris Reynolds, Director of
Strategic...
Read more
* Top Three Cash Flow Mistakes Every Treasury Makes
In today’s rapidly changing financial landscape, effective cash and liquidity
management is vital for treasuries to ensure financial stability and support
an organization’s strategic objectives. However, many treasurers are falling
victim to the same cash flow mistakes over and over again – lack of real-time
cash visibility, silos of legacy systems and processes and absence...
Read more
* Liquidity Risk Management and Governance for Advancing Treasury
When Deloitte asks treasurers the CFO mandate they receive to do their jobs,
liquidity risk management is the top response. In fact, about 96% of all the
treasurers or treasury organizations polled say that the most critical
mandate they receive from their CFO is ensuring the company is safeguarded
against liquidity events. The other top...
Read more
* Taming FX Volatility with Enhanced Currency Risk Management Strategy
The Kyriba Currency Impact Report for Q1 2023 indicated corporate impacts to
earnings from FX volatility have continued to decline from the record high
losses experienced throughout 2022 with a total reported aggregate headwind
of $22.5B – a quarter-over-quarter decrease of 25.5%. For many, this may be a
welcome relief. However, the total aggregate headwind...
Read more
* Six Financial Risks Kyriba Can Help CFOs Tackle in 2023
As the role of the chief financial officer (CFO) continues to evolve, so do
the financial risks they face in today’s dynamic business landscape. In 2023,
CFOs are confronted with an array of challenges, ranging from regulatory
compliance to cybersecurity threats and economic volatility. This blog
focuses on the current financial risks CFOs encounter and...
Read more
* The Merits of a Platform Utilization Study
When Kyriba presented the option of a platform utilization study to the
treasury team of Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), they seized the
opportunity. Their treasury team wanted to understand how HCSC was using
their treasury management system (TMS), as well as the processes built around
it, since the system implementation. A panel discussion at...
Read more
* Discovering Treasury’s Role in Supply Chain Finance
Supply chain finance (SCF) is a way for companies to better manage their
working capital and leverage opportunities made available by high interest
rates, recent developments in supply chain management, and strong
relationships between buyers, suppliers, banks, and other solution providers.
After providing important background information about the opportunities and
developments in supply chain finance,...
Read more
* Seamless API Integration Helps Treasury Get the Most Out of Cash
With cash being more important than ever and increasing pressure to make the
most out of their excess reserves, treasury professionals must deploy the
necessary tools for quick and easy deployment of excess cash. A panel session
at KyribaLive 2023 discussed how Kyriba and global investment portal ICD’s
partnership is transforming the way that treasurers...
Read more
* Harness the Power of Treasury Analytics
“There were 5 exabytes of information created between the dawn of
civilization through 2003,” Eric Schmidt, still the CEO at Google in 2010,
once proclaimed, “but that much information is now created every 2 days, and
the pace is increasing.” Today, data has already become a ‘norm’ for almost
all businesses. At KyribaLive 2023, Vincent...
Read more
* How Streamlined Bank Connectivity Enhances Business Performance for the
Office of the CFO
In today’s fast-paced and uncertain business environment, the role of the
Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is increasingly complex. A panel session at
KyribaLive 2023 discussed how BlackLine and Kyriba, in partnership with RSM,
build automated workflows through streamlined bank connectivity for joint
clients and support them to enhance business performance. The discussion
highlighted the importance...
Read more
* Improving Working Capital Metrics and Receivables Cash Conversion Cycle
Corporate insolvencies are expected to grow in 2023 as energy prices,
interest rates and direct lending costs increase. The faster companies can
improve their cash conversion cycle, the less working capital will be
required to support the business, and the higher the certainty of future cash
flows. In this KyribaLive 2023 session, Kyriba Working Capital...
Read more
* Six Questions Every Treasurer Should Ask About How to Forecast Cash Flow
Consistent cash flow forecasting is arguably the holy grail of corporate
treasury. Treasurers are tasked with a tremendous responsibility to predict
the future cash flow performance of their organization. From securing
liquidity for internal customers to providing free cash flow guidance and
variance analysis to the board of directors, cash forecasting in treasury
management is...
Read more
* Elevating the Business Case for a Digital Treasury Transformation
The economic uncertainty and volatility in the market today is causing many
organizations to turn to cost-cutting initiatives to ensure business
longevity. While most businesses are planning to maintain their budgetary
allocations for investment in their people and technology, treasury
departments could still face obstacles, including limited budgets and
competition with other projects. Therefore, the...
Read more
* Warner Bros. Discovery’s Treasury Transformation with Kyriba
When Warner Bros. Discovery completed its merger in 2022, it created an
opportunity to review and overhaul the treasury function. The result was a
treasury that streamlined and rationalized processes and responsibilities,
leveraging Kyriba to drive new levels of efficiency. In this panel session
from KyribaLive 2023, Warner Bros. Discovery and system implementation
partner Actualize...
Read more
* Payments Resilience: Top Three Strategies to Eliminate Payments Fraud Risks
Payments fraud continues to plague treasury and finance departments, as
criminals’ methods are continuously evolving. From new threats like deepfake
technology to old standbys like business email compromise (BEC), financial
professionals cannot afford to be complacent when it comes to payments fraud
risks. Being proactive is imperative when it comes to fraud protection.
Organizations need...
Read more
* Making Your Treasury Cash Forecasting Actionable
Treasury cash forecasting has become an integral part of an organization’s
financial operations, as budgeting and forecasting allow organizations to be
more forward thinking. With interest rates on the rise, FX volatility, supply
chain challenges and the possibility of a recession looming, this
forward-thinking mentality has become increasingly important for
organizations. Unfortunately, a 2022 IDC...
Read more
* Transforming into a Data-Driven Treasury
Each year, AFP Pinnacle Award winner Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC)
becomes more data-driven, and a panel session at KyribaLive 2023 reveals how
HCSC transformed their treasury operations into a data-centric system,
unlocking cash flow, optimizing working capital, and unleashing 1,000+ hours
of productivity. In this blog you will find a summary of this inspiring...
Read more
* Unprecedented FX Volatility in 2022 is a Wake-up Call for CFOs
The most recent Kyriba Currency Impact Report confirms the unprecedented wild
ride in FX volatility for the calendar year of 2022. Cumulative reported
aggregate impact for 2022 was just shy of $170 Billion, by far the largest
annual aggregate impact since the Currency Impact Report has been tracking
Corporate FX Impacts to financial performance. Regarding...
Read more
* How American Tire Distributors Gains Cash Flow Visibility with Consolidated
Cash Reporting & Debt Management
Efficient financial management and cash flow visibility are critical for an
organization’s success. Recently American Tire Distributors (ATD), one of the
leading tire distributors in North America, discovered the importance of
streamlining treasury operations was necessary to meet leadership’s
expectations. At KyribaLive 2023, Ryan Hutchinson, former ATD treasury
analyst and Mike Kapala, the finance automation...
Read more
* Building a Global Payments Factory – Beam Suntory’s Transformation Story
Operating on a global scale can lead to various challenges for an
organization, particularly when it comes to payments processing, payments
centralization and payments optimization. This is true for Beam Suntory, the
world’s third largest producer of distilled beverages and spirits. A
long-time user of Kyriba as a treasury management system, Beam Suntory
realized the...
Read more
* Embedded Finance to Embedded Treasury: Are Corporates Ready for the
Transition?
Embedded finance is the practice of integrating financial services within
non-financial platforms and services with the objective of delivering the
financial service at the “point of need”. In the not-so-distant past,
accessing financial services such as payments, lending, and investments
required either a visit to the bank or a redirection to a financial services
provider’s...
Read more
* Time for CFOs to Uncover Worrisome FX Risk Management Issues
An insightful report from Deloitte, How to Uncover Hidden FX Risks,
highlights the need for CFOs to stay on top of worrisome FX risk management
concerns. The report urges CFOs to uncover FX risks that seemingly hide in
plain sight, whether they are on a company’s balance sheet or in different
intercompany transactions. Although the...
Read more
* Bank Volatility Reaffirms the Need for Bank Scorecards
Bank scorecards have largely fallen by the wayside in recent years. Part of
the reason why they are largely forgotten is because of the level of effort
involved in manual data collection across multiple banks, as well as
continued updating and maintenance. The process can take up to a week’s worth
of time to update...
Read more
* How Benchmarking Enables Treasury Project Funding & Success
Benchmarking can be a critical tool in helping treasury secure a budget,
providing the CFO and other key stakeholders with a clearer understanding of
current state vs. future state gaps and potential return on investment (ROI)
in filling those gaps. This enables stakeholders to make more informed
decisions about whether to fund the project. In...
Read more
* Working Capital Offers an Advantage in Times of Volatility
What seems to be an endless news cycle of uncertain economic headwinds has
resulted in continuous corporate strategy refinement and the need for
real-time insights into working capital impact. This economic pressure has
resulted in a laser-eyed focus on strategic working capital management for
CFOs. In this blog, part of our Value Engineering Series, we’ll...
Read more
* The Four Reasons SVB is a Wake-Up Call to Automate Treasury
CFOs’ worst fears for cash and financing tied directly to Silicon Valley Bank
appear to have been alleviated by the U.S. Government’s takeover of the bank.
But anyone thinking the crisis is over missed the lesson completely. The
learning opportunities for corporate boards and treasury management are
abundant and all are pointing to a strong...
Read more
* 3 Risks to Make Your CFO Approve Your Treasury Project
You have completed the necessary legwork and are prepared to propose a
treasury management system (TMS) to your CFO. But are you ready to explain
the value a TMS will provide your CFO? In this blog, which is part of our
Value Engineering series, we will explore why treasury should focus on risk
management when...
Read more
* The Risks of Not Adopting a Treasury Management System
When evaluating the implementation of a treasury management system (TMS),
there will always be the inevitable question of why? Each company has
processes in place that have worked up until now, so why should we fix today
what isn’t broken? Although current processes have worked in the past, there
are many risks associated with maintaining...
Read more
* Data: The CFOs Secret Weapon for Cash Forecasting Accuracy
Can what’s past be a prologue for cash forecasting? When using statistical
modeling and machine learning, yes. CFOs and treasurers have more historical
data at their disposal than ever before. If used correctly, forecasts can
become more accurate and actionable. Improving Cash Forecasting Accuracy In
the past, businesses would use simple historical models to predict...
Read more
* Receivables Finance Offers Extensive Working Capital Value
Late payments from customers can negatively impact both a company’s cash
position, as well as its working capital. If such behavior persists, then the
business and its financial health could be in danger. Receivables finance is
a useful strategy to mitigate this risk. What Is Receivables Finance?
Receivables Finance is a technique that provides organizations...
Read more
* FedNow vs. RTP: Make the Right Decision for B2B Payments
This year will mark the emergence of FedNow, the second real-time payment
network and the public sector alternative to The Clearing House’s (TCH’s)
RTP® network. The Fed and TCH have historically operated public and private
sector payment neworks for both low-value batch payments (i.e., FedACH and
ACH) and large value payments (i.e., FedWire and CHIPS)...
Read more
* FX Volatility Builds the Business Case for Treasury Software
In my experience as a treasury practitioner and consultant, I have repeatedly
observed the difficulty of getting budget approval for purchasing a treasury
management system (TMS). Treasury typically needs to demonstrate to the CFO
how adopting a TMS will benefit the entire organization, but competing with
other project requests can be quite the shark tank....
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* Identifying the ROI in a Treasury Transformation Project
How do you truly identify the total value of implementing a treasury
management system (TMS)? While some aspects of a treasury transformation
project may seem black and white, other value components are difficult to
quantify, and many are often overlooked completely. When evaluating the ROI
of a treasury initiative, it is important to ensure that...
Read more
* Measuring Recent Trends in Liquidity Management
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, companies rushed to increase
liquidity. While most industries have returned to near pre-pandemic
operations, Kyriba examined how liquidity levels have changed since the onset
of the pandemic and the implications for CFOs and treasurers going forward.
Reviewing quarterly liquidity levels from December 2018 through December
2021, Kyriba...
Read more
* Why Small and Midsize Companies Focus on Foreign Currency
Growing internationally should be a challenging yet exciting chapter in every
mid-market companies’ story. International business activity results in a
wide range of foreign currency (FX) denominated transactional situations, all
of which have costs and considerations. In order to keep the headaches, (due
to inefficient processes and negative economic impacts) to a minimum,
mid-market companies...
Read more
* Optimizing Liquidity Management from the Top Down
Timing is everything in cash forecasting and liquidity management. Delivering
the forecast in a timely manner is critical; the faster it is produced, the
faster the organization can act upon it. Furthermore, forecasts hinge on
critical moments in a timeline; for example, collecting payments when
expected allows for the forecast to be accurate. With a...
Read more
* Global Finance Magazine Awards Kyriba: Best Cloud FX Solution
Kyriba has recently been recognized for its FX Risk Management solution in
Global Finance Magazine’s Gordon W. Platt 2022 and 2023 Foreign Exchange
Awards. The company was named as the “Best TMS Provider with FX Module”,
“Best Solution for FX Cash-Flow Hedging”, and “Best Cloud Technology FX
Solution”. “The maturity and evolution of Kyriba’s FX...
Read more
* CFOs Can Improve Earnings Predictability Despite Currency Volatility
Foreign Exchange Risk Volatility Volatility and uncertainty in 2023 have no
signs of cooling down as traditional indicators and many financial
institutions predict and anticipate a recession to hit this year. Forecasts
for the U.S. dollar over the next year are mixed, but it’s safe to say that
it will be volatile and unpredictable. While...
Read more
* Liquidity Planning: The CFOs Guiding Compass for 2023
While there is much to look forward to in the new year, many critical issues
are sure to make cash and liquidity management a massive challenge for CFOs.
The end of the “cheap money” era, an inflationary environment, a looming
recession, a resurgence of COVID-19, FX volatility and more will produce
tough challenges for finance...
Read more
* Addressing ESG Through Working Capital
There has been a growing awareness in the corporate community that
environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing can no longer be brushed
off. But for companies to truly make a meaningful ESG impact, they need to
include their supply chain in the process. Implementing better working
capital management solutions may prove to be the answer...
Read more
* Building the Business Case for TMS Implementation
Convincing the CFO to approve the adoption of a treasury management system
(TMS) almost always requires the treasurer to carefully build a strong
business case. During a panel session at a recent Kyriba event, treasurers
from multiple companies shared their experiences pitching TMS implementations
to their finance chiefs. Establishing a Need for a Treasury Management...
Read more
* Liquidity Management is the Lifeblood of Your Business
According to Emmanuel Kant, someone’s intelligence can be measured by the
quantity of uncertainties he or she can bear. I think we can also apply this
definition of intelligence to organizations and especially to companies.
“Liquidity Intelligence” for finance departments is crucial, and during this
period of both strategic and operational uncertainty, liquidity is an...
Read more
* 3 Ways Liquidity Planning Technology Improves Cash Flow Forecasting Results
The treasurer and CFO are today more closely linked to strategic financial
objectives for the CEO, ensuring finance teams provide informed guidance on
navigating risks and opportunities. This year, a revolutionary practice area
and innovative technology is transforming the value of short and long-term
cash flow forecasting with more certainty and analytics, empowering finance
with...
Read more
* Top 5 Treasury Practices That Will Change Your 2023
For treasury teams, 2022 was full of extremes. With rapid FX fluctuations,
price inflation, rising interest rates, new cash forecasting challenges,
global recession fears and more, treasurers head into 2023 facing a lot of
uncertainty. In speaking with Kyriba clients and reviewing developments from
the past year, we have compiled a list of five key...
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* Creating A Culture of Elevated FX Risk Awareness
Many organizations responded quickly to the volatile currency markets over
the past six to twelve months, and certainly deserve credit for taking swift
action to reduce FX risk. However, what if I were to tell you that the best
run treasury functions are even a step above that. Rather than being just
responsive to foreign...
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* Real-time Payments and Large Value Payment Systems
The world of payments is interconnected. Innovations don’t happen in
isolation, and often depend on what we are deeply familiar with. It’s a
mistake to either completely overlook an innovation or consider it to be an
end-all, be-all. Real-time payment1 is one such innovation. It has deep
interdependence with the traditional Large Value Payment Systems...
Read more
* Infographic: Digital Transformation Assessing the Business Impact
KYRIBA VALUE ENGINEERING: A validated, collaborative value assessment for
documenting the total value of current state vs. future state. Download the
PDF
Read more
* Five Payments Takeaways from Money 20/20
From cryptocurrencies to API banking to payments fraud detection, this year’s
Money 20/20 conference in Las Vegas had a major focus on fintech innovations.
With over 12,000 attendees and 3,000+ companies, the conference continues to
be one of the most prominent events in the payments and banking world.
Although this wasn’t my first Money 20/20,...
Read more
* IT Leaders Expect API Use and Adoption to Increase
API usage and adoption has increased and is expected to expand over the next
year, according to a new survey by Kyriba and Gartner Peer Insights. The
survey results indicate a clear trend of API use cases such as the quick
transfer of data and the seamless integration of disparate systems. Expanded
API Use Predicted...
Read more
* 20-Year USD Highs Driving FX Risk Management Challenges
The Kyriba Currency Impact Report for Q3 2022 illustrates the headaches and
challenges that CFOs and Treasurers are contending with related to the strong
US Dollar and overall heightened currency volatility. The combination of the
USD at a 20-year high and rising interest rates drove the largest reported
currency impact in over 10 years and...
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* FX Risk: Optimizing Hedging Costs with Protection is Critical
FX risk is on the rise. Volatility has hit major global currencies, rather
than only a handful of the usual emerging market suspects. The result has
been the largest magnitude of FX-related headwinds we’ve seen in the 10 years
we’ve been tracking global FX impact data. Effective FX Exposure Management
Figure 1. EUR/USD 6 month...
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* AI in Liquidity Management: How It Can Assist a Liquidity Manager
Artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) are emerging treasury
technology that have become essential for cash flow forecasting, payments
fraud prevention and liquidity management. But is treasury on board and ready
for AI in liquidity management? The Difference between ML and AI AI and ML
are not technically the same thing. AI is a broad...
Read more
* Visit Kyriba at AFP 2022! Booth #717
Kyriba is providing more options than ever to expand your networking,
learning, development, and fun opportunities at Kyriba Events. Learn how
technology can help your organization face and prevail over current economic
trends, challenges and volatility. Whether you’ve seen Kyriba webinars or
presentations in the past, or are entirely new to Kyriba, there are
product...
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* APIs: Enterprise Maturity and Use Cases
Most IT leaders take advantage of APIs to support developers and improve
business. With plans to continue their integration of APIs, we investigate
the state of API adoption across the enterprise as well as examine both
internal and external use cases. What impacts do IT leaders expect APIs to
have now and in the future?...
Read more
* Amid Inflation Concerns, CFOs Prioritize Automation
CFOs are planning to increase IT and technology spending in the next 12
months, according to a new survey of 200 finance leaders by Gartner. While
CFOs are planning to reduce budgets overall, they are clearly seeing value in
investment in technology. Automation is an area of focus, as finance chiefs
view it as a...
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* Treasury Steps into the Advisor Role Crisis After Crisis
From the 2008 global financial crisis to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,
treasury departments have served as strategic treasury management advisors
regarding capital structure, liquidity and finance operations. Without the
guidance and leadership of treasury management in these critical moments,
many organizations would not have survived. But it begs the question—what can
companies do on an...
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* How Mature is your Treasury Department?
Treasury departments aspire to be nimble, data-driven strategic advisors. But
this often requires transformation across people, process, and systems. By
empowering team members to move away from manual processes and spreadsheets,
and embracing leading technology, you can automate repetitive tasks, minimize
errors, catch fraud, and make room for value-add, strategic activities.
Leveraging a leading treasury...
Read more
* Technology Bridges Skills Gaps for Understaffed Finance Teams
Acquiring and retaining talent is a top priority for many companies in 2022
and beyond. But amidst staffing shortages and new hiring and transition
patterns within HR, wide finance skills gaps are highlighted and have many
CFOs concerned about the future. In a recent Blackline survey of C-suite
executives and financial professionals, a third of...
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* 5 Steps to Automate (and Optimize) Your FX Risk Management Program
Companies of all sizes and industries with foreign currency exposures are
being impacted by a number of global trade complexities. For many, supply
chain disruptions, interest rate, and price index increases are taking a toll
on profitability. For many others, the impact from increased foreign currency
headwinds is becoming the glaring reality unveiling weaknesses in...
Read more
* The Opportunities and Challenges of Real-time B2B Payments
Recently real-time B2B payments have attracted a lot of attention from
corporate clients. As a payments practitioner, I have spent over a decade
helping clients adopt innovations that digitize the entire customer journey
in which B2B payments management tends to be one of the most important steps.
For example, in the B2B e-commerce context, a bad...
Read more
* Q1 2022 Currency Moves Drive Need for Foundational FX Risk Tools
Q1 2022 CIR Companion Blog The latest Kyriba Currency Impact Report for Q1
2022, which chronicles the impact that currency volatility and currency moves
has on reported corporate financial results, illustrates what we have been
expecting, the strong dollar run, and currency volatility experienced in the
first quarter of 2022 is taking a toll on...
Read more
* Infographic: IT Priorities and Technology Selection
Gartner Peer Insights and Kyriba surveyed 200 IT decision makers who are key
stakeholders in purchasing new technology at their organization to understand
how they are building their vendor ecosystem, in particular surrounding
financial and enterprise resource planning software. Download the PDF
Read more
* Liquidity Performance Infographic: Kyriba Leading the Way
Kyriba empowers and enables customers to transform the way they access and
leverage liquidity to build resilience, generate value, and unlock growth.
Download the PDF
Read more
* Using Technology to Optimize Bank Relationship Management
Importance of Bank Relationship Management for the CFO Today’s Bank
Relationship Management (BRM) supports effective corporate governance of an
organization’s bank accounts as well as driving a more efficient banking
strategy. Many modern BRM programs streamline the number of banks, bank
accounts and bank fees to support the organization’s growth more effectively.
Hamza Benamar, CFO...
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* Streamlining Spencer Stuart’s Cash & Payments Management
Treasury departments at global organizations need cutting-edge technology to
ensure that all their payments and cash management needs are handled
efficiently. Companies that are still using manual processes will only find
their duties more taxing as demands increase. In a KyribaLive 2022 panel
session, presented by Elire, Spencer Stuart International (SSI) discussed how
implementing Kyriba allowed...
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* FX Risk Management Strategies and Multilateral Netting
With currency volatility on the rise, organizations are looking to improve
the efficiency of their FX programs. For companies with operations all over
the world, one of the proven corporate risk management strategies for
mitigating the impacts of FX volatility is through an intercompany netting
program. Wahl Clipper lowered currency risk and significantly reduced
costs...
Read more
* Bank & Enterprise Connectivity Continues to Challenge Finance and IT
A recent Pulse Survey reveals the extent of difficulties and challenges bank
and enterprise connectivity represents for corporates maintaining and
managing their own connectivity. The survey of 100 IT and Engineering leaders
covered questions related to how companies today support, partner, deliver
and maintain bank connections for ERPs and other systems in general. Banks
and...
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* APIs: More Than Just Bank Connectivity
A recent study by research firm IDC identified that 90% of finance leaders
have already implemented or expect to incorporate APIs within their financial
technology stack. With global banks continuing to open their platforms to
customers and FinTech apps, it is for good reason that CFO’s expectations
should be high. And while bank connectivity is...
Read more
* Continued Rise of Corporate Currency Headwinds in 2022
The latest Kyriba Currency Impact Report which chronicles the impact that
currency volatility and currency moves has on reported corporate financial
results documents pretty much what was expected. Net/Net, with dollar
strengthening and more volatility, the number of corporates reporting
currency headwinds has shot up significantly. Corporate Currency Risk
Management: A very challenging market with...
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* Bray International’s Path to Cash Visibility
Bray International, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of flow control
and automation products, was mired in spreadsheet chaos. With limited
visibility into global cash positions, Bray found itself bogged down by
inefficient processes. During a session at Kyriba Live 2022, Morty Mandel,
VP, director of finance for Bray, discussed how Kyriba helped his company
achieve...
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* The Role of APIs in Strategic Cash Forecasting
Cash forecasting has undergone some substantial changes over the past couple
years. While forecasting has always been important, the COVID-19 pandemic
highlighted just how critical it is, and why CFOs are prioritizing it more
than ever. In a recent webinar, Bob Stark, global head of marketing for
Kyriba, and Lisa Husken, value engineer at Kyriba,...
Read more
* Accelerating Your Investment Management Workflow
APIs create more value for finance and treasury through expanded coverage of
essential functions and processes beyond connectivity and payments. Cash
positioning, liquidity forecasting, trading, and risk management are becoming
readily available and are creating more value operationally and
strategically. CFOs and Treasurers willing to move away from older,
antiquated methods of integration and embrace...
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* APIs Drive Enterprise Value
A recent study by research firm IDC identified that 90% of finance leaders
have already implemented or expect to incorporate APIs within their financial
technology stack. With global banks continuing to open their platforms to
customers and FinTech apps, it is for good reason that CFO’s expectations
should be high. And while bank connectivity is...
Read more
* Effective API Strategies Go Beyond Banks & Payments
Bank Connectivity is Only the Beginning of the Transformation Journey CFOs
looking to optimize their processes and systems view APIs as a gateway to
enterprise-wide liquidity and the organization’s financial capabilities and
health. Finance transformation starts with bank connectivity, leading to
real-time decision-making, but the opportunities do not stop there. Bank
connectivity and payments help...
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* Accelerating M&A Day 1 Readiness with API-Integrative Solutions
M&A projects can take advantage of faster connections and more flexibility
with open API platforms to speed integrations and be ready for Day 1 with
less risk and cost. Across the wide span of finance functions required to
start an M&A migration for Day 1 readiness, APIs are the way to speed M&A
integration across...
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* When Is the Right Time to Move from FTP to APIs?
Application programming interfaces (APIs) have the potential to revolutionize
the treasury and finance function. But when is the time to move from file
transfer protocol (FTP) to APIs, and when is FTP still sufficient? Let’s
explore the use cases for APIs and when it is appropriate to begin using
them. We’ll also look at areas...
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* Solving Supply Chain Challenges with Deep-Tier Financing
Over the course of the past year, B2B supply chains have been under very
cautious observation. The Suez Canal blockage of May 2021 is a clear
indicator of how easily global trade can be severely disrupted; when 12% of
global trade passes through the canal and an accident with a single container
ship is enough...
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* Infographic: APIs -The New Standard for Connectivity
The problems associated with spreadsheets are well documented, yet many
treasury professionals continue to overlook these shortcomings when it comes
to running their overall treasury operations.
Read more
* Why Corporate Working Capital Strategies Have Significantly Changed Focus
Shifts in Corporate Focus The Kyriba Working Capital team has seen a dramatic
increase within the last eighteen months in the number of organizations
exploring working capital solutions, or looking to expand on their existing
programs and related solutions. When we evaluate payables optimization the
main draw for supply chain finance (SCF) programs since the...
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* Kyriba Ranked as the Leading Treasury Management Systems Company
Kyriba has been ranked as the leading cloud-based finance “Treasury
Management Software” and “Best Open Banking Treasury Solution” by Global
Finance Magazine. Innovation Across Treasury and Finance Kyriba delivers
continuous innovation and value across our products, enabling connectivity,
payments, treasury management, risk management, and working capital
capabilities. “We are honored that Global Finance has recognized...
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* The Top 5 Trends for CFOs in 2022
This past year has offered us many lessons; some bright and full of optimism
balanced with other experiences that are best left behind us. Looking
forward, there is much to draw from as we look towards a positive 2022. In
finance and technology, many trends developed that can be built upon, making
for a successful...
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* 2022 Digital Payments Transformation
Instant payments, payments fraud, and pandemic-led digital payments
transformation projects have changed the B2B payments digital transformation
journey for CFOs and CIOs. IT teams recognize that new connectivity methods,
such as APIs, are required to integrate their ERP platforms with banks,
neobanks, and non-bank payment channels while finance departments are seeing
the value of new...
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* What is a Payments Hub – and Why Do I Need One?
According to a recent WEX Worldwide survey commented on by Treasury Today –
52 percent of organizations admit to being victims of payments fraud. Many
times treasury is directly affected, because their payments were compromised,
while other times, the treasurer is pulled into the conversation to fix
whatever vulnerability was exploited for someone else’s payment. Regardless
of how or why, treasury is being asked to provide better payments solutions
by the CFO, CIO and CISO. Payment hubs provide that answer, in that they
offer the global visibility and standardized controls that are so necessary
to ensure that every payment is handled in a consistent manner regardless of
geography, payment type or who requested it. Payment hubs, which were the
subject of a new e-book, ensure payment workflows comply with the
organization’s payment policy. Additional reading: 15 Minute Guide to Payment
Hubs This is why CIOs are demanding that payment hubs (depicted below) be
implemented and are often asking treasury to take charge. What a payments hub
should look like – Here’s a graphical representation of a payments hub,
including external inputs, key functions, payment types, connectivity and
more. When treasury does lead the initiative for a payment hub, they found
the following benefits: Standardization The key to eliminating unauthorized
payments – even if accidental in nature – is to ensure a standardized set of
controls that prevail without exception. Controls could include payment
approval scenarios, extra layers of authentication, procedures if approvers
are remote and/or unavailable, and specific actions if modifications to the
payment are required. The organization’s payment policy should be digitized
and enforced by the payment hub software to ensure these controls are
consistently applied. Payment Screening Many organizations require payments
to be screened against sanctions lists prior to sending those instructions to
the bank. While this is a good practice, screening should not stop there.
Payment scenarios – e.g. payments being made outside of approved countries,
first payment to a new bank account, irregular payment amounts, etc. – should
also be screened in real-time so that any suspicious payments can be stopped
and quarantined in real-time to be reviewed by authorized reviewers. As
payments continue to diversify across multiple channels (e.g. wires, ACH,
checks, B2P, blockchain) and become more real-time, organizations cannot rely
on treasury staff scanning every payment in real-time; nor can they expect
their banks to be the last line of defense. More sophisticated solutions
including robotic process automation, should be leveraged to provide the best
possible protection. Fortunately, such solutions are available within most
payment hubs. Visibility Many treasury teams struggle with having complete
transparency into all outgoing payments before they happen. This issue
magnifies as organizations also adopt new request for payment strategies to
improve collections. Treasury isn’t learning about payment activity early
enough to make effective cash and working capital decisions. Payment hubs,
through the consolidation of all payment activity, can provide that
visibility to treasury so they can be certain about what payments need to be
funded. With this added level of precision, working capital can be reduced
and a greater percentage of total cash reserves can be deployed to meet
organizational KPIs. In many cases, this may directly affect the CFO and
Treasurer’s bonus attainment. Cost Not lost in the myriad of benefits is the
fact that payment hubs reduce the cost of managing payments. There are
several different ways:
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* As the Status of LIBOR Changes, Many Finance Teams Worry About Unpreparedness
The London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) is poised to lose its status as the
global benchmark interest rate at the beginning of 2022. In a little over a
month, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will no longer compel banks
to submit LIBOR quotes. Thereafter, financial institutions will migrate to
risk free rates (RFRs). Unfortunately,...
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* 3 Keys for Treasury Success in Asia
Recently, I had the pleasure of learning more about corporate treasury in
Asia during visits to our local offices; meetings with clients in Hong Kong,
Malaysia, and Singapore; and by attending several treasury conferences. It
should be no surprise that corporate treasury is becoming more sophisticated
across Asia as firms continue to demand “best of the best” best practices and
scalable, easy to use technology. What I found most interesting about
treasury in Asia was: Chinese firms are poised to expand internationally –
From a treasury perspective, this interest in growing beyond China has
heightened interest in treasury technology that delivers onshore/offshore
visibility into cash and currency exposures alongside the need to establish
more complex treasury structures such as cash pooling to support
onshore/offshore sweeps. Chinese firms are continuing to explore establishing
regional treasury centers in Hong Kong or Singapore to align with RMB
clearing locations. This is an opportunity where treasury best practices are
seen as a significant asset by hiring firms. Automation is not the only goal
of treasury technology – Asian-based companies are embracing financial and
treasury technology, yet are building ROI models and business justification
on variables other than just automation and productivity. With costs of FTEs
often much lower than we see in Europe or North America, automation is not
the solution to increased workloads. As a result, the driver for technology
is implementation of best practices, decision optimization (e.g. improved
hedging), and support for treasury transformation. Regional treasury centers
are becoming more involved in strategic decision making – Organizations that
embrace the opportunity to allow Asian treasury teams to manage key functions
(e.g. developing pooling structures or designing hedging programs) are able
to deliver more strategic value and drive greater bottom line value than
those that try to manage all treasury functions from afar. The knowledge and
experience being hired into regional treasury centers, especially in
Singapore and Hong Kong, rivals and even exceeds treasury talent in other
parts of the world. This expertise is obviously in addition to local
knowledge and the ability to work face to face with offshore internal and
external partners to treasury. Additional reading: Overcoming Cash Forecastng
Challenges: Best Practice Tips for Treasurers Treasury organizations that are
already well established in the region already know where the right locations
are; how to secure experienced staff; and the importance of adopting
world-class treasury technology to ensure global visibility over cash,
exposures and financial controls. For organizations considering a greater
investment in Asia, it is important to: Choose locations that can offer
support in English and local languages, with workable time zones that can
also overlap with the head office at some point during the day. Locations
that have financial proximity to China (e.g. Hong Kong, Singapore, Macau) are
critical so your offshore treasury center is a financial gateway into China
itself. Secure experienced staff who not only have global treasury
experience, but know how to balance this with local expertise. The right
people need to be motivated and trained well, earning new opportunities to
leverage their growing treasury knowledge Have the right treasury technology
in place that supports global requirements, but also local needs (which could
be preferred language, local regulations, specific payment or bank account
controls, or dashboards that highlight local treasury KPIs). The reduced
footprint offered by the cloud helps, as does the ability for a cloud TMS to
enable all treasury offices to support each other to deliver a complete
business continuity plan. Asia is an opportunity and those treasury teams
that embrace it will be on the road to global treasury success.
Read more
* Currency Volatility Reaches New Heights of Uncertainty
The Q2 2021 Kyriba Currency Impact Report showed a strong tailwind for many
US corporates driven in large part by the strengthening of two main trading
currencies for many US corporates, EUR and GBP. Both currencies strengthened
steadily through Q2 2021, but currencies have since retreated through Q3
2021, setting up a return of relatively...
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* The Myths of Fraud Detection: Truths of Payment Fraud for Government Agencies
Fraud losses are complicated. In addition to potential loss of millions of
taxpayer funds, government agencies are also facing negative press,
reputational damage, potential impact to credit ratings, and decreased public
confidence, making this a silent crisis for Treasurers. At Kyriba we’ve had
the opportunity to speak with hundreds of government treasury, finance, and
IT...
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* ERP Rationalization: Key Factors for Project Success
ERP migration projects are expensive, complicated and resource intensive, but
they run more smoothly when Treasury is involved. Bank connections need to be
rebuilt during an ERP migration. So, for Treasury, it’s a good time to
determine if ERP rationalization or migrating banking relationships is the
better choice for your organization. If using a traditional...
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* Optimizing Working Capital with SCF and Dynamic Discounting
With supply chain disruptions threatening to torpedo the global economic
recovery, companies would be wise to take a closer look at solutions that can
help optimize working capital. Historically low interest rates and ongoing
trade disputes have done nothing to reduce volatility in the market or offer
clarity for buyers and their suppliers about their...
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* APIs: Greater Payments Connectivity & Functionality
The push for superior ERP-to-bank connectivity solutions continues to
accelerate as CFOs prepare for the post-pandemic era. Gartner projects that
corporate enterprise software spend will top $516 billion this year and $571
billion next year. With application programming interfaces (APIs), CFOs and
CIOs can standardize bank and payments connectivity, while opening the door
to even...
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* How to Speed Up Free Cash Flow in a Sluggish Economy
Organizations large and small are impacted by what has been reported as a
sluggish global economy, and for many industries this deceleration in growth
has investors concerned about their rate of expansion. The combination of
weak to moderate growth and demanding investors raises the immediate need for
action by global leaders, and puts supply chain at the forefront of the
conversation. When demand for products goes down, and working capital is tied
up in inventory, investors know they can expect a lower rate of return. What
do companies do to maintain stable growth and mitigate potential investor
aggravation or worse their lack of confidence? In this scenario, the supply
chain is among the first to be tested, adjusted and possibly disrupted for
the better or worse of the company. Savvy finance leaders are looking to
manage these seasonal and market driven fluctuations with supply chain
finance (SCF) programs, and are seeking the right information to set up and
implement SCF to help stabilize their operations. Where there is a question
of free cash flow (or the absence of cash), there will be a CFO and treasury
group developing a way to optimize working capital. In my last blog, I
mentioned one of three pitfalls to a successful supply chain financing
initiative is the misalignment of corporate goals and individual incentives.
The key challenge here is getting the right people at the table to align
goals and teams. Without that cross-departmental commitment and
participation, the potential bottom line impact from a supply chain finance
program will remain an unrealized opportunity. Additional reading: Making the
business case for supply chain finance So, who are the mandatory participants
required to successfully launch a supply chain finance program and what is
their role? Both the CFO and Treasurer should be the strategic champions of a
SCF initiative, as they are mandated to nurture and protect the lifeblood of
the organization, its cash position: either by reducing excess cash in
exchange of greater yield; or creating free cash flow by extending DPO. It
should be obvious that the CEO’s stamp of legitimacy demonstrates the level
of priority a SCF initiative has within the organization as a whole. While
strategic leadership at the top is a common goal, it’s not one that is easily
attainable unless treasury and procurement are working together to build a
business case that supports the initiative. The Chief Procurement Officer
should play an active part both on internal and external matters. Internally,
the CPO should guarantee that the procurement organization’s compensation
plan is aligned with the working capital increase objectives and stress the
importance of this initiative to his teams. The incentives should be
different if the company engages in a Dynamic Discounting exercise or in an
extension of DPO. Externally, when possible, the CPO should be involved in
the discussions with the most strategic suppliers, and in so doing, set the
tone for negotiations through the procurement team. Another department which
will be directly impacted by the implementation of a Supply Chain Finance
program is the Accounts Payables department. The use of an external platform
will have consequences on existing processes - simplifying some, forbidding
others and in general forcing a greater rigor on the approval and payment
processes as a whole. The AP team will also need to be tactically involved
during the functional and testing workshops to ensure the company ERP system
and the SCF payment platform are well integrated. As a consequence, it is
crucial for the AP Director to be involved early in the process, as the SCF
initiative will have a non-negligible impact on its team – namely in terms of
time. Finally, as for any technical related activities, the Director needs to
be consulted to secure the needed technical resources as well as avoid
running into a schedule freeze period, that would result in delaying the
whole implementation. It is sometimes difficult to ensure all the above
mentioned leaders are actively involved in the SCF initiative. Here are two
reasons why the C-level should feel involved in an SCF initiative:
Read more
* CEOs: Point-blank News from UK Regulators on Trade Finance Arrangements
As has been well publicised, on the 9th September all CEOs of trade finance
firms received a letter from the UK’s two banking regulators, setting out the
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA)
expectations for firms undertaking trade finance activity. The letter makes
reference to several high-profile failures of commodity and trade...
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* Securing High, Risk-Free Returns with Dynamic Discounting
As treasury's remit becomes increasingly more focused on value creation, the
need for organizations to generate higher, risk-free returns is critical.
Dynamic discounting could be a key weapon in treasurers' arsenals.
Read more
* Readying Treasury for Hybrid Work
To say that the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way treasury departments and
companies operate is a massive understatement. Treasury, a function already
accustomed to ‘doing more with less,’ began operating remotely—often with a
skeleton crew as companies were forced to reduce headcount. Once mass
distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine began, companies quickly began to
strategize...
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* Real-Time Payments and Real-Time Fraud
As real-time, instant payments technologies continue to gain momentum, more
concerns are being raised about the increased risk of payments fraud.
Traditional payment mechanisms settle in the same day or over a period of
days after payments are sent from treasury or ERP platforms. However, with
real-time payments that clear instantaneously, once the payment is...
Read more
* The Pros of Multi-Bank Data Integration Solutions
Companies used to offer working capital or (supply chain finance) programs to
their suppliers primarily in conjunction with a single bank. That was great
for the bank, of course, because it allowed the bank to set the terms of the
working capital program, to tie the company into a close, long-term
relationship, and to gain maximum benefit from lending money to the company’s
suppliers while only taking on the credit risk associated with the company
itself. The company in question would, of course, usually be a multinational,
large or mid-market business with a good credit rating. Banks’ historic
involvement with working capital means that even today – when there are
numerous bank-agnostic solutions available on the market – many corporates
talk to their bank about their working capital requirements first of all and
might even end up being sold a solution without properly exploring other
options. The risk with this approach is that the bank’s solution may not
actually be the best overall solution for the corporate, taking into account
factors such as credit availability, fees, funding costs and onboarding
requirements, and also whether the organization has any specific needs, such
as wanting to provide finance to suppliers in a country where the bank has no
presence. Related reading: How to Increase Financial Performance with Working
Capital Programs Related reading: How Working Capital Solutions Can
Accelerate Free Cash Flow – and Boost Your Capital Investment by 48 Percent
Related reading: Busting Payable Finance Myths in the Digital Age
Furthermore, when a corporate sets up a working capital program with a single
bank, it is effectively giving a large amount of business to the bank, which
will certainly put it in that bank’s good books, but could be harmful to its
relationships with other banks and increase its exposure to counterparty
risk. Since there is a lot of effort involved with setting up a working
capital platform initially, it can be difficult for a company to move to
another solution if the bank’s service standards slip, it increases interest
rates for suppliers at a steep rate, or it allows the technology underpinning
the platform to become antiquated. Another consideration is that a bank’s
working capital platform will not necessarily integrate with the company’s
forecasting and payments solutions, leading to duplication of effort when it
comes to reporting and tracking transactions. Meanwhile, the invoices that
will be financed under the working capital program will be stored in the
company’s enterprise resource planning systems, not its platform, which
reduces the efficiency of the payments process. Finally, when onboarding
suppliers to its working capital platform, the company will inevitably have
to follow the bank’s procedures, which are likely to be more onerous than its
own procedures would be. When a company is weighing up whether to use a
bank-hosted program or to invest in its own platform, it should take the
following selection criteria into account:
Read more
* Proactively Counter Fraud and Automate Your Payments Controls
Fraud and internal controls violations significantly impact the operational
and financial health of organizations of all sizes and scale. CFOs must
address these threats while under the constant barrage of ever-increasing and
more technologically savvy criminals. Most of the controls at the disposal of
CFOs and treasurers are comprised of largely manual and detective
processes...
Read more
* Re-examining Your Strategic Treasury Management System
If you had the opportunity to reimagine your treasury strategy and overall
treasury operation, what would you do? This opportunity was given to our
treasury team at Health Care Service Corp (HCSC), a large health insurer
operating across the U.S. under the brand names of Blue Cross Blue Shield of
Illinois, Texas and more. As...
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* FX Predictions, Opportunities and Pitfalls in an Expanding Global Market
The July 2021 Kyriba Currency Impact Report clearly illustrates that
corporate FX risk managers still have a challenging set of market conditions
to navigate as the US dollar found footing against other currencies due to
aggressive pandemic mitigation efforts and general business activity surging
back to life. The combination of a resilient USD and increased...
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* Cloudiness in Libor Transition?
With less than 6 months to go until the transition from Libor to new
overnight risk-free rates, uncertainty lingers as to which rate indices are
to be adopted in countries such as the United States. While regulators remain
steadfast in their recommendations that risk free rates such as SOFR in the
United States and SONIA...
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* Leveraging Surplus Cash to Minimize Supply Chain Risk
One of the biggest risks to an organization’s supply chain is a vendor’s
liquidity issues making it unable to deliver products on time. What practical
steps can organizations take to minimize this risk?
Read more
* MEMO to IT: Multi-Cloud Environments for Your Banking & Payments
The singular, consolidated cloud-based systems architecture for ERPs and the
needed connectivity between those systems and partner banks is being
redefined. Prior to the evolution and migration of ERPs and early treasury
management systems to cloud-based hosted models, the shift from prevailing
client-server architecture often led the consolidation of as many modules and
processes into...
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* Leveraging an Effective Working Capital Strategy to Reduce the Cash
Conversion Cycle
The treasurer’s strategic value to the organization is evolving toward
efficiently managing working capital, to meet the growing liquidity needs of
their expanding companies.
Read more
* Why CFOs Should Adopt SCF to Meet Cash Requirements
CFOs today depend on the strategic function of treasurers than in previous
years. One reason why treasurers’ role has become more aligned to the CFO’s
agenda is a direct result of the treasurer’s ability to unlock value within
the organization at a low cost, and drive strategic objectives of the CFO,
such as offering a more comprehensive view of cash and payments, acquisition
strategies and capital allocation strategies. In fact, securing low-cost
financing is arguably the corporate treasurer’s primary objective. Among
their many responsibilities, ensuring adequate access to liquidity at the
appropriate level of risk and cost is imperative for the success of their
role. Luckily for treasurers, there is no shortage of banks eager to discuss
various funding arrangements, again based on the probable risk and cost of
the FI (financial investment). These funding arrangements will most certainly
come at a cost to the treasurer, and drawing down to access the needed
liquidity will likely be treated as debt on the balance sheet. Consider SCF
(supply chain finance) as a dynamic solution to remedy the issue. While not a
new strategy, SCF has yet to fully penetrate the corporate market. In a
recent survey conducted by Kyriba and Spend Matters, only 10 percent of
polled treasury professionals cited an active SCF program at their
organization. Therein lies a tremendous opportunity for treasurers and CFOs
to gain a strategic market advantage by adopting this proven, liquidity
solution. Additional Reading: The Most Important Value That a Truly
‘Strategic’ CFO Can Deliver What is a SCF program? At its core, SCF, or more
specifically reverse factoring, is an arrangement where the corporation
(buyer) enlists with banks to make payments on their behalf to suppliers.
Reverse factoring provides suppliers with early payment of approved invoices,
but instead introduces a third party to deliver invoice financing. Reverse
factoring offers an attractive alternative to factoring programs for sellers,
by offering a lower discount and more flexible terms than they would achieve
on their own. For the buyer, reverse factoring offers an opportunity to
extend DPO (Days Payable Outstanding), improving working capital while not
hurting the liquidity of key suppliers. As an alternative to reverse
factoring, dynamic discounting programs are best suited for corporates that
have excess cash and liquidity. This type of program is designed for
organizations looking for an alternative to low yielding short-term
investments as these programs typically yield in excess of 10 percent APR.
With dynamic discounting, buyers pay their suppliers early using their own
funds. The early payment discount is calculated based on a pre-agreed
financing rate and the number of days remaining until payment was originally
due. The earlier the payment is made, the greater the discount realized for
the buyer. So how does a SCF program help drive a broader capital allocation
strategy? SCF programs, especially those housed within treasury technology
that also leverage cash management workflows, can greatly improve free cash
flow – interest free – via a term extension where reverse factoring is
introduced to soften the impact to relevant suppliers. Treasurers are better
positioned to satisfy committed share buyback, dividend, acquisition or
related milestone payments, or debt buyback targets given the influx of cash
flow following reverse factoring program deployment. Thus, as the CFO pushes
out DPO, the liquidity position improves at no financial cost and without
additional debt on the balance sheet. This brings us to an important point:
SCF alone is not the strategy, but rather the strategy of the corporation is
to improve liquidity, and SCF is the tool to execute against this strategy.
Why SCF programs work It is key to understand that the buyer will have a
superior credit rating than their suppliers. A survey conducted by JPMorgan
found that 65 percent of corporate suppliers are sub-investment grade. In
addition, many suppliers face uncertainty as to when they will be paid from
their customers, which puts a tremendous strain on these smaller companies
and their ability to manage operations. Given these financial and operational
factors, suppliers are eager to obtain low cost, predictable financing, and
therefore we have a SCF market.
Read more
* CFOs and the Importance of Relationship Banking
CFOs are the custodians of financial growth for enterprise business. A key
part of that role is to build and foster mutually beneficial relationships
with banks and funding partners, otherwise known as relationship banking. But
what is relationship banking and how does it work? Since banking
relationships are built upon the provision of services; whether...
Read more
* Accelerating ERP SAP Certification Projects with Certified Integrations
ERP SAP Certification of Kyriba Payments Network Now, more than ever,
organizations using SAP have additional reason for confidence in reaping
benefits and value from Kyriba in tandem with their SAP ECC or S/4HANA ERP
platforms. As a newly certified SAP partner, Kyriba continues to expand the
value delivered to SAP customers through accelerating ERP,...
Read more
* Currency Volatility is Down: How Smart FX Teams are Preparing for the Next
Wave
The Kyriba Currency Impact Report reveals largely what was anticipated by
risk managers and treasury leaders, as overall currency volatility returned
to pre-pandemic levels and the US Dollar weakened against most major market
currencies during the last quarter of 2020. The US currency weakened in Q4
due to a variety of factors, but the most...
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* Greensill’s SCF Clouds Can Have a Silver Lining
Warren Buffett once said “Risk comes from not knowing what you are doing,”
but he might just as well have added: “or not knowing who you are doing it
with.” Recent events in Supply Chain Finance (SCF) have brought the
importance of that observation into sharp focus, as the demise of one of the
leading...
Read more
* LIBOR Transition — the Train has Left the Station. Are you Onboard?
What is happening? For over 40 years financial institutions have used LIBOR
and Other Interbank Offering Rates (IBOR) as a reference rate for pricing
approximiately $400 Trillion in loans and derivative instruments. With the
2008 financial crisis, bank credit worthiness began being priced into the
interbank lending market. This, coupled with a susceptibility to
manipulation...
Read more
* Virtual Event Recap: Kyriba Global Summit
We’re still enjoying the buzz and activity from the Kyriba Global Summit.
While we focused on optimizing the viewer experience by keeping all sessions
short and enabling customizable three-hour agendas, we actually produced 62
sessions in 5 languages, reflecting the insights from executives at 25
corporations, all delivered to an audience of nearly 4,000 registered...
Read more
* A Preview of
Kyriba Global Summit
Following on from my blog on why I joined Kyriba, I am proud to preview the
Kyriba Global Summit, a three-and-a-half-hour virtual event in multiple
languages that takes place on November 10, 11 and 17. The Kyriba Global
Summit features stories from forward-thinking finance, treasury, and IT
executives, who’ve found innovative new ways to drive...
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* Infographic: 6 Key Reasons Why Kyriba Connectivity Network is a Better
Solution for ERP Bank Connectivity
The problems associated with spreadsheets are well documented, yet many
treasury professionals continue to overlook these shortcomings when it comes
to running their overall treasury operations.
Read more
* 3 Essential Criteria for Getting Executive Approval on Finance Transformation
Projects
The economic downturn brought on by COVID-19 has transformed the way CFOs and
CIOs are prioritizing operational expenses. While a strong 2019 put
multinational corporations in a position to invest in new finance
transformation projects to accelerate growth, recent market and business
performance have finance teams reevaluating their current and future
investments. Board rooms buzzing...
Read more
* SAP S/4HANA: How to Make a Successful Transformation
SAP S/4HANA is SAP’s next-generation enterprise resource planning (ERP)
system for large businesses. Many organizations that are currently using the
SAP business suite are looking to upgrade to the new solution, often as part
of a wider digital transformation. As a digital core, S/4HANA is the link
between the key business functions within an organization,...
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* COVID-19, Currencies and Clarity: A $12B Challenge for CFOs
Is it time for investors to demand more clarity from corporate finance
chiefs? The July 2020 Currency Impact Report from Kyriba reveals a startling
spike in foreign exchange (FX) impacts, with quantified negative currency
impacts above $12 billion for North American and European multinational
corporations in Q1 2020. Despite the beginning of an economic slowdown,...
Read more
* IT’s Most Common ERP Bank Connectivity Challenges
Bank connectivity is a major issue for companies and often turns out to be
far more challenging than IT departments realize when they engage in a bank
connectivity project. This blog lists a few common challenges IT leaders face
and how they can be tackled with the use of Connectivity-as-a-Service.
Challenge #1: Homemade Bank Connectivity...
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* How Bank Connectivity Can Throw a Wrench in Your ERP Migration
Bank integrations are one of the riskiest components of ERP migration
projects. Connecting treasury and payment systems to banks is a daunting task
for organizations, especially when internal IT resources are stretched thin
at the start of a cloud ERP integration project. ERP bank integration
complexity emerges as a critical challenge for organizations working to...
Read more
* Driving Payments Security and Efficiency During COVID-19: Best practices for
Finance and Treasury Teams
Cybercriminals and fraudsters are taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic
to attempt increasingly sophisticated phishing attacks, payment frauds and
scams. In late March, IT security company Barracuda Networks reported a 667
percent increase in phishing emails in less than a month. Sadly,
cybercriminals and fraudsters are preying on the general environment of fear
and uncertainty...
Read more
* COVID-19: Adjusting to Currency Volatility
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought numerous challenges for companies around
the world – and for many organizations, the impact on currency volatility is
among the most significant. As leading currency market experts explained
during a recent Kyriba webinar, large companies will be looking closely at
their portfolio of exposures in this market. Given the current...
Read more
* COVID-19: A Wake-up Call to Better Manage Working Capital and De-risk Supply
Chains
Much has already been said and written about COVID-19 and its impact on the
world. Despite multiple life-stimulating attempts by Feds and governments
worldwide, the world is on the verge of falling into a deep recession. Stock
markets are barely recovering from the worst crash since the infamous “Black
Monday” of 1987. The global pandemic...
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* COVID-19 Crisis Fuels Treasury Digital Transformation
What we have learned in the past few months since the pandemic began is that
some CFOs – and their companies – were unprepared to weather the resulting
economic shock brought on by COVID-19. And, in most cases, it left treasury
and finance professionals scrambling to support or manage needed analysis on
liquidity, financial risk...
Read more
* Enterprise Liquidity Management: The Prescription for Treasury’s Revival in a
Pandemic
The magnitude and reach of the COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented, with
everything coming to a grinding halt. Heightened uncertainty has become the
norm and one could argue that the scope of the disruption is greater than
anything we have experienced before. No one can escape the reality of the
situation — with COVID-19, everyone is...
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* A Treasurer Reflects on Surviving a Crisis
Huddle up treasurers, you are once again the CFO’s most valuable asset. In
times of volatility and crisis, your role becomes even more critical and
valuable to the organization, but this isn’t the first time we’ve experienced
something like this. Through 9/11, the 2003 Northeast blackout and the 2008
financial crisis you were able to...
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* Managing Risk in Crisis
A lot has changed in the days since we published the “Treasury’s Opportunity
During a Crisis” blog on Thursday, March 11th. I received a lot of positive
and insightful feedback from the last blog, where we talked about how
treasury teams can perfect business continuity plans, review how effectively
they are actively managing their liquidity...
Read more
* Treasury’s Opportunity During a Crisis
The COVID-19 pandemic has already caused panic in financial markets, with
anyone’s guess how much more damage is yet to come. In the face of crisis,
corporate treasury teams are still expected to calm the storm within an
organization, especially in an environment that features as much concern,
panic and uncertainty as we are seeing...
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* Treasury Best Practices for Business Continuity
Kyriba recently held a webinar attended by more than 500 treasury
professionals that focused on the critical importance of business continuity
planning (BCP) for treasury. One quarter of the audience admitted to not
having such a plan in place, while nearly 30 percent said they had a plan in
place, but had never tested it, according to webinar polling. Needless to
say, audience members were eagerly looking for best practices to make their
continuity planning more complete. We also learned from the audience that
treasury typically manages their own planning and those plans haven’t changed
much despite the movement to the cloud. The cloud offers a very different way
of thinking about BCP. The best feature of the cloud is that it takes the
entire software solution (and data) off your premises. Data centers used by a
cloud treasury provider such as Kyriba reside in different global locations
than the company offices, so your treasury system still operates without
interruption even if the company offices are disabled or inaccessible.
Further, cloud treasury providers maintain their own business continuity
plans to ensure the treasury software-as-a-service is always running. They
build in redundancy of operations, replicating the entire environment so that
all the data, the user interfaces, the bank connections, and the security
protocols are all available in the “backup location.” If done well, a
treasury team should not be able to tell if they are in the primary
environment or in the backup. It is especially important that the security is
identical in business continuity mode because if that were not the case, then
fraudsters would simply focus their hacking efforts on putting platforms into
a backup state where systems could be more easily exploited. The other
characteristic of cloud-based treasury systems is that those systems are
globally accessible via the cloud. Because of this, the same workflows can be
run anywhere in the world by authorized users. If set up correctly, the
treasury system will feature standardized templates, processes, and visual
workflow maps so that temporary and new employees can be on boarded quickly.
This ensures that treasury is run the same way no matter who is performing
the tasks. This is especially important for business continuity because part
of an effective BCP program is ensuring smooth operations even when treasury
personnel in the main office are not available. Whether their location loses
power or internet access – or the treasury team’s number came up in Powerball
lottery – the reality is that the need for treasury exists whether that team
is available or not. The right treasury technology deployment will have
standardized workflows that can be managed by anyone that is authorized from
anywhere the company operates. And it will be do so because of the cloud
accessibility combined with the treasury system being a single repository for
all data, documentation and visual workflows. Not All Clouds are Built the
Same Treasury systems need to be mobile. This is more than just being
available in the cloud, however. Treasury systems need to work whether the
user is at home (possibly on a really old desktop with an old internet
browser), via a tablet or smartphone, and with low speed web connections
(e.g. having to use your iPhone as a hotspot for your laptop to get online).
If a treasury system cannot support multiple scenarios, it isn’t going to be
a reliable component in your treasury’s business continuity plans. And,
unfortunately, there are still treasury systems that are not device
independent. Make sure that your business requirements also include testing
just how mobile your treasury system actually is. Security is Really, Really
Important While we briefly discussed the importance of a vendor maintaining
security protocols in both production and BCP mode, the treasury team must
have the same consistency in their application security. Presuming treasury’s
choice of technology aligned with the organization’s information security
policies, there will be certain authentication protocols used to log into the
treasury system. They may include multi-factor authentication using hard or
soft tokens, IP Filtering, virtual keyboards, and/or single sign on (SSO).
Read more
* The Evolution of FX and the Role of e-Currencies
The last 50 years have brought several major changes to the world’s currency
landscape. In 1971, the Bretton Woods System was terminated, meaning that the
value of the U.S. dollar was no longer pegged to gold. Other milestones
included the merging of the Deutschmark and the East German mark following
the 1989 collapse of the...
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* Lessons Learned to Unlock Free Cash Flow
Despite challenges in the local business environment, companies’ cash to cash
cycle (C2C) has slightly improved from 55 days in 2017 to 54 days in 2018,
according to a recent Malaysia report produced by PwC for Southeast Asia, the
results of which are representative of opportunities seen by large companies
in North America and Europe. Within that...
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* Expanding into New Countries? Use the Active Liquidity Network
If you’ve ever been responsible for establishing financial processes in a new
country, you know just how challenging it can be. Setting up banking
relationships, dealing with new currencies, accommodating different privacy
or other legal obligations…the list goes on. Every task and every step along
the way seems to take longer than it otherwise would...
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* The Forgotten Key to Fully Benefitting from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
On Jan. 1, 2018, one of the most important regulations of the last 30 years
took effect for U.S. companies – the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017.
Under the TCJA, U.S. firms now find themselves in a more territorial tax
system, as compared to a worldwide tax system. And they were offered...
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* Payment Processing and What You Need to Know about Payment Hub Providers
Today’s payments landscape brings numerous challenges for multinational
organizations. Payment hubs – often implemented in conjunction with an ERP
cloud migration project – are a powerful tool that can help companies
overcome these issues. So, what are the benefits of payment hubs? And what
should you bear in mind when embarking on an implementation project?...
Read more
* Building Financial Resilience in the Face of Tariffs
Tariffs and trade wars are nothing new. What is new, particularly in the
current political environment, is how quickly a change in policy can affect
the balance of trade. Such abrupt changes can put CFOs and treasurers on edge
— and leave them scrambling to adjust everything from banking relationships
to hedging, to supply chain...
Read more
* Budgeting for 2020: The Case for a Treasury Management System
Budgeting season is upon us – and that means it’s time to take a critical
look at your existing technology and consider what investments may be needed
to support treasury in the new year. For corporate treasurers, the importance
of best-in-class technology has never been clearer. While global markets
continue to experience volatility, today’s time-strapped...
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* Unlocking Trapped Liquidity for Cash Visibility
Editor’s Note: Kyriba hosted a webinar aiming to support CFOs and treasurers’
treasury management initiatives in a volatile and fast-moving financial
marketplace with inadequate and misaligned resources. This thought leadership
presentation was designed to help them unlock value at their organization and
to add a layer of market research and best-practices. IDC, a leading data...
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* 5 Reasons to Budget for FX Risk Management in 2020
It’s the time of year when companies are looking to determine their
technology needs for the coming 12 months. And where foreign exchange (FX)
risk is concerned, there are plenty of reasons to be weary when it comes to
currency volatility and how it impacts earnings, giving treasury teams much
to consider when thinking about...
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* Global Payments Trends 2019
The landscape of global payments is evolving as concerns of fraud and the
desire for more efficient processes increase. To give insight into how
treasury organizations are thinking about the future of payments, Kyriba
commissioned Strategic Treasurer to survey more than 300 organizations to
gain a more comprehensive view of the global payments environment. The
below...
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* Finding Technology to Fit Your Expanding Global Treasury Operations
When entering the international market, it is paramount to have a treasury
management system (TMS) and growth agenda designed to support the complexity
of your global business while leveraging automation. A TMS can evolve to
accommodate and expedite your company’s global expansion. By enhancing global
treasury operations, you can simplify bank connectivity, improve payment
security,...
Read more
* Kyriba on Fox: Trade War Winners and Losers
Editor’s Note: “Mornings with Maria” on Fox Business Network interviewed
Wolfgang Koester, Senior Strategist for Kyriba, to learn more about the
winners and losers of the US-China trade war. Koester was joined by Benchmark
managing partner and tech investor expert Kevin Kelley, and Moody’s capital
market chief economist John Lonski, along with Fox anchor Dagen McDowell.
Click here to watch the interview on Fox: China trade war: Who will be the
winners and losers? Key takeaway for global corporations, according to
Koester: The trade war is driving market volatility and supply chain
disruption that will result in market winners and losers. Companies need
access to accurate, complete and timely data to gain full visibility into
their exposures. With that visibility, they can more clearly find
opportunities for organic exposure elimination and be able to increase their
hedge ratios to protect themselves from impacts to earnings. China's currency
manipulation will impact other currencies and any exposures a company has to
those other currencies that they're not managing will likely lead to EPS and
EBITDA impacts. Bottom line: if you have insight into your exposures and can
properly manage the associated risk, then the trade war and CNY devaluation
shouldn't cause unnecessary FX impacts. It may still cause supply chain
disruptions, but that FX headwind piece will be removed. What does the
trade war mean for future investors in the market? Below is a summary of
concerns and analysis based on the recent sell-off of U.S. Futures: Download
the Kyriba Currency Impact Report for more information about the $23B in
reported 2019 Q1 currency impacts to N. American corporate earnings.
Benchmark Managing Partner Kevin Kelley said he’s “worried about mutually
assured disruption,” and asked Wolfgang Koester, chief evangelist for Kyriba,
what investors should do to protect their portfolios. "Trade negotiations
with China will continue to create market volatility, where we'll see winners
and losers," Koester said. "Investors will want to pick winners. Companies
that adjust their supply chain and diversify their resources may have better
outcomes," said Koester. Moody’s Capital Markets Chief Economist John
Lonski said, “if China allows its currency to fall further, this implies
further depreciation for emerging market currencies. Am I correct to assume
that this is going to make it worse for countries repaying for dollar
denominated debt?” "Yes, we have to be careful about the 'race to the bottom'
of currency devaluations. We saw this in 2015. At the end of the day,
investors have to look at companies who know how to manage their risk
properly and protect shareholder value," said Koester. Fox Anchor Dagen
McDowell said, “for companies like Tesla, a highly indebted company, how does
currency depreciation impact the way they pay their debt back? We just don't
know yet how this plays out." McDowell also confirmed from a GM statement
made earlier in the week that GM has $18B in cash and can pay dividends to
investors for two years. This is a sign that GM is communicating to their
shareholders that they are prepared for a down-turn. For support in managing
currency risk, check out the new ebook from Kyriba: Automating Corporate FX.
About Mornings with Maria "Mornings with Maria" features anchor Maria
Bartiromo alongside a roundtable of rotating industry titans and economic
experts discussing the major news and themes driving the business day and the
market moves.
Read more
* Creating a Successful Cash Forecast
The number one treasury issue that causes CFOs the most potential concern is
unreliable cash visibility and forecasts, according to a Nov. 2018 CFO
Publishing survey, “3 Key Areas Where CFOs Say Treasurers Need to be More
Strategic”. Whilst every organisation talks about forecasting more
effectively, but few allocate sufficient people, time, and technology to
build an effective programme. In our latest blog, we discuss what cash
forecasting is and why it's so important to todays CFOs and treasurers.
Read more
* The Changing Landscape of the UK New Payments Architecture
With key UK payments updates coming in the next few years - including changes
to the current government payment infrastructure, Kyriba recently had the
pleasure of hosting a webinar with Pay.UK to discuss this initiative.
Read more
* Benchmarking Your FX Program
With the continued increase in currency impacts to corporate revenues, it is
exceedingly important for companies to continually benchmark their FX
management programs. Learn how you can use the quarterly Kyriba Currency
Impact Report as a tool to help you understand how your company compares to
the rest of the marketplace.
Read more
* DTOne Employs a Kyriba Solution to Underpin and Automate Processes
Headquartered in Singapore, DTOne operates a global network for mobile top-up
solutions and innovative mobile rewards. The company is able to help over
five billion people across emerging economies with greater access to digital
communications, stay better connected and as a result, participate more
actively in the global economy. DT One's global network interconnects more
than 550 mobile operators across 160 countries and delivers smarter
data-driven mobile solutions to ensure that no one is left unconnected.
Historically, DTOne’s treasury function was fully dependent on manual
processes which led to operational inefficiencies and error-prone data. Using
spreadsheets for daily cash management and forecasting produced limited
visibility of DTOne’s daily cash position, so CFO Dan Gardner took the
decision to deploy a technology solution to underpin and automate these
processes. In conducting an extensive market review, Dan sought a solution to
enhance cash visibility and control of its large and liquid balance sheet for
greater cash forecasting confidence. With 40 banking partners and over 150
bank accounts globally, Dan also wanted a solution to accommodate bank
account management and in-house banking capabilities. After evaluating a
number of TMS providers, he selected Kyriba as a modern, flexible and
customisable platform which ticked all the boxes. A cloud-based solution
since inception, Kyriba’s ability to seamlessly and fully integrate with
DTOne’s existing Oracle ERP was also a defined prerequisite. ‘Digital is very
much in our DNA,’ says Dan. ‘We are already very cloud-enabled; every network
operator that we deal with is connected through an API and we have a huge
stream of real-time transactions being pushed through our global network.
Last year we did over 70 million transactions, so not having a cloud-based
treasury solution really wasn’t an option.’ Thanks to Kyriba’s SaaS
(Software-as-a-Service) model, DTOne’s treasury team is now able to access
the company’s consolidated financial reports from anywhere around the world.
Having on-demand accessibility has provided company-wide cash visibility and
full financial control, as well as the ability to create timely and accurate
forecasts to deliver confidence throughout the organisation. Automation and
modernised workflows also afforded the Dan’s team with the opportunity to
undertake greater value-adding activities by boosting productivity and
mitigating exposure to risk and human error. Such scalability has helped
increase the team’s productivity without the need for incremental headcount.
Furthermore, Kyriba’s sophisticated cash management capabilities and SWIFT
integration have exceeded the company’s expectations in terms of centralising
payments processing, bank reconciliation and transaction security.
Streamlining such complicated processes delivers greater efficiency in
controlling DTOne’s vast portfolio of treasury transactions within the Group.
Since implementing Kyriba, DTOne has benefitted from improved cash
forecasting, automated reporting and centralised payments management, driving
a compelling ROI and showcasing the true value of a TMS. The optimisation of
treasury management on a global scale has positioned the treasury team to
perform more strategic activities and unlock greater value for the overall
organisation. Having established cloud-based treasury management and
harnessing Kyriba’s sophisticated insights and analytics, DTOne is in a
strong position to accelerate growth and strengthen business continuity.
Read more
* How to Navigate the Shifting Landscape of Global Trade
As of late, the geopolitical climate has significantly impacted international
trade, making it increasingly difficult for global corporations to do
business. Learn the two main strategies business leaders are taking to
position themselves for growth despite the changing landscape of global
trade.
Read more
* Looking Beyond Objectives: The Importance of Establishing Business Value
For treasury to be seen as a strategic partner to the C-suite, they must look
beyond the objectives set forth by the CFO. See examples of some questions
you should be asking to unlock the value behind your objectives and learn how
the right solution provider can help you further realize and measure that
value.
Read more
* A Tale of Two Companies: Amway & Trek
An example for others in the industry, learn how Amway and Trek Bicycles
overhauled their treasury programs to centralize payments, mitigate fraud and
enhance their overall programs.
Read more
* 5 Treasury Transformation with Kyriba’s CTO
A Q&A with Kyriba Chief Technology Officer, Ivan Batanov, on how SaaS is
changing corporate finance.
Read more
* Geopolitical Uncertainty, Lack of Insight Drive Big Currency Losses
Behind the scenes of what is driving the worst currency impacts to North
American companies in three years.
Read more
* End-to-End Currency Risk Management is Changing the Way Companies Think About
FX Volatility
Currency volatility can lead to unexpected impacts to corporate earnings, but
it doesn't have to.
Read more
* Video: How Kyriba Risk Management Can Help CFOs Better Manage FX Risk
How does Kyriba’s acquisition of FiREapps help CFOs and treasurers battle
mounting foreign exchange losses? In this new video, senior leaders at Kyriba
breakdown the company’s recent acquisition, and talk about the value of
creating the industry’s most robust end-to-end solution for managing FX risk,
including: Why managing FX effectively is such a huge problem, costing
organizations billions each year How the unique combination of FiREapps and
Kyriba changes the game by combining critical pre- and post-trade processes
What one IDC analyst has to say about the acquisition in terms of creating
value for organizations To learn more, Kyriba will host a webinar entitled,
“How Kyriba’s FiREapps Can Help You Control FX Risk,” on April 30. Register
now..
Read more
* Cash Mobilization to Unlock Business Value: A Solution for Liquidity
Management
In today’s challenging economic and geopolitical environment, companies need
cash. They need cash to invest in new companies, cash to innovate and cash to
accelerate growth. The problem is that while businesses often may have cash
balances across the organization, they lack cash flow forecasting and
liquidity structures to efficiently deploy cash where it can be invested
efficiently to generate top line value. In fact, according to the Wall Street
Journal, companies globally have around $1.5 trillion trapped on their
balance sheets, generating little to no interest income, never mind being
unavailable for strategic investment. The challenge for treasurers and CFOs
is to mobilize cash balances - so that the business can operate more
effectively and seize market opportunities as they arise. Related reading:
ebook-Perfecting the Cash Forecast There are three critical steps to enable
treasury teams can effectively mobilize cash: Cash visibility is the starting
point. Many organizations have daily visibility into 80% of their cash,
meaning that large amounts of cash are not frequently tracked. This is a
missed opportunity that can be easily solved through automated bank
connectivity within a treasury management system. Lack of visibility is also
a significant risk, as cash held in other countries is subject to currency
volatility – and may not be worth as much as you thought if left unhedged.
Cash flow forecasting is the second step in cash mobility. CFOs and
treasurers require insight into today’s cash balances but just as importantly
need certainty into the coming weeks and months. Poor forecasting drives two
unfortunate outcomes: Idle cash – because the treasury team cannot be certain
as to what cash will be needed, they tend to leave larger than necessary
compensating balances in accounts. Inefficient deployment – a bad forecast
may mislead treasury into unnecessarily moving cash to fund shortfalls that
ended up being surpluses or, worse, thinking they have excess balances (when
they don’t). A good forecast will not only identify excess cash and funding
requirements, but will also confirm the timing of cash flows so the optimal
cash flow forecasting and liquidity decisions can be made. This supports good
decision making and reduces both liquidity and currency risk. Cash pooling
and in-house banking are the final key steps to optimize cash mobility. Cash
pooling and in-house banking are popular cash management structures to enable
the movement of cash within country and across borders. Many organizations
implement a combination of notional and physical pools to align with tax
initiatives and regulatory compliance. The importance of setting up the right
cash structures is to maximize the ease of moving liquidity while minimizing
the costs and complexity of executing those movements. Here are five ways
CFOs can fuel strategic value when the treasury team is tasked with
optimizing cash management:
Read more
* Why Kyriba Live Treasury & Finance Summit Has Become a Must Attend Event
Sports, music, diversity and finance rarely share the same spotlight, but a
recent treasury and finance summit in Las Vegas has transformed the social
networking and entertainment landscape for March. The Kyriba Live Treasury &
Finance Summit shares the same month as March Madness, SXSW and International
Women’s Day, and is quickly becoming a must attend and socially participate
in conference. More than 700 finance professionals, treasury and fintech
experts and corporate leaders joined-up at the Delano, Mandalay Bay, in Las
Vegas, Nevada for a five-day summit that helped set a new standard for
treasury and finance events. By all accounts the summit was remarkable, and
will be well attended in 2020. Why was the event such a huge success in 2019?
There are so many reasons we have to cover the event highlights in two blogs.
Part one, this blog, showcases Keynote speakers, the infamous “Accelerate”
pool party, Women in Finance, Ecosystem Exposition Hall, news and stories
from the event, and a Facebook photo gallery to help relive the experience.
Part two will illuminate more insights with client and attendee video
interviews, polling data, client and partner awards and more. Inspiring
Keynotes Keynotes from Kyriba CEO Jean-Luc Robert, and futurist and
best-selling author Daniel Burrus, among many other notable thought
leadership roundtables and breakout sessions, set an uplifting tone for the
conference. Treasury and finance leaders are transforming the industry
empowered by innovations in technology. This is not a surprise, according
Robert, “the company started when a CFO client had no way of seeing his cash
holdings in disparate countries, but we had a connectivity solution that gave
him the visibility he needed to operate more effectively.” Check out
the agenda for more details about these sessions and others from a range of
presenting companies. The top three sessions at Kyriba Live were What CFOs
Expect of Treasury; Digital Innovation Roadmap for a Modern-Day CFO; and APIs
- The Future of Bank Connectivity, according to a survey of attendees from a
wide range of industries. Women in Finance Kyriba Live took place in the same
week as International Women's Day (#IWD2019), providing a showcase for some
of the best and brightest women in treasury and finance. They included
Kathryn Powers, global treasurer for World Vision, Jennifer Tomaloff,
international treasury manager, Trek Bicycle Corp., Jennifer Bowerman,
project manager at Amway, Priscila Nagalli, director of treasury and capital
markets at Actualize Consulting, and many others. Notable among the women in
finance were Tomaloff and Bowerman, whose leadership contributed to award
winning achievements for Trek and Amway's treasury teams. These awards will
be the subject of our next blog—stay tuned. The Summit also enjoyed a diverse
cultural audience with the participation of senior leaders from across the
globe, including U.S., Canada, Mexico, Japan, India, U.A.E., and Morocco.
Reportage Industry analysts and media attended Kyriba Live to participate in
the summit and to learn about Kyriba’s company vision, and product roadmap.
It also gave them the opportunity to network with their peers from AFP, IDC,
The Hackett Group, Costco, World Vision, EY, Citi, JPMC, Bank of America,
WeWork and others. Treasury and Finance magazine The Global Treasurer wrote
several stories capturing topical themes from Kyriba Live panel
presentations, including digital transformation, treasury’s role as the
trusted advisor to the CFO, and upskilling to compete in the digital age.
Read more about it here:
Read more
* Four Criteria for True Finance Transformation
Today’s CFOs and treasury executives are leading their organization through
increasingly unpredictable economic headwinds. Against this volatile market
environment, finance executives are required to make faster and more
effective business decisions that protect the organization against loss, as
well as enable growth opportunities. As a result, real-time solutions that
empower finance leaders with superior visibility and intelligence into their
cash and liquidity are becoming increasingly popular. However, many
organizations are not equipped with a solution that truly empowers finance
leaders. Here are four outcomes that CFOs should use to validate and spark
real finance transformation: Productivity enhancements that deliver
competitive advantages over industry peers Real-time visibility, including
business intelligence capabilities Systematic enforcement of internal
controls The ability to advance cross-functional strategic business
partnerships Let’s take a deeper look at why these outcomes are essential to
accelerating growth in a volatile marketplace. Increased Productivity with
Automation Productivity is not just about the time savings through
automation. The objective is to transform your finance team’s output into a
competitive advantage over your industry peers. Automation, ease of
scalability during rapid expansion, standardization across regions and teams
internationally, security protocols to protect against cybercrime and data
security, audit reporting to ease compliance burdens are hallmarks of
productivity. Kyriba has many success stories that demonstrate many of these
benefits. Check out one example from HCSC. Related reading: How HCSC Created
a High-Performance Treasury In addition to client case studies, a Kyriba
business analysis of 217 organizations who use a TMS found significant
performance enhancements, including time and cost savings. The study found
that automation and standardization saved more than 450 hours per month, or
the equivalent of 57 cross-functional workdays per month. Below is a
breakdown of the cross-functional days saved per month, according to the
analysis, conducted by Kyriba’s value engineering team: 25 days for cash
management and forecasting 16 days for cash accounting and reconciliation 11
days for payment related workflows Savings from deploying a TMS according to
The Kyriba Business Value Analysis Study, 2018: $2.5M - The average annual
all-inclusive return from deploying a TMS $126K – The average annual savings
on bank fee analysis fees $107K – The average annual savings on FX
translation $745K – The average annual net interest optimization benefit,
derived from 46% reduction in idle cash The value generated from a TMS
deployment is significant and is easy to demonstrate. Kyriba value engineers
offer a business case analysis and consulting to qualified companies that
demonstrates the savings and benefits a TMS can offer to your company.
Real-Time Visibility As manual processes are streamlined, more time becomes
available for reporting and analysis. For example, Kyriba Business
Intelligence goes beyond traditional management reporting by offering data
visualization and interactive dashboarding to transform financial data into
actionable information. With immediate and dynamic reports, business
intelligence offers visual insights that are not possible with spreadsheets.
Users can get instant insight into strategic questions such as “What risks
are my cash flows exposed to?”, “Has our bank rationalization project met our
bank fee reduction metric?” or “Are my global cash forecasts reliable?”
Unlocking opportunity with real-time analyses enables senior finance leaders
to improve opportunities in any market environment. Systematic Internal
Controls With a TMS, treasury can have a lot of fun with strategic analytics
in support of driving company growth. Locking down and securing cash is
another supporting function that a TMS can help to manage at scale. A TMS can
centralize and automate payments and enhance payments workflows with
real-time fraud screening capabilities to help reduce loss in three ways:
Read more
* Trade Finance Global Names Kyriba as Best Treasury Management Platform
Innovation from banks, technology providers and corporates in the trade and
receivables space has bolstered global trade despite geopolitical volatility.
The 2019 International Trade Finance Awards by Trade Finance Global (TFG), a
leading alternative finance and complex funding solution provider for
international trade, are given to those who have made outstanding
contributions to international trade. Kyriba was honored to be recognized for
its innovation in cloud treasury and finance solutions, including business
intelligence, working capital optimization, payments and more. Leading
organizations who were also recognized by TFG include, Citi, J.P. Morgan,
Bank of America, Maersk and many more. “We are thrilled to be recognized as
the ‘Best Treasury Management Platform’ by Trade Finance Global,” said
Jean-Luc Robert, Chairman and CEO at Kyriba. “We are committed to building
out our industry-leading platform, and expanding the value we bring to our
growing list of customers. In the last year, we invested heavily in Europe,
expanded our leadership teams, and added more new clients than in the past
year.” In fact, 2018 was a record year for growth in Europe, he said.
Kyriba’s cloud treasury and finance offering is a preferred by CFOs and
Financial Directors seeking a single source of truth to help accelerate
growth at their organization. UK based Graff Diamonds uses Kyriba for
payments, Auchan for working capital optimization, and many others trust
Kyriba for innovations that make a positive impact to their bottom line. In
2018, Kyriba developed Lease Accounting for IFRS 16 and Business Intelligence
so financial directors can better understand how to protect and mobilize
their assets to accelerate growth at their organization. The company recently
announced it surpassed $110M in revenue in 2018. The Technology and
Innovation Awards were announced as follows: Innovator in Global Trade – ICC
Banking Commission Best Shipping Company – A. P. Moller – Maersk Best
Treasury Management Platform – Kyriba Best Trade Finance Software Provider –
HPD LendScape Best Trade Technology Company – Export Enterprises Going
forward, building innovative technologies such as APIs that bridge corporates
and banks, or providing working capital solutions to unlock value for banks,
buyers and suppliers will continue to be a force for growth in international
trade. Kyriba congratulates all of the winners of TFG’s International Trade
Finance Awards 2019.
Read more
* Why IT Should Start Digital Transformation Projects in Finance
Information technology leaders, CIOs, CTOs, CISOs and their teams, have an
increasingly heavy burden to launch new technology that drives competitive
advantages at their organization. The demand for improved security,
scalability and efficiency are top priorities for business leaders around the
world. Most companies are going through some type of digital transformation
to meet these demands, but with so many areas in need of an upgrade to their
existing and aging solutions, how do IT teams prioritize projects? Gaining
the most value for the organization starts with Finance. Enabling the team to
protect and grow cash, and accelerate free cash flow should be the primary
consideration for IT teams. Additional reading: 15-Minute Guide to Payment
Hubs This article will point out a couple of areas for IT teams to support
the organization and get some quick and easy wins for their corporate-wide
digital transformation projects such as mission-critical processes related to
AP, AR, accounting and treasury through qualified cloud vendors. 1:
Connectivity as a Service IT teams globally integrate financial applications
for different reasons – for example, consolidated reporting, forecasting, ERP
posting, payment generation, sales statistics and more. These integration
points can become very complex and costly because of all the different
protocols, file formats, firewalls, encryptions and security requirements
that must be satisfied. In addition, once you have these integration points
working, you still have to actively manage and troubleshoot any issues.
Today’s multi-tenant cloud treasury technology is more sophisticated than
ever before and can help to streamline this integration process, as well cut
down on the implementation and maintenance costs. Vendors have libraries of
thousands of prebuilt bank protocols, ERP connections and file formats that
have already been developed and successfully tested with hundreds of other
clients. By leveraging a cloud vendor to own and manage your connectivity, it
takes IT out of the business of building and testing file formats, connection
protocols or having to complying with special encryption processes that most
banks require. The whole connectivity process can be managed and supported by
a qualified vendor, saving hundreds – if not thousands – of IT hours to use
on the other strategic digital transformation projects. Some common examples
where cloud technology can simplify and replace current processes: Payment
file formatting Transmission to and from your banking partners Eliminate
logging into multiple banking portals and exporting reports BAI and MT940
reporting from the banks Automating ERP posting files for accounting APIs to
banks and other data warehouses Aggregating forecasting data 2: Technology
Enhanced Security & Compliance With the amount of fraud and cyber security
cases rising by the year, corporations need to make changes to secure the
transaction lifecycle. As IT teams go through this transformation process,
they can set up themselves up for success – and reduce their workload -- by
using a vendor’s technology and best practices to lock down their security.
Below are some of the most common solutions our clients look to deploy to
enhance their current security and compliance processes.
Read more
* CFO as Chief Growth Officer
To what extent are CFOs embracing the role of ‘Chief Growth Officer’? And
what does this mean for corporate treasurers? A recent webinar with Nilly
Essaides, Senior Research Director at The Hackett Group, and Cheik Daddah,
Global VP of Value Engineering at Kyriba, delved into this topic and explored
the role CFOs play in supporting profitable growth across the organization.
Driving growth CFOs are increasingly positioning themselves as trusted
advisors and proactive growth partners to the CEO and the Board – and this
means being able to provide a 360-degree view of the business. In other
words, as well as having an accurate rear-view image of what happened
yesterday, CFOs also need to play a proactive role in shaping the best path
forward for the organization. Replay the CFO as Chief Growth Officer webinar
According to research by The Hackett Group, organic growth is the number one
business strategy priority for senior finance executives, with 34 percent
selecting this as their top priority. Innovation and cost reduction can
provide attractive opportunities to build a more scalable and flexible
structure for growth. But in practice, there is often room for improvement: a
poll taken during the webinar found that only 16 percent of the audience
rated their finance organizations ‘very effective’ in delivering on their
broader, strategic roles. The good news is that digital transformation brings
considerable opportunities for cost reduction. As Essaides explained, figures
from The Hackett Group show that typical organizations can reduce their
finance costs by 35 percent, while even world-class finance organizations
achieve a 21 percent reduction in costs by automating processes and taking
advantage of new technologies. Areas of opportunity The webinar identified
three key areas in which CFOs can help drive enterprise growth: Freeing up
cash within the organization. CFOs can achieve this by initiatives such as
improving working capital, pursuing operational excellence to free up cash
and leveraging technology to negotiate terms with key suppliers and
customers. Where working capital is concerned, there is a striking difference
between the top quartile of finance organizations by working capital
performance, and the median. For example, The Hackett Group found that that
top quartile companies had a cash conversion cycle of 17 days, compared to
46.2 days for the median – enabling top quartile companies to free up an
average of almost $200 million in free cash flow per $1 billion in sales.
This cash can then be used to support organizations’ strategic initiatives.
Providing real-time visibility. CFOs can also drive growth by harnessing
sophisticated treasury technology to gain better insights into the company’s
cash position and its capacity for future cash generation. With improved
visibility, companies are also better placed to analyze what percentage of
excess cash can be deployed for strategic investments, and minimize external
borrowing by moving cash from cash-rich to cash-poor subsidiaries. This is an
area which is often ripe for improvement: only 8 percent of the webinar’s
audience said that their finance organizations could deliver real-time
information and analysis to senior management ‘all the time’. Using
technology to manage risk holistically. Armed with greater visibility into
the company’s cash position and cash flows, CFOs are also better placed to
manage risk more effectively – both by developing a comprehensive financial
risk management program, and by minimizing the number of external
transactions made so that they can hedge exposures on a portfolio basis
rather than individually. Optimizing this area is largely the remit of the
CFO: The Hackett Group found that the CFO has ownership of the ERM program in
53 percent of organizations. Implications for treasury As the role of the CFO
becomes increasingly growth-focused, treasury likewise needs to adapt to a
more forward-looking mindset. This means positioning the treasury as a
department that supports informed decision-making via quality insights and
strategic guidance. Related survey results: Three Key Areas Where CFOs Say
Treasurers Need to be More Strategic
Read more
* Three Minimum Security Requirements for any FinTech Companies
Employing financial technology solutions has become a comfortable and
productive way of life for many corporate finance leaders, who increasingly
rely on these cloud applications to optimize and enhance a core piece of
their jobs, from treasury to accounting and beyond. Despite the proliferation
and rapid adoption of financial technology solutions by global organizations
from all industries, however, the solution providers should not escape
scrutiny in one key area: security. Additional reading: Kyriba Now Enables
Clients to Conduct Their Own Pen-Tests Additional reading: Four Key Questions
a CTO Needs to Ask When Evaluating a New TMS “Most FinTech vendors have
access to highly sensitive financial information, so a company playing in
this space needs to have some minimum things in place so their customers have
a strong sense of their commitment to security,” said security expert Nick
Biasevich, the director of technical sales enablement at Kyriba. According to
Biasevich, there are three minimum requirements any vendor should be able to
provide: A Cyber Defense Center: A dedicated team whose sole purpose is to
protect clients and their customers from potentially disastrous cyberthreats
and cyberattacks. The principal tool these defense teams use is a security
information and event management system, or SIEM, which actively monitors
every end-point in the company, looking for any type of suspicious activity.
Without a SIEM in place, companies have to do this manually, an extraordinary
amount of work that leaves organizations open to security risk. Authenticated
Pen-Testing for SaaS Platforms: There is probably no better test of platform
security than authenticated penetration testing, or “pen-tests,” in which the
software provider opens-up its SaaS-based application for a client’s IT
personnel to take their best whacks in attempting to uncover security flaws.
This compares to an unauthenticated pen-test, which is conducted outside of
the platform and is not as rigorous or efficient in security screening. An
authenticated pen-test requires full cooperation between the vendor and the
prospect or client to complete, and is deep sign of the vendor’s security
commitment. SOC I and SOC 2 Type II Certification: These certifications are
key in assuring that a vendor’s security practices are up to standard. SOC 1
is a statement of operational controls, which sets out the internal controls,
processes and procedures that a FinTech vendor abides to when handling data.
SOC 2 Type II is a report by a third-party auditor that has audited the
vendor’s performance against those controls, on the basis of the evidence
provided. A SOC 2 Type II certification means that a vendor has proven that
its system is designed to keep its clients’ sensitive data secure. This
latter type of certification is expensive and time-consuming and is hard
proof that a vendor takes security extremely seriously. There were more than
1,000 global FinTech vendors, according to a 2016 report by Atherton
Research. That number has likely grown significantly, fueled by new business
models and increasing trust in cloud-based vendors to deliver secure,
scalable global applications. Related reading: Top Security Considerations
for Selecting a Treasury Management Vendor
Read more
* How to Select and Implement the Best Treasury Management System for Your
Needs
While a majority of corporate treasuries still depend on spreadsheets to run
their treasury related operations, more and more organizations are adopting
treasury management systems (TMS). Implementing a TMS can improve the
effectiveness of your treasury function, allowing treasurers to standardize
processes, centralize key functions, create a straight-through processing
environment, and provide a single source of truth for all financial data. In
a recent webinar, Craig Chapman, Manager of Capital Markets at Actualize
Consulting, and Dory Malouf, Treasury Value Operations Engineer at Kyriba,
explored four key themes related to selecting and implementing a treasury
management system. Here are some highlights, with the full webcast video
below.
Read more
* Bank Connectivity, what you don’t know can hurt
The selection process of a Treasury Management Solution (TMS) is a
multi-layered process. One of the most important, and where many decisions
are made, is the product demonstration. The product demo is a snapshot into
what the TMS offers. It is human nature to focus solely on the functionality
reviewed during the demonstrations. Ensuring that the functionality meets
your business needs is critical. However, there is more to the decision than
the demonstration alone. There are several factors that should be considered
in connection with the demoed functionality, in order to ascertain the
overall value of a vendor. Many services, such as customer-service ability,
product-enhancement history, vendor viability, technology and security, are
all integral characteristics of a best-in-class TMS provider, and should be
part of the final decision to select a TMS. Bank Connectivity is one of the
critical services that should be discussed with your vendor. The ability to
connect to your banks, and automatically send and receive pertinent
information is at the heart of a TMS offering. When this foundational
service is limited, it does not matter how impressive the TMS functionality
is. In lieu of robust bank connectivity, your TMS functionality will be
impaired. In the TMS space, not all connectivity offerings are created
equal. As a result, simply asking vendors, “Can your TMS connect with my
banks?” is not a sufficient question to uncover the pitfalls of an inadequate
solution. In addition to the standard RFP questions from the AFP, we
recommend the following “enhanced” set of questions to ascertain the real
capabilities and limitations of a TMS or third-party connectivity module:
1. Do you manage your own connectivity or do you outsource your
solution? 2. Do you manage SWIFT BICs on behalf of your clients, or do
you outsource this service? 3. If you outsource your connectivity, what
service provider(s) do you use? If there is a different connectivity
provider based on the connectivity type (i.e. SWIFT, host-to-host, Zengin,
etc.), please list all providers and respond to the following questions for
each provider. 4. What protocols and formats do you offer for
bank-polling connectivity? If all, or part, of your connectivity solution is
outsourced, please provide the protocols and formats by outsource vendor.
5. What protocols and formats do you offer for bank-payments
connectivity? If all, or part, of your connectivity solution is outsourced,
please provide the protocols and formats by outsource vendor. 6. What
SWIFT connectivity do you support? What is your recommendation? 7. How
does the contracting processes work for connectivity? 8. If there is a
problem with bank statements, who is responsible for resolving the problem?
9. Does your SOC 2 Type II cover your connectivity solution? 10. Do
you proactively monitor the bank connections? 11. Does your pricing include
the bank connectivity or just your software? With the range and scope of the
above questions, you begin to see what challenges you may have down the road.
Even if your product demonstration was impressive, be sure to ask about key
elements that contribute to the functionality of your product. Setting up
your team for success is a good position to support, and the right TMS can
empower your team to solve your short and long-term challenges. If this
article has generated a few more questions that were not addressed, or if you
want to talk more about bank connectivity, contact us at treasury@kyriba.com
Read more
* Streamlining banking relationships with Kyriba Connectivity
Improving visibility of bank balances is of critical importance, and the
ability to connect seamlessly with banking partners - be they across the city
or across the globe - is essential. This is where Kyriba Connectivity comes
in.
Read more
* Kyriba Partners with Openpay
Kyriba has recently partnered with Openpay Group, a global diversified
payments Fintech, introducing the US Openpay’s OpyPro SaaS solution to Kyriba
customers. OpyPro for B2B payments automates customer on-boarding,
transacting and servicing, optimizes cash conversion cycles, and strengthens
customer relationships. The case for an OpyPro type of solution is
compelling. Typical challenges businesses face in...
Read more
* Liquidity Strategies for Stronger Supply Chains
What supply chain impact did your team have to manage in the past year? In
the recent webinar Mitigating Supply Chain Risk: Best Practices by CFOs and
Treasurers, with Kyriba’s Bob Stark and Cenveo’s VP of Treasury Services,
Benjamin Seal, the audience of 100 financial professionals was asked this
very question. The results? It’s no...
Read more
* Accelerating M&A Day 1 Readiness with API-Integrative Solutions
M&A projects can take advantage of faster connections and more flexibility
with open API platforms to speed integrations and be ready for Day 1 with
less risk and cost. Across the wide span of finance functions required to
start an M&A migration for Day 1 readiness, APIs are the way to speed M&A
integration across...
Read more
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