Implementing a new treasury management system can be a challenge; but good preparation can make it much easier.
With technology ever evolving, it is likely that one day every treasurer will have experienced being part of a new system implementation. From enterprise resource to treasury management, new systems offer visions of ease and efficiency. But they’re not always great; and the better the prep, the better the experience.
At a recent NeuGroup peer group meeting, one member, who recently completed the selection and implementation of a SunGard Quantum product, walked the group through the process. The project was necessitated by his previous vendor’s decision to sunset the product the company was using and to stop supporting it.
The presentation addressed the RFP process, project management and implementation, measuring the outcome and lessons learned. Here are a few of the key takeaways from the member’s presentation as well as the meeting session:
- A TMS won’t solve all your problems. According to results of the peer group’s pre-meeting survey, only two members using a treasury management system (TMS) were “highly satisfied” with their product. The others were only moderately satisfied to unsatisfied. To be fair, the problem could be just a bad product or members’ stage of implementation. The member walking the group through his implementation was at least moderately satisfied but admittedly is still working out some bugs. However, there were some aspects of the new product that were very excellent, namely the reporting features.
- A TMS mostly covers the basics. Peer group members reported using their TMS primarily for very fundamental cash management activities, including cash positioning (69 percent), bank account management (54 percent), FX analysis and reporting (46 percent) and treasury payments (39 percent).
- Thoroughly scope the RFP. Presuming you have made the business case and received approval to pursue a new system, it is very important to get off to a good start with a well-documented RFP. Getting this document right at the beginning will avoid much trouble down the road. The document should thoroughly reflect your operations and solutions you are looking for. One member noted a shortcoming of his company’s RFP process was the lack of a standard method of categorizing requirements into “must haves,” “good to haves,” or “nice to haves” for all team members to use.
- Create a project team that includes all stakeholders. The presenting member’s TMS implementation team included members from accounting, tax, IT, legal, shared service center and most importantly – internal audit. “I never wanted them coming back and saying you missed something. I had them at the table for every weekly meeting,” the member said.
- Create layers of teams. This member’s project also had a “steering committee” of executives for governance and oversight; a “working committee” that essentially ran the project; and then a “project team” that did a lot of the nuts and bolts work. “The project team went right down to including a wire- room person,” he noted. The steering committee met every two months to check on the project. The other teams met weekly.
Ultimately, one can have a good experience in implementing a new system. But much depends on the preparation. In this light, it’s good to remember Abraham Lincoln’s advice: “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”