A look at what’s on International Treasurer’s radar screen this week.
This week’s International Treasurer editorial meeting revisited the topic of World-Class principles – this time Phase 2 of The NeuGroup’s Global Cash and Banking Group world-class project. Also discussed was SEPA implementation. Both topics will be fleshed out further in the coming weeks.
Phase 2. Over the past year or so, the GCBG has been working on identifying what makes cash management program “world class” and is nearing the end of Phase 2 of the project. This second phase covers the more tactical activities and core cash management processes such as pooling, in-house bank, and cash visibility, positioning and forecasting, with a more detailed look at how companies use technology.
The group has finalized several of the principles, including accounting, liquidity management, cash-flow forecasting, cash positioning and intercompany transactions and in-house banking. Several principles still need to be finalized, including those regarding payments, bank account management and dividend repatriation.
SEPA Implementation. Some in the EU community feel that market is not migrating to SEPA fast enough on its own and needs a shove. In mid-May, representatives from the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB) called on the financial services sector to speed up their SEPA implementation. The two reps emphasized that the SEPA project “is the logical consequence of the creation of the euro, and that only a prompt implementation of SEPA will help to achieve an integrated and competitive European market for cashless payments in euro.”
But the perception of a slow creep to SEPA might not necessarily be the reality among European corporates. At a recent NeuGroup European Treasurers’ Peer Group (EuroTPG) meeting, an informal poll of the members revealed that most saw an opportunity in SEPA (even the single contrarian was not entirely convinced of his position) although they were not sure how to make the most of it. A vast majority in the pre-meeting survey said they were ready for SEPA compliance (either early adopters or “ready to slip the switch” when required).