Tomato Newsletter "News 'n Views" No. 136 – March 2011
Browsing through the stacks of sources for this newsletter, it's amazing how many articles deal with Cloud Computing and Social Media. It reminds me of the time when e-commerce was the hottest topic around. We were curious, skeptical but also excited at this new feature. We even dedicated a special page to e-commerce on our website. Today, we can't imagine doing business without e-commerce. It's going to be the same with cloud computing and Social Media: common practice. In our private lives, it's new gadgets that capture our imagination. See my dilemma at the end!
Enjoy!
Regula Spottl
In Today's Issue
FINANCE AND BANKING
• Switzerland: A Global Cash Management Center
• Treasury Benchmarking Needs Adjusting
• Resource: How to Run a Bank 2011
• Leadership Series: Videos for Bankers
• When Outsourcing, CFOs Want more Flexibility
• Foreign Exchange: Dollar's Reign to End
• Global Corporate Treasurers Forum Europe, Paris, April 6-8
• A Selection of GTNews' February Articles
IT
• Strategies for IT to Show Cost of Services
• Cloud-Computing-Systeme verändern die IT-Branche
MISCELLANEOUS
• Top-Exportmärkte 2011
Tomato's Martin Schneider gave a presentation following the annual general meeting of SWIFT Switzerland on March 10, 2011 in Zurich. He spoke about Swiss companies' motivations to adopt SWIFT as their payment solution.
Martin described his experience of implementing SWIFT solutions as well as the current IT environments and financial landscapes that make the adoption of SWIFT lucrative.
Switzerland: A Global Cash Management Center
In the October 2010 issue of the newsletter we reported that Switzerland tops the overall ranking in the Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011.
GTNews recently evaluated the report's findings and asserts that "Switzerland has proven itself as a global cash management centre, with a growing number of corporates relocating their treasury headquarters here."
The article "Cash Management in the Heart of Europe" examines what makes Switzerland so attractive to foreign companies and elaborates on five major criteria when looking for an operations location.
(Full story… Registration required, free)
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Treasury Benchmarking Needs Adjusting
Vincent Ryan, senior editor for capital markets at CFO, asserts that the "the low-level, process-centric corporate treasury benchmarking" published by associations and publicized in industry surveys doesn't offer the insight companies need. Tracking treasury effectively now involves as much looking forward as looking back.
In "Beyond Benchmarks: Treasury is far more than a processing center, as companies that can measure its true value are learning," Ryan suggests that process benchmarks shouldn't be abandoned; but rather than looking for best-in-class metrics, many CFOs are starting with internal yardstick as a preferred approach.
(Full story…)
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Resource: How to Run a Bank 2011
The Banker's 3rd edition of "How to Run a Bank 2011" is comprehensive guide to international banking in the new financial environment. It includes contributions from the world's leading bankers, regulators, academics and economists and is meant for senior management anywhere in the world.
You can order a copy by contacting their Customer Service at thebanker@ft.com or +44(0)1858 438417.
(Topics include…)
Watch a video for an overview of this year's content!
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Leadership Series: Videos for Bankers
The Bankers series of videos in the Leadership and Masterclass series offers such topics as
- Retail banking: the next decade
- Cash management: current and future trends
- Consumer technology in the financial world
- Forging a new identity for banks as Europe wobbles - Cash management: the new age
If you're a visual learner, you'll find these videos informative and useful. Also some of them link to a related article.
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When Outsourcing, CFOs Want more Flexibility
Outsourcing is maturing. Still, to make it a success, CFOs must ask lots of questions and demand more flexibility
in contracts.
In the CFO.com article "Outsourcing Matures, Slowly," Janet Kersnar suggests that CFOs are often pressured to
outsource further if their previous outsourcing projects were successful. To make it work, they must think
carefully about what they want to outsource and how. They also may not forget about the process, a mistake many
make, explains Kersnar.
(Full story…)
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Foreign Exchange: Dollar's Reign to End
In the lead article "Why Dollar's Reign Is Near an End" in Wall Street Journal's "Foreign Exchange Report" explains
that the dollar has been the world's main reserve currency but that it may soon have to share its role. What does
this mean for international markets and companies?
If your job involves foreign exchange, you want to read Barry Eichengreen's article.
(Full story…)
Actually, browse through the complete WSJ's Foreign Exchange Report. Articles include for example:
- Foreign Exchange Gone Wild
- Can the Yuan Replace the Dollar?
- The (Relatively) good News on the Euro
- Emerging Risk
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Global Corporate Treasurers Forum Europe, Paris, April 6-8
Treasurers from around the world will be meeting at the Ritz Hotel in Paris for the gtnews Global Corporate
Treasurers Forum Europe. To complement the treasurers sharing their experiences and case studies, gtnews also has an excellent list of industry leaders on the agenda. Ample opportunities for networking include: Welcome drinks reception on 6 April, networking lunches on 7 and 8 April, and a spectacular gala dinner Seine river cruise on the evening of 7 April.
To book, visit http://www.gctfe.com and follow the ‘Register’ link.
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A Selection of GTNews' February Articles
These articles stood out from the GTNews February newsletters: (registration required, free)
- Best Practice in Accounts Receivable Reconciliation
- Cash Management: The Fundamentals
- Automating Paper-based Processes to Achieve Effective Cash Forecasting
- The Evolution of FX Risk Management
- Payments Survey 2010: Future is Bright as SEPA and SWIFT Bring Standardisation and Multi-bank Access...
- Basel III: The Changing World of Banking Regulation
- Basel III is Changing the Banking Landscape
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Strategies for IT to Show Cost of Services
One of CIOs challenges is to calculate and prove what IT's services actually cost to deliver to the business.
60 CIOs and IT leaders from the Fortune 1000 recently met at the bi-annual "CIO Technology Business Management
Council" meeting to discuss how to "transform their IT organization into a services oriented organization and run
"IT like a business."
Sunny Gupta, CEO Apptio, suggests that you think of IT in the context of a classic supply chain. In addition to
know the cost of goods sold, CIOs also must understand the fully burdened costs of all the raw materials that are
involved in the finished product.
(Full article with the top five best practices identified by the presenters...)
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Cloud-Computing-Systeme verändern die IT-Branche
Die IT-Organisation waren bis vor kurzem zentrale Ansprechpartnerpunkt für Projektierung, Einführung und Betrieb
von neuen IT-Dienstleistungen. In Zukunft werden Unternehmen eine Funktion haben müssen, "die die internen IT-
Dienstleistungen und die Cloud-Services orchestriert und zu einem ganzen Dienstleistungskonstrukt zusammenfügt."
Im Artikel "Cloud Computing ermöglicht Paradigmenwechsel" zeigen Alain Beuchat und und Pius Ziegler von KPMG auf, welche Wettbewerbsvorteile flexible Cloud-Computing-Systeme bieten und wie sich die IT-Branche verändert.
(Artikel...)
Die deutsche Aussenhandelsagentur Germany Trade and Invest GTAI hat die „Top-Exportmärkte 2011“ ermittelt.
Im Rahmen einer Umfrage unter ihren Auslandsmitarbeitern hat GTAI sieben Exportmärkte mit berdurchschnittlichem
(Entwicklungs-)Potenzial identifiziert: Australien, Finnland, Kasachstan, Katar, Kolumbien, Südkorea, und Südafrika.
In der 34seitigen Studie „Top-Exportmärkte 2011“ werden auch die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung und das Absatzpotential (nach Branchen) in 68 weiteren Ländern analysiert und bewertet.
Der Branchenbarometer Westeuropa bewertet die Schweiz auf den Seiten 14+15. Indikatoren: Maschinenbau, Chemie, Elektro/Elektronik, Umwelttechnik und Medizin: leichter Auschwung. Telekom: starker Aufschwung. (Report...)
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From the Desk of Regula Spottl, Greensboro, North Carolina
I really want an iPad but...!
I don't need an iPad unless it would really help me quench my thirst for knowledge in a new way. First, why is it
in my mind in the first place? Simply because I get mail from friends via iPads and envy them? Or because I frequently read articles on the virtues of this handy new gadget? Well, the cost is definitely not a reason why I haven't bought one so far. It's more that I keep preaching to my "kid" (now 21) that more technology doesn't make you happier. So how would I actually rationalize an iPad purchase?
I guess it comes down to needing support that an iPad would really enrich my life and I should just go ahead and
get it. Can any of you help me make the decision? Please do so: rspottl@triad.rr.com. Thanks in advance!