TOMATO CATCH-UP: Newsletter Issue 158 – March 2013
Your monthly resource on working capital and process optimization as well as issues relating to the world of corporate treasurers, IT professionals and bankers!
SEPA has become the most pressing issue our clients are facing. By now, Martin Schneider has experience in all the important tasks involved and hurdles corporates face. In the past week, he presented his knowledge at two international events.
In the U.S., two topics have dominated in the press: The debate about work-at-home policies and the Wisdom 2.0 Conference, where leaders from all major technology companies discussed “How can we live with greater presence, meaning, and mindfulness in the technology age?”
In this newsletter, you find the gist and links on those issues as well as new developments and advice on regulations, big data, and more.
Enjoy the variety!
Regula Spottl and the Tomato Team
In Today's Issue:
TOMATO UPDATES
- Martin Schneider Participated at Fundtech in London and User Meeting in Munich
- Neue Ressource zu China’s RMB auf tomato.ch
NEWS
- Two More Options in Hedging RMB Exposure in Asia
- Swiss CFO Day 16.1.13: Rückblick
- "iBankomat": Geldautomat mit Iris Kontrolle
VIEWS AND ADVICE
- Our Top Picks for CFOs/Treasury and Bankers
- Our Top Picks for CIOs/IT Professionals
- Our Top Picks on Management and Career
MISCELLANEOUS
Martin Schneider Participated at Fundtech in London and User Meeting in Munich
By Martin Schneider
At last week’s Fundtech Conference in London, apx 120 payment specialists and treasurers met to lead workshops, participate in panel discussion or learn about such topics as payments, Swift and formats from ISO to CGI.
I was just one of several experts who presented their knowledge and experience into what’s involved to get ready for SEPA, IBAN and ISO implementations in the EURO countries.
View the slideshow presentation, which includes for example payment methods, EU Credit Transfer Mandatory Rules, SEPA Transfers Non-Mandatory, Channels to the Bank and Banks Optimizations, Financial Flow Management, SEPA Traps, Steps: Master Data and File Formats, and Time Frame.
For me, it was a learning experience thanks to the tips given by experts and questions raised by participants. Also, being able to compare our presentation to the others, I found that we are on top of the game in terms of SEPA readiness.
If you haven’t started your SEPA preparation or are in the process and realize you need advice, feel free to contact me. I’ll tell you what you need to know to prepare, why certain things are important and others less so.
There is no need for you to be intimidated by the task at hand; I’ll help you to be ready October 31, 2013.
SEPA Meeting in München
Nach London war ich diese Woche zu einem weiteren Anlass zum Thema SEPA eingeladen. Diesmal in München wo wir gemeinsam mit Software Usern aufzeigten, was nötig ist, um bis zum 31. Oktober 2013 in der Eurozone für SEPA bereit zu sein.
Es ist einerseits eine Programmieraufgabe in der IT, die Zahlungsfiles im Format XML ISO 20022 zu erhalten und dem händischen Stammdaten IBAN BIC update in der Kreditoren- und Debitorenbuchaltung.
Details auf der SEPA-Fahrplan page (deutsch) und SEPA: Time to Act Slideshow (English)
Neue Ressource zu China’s RMB auf tomato.ch
Neben den Broschüren von Deutsche Bank und Commerzbank finden Sie jetzt auf unserer webpage Doing Business in Chinese Renminbi auch die Broschüre von der UBS „Neue Horizonte im Handel mit China Renminbi: Angebot für Firmenkunden”.
Martin’s
Kommentar:
Ich bin sicher, dass Sie mit diesen Informationen Ihre eigenen China
Möglichkeiten ausbauen können. Wenn nicht, rufen Sie mich an. Wir bei Tomato haben
exklusive Kontakte zu deutschsprachigen Behörden in Qingdao.
Zurzeit arbeiten wir zum erstenmal mit einem chinesischen Auftraggeber, mit dem wir ein Treasury in Shanghai aufbauen werden. Verfolgen Sie unsere Schritte in Business in und mit China!
Two More Options in Hedging RMB Exposure in Asia
China’s Central Bank has added two banks, one in Singapore and one in Taiwan, as clearing banks. The Treasury Today article More options now in hedging RMB exposure in Asia? reviews the development of clearing banks in Asia and examines what opportunities this presents to corporates in hedging their positions in the currency of the world’s second largest economy. Details…
Swiss CFO Day 16.1.13: Rückblick
Diesjähriges Thema am Swiss CFO Day in Zug war Fit for Future – Fit for CFO.
Der Newsletter, Ausgabe I/13 – 20. Februar 2013, des CFO Forums Schweiz berichtet sehr detailliert, was namhafte Referenten den mehr als 270 Teinehmern vermittelten.
Hauptthemen:
- Technologische Entwicklung: Chancen und Risiken der Zukunft richtig einschätzen
- Ökonomisches und währungspolitisches Umfeld: Wie halte ich mein Unternehmen fit?
- Fit for Future: Die Agenda des CFO
- Fit for CFO: Gesundheit und Fitness im Job
Dieser Newsletter ist für Schweizer CFOs und Treasurers sehr wertvoll. Er ist aber nicht online. Wir senden Ihnen jedoch gerne das pdf.
Bestellen Sie den Newsletter des CFO Forums; Sie erhalten diesen gratis.
"iBankomat": Geldautomat mit Iris Kontrolle
Das italienische Hightech-Unternehmen SrLabs hat eine neue Eye-Tracking-Applikation zur Bedienung von Bankautomaten vorgestellt. "iBankomat" macht den Zugang ohne physischen Kontakt und ohne das Hinterlassen von Kundendaten möglich. Ein auf die Hornhaut der Augen gerichteter Infrarotstrahl, der in wenigen Sekunden eine Kalibirierung durchführt wirkt als Informationsträger.
“Nach der Eingabe des PIN-Codes und dem Einloggen kann der Benutzer sowohl mit dem Eye-Tracking als auch in der traditionellen Form weitermachen. Gefahren einer Verletzung der Privatsphäre durch fremde Blicke oder Kameraaufnahmen gibt es dabei nicht,“ laut Pressemitteilung vom 26.2.13. Details…
New Corporate-to-Bank SWIFT Message Type for Trade Finance Messaging
On Feb. 20, Citi launched the corporate-to-bank SWIFT Message Type (MT) 798. With MT798 corporate clients can communicate with their banks for trade transactions.
“The new standard is essentially an envelope that allows a corporate to enclose various different trade finance requests, such as a commercial letter of credit (LC), to send to their banking partners”, according to the TreasuryToday.com article SWIFT Standard for Trade Finance Messaging
The article discusses the uses of MT798, its development and future prospects. Full story…
Our Top Picks on Finance/Treasury and Banking
(All gtnews
articles require registration. It’s free)
Rechnungslegungsrecht: KMU müssen handeln
KPMG: Reto Eberle erklärt wo KMU handeln müssen
AFP Guide to Short-term Investment Strategies to
Manage Financial Risk
GTNews latest global liquidity guide
Consolidated
Reporting: New Regulations, New Challenges
By Selwyn Blair-Ford, gtnews
Deals with the range of consolidations financial firms need to perform and
implications on infrastructure.
GTNews’ Articles on Big Data and Data Cleansing and Regulations
Data
Cleansing: Getting Your IBANs, BICs and Data in Order for SEPA
By David Kelin, gtnews
Payments
Data: The True Challenge for Corporates
By Patrik Neutiens, SWIFT
Data
Cleansing in Preparation for SEPA: Part One
By Jonathan Williams, Experian
Top Picks of Advice for CIOs and IT Professionals
What ITIL Certifications Mean to Your IT Management Practices
ITIL is in
high demand. Organizations are paying a premium for the best practices
methodology and practice. The article explains what ITIL guidelines and
practices are and helps finding out if it is right for your company.
CIO.com
CIO Research Study: Bridging the Gap
between Technology and Business Needs
Colt.net
CIOs
müssen ihre Rolle neu definieren
Computerworld.ch über die Colt Studie
Is Senior Management
Calling for More Transparency?
“Consider building your own IT
Advisory Board” as a more nuanced way for CIOs to calm
the nerves of their CFOs
blogs.cio.com By Martha Heller
Top Picks on Advice in Management and Career
How to be Extremely Productive
Interview with Robert Pozen about his book Extreme Productivity: Boost
Your Results, Reduce Your Hours
Harvard Working Knowledge
Regula’s Comment: You’re trying to be productive and have no time to read a book. This interview will give you enough information to work with.
CIOs Offer Career Advice:
Who better to advise you than your CIO peers?
CIO.com
Debate on Working from Home Policies
Last week, Marissa Mayer, Yahoo’s CEO, revoked the company’s work-at-home policy. All employees must now work at the office because “Speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home.”… and “face-to-face interaction among employees fosters a more collaborative culture,” a memo to employees proclaimed.
Well, in the U.S. the announcement started a national conversation about working from home. For example, FastCompany published: Marissa Mayer, Yahoo, And The Pros And Cons Of Working From Home; and a CIO.com article declared Yahoo's Work-at-Home Policy Is the Right Decision.
Actually, various companies that allowed their employees to work from home have changed their policies and request that people spend at least two or three days a week at the office.
What is your opinion? How do think does the ability to work from home or a flexible arrangement affect productivity or innovation and collaboration?
From the Desk of Regula Spottl, Greensboro, North Carolina
Every major U.S. newspaper and blogger reported last week about the Wisdom 2.0 Conference held in San Francisco.
Founders from Facebook, Twitter, eBay, Zynga and PayPal, and executives and managers from companies like Google, Microsoft, Cisco and others listened to or participated in conversations with experts in yoga and mindfulness.
The big question they wrestled with was “How can we live with greater presence, meaning, and mindfulness in the technology age?”
Adrianna Huffington’s blog post My Weekend at the Happiest Place on Earth (No, It Wasn't Disneyland) captures well the issues participants addressed and the strategies they proposed.
To get snippets of advice and revelations, watch some videos on the Wisdom 2.0 website, follow Wisdom 2.0 on Twitter or sign up for email updates.
I’m so intrigued by the videos that I’ve been watching one a day. These are pertinent considerations for us to think about!
Your
Tomato
Regula Spottl