TOMATO CATCH-UP - Newsletter Issue 196 – November 2016

Your monthly resource on working capital, process optimization and issues relating to the world of corporate treasurers, IT professionals and bankers!

This newsletter is bilingual, English or German according to the source.

 

Introduction:

More than any newsletter before, this one contains news that Martin Schneider found while reading daily news and trade newsletters. Topics include law or rule changes that impact finance departments such a EMIR, SEPA, MWST, the Nobel Prize in Economics for contract theory and event news and reviews.

Enjoy the variety and remember, we at Tomato can look at your situation from an outsider perspective with experience from various similar situations. Run yours by us so we can help you in the decision-making process. Feel free to contact martin.schneider@tomato.ch or call 044 814 2001.

Regula Spottl and the Tomato Team

 

Topics

 

What Happened to “Know Your Customer” (KYC) in Banking?

You’d think that an organization that has a bank account at an international bank’s headquarters can open an account at a branch of this bank and that the data the bank has of your corporation at the headquarters can be transferred. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Our experience has taught us that opening a corporate bank account can be quite a nightmare.

When your company applies for a new bank account, the process of KYC starts from scratch. Balance sheets, testimonials, and the names board of directors have to be filled in all over again.

In the 80s and 90s we had labor strikes, international trade barriers and other issues that slowed down the process. Now, without those hurdles, you’d think the process is smoother and faster, but that’s not the case.

International banks explain it with Chinese walls. Known information can’t be passed on to another branch. We tried to free the bank(s) with a Request Letter of Allowance only to find out that such letters are not accepted.

One idea: Bringing corporate data into a data room. This is widespread in Mergers and Acquitions as well as for corporate multibank bank loans. In data rooms banks and involved persons and institutions share data. This idea/option has to be built first.

Our experience during the last two years shows that processes and documentation exchange are so slow, that the opening of a new bank account can take 3 to 6 months.

If you’ve been involved in this process, tell us about your experience!

The article Great Expectations or Pride & Prejudice? What do treasurers really want from their banks? in Treasury Management International supports this notion.

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Changes to EMIR Reporting Requirements

On Nov 13, 2016, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published its final report on reporting requirements under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR). The report includes additions and changes to the reporting requirements and allows for a deferral period after the new reporting requirements are in force.

Find the latest updates on the “Adoption of implementing technical standards on the format and frequency of trade reports to trade repositories” in the EU Commission’s website

Ziehen Sie Deutsch vor?
Der Treasurer newsletter Ausgabe 21 vom 3. November 2016 Seite 6 bietet ein gute Übersicht über die neuen technischen Regulierungs- und Durchführungsstandards von Emir. Details…

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New SEPA Rulebooks Take Effect on Nov. 20, 2016

The SEPA Rulebooks changes are so fundamental that they were already published in January 2015 to give payment service providers participating in the SEPA payment schemes and their suppliers an extended lead-time to implement principal changes.

The European Payments Council summarizes the main changes on the webpage SEPA Direct Debit (SDD) 2016 SDD Rulebooks. The main changes include shorter standard time cycle and a simplified use of sequence types.

On their webpage SCT / SDD Rulebook Release Management, the European Payments Council also offers a snapshot of the SCT and SDD Rulebook versions until 2017.

Ziehen Sie Deutsch vor?
Der Treasurer newsletter Ausgabe 21 vom 3. November 2016, Seite 3, gibt einen guten Überblick über die Änderungen im neuen Sepa-Rulebook.

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Neues MWST-Gesetz definitiv beschlossen


Am 30. September 2016 verabschiedete das Parlament die Anpassungen des Mehrwertsteuergesetzes. Die Inkraftsetzung des neuen Gesetzes und der neuen Verordnung ist auf den 1.1.2018 geplant.

Im SwissVat Newsletter Ausgabe 2-2016 vom 25. Oktober 2016, informiert Dr. Gerhard Schafroth, Anwalt und Dipl. Steuerexperte, über die Änderungen.

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Bitcoin and Blockchain – Event at Uni Zürich, Nov. 29, 2016

“Bitcoin and Blockchain - How does it work and what does it mean?” The format to this event is a speech, followed by panel discussion, Q&A and Networking Cocktail. The event is in English. It is free to the public but requires registration.

Keynote Speakers:

  • Dr. Jochen Dürr - CRO at SIX
  • Prof. Dr. Thomas Grechenig- University of Vienna, CEO at RISE
  • Prof. Dr.-Ing. Katarina Adam, University of Berlin

Where: University of Zurich, Aula KOL-G-201, Rämistrasse 71, 8006 Zürich

When: 29. November 2016 18:30 - 21:00 (door opens at 18:00)

Details and link to registration…

Would you like to meet Martin in Zurich to discuss your situation and concerns? It’s an opportunity.

For our German contacts we're offering to meet Martin at Structured Finance in Stuttgart on November 24.

If you would like to meet Martin at one of the events, contact him via martin.schneider@tomato.ch or call 044 814 2001.

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Rückblick auf CARF Luzern 2016

CARF, die wissenschaftliche und praxisnahe Konferenz in den Themengebieten Controlling, Accounting, Risikomanagement sowie Finanzen, fand dieses Jahr am 15./16.9.2016 an der HSLU in Luzern statt. Aufeinanderfolgende Blogs haben einen Rückblick zu den verschiedenen Themen gegeben. Z. B.:

Eine gute Quelle für alle Blogs finden Sie auf https://twitter.com/carf_luzern

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Wirtschaftsnobelpreis für Vertragstheorie: Profile und ein Beispiel

Oliver Hart und Bengt Holmström haben für ihre Arbeiten zum Thema Vertragstheorie den diesjährigen Wirtschaftsnobelpreis gewonnen. Der NZZ Berichter Christoph Ruckstuhl hat die beiden Preisträger kennengelernt. Er beschreibt Profile der Wissenschaftler und deren Arbeit. Er erläutert ausserdem am Beispiel Bestellung der neuen Flugzeuge von Bombardier wie wichtig gutes Vertragsmanagement  ist. Details…

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Buchtipp: Risikomanagement in 10 Schritten

Im Buch Risikomanagement in 10 Schritten erklären Prof. Dr. Stefan Hunziker und Prof. Dr. Jens O. Meissner von der Hochschule Luzern, mit welchen Herausforderungen der Risikomanager beim Aufbau und Betrieb eines modernen Risikomanagements (RM) umgehen muss. Information und Praxistipps helfen dem Leser, Stolpersteine bei der Einführung von Risikomanagement im Unternehmen zu vermeiden und den Sprung vom traditionellen zum modernen Ansatz erfolgreich zu meistern.

Blog mit detaillierter Beschreibung… Bestellung beim Springer Verlag

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Don’t Underestimate the Impact of Quality

“High-quality work is expensive, but you only pay for it once. Low-quality work is unaffordable, because your organization will pay the price forever,” suggests Jeffrey Morgan, an independent consultant in the CIO.com article We can't afford quality!

Mr. Morgan makes his point with these ideas:

  • Quality is universal and interdisciplinary.
  • Achieving quality means you have to tolerate brutal honesty and the deep introspection it triggers.
  • Consequences for delivering poor quality: Cost, reputation, diminished self-esteem etc.
  • Quality is inclusive: Include the end users of your program or product.
  • Quality creates a chain reaction because outstanding quality is visible when you walk in the door.

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10. Ways Accountants Can Turn to Fraud

Paul Andon, professor at the school of accounting at UNSW Business School in Australia, has been looking at what causes accountants and bookkeepers to carry out fraud. He and his colleagues examined records of 192 successful fraud prosecutions in Australia from 2000 to 2011 and found that there are four paths to fraud. Above all, they’ve concluded that under the right circumstances anyone is capable of fraud. The four paths to fraud they found include:

  • Personal circumstances such as a marriage breakdown, business collapse or gambling addiction
  • Situational elements: “There's the opportunity for fraud that they've just happened to discover and it's too good to pass up”
  • Attitudinal flexibility: Generally, law abiding but in certain situations, they take advantage of opportunities
  • Deviance seekers: Have a morally corrupt attitude to seeking financial gain

Details and examples in Four ways that accountants turn to the dark side from the Australian UNSW Business School’s newsletter.

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From the Desk of Regula Spottl, Greensboro, NC, USA

No, I’m not going to talk about the election. I much prefer to focus on individuals and groups that make our communities better. They are found everywhere of course but Greensboro, my home town, has some truly remarkable people.

For example, Mary Lacklen coordinates “Community Tables’ each Thanksgiving. She organizes various charitable organizations and individuals who work together to feed 5,000 people a Thanksgiving dinner at various locations in the city. Another example: The Barnabas Network, staffed entirely by volunteers, refurbishes household goods and furniture for people in need. Also, Sally Pagliai, a landscape architect, and Pam Barrett, a senior philanthropy officer, have with the help of financial contributions from various companies and individuals and with countless volunteers developed a Healing Garden at the local hospital’s cancer center. Then there’s Whitsett’s Peacehaven Farm, a sustainable farm located on 89 acres of organic gardens, which connects people with special needs to their community. The homes are constructed by volunteers. The Farm gives for adults with special needs the opportunity to develop their relationships and talents.

I could go on with examples. The point is, we can get way too much caught up with the news. Better to discover the real heroes in our communities and get involved!

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