TOMATO CATCH-UP - Newsletter Issue 197 – December 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 multi-lingual, English, German and French depending on the source.
As 2016 is about to end, we’d like to take the opportunity to thank you for being a loyal reader and for any feedback you may have given us, often relating to something we wrote about that corresponds with your situation!
Reflecting on this year, did you reach your goals and are you happy with the solutions? If you have open issues, feel free to share them with Martin. He will be happy to discuss them with you; and as usual, the first hour is free of charge. Contact Martin Schneider or call 044 814 2001.
Regula Spottl and the Tomato Team
Topics
- Best Wishes for Christmas and the New Year
- Tomato’s Cups at the Structured Finance Congress
- Most Popular Topics in Recent Newsletters
- Most Popular Webpages in 2016
- Rückblick auf CARF Luzern 2016 – Controlling
- Rückblick auf die IFZ Retail Banking Konferenz 2016
- China’s Forex Administration Is Tightening Control to Reduce Capital Outflow
- The Growing Role of Treasurers
- What Treasurers Expect from Banks
- 5 IT-Security Prognosen für 2017
Best Wishes for Christmas and the New Year
Our source of inspiration and guidance this Christmas stems form Nido Qubein, educator and business leader. He asserts:
Acquiring perspective enables you to respond realistically to the events in your life.
Our invitation to you: Gaining perspective in business is as challenging as it is in life. Together we can use our experiences so you can respond pragmatically to challenges at work.
We wish you and your families a New Year filled with good health, happiness and success.
Martin Schneider, Pietro Lunati, Regula Spottl and Esra Kummer
Tomato’s Cups at the Structured Finance Congress
Our cups at the Structured Finance Congress in Stuttgart were a huge hit. 200 visitors got theirs the first day of the event and several asked for one the second day.
Visitors expressed that they like the message at the inside near the top “Keep your liquidity high” because it’s cool, typifies who Tomato is; and it serves as a good reminder to keep a focus on liquidity. One visitor also specified how sturdy it is, which is important to him as another cup he used promptly tipped over on his desk. Well, 15 years ago, when we were designing the cup and searching for a good size and shape, we chose this cup (mug, really) for its stability. It’s one way we do risk management.
If you missed out on getting a cup, let us know. We’ll be happy to send you one.
In Deutsch kurz und bündig:
Wollten Sie am zweiten Tag des Kongress noch eine Tasse ergattern und es hatte keine mehr übrig? Ein kurzes Mail an uns genügt und die Tasse steht in wenigen Tagen auf Ihrem Tisch. Frohe Weihnachten.
Most Popular Topics in Recent Newsletters
The November newsletter was viewed more than most newsletters. A large number of readers checked several topics in depth. If you didn’t quite get to them, they were:
- Neues MWST-Gesetz definitiv beschlossen
- Changes to EMIR Reporting Requirements
- New SEPA Rulebooks in Effect Nov. 20, 2016
Most-read Articles in previous newsletters:
- Liquidity Management: Challenges/Opportunities
- Innovatives Working Capital Management
- Key Principles for Optimizing Working Capital
- How CFOs Can Resolve the 3 Major Concerns in Cash Management
Most Popular Webpages and Podcasts in 2016
- Decentralized Payment Factory (pdf)
- Bankverbindungen weltweit
- Videocast Payment Gateways
- Videocast Payment Gateways Part 2
- How to Better Handle Currency Risk
Rückblick auf CARF Luzern 2016 – Controlling
Die sogenannte CARF Konferenz fand im September am Institut für Finanzdienstleistungen Zug(IFZ) der Hochschule Luzern statt. (CARF steht für Controlling, Accounting, Risiko, Finanzen)
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Egle, Dozent für Controlling und Digital Business Management, fasste die Erkenntnisse aus dem Track Controlling zusammen. Hauptpunkte:
- Reifegradmodelle gewinnen an Bedeutung bei den Controllinginstrumenten.
- Der Einsatz der Balanced Scorecard ist ein wichtiges und etabliertes Controllinginstrument.
- Bei Verrechnungspreisen ist die nahtlose Integration des Verrechnungspreissystems in das Managementkontrollsystem wichtig.
- Controlling als Risiko-Träger benötigt eine kritische Auseinandersetzung.
Rückblick auf die IFZ Retail Banking Konferenz 2016
Die Retail Banking Konferenz fand am 17. November 2016 beim Institut für Finanzdienstleistungen Zug (IFZ) statt. Prof. Dr. Andreas Dietrich und Reto Wernli haben eine Zusammenfassung gebloggt. Die Studie umfasst 222 Seiten und kann bestellt werden. Unsere Zusammenfassung:
- Auch wenn sich Banken als Universalbanken anbieten, hat jede Bank ihre Nische und findet ihr Erfolgskonzept selber. Ansonsten richtet der Markt darüber.
- Die Digitalisierung spielt eine grosse Rolle.
- Der Kunde wird enorm gefordert, sich selber zu bilden, seine Daten selber zu erhalten, selber auszuwerten und seine Strategie davon abzuleiten.
- Wegfall der Staatsgarantie bei einigen wenigen Kantonalbanken (BE, VD, GE)
- Kleinstbanken haben auch ihre Chancen in der Zukunft.
Details im Blog...
China’s Forex Administration to Reduce Capital Outflow
China is speeding up measures to stem capital outflows after its yuan currency slid to a to an 8-year low. The new measure is not official yet, but various sources have confirmed the new transfer rule, reports Reuters.
"Previously, only forex transfers worth $50 million or more needed to be reported to The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE). Now, the threshold has been lowered to $5 million and covers both foreign currency and yuan," said one of the sources with direct knowledge of the rules.
The new rules would control transfers abroad under the capital account for transactions such as portfolio or foreign direct investment. Details…
Ziehen Sie Deutsch vor?
Der Treasurer: China bereitet Treasurern erneut böse Überraschung
The Growing Role of Treasurers
In addition to their traditional roles, treasurers must identify the right growth areas and avoid the financial and reputational risks they entail. In the GTNews article Evolving the role of the treasurer, Tim Vine of Dun & Bradstreet explains how “data analytics has increasingly become core to everything that a treasurer must be able to do … With the proper tools, treasurers can discover hidden revenue streams and deal with the uncertainty across the world.” Mr. Vine shows many examples that illustrate where and how data analytics is a key asset to a treasurer. Details…
What Treasurers Expect from Banks
In an excellent article in Treasury Management, four panelists discussed what banks need to offer to ensure a long-term partnership with treasurers. They pointed out frustrations as well as areas where banks and the wider financial and regulatory community need to provide greater collaboration and standardization.
The panelists emphasized and scrutinized:
- The Importance of SWIFT instead of banks’ proprietary systems, interfaces etc.
- The need for more information passed through the transaction process to categorize transactions.
- The need for improvement for opening, closing and maintaining authorized signatories on accounts.
- The lack of efficiency and consistency, both across banks and different parts of the same bank.
- The fact that “KYC processes are often fragmented by products and divisions within a bank. Banks need to push this up the chain within the bank. *
- The fact that banks’ organizational structures and variable levels of expertise often present complications. Treasurers look for long-term relationships with a capable relationship manager who can co-ordinate resources effectively across the bank.
- Treasurers would appreciate for banks to share their experiences based on working with other clients in comparable situations.
* See in November’s newsletter What Happened to “Know Your Customer” (KYC) in Banking?
Ziehen Sie Deutsch vor?
Aus diesem Bericht sehen wir Tomato und unsere Lösungen bestätigt, denn wir fokussieren auf:
- Einfachere Strukturen, Bankdatenzugriff und Bankanbindung standardisieren z.B. mittels Swift.
- Kontoänderungen, -öffnungen und -schliessungen standardisieren und nicht komplexer werden lassen.
- Corporates suchen Stabilität und langfristige Beziehungen.
5 IT-Security Prognosen für 2017
Die Sicherheitsspezialistin Check Point hat IT-Security Prognosen für 2017 erstellt, die Private sowie Unternehmen in 2017 beschäftigen werden. Link zum Download des Reports…
Computerworld.ch hat 5 Prognosen identifiziert, die sich auf den Check Point Security Report 2016 abstützen, und erklärt mit konkreten Beispielen, was das für IT Departments heisst. Die 5 Prognosen:
- Mobile Security
- Internet of Things (IoT)
- Kritische Infrastruktur
- Threat Prevention
- Cloud Security
From the Desk of Regula Spottl, Greensboro, NC, USA
On an early morning this past week, I spent time with my friend Larry at our favorite coffee shop. Larry is 92 and as sharp as ever. He usually carries a big bundle of books, papers and a notebook and spends a couple of hours each day mentally framing and reframing his view of life and the world.
As we were talking, he reflected on feeling that his life is slipping and slipping. Not that he resents it; he regrets it as there is still so much to do. And then he said: “We are not put on this world to live ordinary lives. What would be the point of that? No, we are meant to live extraordinary lives!”
So my question to all of us is: How do we plan to make our lives extraordinary this coming year?