TOMATO CATCH-UP: Newsletter Issue 165 – October 2013

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

Introduction:

Last year at this time, we first reported about doing business in Chinese Renminbi. Since then, new developments and deregulations have been ongoing. Check our newly updated “Doing Business in Chinese Renminbi” webpage. EMIR is also constantly evolving and Martin has acquired comprehensive updates on developments. He is happy to answer your questions on both issues, so don’t hesitate to call him at 044 814 2001. Other topics covered in this newsletter include SWIFT, cloud computing, banks’ service quality, cultural changes in treasury, strategic planning and conflict management.

Enjoy the variety!

Regula Spottl

 

In Today's Issue:

TOMATO UPDATES

FINANCE, BANKING AND IT

MANAGEMENT AND CAREER

 

Martin Schneider berichtet von Swift Score Einführung

An einer jährlichen Bank Treasury Tagung berichteten der Treasurer und Martin Schneider vor einem breiten Publikum über das sehr nachhaltige Projekt zur Einführung einer dezentralen Payment Factory, mit standardisierten und strukturierten wöchentlichen Zahlläufen über den ganzen Konzern. Technisch gesehen wurde an das weltweite ERP SAP, SAP-Treasury, SAP-Bankenkommunikationsmodul der Swift Gateway und ein Swift Service Büro mit einbezogen.

Nicht alle Banken weltweit bieten Swift mit Massenzahlungsverkehr FileAct an. Aus diesem Grunde kam es auch zu einer Konzentration von Bankanbindungen. 30 Bankanbindungen oder mehr sprengen den Projekt-Rahmen und -Aufwand.

Interessiert Sie das Thema Bankanbindungen auch mit anderen ERPs und Softwares und anderen Methoden?

Lesen Sie mehr über Bankanbindungen z.B. mit Swift oder
verfolgen Sie unser 2-Minuten-Video auf youtube zu Ebics / Swift

Kontaktieren Sie Martin Schneider mit diesbezüglichen Fragen: 044 814 2001

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Liquidity Management, RMB Internationalization and Deregulations in China

On Oct. 2, Martin Schneider participated in a presentation on cash management in Asia with a focus on the liquidity management practices in Asia Pacific region as well as the recent developments and deregulations in China.

Charles Chen, Director of Treasury Solutions at BNP Paribas Paris, offered highly detailed information on the current status and evolution of the APAC market as well as structures and solutions foreign companies dealing with China need to know.

Equipped with the knowledge and Mr. Chen as a resource, Martin will be happy to answer any questions or support your efforts in entering the Asian/Chinese market. 044 814 2011.

Also, visit our webpage Doing Business in Chinese Renminbi

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KMU-Forum über Cloud Computing und Outsourcing
Ein Blog des Instituts für Finanzdienstleistungen Zug IFZ berichtet über die Abendveranstaltung der Herbstreihe des KMU-Forums veranstaltet in Zusammenarbeit mit Bison IT Services. Hauptthemen: Cloud Computing & Outsourcing für KMU.

Marino Bundi und Stefan Renggli, Dozenten am Institut für Finanzdienstleistungen Zug IFZ erklären vier Schritte, die sich aus ihren Erfahrungen, sowie denen von Oliver Schalch, CEO, Bison IT Services und Kristian Galli (IBM Global Technology Services) ergaben.

  • Schritt 1: Was KMU zu beachten haben
  • Schritt 2: Wahl des passenden Cloud Bereitstellungs- und Servicemodelles
  • Schritt 3: Die Wahl des richtigen IT-Sourcing-Partners
  • Schritt 4: Die Rolle des CFO im Outsourcing-Prozess

Beschreibungen, Referenten und Unterlagen vom 19. KMU Forum:

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Was macht eine Bank zum “Service Champion”?

Die meisten Schweizer Banken bieten ähnliche Produkte. Welche Kriterien helfen also bei der Bankauswahl? Eine gute Differenzierungsmöglichkeit  ist deren Kundenservice, erklärt Dr. Nils Hafner, Professor am Institut für Finanzdienstleistungen Zug IFZ.

Dr. Hafner berichtet über eine Studie, in der prominente Schweizer Banken in drei bewerteten Analysepunkten (Analyse der öffentlich zugänglichen Informationen zum Thema Kundenservice; Praxisanalyse der Kundenservicekanäle und Kundenzufriedenheitsanalyse) bewertet wurden.

Im Blog “Die Schweiz sucht den Service Champion – Retail Banken unter der Lupe!“ weist Dr. Hafner auch auf zusätzliche Forschungsfragen, die aufgrund der Interviewauswertung beantwortet werden können.

Besonders wichtig sind die Empfehlungen an Finanzinstitute betreffend Service Qualität. IFZ Blog…

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EMIR: Neue Deadline und Gebühren

Die europäische Wertpapieraufsicht Esma hat die Deadline für die Registrierung der Melderegister von 24.9.13 auf 7.11.13 verschoben. Der Beginn der Meldepflicht für OTC-Derivate verschiebt sich demnach auf den 12. Februar 2014.

Die beiden aussichtsreichsten Kandidaten Regis-TR und DTCC haben mittlerweile ihre Gebührenstrukturen festgelegt.

Regis-TR verlangt für Unternehmen, die direkt berichten, eine monatliche Grundgebühr von 350 Euro und 2 Euro-Cent pro Transaktion. Dazu kommen Maintenance-Gebühren von 40 Euro-Cent pro Transaktion und Jahr.

Für Unternehmen mit mehr als 70.000 Transaktionen im Jahr gibt es Rabattstaffeln.

DTCC teilt ihre Fees an interessierten Unternehmen nur auf Anfrage mit.

Details im Der Treasurer newsletter 18/2013 (pdf).

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Frontiers in Finance: Kulturwandel in der Finanzindustrie

In der neuesten Ausgabe von “Frontiers in Finance” behandelt KPMG Fragen betreffend den Kulturwandel in der Finanzindustrie und wie sich eine effektive Risikokultur etablieren lässt. (in englisch).

The financial services industry needs a fundamental change in attitude and culture to adjust to the current environment. That’s why it’s subtitled “Conduct, culture and change. Main feature articles include:

  • Making a bank marriage work - Overcoming the cultural barriers
  • Embedding real culture change and managing talent risk
  • Regulatory reporting: Challenges for markets and for regulators
  • Moving on - Does the industry get it?
  • More effective risk culture in banking
  • The hard side of soft controls --The 7 elements of building a foundation of trust from the inside out

Apart from the feature articles, several smaller articles are easy to grasp.
Download the 40-page publication in pdf...

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CFOs’ Role in Supporting Innovation
Well-timed innovation helps increase market share, competitiveness and earnings. CFOs can play a vital role in supporting innovation. This is an opportunity as well as a challenge.

Supporting innovation involves monitoring risk but also not stifling ideas. For CFOs who have been cutting cost and managing cash flow, this is a tough balancing act that is critical. They should

“The finance department should shed the perception that it bogs down new ideas, and should ensure that companies have the processes and expertise to decide when to invest, and where.”

In the publication Innovation Champions: How CFOs can keep companies vital, PwC and faculty of Wharton’s Business School explore how CFOs can form top-performing finance teams. Topics include:

  • Attracting and motivating the right talent
  • Leveraging all parts of finance organizations.
  • What it means to be a high-performance CFO today

Download Innovation Champions: How CFOs can keep companies vital (7 pg pdf)

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The Global State of Information Security® Survey 2014

The overall impression the PWC’s survey revealed is that CEOs have confidence in their security program and understand the need to underwrite increased security activities. As result, security strategies, technology and safegards have improved. That’s just on the surface though.

The survey also shows that security incidents as well as the cost of breeches have increased. Also, “hot-button technologies” such as cloud computing, mobility, and BYOD (bring your own device) are often being introduced before they are secured.

The survey focuses in detail on

  • Confidence in an era of advancing risks
  • Today’s incidents, yesterday’s strategies
  • A weak defence against adversaries
  • Preparing for the threats of tomorrow
  • The global cyber-defence race
  • The future of security: Awareness to Action

On Pwc.com, you can download the entire survey, an executive summary, or regional or industry-specific results. The Global State of Information Security® Survey 2014...

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Is Long-Range Strategic Planning still Relevant?

James Heskett, Professor at Harvard Business School, asked readers of Harvard’s newsletter their opinion on the relevance of long-range strategic planning. He referred to two books on the topic: Clayton M. Christensen, The Innovator's Dilemma and Rita Gunther McGrath, The End of Competitive Advantage: How To Keep Your Strategy Moving As Fast As Your Business.

On Sept. 4, he summed up the responses. Overall, readers argued that “long-range planning, while necessary for organizational success, must be adaptable to the competitive environment.”

For example, several readers suggested that strategic planning depends on the industry, the competition, and the speed of organizational change. Some even argued that ''the need for a sustainable strategy is actually higher in a volatile market space.”

Others argued that the key question should be about the “tools that are most appropriate to the task today.”

Overall, the consensus is that organizations need to change their habit of planning “as ceremonial processes that are conducted periodically.” Why then have managers been reluctant to embrace new methods of planning? Full story…

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Rules for Managing Conflict at the Office

Conflict happens in any setup. A visuals-packed presentation in undercoverrecruiter.com illustrates 9 rules of managing conflict at work that help you “keep a level head and leads to the best outcome. For each rule, you find such details as stats, how to interpret what’s going on and strategy examples. The 9 steps are:

  1. Recognize that conflict will happen
  2. Don’t wait for the explosion
  3. Know your issue
  4. Foster flexibility and compromise
  5. Keep it professional, not personal
  6. Use your ears, engage in active listening
  7. Turn down the heat, use de-escalation techniques
  8. If all else fails, get help from a mediator
  9. The best solution: Prevention

Full story…

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From the Desk of Regula Spottl, Greensboro, North Carolina

Why is Happiness such a Hot Topic?

The tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan has been known and praised for its Gross National Happiness (GNH) measure instead of Gross National Product (GNP). Other countries and cities have started to measure their citizens’ happiness as well (see The 'Wellbeing Index': Santa Monica Joins U.S. Cities Tracking Happiness) The article cites various U.S. and Canadian cities are trying to mimic Bhutan’s GNH concept.

A few days ago, the U.N published the second World Happiness Report conducted by the U.N. Sustainable Development Solutions Network. The survey revealed that the nations with the happiest citizens are Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, Netherlands and Sweden. The U.S. came in 17th and Canada 6th.

It’s not just countries and cities that focus on happiness. I wrote in the last two newsletters about happiness: In August How Money Can Buy Happiness, and in September What Characterizes a Company Where Young Professionals Are Happy?

Why is happiness such a big issue? Why now? I have a few ideas why the U.S. scores so low. But I’m curious what you think. Email me with suggestion: rspottl@triad.rr.com.

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