Preface

At the time of writing this Best Practice Handbook, Europe is in a state of turmoil. Greece is on the brink of default. Crisis talks are being held and plans to save the Eurozone are being proposed – and just as quickly opposed.

As a result, the very nature of European cash management may be at a crossroads: will the euro unravel or will it be rescued? With so much invested in the single currency area, economic leaders have damage limitation at the forefront of their minds. Nevertheless, treasurers are left wondering how their company will be affected, as well as what the worst case scenario might mean for their operations in Europe. After all, two major French banks have just been downgraded by Moody’s, and a third placed under review due to their exposure to Greek debt.

No matter what the outcome of the latest crisis to hit Europe however, the need for best practice in treasury remains constant. This comprehensive Handbook is designed to keep treasurers up-to-date with the latest developments in European cash management and provide practical advice for setting up cash management structures in the region.

In Section One, we look at the drivers of change and development in cash management, including the euro crisis. Working capital management is covered in depth in Section Two, together with a checklist for releasing trapped working capital, useful for those looking to self-fund.

With SEPA migration regulation expected by the end of 2011, Section Three provides a comprehensive overview of the latest developments in the payments and clearing landscape. We also examine the most recent offerings from SWIFT, including 3SKey, as multibank connectivity continues to thrive. The number of banking relationships that corporates are actively maintaining also continues to grow, as outlined in Section Four.

The basics of treasury organisation, looking at the pros and cons of centralisation, shared service centres, payment factories and outsourcing are examined in Section Five. Then the various options for setting up a liquidity structure are presented in Section Six, which discusses the ways pooling and netting can help companies to improve cash visibility – a major treasury priority since the financial crisis. Having achieved visibility of your cash, Section Seven looks at the options for investing any surplus. For companies looking to access additional funding, Section Eight outlines the options – from bank loans to bonds.

From treasury management systems and ERPs to banking portals and investment technology, Section Nine covers the new and growing technologies available to today’s treasurer. Here, we also look at the process for securing IT investment, as well as issuing an RFP. Section Ten, which is a new chapter to this Handbook, looks at the growing role of foreign exchange in the cash management landscape. Finally, tax and regulatory considerations are summarised in Section Eleven.

We hope that you will find this Handbook interesting and informative. As always, we welcome any comments or suggestions to editorial@treasurytoday.com