These questions are meant to be a self-evaluation to help you, your treasury team, the CFO and the related departments determining the company’s level of preparedness for a treasury management service.
ARE YOU AWARE OF WHICH TMS SYSTEM OR SYSTEMS YOUR COMPETITORS ARE USING?
this can be taken in two ways: either your competitors are further along because they have adopted and implemented a Treasury Management Solution, or, you want to get a jump on them by better utilizing your company’s cash, FTE’s (full-time employee) time and reduce time and fee with auditors.
WHERE WOULD THIS TMS PROJECT RANK IN THE HIERARCHY OF IT DEPARTMENT’S OTHER PROJECTS?
While the IT requirements for a TMS are fairly low, they will be involved. Depending on their current workload, they should prioritize this TMS project with their other treasury and IT projects.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO GET A TRUE GLOBAL CASH POSITION?
The number of bank portals, either domestic or international, your company accesses can lead to time spent in acquiring a true global cash position. In regards to banks and bank accounts in the far regions of the world, there are stories of people receiving emails and faxes with balances, and the central office hand entering those numbers into spreadsheets. This is very time-consuming.
HOW ACCURATE IS YOUR FORECAST?
Having a more accurate cash forecast will help you in lowering the cash balances in your bank accounts. You can make larger investments or pay down your debts. In both these cases, you will save money.
ARE YOU AWARE OF ANY FUTURE ACQUISITIONS OF OTHER SMALL COMPANIES?
If your company merges with another firm, your treasury team should be able to handle this tremendous change.
WHAT IF THERE IS A SHIFT IN THE MARKETS AND YOUR COMPANY IS NOW IN A GROWTH UP-TICK?
You would like to improve on cash management to increase your “dry powder” for future acquisitions. Or maybe manage cash to help pay down debt because the rates on the debt have increased. In the past, external auditors are pleased that your competitors have implemented a TMS. It’s much easier for them to review and sign-off on approvals with a piece of technology, compared to tracking down copies of paperwork from filing cabinets.
This is a good career development, to review TMS systems, select a technology, and implement a solution; it makes you marketable to other companies, who may be at the early stages to research at TMS. Other companies will pay for your experience and new skills.
December 11, 2017
