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DataLog Finance How Technology is Helping Treasurers

he profession of treasurer has changed significantly over the last 30 years. The days when treasurers managed a company’s treasury alone on their PC T – often on a spreadsheet, independently from the rest of the company’s information system – are now long gone.

Today, treasurers work in a connected ensure information is unique, separate tasks world where the notion of virtually real-time and mandates, centralise and improve operations is omnipresent. They must visibility of cash positions, assist in decision- manage real-time market information, making, and enable electronic signatures, electronic trading, relationships with banks as well as virtually instantaneous exchanges and counterparties, subsidiaries, etc., both and infinite reporting possibilities. inside the company and its information However, many large companies still do not system and with external contacts. take advantage of these tools and continue Globalisation and the digital and to use outdated technologies in obsolete technological revolution have profoundly software packages. changed the needs and working habits of Many group treasury departments still treasurers. Today, certain modern treasury use a variety of software packages each management systems (TMS) provide managing a limited functional perimeter. functionalities to enable collaborative work, These packages are interlinked with

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varying degrees of efficiency, resulting in a greater administrative workload, TMS - Single repository and database difficult maintenance operations, and even the need to re-enter information Cash Management: concerning certain operations. Other G Forecasts groups have opted for more integrated G Reconciliations solutions which are now technically G Positions outdated, difficult to implement and that G Cash Pooling end up costing a lot to use over time. G Netting Finally, some companies have chosen G Inhouse Bank more modern solutions, but the technical G Accounting design of these systems limits their use and makes them too rigid. Financial Operations: G FX What treasurers dream about: G Rate 1. Standardising their treasury G Debt management system in order to have a G Investments solution based on a single repository and G Commodities database. The solution must cover all the G IAS9 components of the trade: front, middle, back office and associated risks, cash Reconciliation: management (including payments), G Banking/Accounting treasury accounting operations (cash G Clearing and trading), bank communication, G Market Confirmations reconciliation of market transaction confirmations, management of standard Payments: and electronic bank mandates (eBAM) G Payments & 2. Easily integrating the solution into the Collections company’s general IS while limiting (or G eBAM even completely removing) the need for G Payment Routing IT developments to manage the interfaces 3. Making it easier for subsidiaries to access to the solution thanks to simple deployment (no more local installation) account the technical aspects, which are architecture defined internally (operating 4. Guaranteeing the total security, confi - essential for the success of their project in system, database, etc.). dentiality and traceability of data the medium and long term, and for this The last criterion concerns the type of 5. Moving closer to real-time management they should be supported by their IT service offer proposed: a solution hosted and ‘zero paper’ by automating tasks as department. Consequently, they will opt internally or by a third party in ASP or SaaS much as possible (straight-through for a full-web solution in order to facilitate mode. A well-designed solution should processing) and having configurable deployment and centralise data in a single enable reversibility (internalising the workflows that fit exactly with the place. The aim of having an increased solution after use in SaaS mode for processes visibility of cash flows while facilitating the example). 6. Simple administration and maintenance administration and maintenance of the Finally, treasurers need to understand to reduce the total cost of ownership tool will then be fulfilled. the software-publisher’s product strategy in (TCO). The type of programming used for the order to gauge their ability to keep up with solution can also impact the functional or regulatory changes, as well as Thanks to technology, this dream has interdependence of the application with the with technological developments that will become a reality. Today, with server company’s general IS. For example, a Java provide ever-greater flexibility, productivity storage and processing capacities, 3-tier solution is more likely to fit with the and security. I architectures (data, application, web), device-oriented development tools, and increasing network bandwidth (internal and Internet), it is now possible to have Working with its customers, DataLog Finance has developed Treasury Line, the next- solutions such as Treasury Line generation smart TMS to provide them with treasury-management solutions for the (http://www.treasury-line.com ) that can 21st century. respond to all these needs perfectly. The first criterion group treasurers will More information: https://www.datalog-finance.com/en/tms-treasury-line-en/ look at is the functional coverage of the [email protected] solution. However, they must also take into

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