Enriching the Treasury Function.Does your treasury function need access to data in easy-to-manipulate formats? "Look no further than your banks' standard information reporting systems," suggests Don Shaurette, managing director of the technical marketing/consulting division of SunTrust Banks SunTrust Banks, Inc. (NYSE: STI) is an American bank holding company. The largest subsidiary is SunTrust Bank. It had $182.2 billion in assets as of December 31, 2006. Treasury Management Services, based in Orlando. "These applications act as readily accessible repositories or databases of bank transaction detail." In a typical transaction, such as a wire transfer to a supplier, elements of the exchange reside within the accounting function. "But the information supporting the transfer, such as issues pertaining per·tain intr.v. per·tained, per·tain·ing, per·tains 1. To have reference; relate: evidence that pertains to the accident. 2. to reconciliation and transaction validation, are tagged and carried along with the transaction," Shaurette explains. "The information resides in the bank's own systems. The key is how to harness the data to support those business processes with which treasury has no direct tie." Procurement The fancy word for "purchasing." The procurement department within an organization manages all the major purchases. cards are another case in point. "Information relating to relating to relate prep → concernant relating to relate prep → bezüglich +gen, mit Bezug auf +acc a specific purchasing transaction can be captured at the point of purchase, then handed back to support the financial reporting and control environment that's required in many organizations today," he says. "Regardless of format, here's readily accessible information that can be leveraged, truly setting the stage for meaningful integration opportunities. ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) An integrated information system that serves all departments within an enterprise. Evolving out of the manufacturing industry, ERP implies the use of packaged software rather than proprietary software written by or for one customer. and 'open systems' for many financial applications, which are premised on the whole notion of an integrated architecture, support the import and extraction of data in easily usable USable is a special idea contest to transfer US American ideas into practice in Germany. USable is initiated by the German Körber-Stiftung (foundation Körber). It is doted with 150,000 Euro and awarded every two years. formats." He also suggests looking into Internet-based or private network-delivered access, which use web-browser interfaces. A Wealth of Information "Today's typical corporate treasury department spends relatively little time integrating the systems that manage the dataflow between itself and its banks," says SunTrust Banks' Don Shaurette. "This spells missed opportunity. Systems integration must loom loom, frame or machine used for weaving; there is evidence that the loom has been in use since 4400 B.C. Modern looms are of two types, those with a shuttle (the part that carries the weft through the shed) and those without; the latter draw the weft from a larger on the agenda, given its overall importance to the corporate bottom line." Therefore, Shaurette recommends that treasury change how specific business process information is used, and how it's shared for maximum benefit. Systems Integration Checklist * Identify the process owner The process owner is the person who co-ordinates the various functions and work activities at all levels of a process. This person might have the authority or ability to make changes in the process as required, and manages the entire process cycle to ensure performance * Create or reinforce communications between bank and process owner * Make treasury the data integration gatekeeper In an H.323 IP telephony or video environment, a gatekeeper is a device that manages domains and provides call control. It is used to translate user names into IP addresses, to authenticate users and to manage network resources. * Start with a process map pinpointing key sources of information * Isolate bank-supplied data * Define data by timeframe, delivery mode and ease of accessibility/format * Examine alternative delivery options * Make optimum system integration selection * Start implementing * Test and validate results Key Attributes of Winning Data Integration * Did productivity increase? * Can the process be completed less expensively than before? * Has process accuracy been enhanced? * Is decisionmaking faster? * Are cycle times shorter? * Is information being shared more widely? * Are the right people sharing the right information? |
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