Latest Articles

• Precise Imprecision - Understanding FP&A Financial planning and analysis, or FP&A, is a catch-all title—and with good reason. On any single day this function may be called upon to perform work in any department in the company. The basic function of the FP&A department is to perform budgeting and forecasting to keep the company on track toward its financial goals....

  September 1, 2010

• AFP of Canada Welcomes TMAC Maritimes Chapter The Association for Financial Professionals of Canada (AFPC) welcomes the Maritimes chapter of the Treasury Management Association of Canada (TMAC), which recently voted to become a regional partner under the name AFP of Canada – Maritimes....

  September 1, 2010

• AFP EconWatch -- August 30, 2010 The U.S. economy grew 1.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis during the second quarter of 2010. This was a downward revision from the 2.4 percent growth estimate reported in late July. ...

  August 30, 2010

• Commentary: Will the US Continue to be a Slowing Economy? Clearly, this is not a typical upturn which is usually "V" shaped and is becoming more and more a prolonged period of slow growth....

  August 25, 2010

• AFP of Canada Welcomes TMAC Calgary Chapter The Association for Financial Professionals of Canada (AFPC) welcomes the Calgary chapter of the Treasury Management Association of Canada (TMAC), which recently voted to become a regional partner under the name AFP of Canada – Calgary....

  August 24, 2010

• Omnicom, Brocade, Republic Services Win Pinnacle Awards for Treasury Excellence Omnicom Group, Brocade Communications and Republic Services won the three categories of the Association for Financial Professionals 2010 Pinnacle Award, which recognizes excellence in treasury and finance....

  August 23, 2010

• AFP EconWatch -- August 23, 2010 Mid-August economic data portrayed a labor market that was continuing to struggle, but the story may not be as dire as it first appears....

  August 23, 2010

• AFP Comments on FASB Loss Contingencies Exposure Draft AFP's Government Relations Committee issued a comment letter to the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) on its recent Exposure Draft of the Accounting Standards Update on Contingencies (Topic 450) titled, Disclosure of Certain Loss Contingencies....

  August 17, 2010

• A Week Where Fear Trumped Hope - The Week in Corporate Finance We are seeing a flight to quality in the US and a similar phenomenon in Europe, says AFP's finance practice lead. ...

  August 16, 2010

• AFP EconWatch -- August 16, 2010 The Federal Open Market Committee voted last Tuesday to not only keep the fed funds rate at near zero percent, where it has been since December 2008, but it also decided that the Federal Reserve would maintain its holdings of long-term securities at current levels....

  August 16, 2010

• Wire Remittance Changes Proposed for SWIFT AFP has for years supported a wire remittance standard, which the Federal Reserve and The Clearinghouse have promised to release in November 2011. Now, another piece of the wire remittance puzzle is almost at hand....

  August 11, 2010

• Erika Hayes James on Crisis Leadership Erika Hayes James, PhD, Associate Professor at Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, is scheduled to speak at AFP’s Annual Conference about rebuilding the image of the financial industry through trust. Dr. James recently spoke to AFP....

  August 11, 2010

• PNC is Exclusive Sponsor of AFP's Executive Institute for Second Year The Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) announced today that The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc., will be the exclusive sponsor for AFP's Executive Institute, which will take place at the 2010 AFP Annual Conference November 7-10 in San Antonio, Texas....

  August 10, 2010

• Will Executive Clawbacks be Required for Public Companies? Clawback arrangements where executives must give back compensation, though not required by law, are becoming more prevalent. Clawbacks might be required in the future....

  August 10, 2010

• Treasury Essentials: Why and how to build a RAROC model While credit is flowing again, according to corporate practitioners, pricing seems to have fundamentally shifted toward richer spreads, and banks are even more aggressive in pursuing incremental business. As a result, treasuries need to be more strategic in the way they divvy up their business....

  August 10, 2010

• Code of Conduct for Canadian Card Industry Ready The Canadian Minister of Finance's Code of Conduct for the credit and debit card industry will take effect on August 16....

  August 9, 2010

• Why the Decline in Dollar LIBOR? The Week in Corporate Finance Dollar LIBOR was lower again this week and Euro LIBOR was higher. ...

  August 9, 2010

• AFP EconWatch -- August 9, 2010 The labor market remained stuck in neutral in July as private sector employers added only 71,000 workers during the month....

  August 9, 2010

• AFP Offers Payments Roundtables To better address corporate payments practitioners' challenges, AFP has created Payments Roundtables, a series of breakfast meetings to be held across the country. The first AFP Payments Roundtable is in Kansas City, Missouri, September 22....

  August 9, 2010

• Atlanta Fed’s Cordray Discusses Same-Day Clearing A number of corporates have told me that the early availability is nice, but the major benefit for them is the prospect of earlier returns....

  August 9, 2010

• FASB Proposal Will Hurt Intercompany Hedging A possible change by FASB could have a negative impact on intercompany hedging. AFP interviewed Helen Kane, president of HedgeTrackers, about the impending FASB exposure draft....

  August 9, 2010

• AFP August 2010 Payments Newsletter This month’s issue takes a look at the Fed’s same-day ACH clearing service, which launched on Aug. 2....

  August 9, 2010

• What's in Same-Day ACH for Corporates? FACT: Six banks have opted into the Fed's new Same-Day ACH service for August. Five will send and receive payments. The sixth will only receive them. ...

  August 6, 2010

• Analysts Penalyzing Companies for Unpredictable FX Results - Expert Wolfgang Koester, CEO of FiREpps, a risk management firm that helps companies understand and improve their FX exposures, said he has observed that analysts have been penalizing public companies that don't demonstrate predictable FX results. ...

  August 5, 2010

• Interview: Research Specialist Discusses Finance Pay Trends Karen McClelland, survey research specialist with AFP, discusses the 2010 AFP Compensation Survey...

  August 5, 2010

• Survey: Finance Salaries Significantly Outpace National Average Budgetary function is valued. Bonuses are strong. Certification drives advancement...

  August 3, 2010

• August 2010 AFP Risk! Newsletter Brace for impact: President Obama has signed the financial regulatory overhaul package. This issue of Risk breaks down what it means for corporates in several key areas—OTC derivatives, credit rating agencies, and more. ...

  August 3, 2010

• Four Questions on Payments Fraud AFP recently spoke with Anita Patterson, CTP, Director of Treasury Services with Cox Enterprises, Inc., about payments fraud. Patterson is a member of AFP's Payments Advisory Group and AFP's Board of Directors....

  August 2, 2010

• Needs of Investors, Issuers Converge in Busiest July Ever for Corporate Debt Not only did July have the highest volume of debt, it was executed with the cost of the debt at a six-year low...

  August 2, 2010

• Your Move. Three ways you can harness treasury to drive organizational results. A corporate treasury fantasy: At your firm's annual executive dinner, Treasury was highlighted for its exceptional value contribution. What's more, the CEO said Treasury would be the featured value driver in the next earnings call—not just for liquidity or a fractional improvement in return on cash, but for strategic contribution....

  August 2, 2010

• AFP EconWatch -- August 2, 2010 The U.S. economy expanded for the fourth consecutive quarter during the months of April, May and June. But the pace can best described as middling, with 2.4 percent growth on an annualized basis....

  August 2, 2010

• Top 10 Articles on AFPonline Top articles originally published on www.afponline.org in July 2010...

  July 31, 2010

• First-Half 2010 Numbers Stronger, but Market Still Cautious While most would argue that the U.S. economy has a way to go before it could be described as "strong," AFP continues to review data that shows the economy, business and financial markets are in much better shape than they were a year ago....

  July 30, 2010

• Hitting the Wall: The Pros and Cons of Refinancing Now The latest Fed data, from Q1 2010, shows that while most banks have kept credit tight, a handful of large banks began to lend more. It is the first time since 2006 that at least some banks have reported loosening their purse strings....

  July 29, 2010

• Economic Commentary: Is sustained job growth just around the corner? The economic picture remains a mixed bag. The U.S. economy has had three consecutive quarters of growth, driven in part by the manufacturing sector and the historic fiscal and monetary stimulus. But the recovery seems hollow and fragile given that the labor market continues to struggle. ...

  July 28, 2010

• CTC Poll: Corporate Treasurers Plan to Increase Capital Expenditures by 2011 Nearly two-thirds of corporate treasury and finance executives who attended a virtual roundtable said that they expect to increase capital expenditures by the first half of next year....

  July 27, 2010

• A Tale of Two Standards: FASB vs. IASB FASB and IASB have been trading proposals about accounting for derivatives and hedging activities. AFP's director of financial accounting and reporting analyzes their ideas....

  July 27, 2010

• FinReg Fallout: FDIC Changes Will Cover More Depositors The new Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act includes permanent changes to FDIC insurance coverage limits and retroactive deposit coverage. ...

  July 26, 2010

• Either Soaring or Sinking - The Week in Corporate Finance One day the stock market is down because the Chairman of the Federal Reserve uses the word "uncertain". The next day it is up because earning reports came in better than expected....

  July 26, 2010

• AFP Econwatch -- July 26, 2010 As much of the U.S. sweltered under a heat wave, a series of data releases last week well demonstrated that the housing market was once again freezing up....

  July 26, 2010

• The 2a-7 Money Fund Changes: What it Means for Corporate Treasury Brent Callinicos, Google's VP & Treasurer, recently told Bloomberg that Google's $26.5 billion in corporate cash "isn't fast money, this is patient money." This sums up quite well what is on the minds of corporate investors these days, and new research supports this mindset....

  July 23, 2010

• One Report: The Case for Integrated Reporting Integrated reporting is a simple idea: Combine financial, environmental, social, and governance information into a single document. It is about ulling information together to answer a fundamental question: Just how does nonfinancial performance contribute to financial performance, and vice versa?...

  July 23, 2010

• AFP Warns Treasury and SEC Not to Adopt Variable NAV The Association for Financial Professions has co-signed a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro restating its continued opposition to the concept of moving Money Market Funds (MMFs) from a stable net-asset-value (NAV) to a variable NAV....

  July 22, 2010

• Expect the Unexpected: Coordinating Your Hedging Strategies Hedging requires coordination between risk managers and financial reporters. Unfortunately for some hedgers, stuff happens. Ira Kawaller explains....

  July 22, 2010

• FinReg Fallout: Corporates Brace for Impact President Obama today signed into law a sweeping reform of the financial services industry. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act will lead to the most dramatic reshaping of U.S. financial markets since Depression-era reforms were enacted more than 70 years ago....

  July 21, 2010

• Mid-Year Report: AFP Members Discuss Challenges - Part 2 What does your boss want from you and your team? What issues are being raised by the CEO, the board and its committees?...

  July 21, 2010

• The Bottom Line: Glamorous Rise of a Former Corporate Treasurer Treasurers who move into new fields may retain their focus on keeping businesses financially healthy...

  July 21, 2010

• Mid-Year Report: Senior-level Finance Professionals Discuss Challenges Across the country and worldwide, leaders in finance still struggle to meet their boards' expectations amid still-shaky financial times. As one professional put it recently, they are balancing the rewards of potential growth with the risks inherent in chasing that growth....

  July 20, 2010

• Panel: What Recent Tensions Have Meant for Real Companies Have treasurers been disintermediating banks by going directly to the capital markets? Have they been stuffing their cash in the mattress -- or possibly finding other tactics? ...

  July 20, 2010

• Letter from the President: Excess Cash Has Become a CEO Issue When we were compiling results of our survey, we knew that the information would add to the global economic debate...

  July 20, 2010

• The Bottom Line: Excess Liquidity Cartoon From the July issue of AFP Exchange magazine. ...

  July 20, 2010

• True Believers, AFP Corporate Members Want a True BAI Standard It's like if you were going down the highway, and stop signs were different shapes and colors and sizes, one member said....

  July 20, 2010

• Classic Case of Being Bi-Polar - Week in Corporate Finance Year-to-date, 96 financial institutions have ceased to exist. In 2009, 140 institutions were closed, so at our current pace, 2010 will exceed that number of closures....

  July 19, 2010

• AFP Econwatch -- July 19, 2010 Inflation remained non-existent in June as plummeting energy prices counterbalanced small price increases that occurred elsewhere in the economy....

  July 19, 2010

• Organizations Want Consistent BAI Format, Implementation across Banks, Survey Shows Current standards can make it a challenge for corporates to efficiently apply the data they need to manage their global treasury operations...

  July 16, 2010

• FinReg Fallout: Derivatives up to CFTC, SEC Jiro Okochi, CEO of Reval, the derivatives specialist, comments....

  July 15, 2010

• FinReg Fallout: Less Credit, More Bank Data for Corporates As the landmark financial regulatory overhaul bill nears its inevitable passage as early as today, AFP will post reactions to the legislation, and offer advice on how corporates can cope with its impact....

  July 15, 2010

• Canada Proposes New Money Funds Rules Canadian Securities Administrators proposed new regulations to align Canadian money market funds more closely with the SEC's recently updated Rule 2a-7....

  July 14, 2010

• AFP's Regional Officers Meeting Each year in July, officer representatives from AFP regional associations throughout the US, Canada and Puerto Rico gather in Washington, DC for the AFP Regional Officers Meeting....

  July 13, 2010

• Borrowed Time - How to Protect Receivables Corporate treasury and finance managers struggle to protect two of their most important assets --accounts receivable and customer relationships. Too much of a focus on either can leave a business vulnerable....

  July 12, 2010

• Extend to Pretend - The Week in Corporate Finance We are really seeing the world split into three separate economies: the developing world, North America and Europe, says AFP's finance practice lead...

  July 12, 2010

• AFP Econwatch -- July 12, 2010 The week following the Fourth of July holiday was a slow one in terms of economic data. But the relative lack of new data may be a welcomed respite from the avalanche of bad news--in terms of employment and housing--from the previous week and the natural pessimistic reaction that the news had generated....

  July 12, 2010

• In Case You Missed It: Fed Rules for Same-Day ACH, Opt In Starts Aug 2 The Federal Reserve Board has announced the posting rules for its same-day clearing service for automated clearing house payments...

  July 8, 2010

• Study: 27 Percent of Employees Get Paper Paychecks Less than three-quarters of employees receive payments through direct deposit, according to a recent survey....

  July 8, 2010

• AFP July 2010 Payments Newsletter This month's issue takes a look at the past and future of payments. In our Q&A, Federal Reserve Senior Vice President Claudia Swendseid discusses check float, and tells us why it is all but obsolete....

  July 8, 2010

• NACHA Adds M-Payments to Network Rules NACHA's membership has voted to approve a rule to write mobile payments transactions into the rules that govern the automated clearing house network. The new rules will give companies guidance on accepting mobile payments over the ACH network, and information on how to best thwart fraud attacks. ...

  July 7, 2010

• Treasury Mashups Part 2 - Implementing this New Concept on Your Treasury Workstation Your first step is to draw a diagram, based on your treasury management strategy. Consultant Henry Wong explains how....

  July 7, 2010

• July 2010 AFP Risk! Newsletter This issue of Risk addresses U.S. pension and endowment fund investment in Canada, asks seven working capital questions, and interviews Diane Ellis, the regulator in charge of FDIC bank assessments....

  July 7, 2010

• Survey: Cash-hoarding U.S. firms could impact investment in China Signaling a reluctance to invest abroad, many U.S. corporations continue to expand their cash stockpiles, invest more in conservative vehicles, and have no immediate plans to deploy their cash in their businesses, according to the 2010 AFP Liquidity Survey....

  July 6, 2010

• Unexpected FX Results Our monthly risk column recalls the words of Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh and his advice to businesses ...

  July 6, 2010

• Financial Professionals Discuss Mandated EFT Recently on AFP's discussion board corporate treasury professionals had a dialog about mandated EFT. ...

  July 6, 2010

• AFP Members Follow AFP Real Time on Twitter Follow AFP on twitter @afponline...

  July 6, 2010

• AFP Econwatch -- July 6, 2010 June was the first month since last December in which the U.S. economy failed to create jobs on a net basis....

  July 6, 2010

• Safe and Sound - Interview with FDIC's Top Risk Assessment Officer for Banks Diane Ellis, deputy director, financial risk management and research, FDIC, spoke with AFP at a recent AFP Government Relations Committee meeting. ...

  July 6, 2010

• The Heat is On ...FASB The deadline for when the SEC will decide on whether to adopt the competing International Financial Reporting Standards is fast approaching....

  July 1, 2010

• US House Passes Financial Regulatory Reform, Measure Heads to Senate after July 4 Recess Late yesterday, the U. S. House of Representatives approved landmark regulatory reform legislation that would overhaul U.S. financial services regulation with new controls on large and interconnected financial firms, tougher capital and operating standards for banks, and a new regime for the regulation of derivatives....

  July 1, 2010

• U.S. Corporate Finance Execs Prize Safety and Liquidity U.S. corporate finance executives appear unconvinced of the vibrancy of the economic recovery at hand, as indicated by investment patterns, according to a new survey released today by the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP)....

  June 28, 2010

• AFP Econwatch -- June 28, 2010 The Federal Reserve's chief monetary policies after the conclusion of last week's Federal Open Market Committee meeting were exactly what they were before the meeting....

  June 28, 2010

• Financial Regulatory Reform Conferees Reach an Agreement; Final Conference Report Expected in Days Early this morning, House and Senate Conferees on financial regulatory reform reached an agreement on the remaining language of H.R. 4173, the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act which will overhaul our nation's financial regulatory system. On a party-line vote, the House conferees voted 20-11 to approve the bill; the Senate conferees voted 7-5 to approve....

  June 25, 2010

• Remarks from AFP's Chairman: How the CFO is Dealing with the New Normal Speaking today at the Global Treasurers Forum - Europe, AFP's chairman says the New Normal is profoundly abnormal, a radical departure from the conventions of the past ...

  June 24, 2010

• Remarks: How the CFO is Dealing with the New Normal -II What does it mean for a CFO to be a good strategic partner with the CEO? AFP chairman Ira Birns delves into specifics at the Global Corporate Treasurers Forum - Europe....

  June 24, 2010

• The Information Link The key note speaker at the AFP of Canada Treasury Management Forum and the Society of Canadian Treasurers (SCT) Institute was Michael Ptasznik, Chief Financial Officer of TMX Group. TMX operates Canada’s two national stock exchanges, the Toronto and Montreal Exchanges as well as Canada’s derivatives exchange and it holds stakes in regional options and other exchanges....

  June 24, 2010

• FDIC Extends TAG Program and Reports on Deposit Insurance Assessment Rates On June 22, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) adopted final rules that would extend the Transaction Account Guarantee (TAG) Program for six additional months, from July 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010....

  June 23, 2010

• Financial Reform Conferees Agree to Permanent Changes to Deposit Insurance and TAG Program Late last week, House and Senate conferees on financial regulatory reform reached an agreement on a proposal that would permanently increase the limit on federal deposit insurance to $250,000 and make it retroactive to provide additional federal assistance to the individual depositors of IndyMac and other failed banks....

  June 23, 2010

• House and Senate Conferees Reach Agreements on Rating Agencies & Interchange As the House and Senate conferees continue to work out their differences in both versions of the financial regulatory reform bill, leaders announced several agreements yesterday that were made over the course of the past few days. ...

  June 22, 2010

• AFP of Canada Welcomes TMAC Toronto, Ottawa, Edmonton Chapters The Association for Financial Professionals of Canada (AFPC) welcomes the Toronto, Ottawa and Edmonton chapters of the Treasury Management Association of Canada (TMAC). The three TMAC chapters recently voted to become regional partners of AFP of Canada. ...

  June 21, 2010

• RMB Reactions - FX Consultants on China's Decision to Un-peg its Currency from USD China's decision over the weekend to let the renminbi float is generating a great deal of discussion. Here are three takes the move...

  June 21, 2010

• Loan Market Review 1Q10: Guarded Optimism The theme of the first quarter of 2010 for the Loan market would be one of guarded optimism. After surviving all the difficulties of 2009, 2010 seems to have gotten off to a decent start. ...

  June 16, 2010

• The Ratings Game - Senate Leaders Focus Reform on Credit Rating Agencies Critics of the new financial regulatory reform bill say its language does little to correct the problems plaguing the ratings industry....

  June 15, 2010

• Hedge Accounting Lessons from Canadian Companies Reporting Under IFRS For companies seeking hedge accounting treatment for the derivatives they use to hedge exposures to fluctuating interest rates, foreign currencies, and commodity prices, the adoption of IFRS has posed some challenges. ...

  June 15, 2010

• Canadian Payments Association Releases New Vision, Strategic Roadmap The Canadian Payments Association has released its long-term strategic plan for the next 10 years...

  June 14, 2010

• FX Expert Jiro Okochi on Impact of the European Sovereign Debt Crisis Reval's CEO told AFP where he sees the euro going, over the short term and over the long term. ...

  June 11, 2010

• How One Treasurer Rose to CEO During the Financial Crisis - Yes, CEO It isn't easy to advance from corporate treasury to chief executive officer. Here's one treasurer who made the leap and did so during the most turbulent financial period in decades...

  June 11, 2010

• Why Checks May Be Around in the United States for a Long Time The U.K. Payments Council said it was faced with a choice: either manage the long-term decline of paper checks or stand back and let the decline take its course. It chose the latter. Why is the US unlikely to follow suit?...

  June 11, 2010

• Debit Card Fee Regulation Creates Excitement, Anxiety An amendment to tackle swipe fees recently passed the U.S. Senate. This amendment focuses on how much Interchange fees issuing banks can charge merchants for accepting debit cards. ...

  June 10, 2010

• AFP June 2010 Payments Newsletter This month's issue takes a look at payments technology, including a cover story on whether the U.S. is ready for EMV chip and pin smart cards....

  June 9, 2010

• Corporate Directors Discuss Suncor, Petro-Canada Restructuring, Merging of Treasuries When Suncor Energy Inc. completed a $14.9-billion merger with Petro-Canada last June, the new company instantly became one of Canada's largest. Size of the new, Calgary-based energy company was just the beginning of the challenges ...

  June 9, 2010

• The Bottom Line: End of the World as We Know It Editor's note - Change is happening on the political and regulatory fronts...

  June 9, 2010

• Wal-Mart Touts EMV Card Security. Would it Work Here? Javelin Strategy & Research puts the cost of moving to EMV chip-and-pin in the U.S. at $8.6 billion...

  June 9, 2010

• Your Colleagues Discuss Exchange Rate Forecasts Recently on AFP's discussion board corporate treasury and finance professionals discussed techniques for gathering forecasts for exchange rates for Mexico, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Korea, Pakistan, Kenya, Thailand, China, Malaysia and Nigeria...

  June 8, 2010