SEPA Inertia Sets in as Costs Climb

As European banks struggle to meet SEPA compliance deadlines, corporate officials are beginning to sound a lot like they did in the early years of Sarbanes-Oxley. They are grumbling about the high costs, slow payback and harsh deadlines. Sound familiar?

Six months after the first stage of SEPA, for the Single Euro Payments Area, went live, the grousing and inertia has many procrastinating and pressing for extended deadlines. “With all the regulation that banks have had in had to comply with over 10 years, it’s not surprising that we’re seeing the emergence of SEPA-fatigue,” says Rachael Hunt, European banking research manager at IDC’s Financial Insights, adding that this lethargy is similar to the weariness that set in after Sarbanes Oxley (SOX) became law.

Indeed, some consultants agree. But if there is a lesson to be learned from all the SOX toil and trouble, it is that smart corporate policies can save money in the long run by building in mechanisms that deliver solid business benefits and increased profits across an enterprise. For example, SOX pioneers and consultants have said lately that the increased speed and reduced errors wrought by automating controls will ultimately more than cover implementation costs.

Still, it’s hard to persuade European bankers to be optimistic. A recent study by software provider Fundtech showed that 44% of the 23 leading banks surveyed predict it will take five years or more to recover the lost revenue resulting from the harmonization of domestic and international processing fees across Europe.

That’s why smart banks are developing value-added products and processes, such as EIPP (electronic invoice presentment and payments), mobile banking and reverse factoring, which are designed to promote the ultimate goal of seamless, straight-through processing, says George Ravich, Fundtech chief marketing officer. "Payments, which used to be a big profit source for European banks is becoming marginalized,” he said. “That’s why they are fighting like crazy to become competitive in other areas.”

If they don’t move fast, they could lose more than the difference in transaction revenues: They could lose customers, says Ravich. Increasingly, U.S. multinationals are paring down the number of European banking partners. And once the second stage of SEPA (processing direct debits and debit cards) goes into effect in November 2009, unless there is an extension, consolidation will be rampant. The first phase, processing of credit payments, was implemented in January.

Hunt agrees with Ravich that the long-term winners will be banks that offer the most competitively-priced, revenue-generating services. “Those that make SEPA compliance part of their business strategy can leverage market opportunities and eradicate budget inefficiencies common with regulatory projects,” she says. “Those that fail to invest now risk being priced out of the market.”
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Article found in Tools & Technology, Governance & Accounting, Corporate Finance

Finance Gets a Heavy Workout

Finance and accounting professionals are stressing out over their mounting responsibilities, according to a survey of 1,400 finance chiefs by staffing firm Accountemps. Not surprisingly, this trend is stressing out CFOs.

“There is an overwhelming feeling by CFOs that their duties are now far greater than they have been during traditional accounting cycles and traditional projects than at any time in the recent past,” says Susan Afan, senior regional manager for Robert Half International, Accountemps’ parent company. “And they worry that as the increased work trickles down the corporate ladder, team members are becoming overburdened with responsibilities.”

Indeed, one in three CFO respondents (35%) said team members worry more about their increasingly heavy workloads than other troubling issues. Job security came in a distant second at 19%; corporate governance was third, with 17%, followed by personnel issues, 14%, and work/life balance issues, 11%. The remaining 4% didn’t know or didn’t consider any of these their top concern.

Afan attributed the escalating anxiety to several factors, including increasing regulation, a shortage of skilled workers and an uncertain economy. With concern over morale mounting, CFOs must, more than ever, become experts at prioritizing projects, eliminating less important plans and putting critical tasks on the front burner, says Afan.

Article found in Careers, Corporate Finance

Careers

Hampton R. Poole Jr. moves up to vice president and controller at Alliance One International Inc., the $2 billion leaf-tobacco merchant based in Morrisville, N.C. Poole, 56, succeeds Thomas G. Reynolds, who resigned after the company announced its annual report would be filed late for the third time in a row. Poole has served as assistant vice president, assistant controller and SOX 404 manager since May 2005, when Standard Commercial Corp. merged with DIMON Inc. to form Alliance One.

Anthony Tripodo takes on the role of executive vice president and CFO at Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc., the $1.8 billion international offshore energy company headquartered in Houston, Texas. Tripodo, 55, who was a member of the board for more than five years, replaces A. Wade Pursell, 43, who steps down after more than a year in the position. Tripodo was also executive vice president and CFO of Tesco Corp from January 2007 to June 2008.

Jeffrey L. Hinton is the new executive vice president and CFO at MedCath Corp., the $719 million healthcare provider based in Charlotte, N.C. Hinton, 44, takes over from senior vice president, treasurer and assistant secretary J. Arthur Parker, 43, who became interim CFO in January after then-CFO James E. Harris, 46, left to become CFO at Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Previously, Hinton served as senior vice president and CFO of Matria Healthcare Inc. before its merger with Inverness Medical Innovations Inc. in May.

Dale C. Davies moves up to senior vice president, CFO and treasurer at American Railcar Industries Inc., the $698 million manufacturer of hopper and tank railcars based in St. Charles, Mo. Davies, 56, who succeeds William P. Benac, joined American Railcar as vice president of finance in June 2005. Davies has more than 31 years experience in financial management positions with chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing companies.

Scott Krenz becomes executive vice president and CFO on Aug. 4. at Heidrick & Struggles International Inc., the $648.3 million executive search and leadership consulting firm based in Chicago. Krenz, 56, succeeds Eileen A. Kamerick, 49, who resigned to become executive vice president and CFO of BearingPoint Inc. and has since left that position. Krenz joins Heidrick & Struggles from Navigant Consulting, where most recently he was executive vice president and CFO.

Christa C. Leonard rejoins Westaff Inc., the $588.7 million staffing services company based in Walnut Creek, Calif., as senior vice president and CFO. Leonard, 50, takes over from Dawn M. Jaffray, who resigned in May after serving nine months in the position. Leonard was vice president of finance and treasurer at Westaff for more than five years before she moved to Prudential California Realty, where most recently she was vice president and treasurer.

Bradley E. Singer is leaving his position as CFO at American Tower Corp. to become CFO of Discovery Communications LLC, the Silver Spring, Md.-based nonfiction media company. Singer, 41, joined the $1.5 billion owner and operator of wireless and broadcasting communications sites based in Boston, Mass., in 2000 and became CFO and treasurer in December 2001. Jean Bua, 49, will serve as interim CFO while continuing as executive president andd controller.

James R. Hatfield becomes senior vice president and CFO on July 14 at Phoenix, Ariz.-based Pinnacle West Capital Corp., the $3.5 billion parent of Arizona Public Service, the state’s largest electric utility. Hatfield, 50, succeeds Donald E. Brandt, 53, who moved up to president and COO on March 1. Hatfield joins Pinnacle West after 14 years at Oklahoma City, Okla.-based OGE Energy Corp., where he was senior vice president and CFO from 2003 to 2008.

Marc D. Katz has resigned as executive vice president and CFO of A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts Inc., to pursue a career in private equity. Katz, 43, joined the $559.7 million operator of arts and crafts stores headquartered in Berlin, N.J., as CFO in 2006. Michael G. Zawoysky is serving as acting CFO in addition to vice president of financial planning and analysis.

Article found in Careers

Don't Leave Work Without It

A new mobile service from American Express and Rearden Commerce lets corporate customers access travel information, track changes and make new plans from their BlackBerry smartphones. Down the road, American Express Anywhere will help companies monitor expenses and enforce policy compliance, says Jay Cary vice president of interactive product management at American Express. “It’s very easy for someone like a CFO to change that policy with a couple of clicks,” Cary says

The service now offers access to a personalized travel itinerary, real-time travel alerts and destination weather reports, while upgrades are planned that will let users view airport parking, car service and restaurant reservations.

Article found in Governance & Accounting, Treasury Technology

NetMRI Ups the Security Ante

Netcordia’s NetMRI network change and configuration management product can now automatically issue security and compliance reports that can be monitored daily by CFOs and CIOs. The latest version 2.4 uses the platform’s automated analysis of network information to create standardized, pass/fail reports on compliance with payment card industry (PCI) security standards. The new version also generates ISO 27002 reports validating information security management required by the Sarbanes-Oxley, Health Information Protection and Gramm-Leach-Bliley acts.

A daily PDF of the reports can be sent to senior executives, says Don Pyle, NetCordia’s CEO. “Analysis would run throughout the day on what’s happening in the network, and after 24 hours would be rolled up and distributed to recipients as well as maintained in a database,” Pyle says.

Real-time alerts are included. “If anyone tries to change policy for a network device that was unauthorized, a notification would be sent to the administrator identifying who it was,” Pyle says. In addition, reports on network health provide users with a 1-to-10 performance rating based on the severity and frequency of network problems. “We’re reporting on the stability and the correctness of a network for routing, switching, security, VLANs and wireless domains,” says Pyle.

Article found in Tools & Technology, Risk Management