Pinnacle Award Finalist
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Congratulations to the AFP 2024 Pinnacle Award Finalists, ASML, Clarion Partners and IBM Corporation. All three finalists were chosen because they found ways to overcome their companies' unique challenges. Now it is your turn to help determine who will be the AFP 2024 Pinnacle Award Grand Prize Winner.
Let us know which of the three finalists you think should win by casting your vote. Votes must be submitted by September 20.
From an AI-powered forecasting model to a global Treasury Technology Platform, learn more about each finalist:
ASML
ASML, which sources components globally, was previously managing a manual and error-prone process to forecast U.S. dollar-denominated material intake for its FX hedging program. To improve efficiency and accuracy, ASML developed an AI-powered forecasting model that uses historical data to predict future intake with increasing precision. This solution, created through a collaboration between Treasury and Data Science teams, boosted forecast accuracy from 70% to 96%, significantly enhancing the effectiveness of the hedging program. ASML is sharing this innovative solution to demonstrate how AI can benefit Treasury operations across companies of all sizes.
Future outlook for the solution:
The AI-powered forecasting solution continues to improve as it learns monthly, adapting to business developments. This automation frees up resources for more value-added activities, provides deeper insights into data and sets the foundation for applying AI to additional use cases across ASML.
Clarion Partners
Faced with managing over 1,300 bank accounts across multiple relationships, Clarion Partners—a commercial real estate investment advisor with $75 billion in assets under management—needed a streamlined approach to handle the complexity of account openings, closings and modifications. To tackle this, Clarion collaborated with their IT team to develop an in-house solution: BARS (Bank Account Request System). This system automates and centralizes the entire process, from generating account forms tailored to each bank's specific requirements to tracking approvals, handling KYC/OFAC compliance and storing documents for the life of the account. BARS has reduced risk, improved efficiency and even allowed for a completely paperless workflow during COVID, making it a critical innovation in Clarion’s treasury operations.
Future outlook for the solution:
BARS has emerged as a powerful, unique solution tailored to address the complexities of managing large volumes of bank accounts and banking relationships in the real estate and retail sectors. While no off-the-shelf program currently exists to tackle these Treasury challenges, BARS stands out for its simplicity and effectiveness. The system has successfully streamlined the account opening process, created a centralized database for tracking accounts, transitioned to a paperless workflow and standardized processes across multiple banks with varying requirements. BARS could be highly beneficial for other Treasury teams seeking a similar solution.
IBM Corporation
IBM Corporation faced challenges in gathering actionable insights to drive Free Cash Flow (FCF) due to fragmented systems and complex manual processes. In response, IBM collaborated across various departments to create a global Treasury Technology Platform using IBM's Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) system. This platform integrates diverse data sources, providing real-time visibility into FCF drivers, aligning the enterprise to a standardized data source and significantly improving decision-making speed and accuracy. The solution streamlined operations, eliminated multiple legacy systems and freed up thousands of hours for employees, positioning IBM for more strategic financial management.
Future outlook for the solution:
IBM is advancing its Free Cash Flow (FCF) platform by integrating data from its Treasury Management System (TMS) into the Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) platform. Set for Q4 2024, this integration will enable comprehensive diagnostics and solutions for FCF, connecting everything from earnings statements to bank account data within a single platform. This effort further accelerates and digitizes IBM's FCF generation process.