Michele Allman-Ward - Essentials of Managing Cash (Wiley Essentials Volume 56)

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Copyright 2003 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

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Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

This book is one of a series on essentials of business management. The importance of managing corporate cash has given rise to the treasury and cash management professions. Why does this industry warrant an entire book? Aren't businesspeople already knowledgeable about how to organize their treasury function and handle their funds?

In preparing this materialthe first new treatment since James Sagner's Cashflow Reengineering (AMACOM, 1997)the authors began by listing the major developments in just the past five years:

• The deregulation of financial services due to the Riegle-Neal Act of 1994 and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999

• The complete change in the corporate-banking relationship from a buyer's to a seller's market

• Globalization of world business, including the creation of the economic monetary union in Europe and its single currency, the euro

• The emphasis on new treasury structures to better manage resources on a worldwide basis

• The developing interest in e-commerce for business-to-business (B2B) transactions, which changes how data and funds flow and greatly reduces working capital cycle time

• The emergence of the "new economy" with its orientation to information and cash, driving finance into every area of a company

Treasury operations today bear little resemblance to the function of just a few years ago. Instead of issuing checks and worrying about the depositing of incoming cash, the treasury manager of the twenty-first century has become integrated to every facet of the business. In this environment, line and staff separations and the "silo" effect of autonomous strategic business units (SBUs) have become meaningless. Effective cash management has become fundamental to a company's underlying health and survival.

This book is a back-to-basics guide and reference to the new cash management profession for managers who find themselves with treasury responsibilities. Insights are provided to the cash management world, the important terminology, and strategies that work.

In planning the content, the authors had in mind the needs of a number of different groups:

• New members of the profession, including students and cash management apprentices

• Current financial managers who need a succinct, well-written reference

• Members of allied professions (e.g., accountants, information specialists, attorneys) who wish to expand their knowledge base

• Professionals who find themselves managing the treasury function, but who do not have a treasury background and need an easy-to-absorb, nontechnical guide to the essentials