What the Dickens - Cratchit Automated Out of Sweatshop

When Dickens' great work, "A Christmas Carol", was first published in December 1843, the only way any business could keep its finances under control was through painstaking, laborious, manual processes.

In 2010 we now have the benefits of automation in many areas of business life. With this in mind, why do so many large organisations persist in running their treasury processes using paper and electronic processes that Bob Cratchit would find familiar?

There is an alternative. Full automation may have been discounted in the past, but now could be the right time to re-visit the business case. A lot will depend on the number of banking relationships that your treasury team is managing. The frequency with which funds are moved around the organisation may be changing, as may the number of bank statements that your treasury team need to reconcile on a daily basis.

Connecting to SWIFT through a SWIFT Service Bureau is becoming the de-facto standard means by which well run organisations take control of multiple banking relationships. Connecting via SWIFT brings your banking interface into the world of Standards based messaging systems. At the same time, you can increase the level of automation in your treasury department.

In addition to using a Treasury Management System to automate your transactions, you might consider automating the reconciliation process. There are a number of ways in which this can be achieved - you may need some analysis work to determine what makes most sense in your business.

Go on, say goodbye to the Dickensian sweat-shop that is your treasury department and empower them to become part of the wider business team.