Nick: Oversight is integral to automation in the sense that if you are using external vendors, you have to conduct a financial and IT security due diligence initially.
You can even go as far as an external penetration test orchestrated by an independent party.
"You are certainly not outsourcing the responsibility,
just the underlying process."
In terms of the actual process itself, you can’t automate unless you understand exactly how the process works both from a technology perspective, as well as a technical expertise perspective.
Ultimately, as the investment manager you want to be able to say to your investors that you still have full control, oversight and responsibility of every process. You are certainly not outsourcing the responsibility, just the underlying process.
Nick: There is always going to be an element of bureaucracy and red tape that you need to navigate through when you are trying to secure internal funding.
It helps to have a predefined internal value and potentially have already signed an agreed spend on an initiative. This will allow that once you’ve got through that process it should be a proposal to your Executive Board.
"From a treasury perspective, it is important that you manage
expectations and articulate the rational for each initiative."
If you can ensure that key stakeholders within the business are aware and support your initiatives in the early stages and are kept informed throughout the process, then this should help having any unforeseen internal resistance crop up.
This resistance to change isn’t uncommon but can drain momentum if not dealt with appropriately.
From a treasury perspective, it is also important that you manage expectations and articulate the rational for each initiative.
What can help is that if you can translate that cost into a basis point impact to a fund and then assign a notional value to the project. This can help sell this to senior management.
Nick: Ultimately there is always pushback in some form, as businesses as a whole are trying to promote more entrepreneurship, being open minded to cloud technologies, trying to be more agile and flexible and do more with less.
That said, you will always come up against some resistance to change, as it is just human nature. You need to be able to be strong willed in your convictions with these projects.
"If you start with what it is going to cost, as opposed to what
the overall value is, then it can make it a more difficult situation."
If you are responsible for your department then you need to be comfortable with what you feel adds value and what the industry trends are.
Then it is about educating senior management who may not be as technologically minded in your specific area, on the benefits of the project, and what the wider value to the business will be.
If you start with what it is going to cost, as opposed to what the overall value is, then it can make it a more difficult situation.
