Benefits and challenges of supply chain finance business process automation : A case study in ING Bank

Supply chain finance, a financial product provided by the bank, has gained increasing attention and popularity over the last few years. Supply chain finance helps the corporate clients to optimize their financial flows along the supply chain. One characteristic of supply chain finance is that it aims to provide automated solutions. Therefore, the business process automation of supply chain finance is a very interesting and important topic for study. In this study, the business process automation of supply chain finance within the case organization, ING, is analysed. The purpose is to: (1) Identify the benefits to understand the importance to automate supply chain finance business process; (2) Find out the existing automation degree in the supply chain finance business process within the case bank to see what’s the situation now and how to improve in the future; (3) Discover the challenges in the further automation of supply chain finance business process. Firstly, the study finds out that supply chain finance business process automation can bring many benefits to the bank. Automation can improve productivity by using less time and human labour in the business process, and by providing scalable solutions. Automation can also improve quality of the service by reducing the human errors. Last but not least, automation can improve internal governance by providing enhanced visibility of the business process. Because of these potential benefits, many banks are actively seeking solutions to automate their supply chain finance business process. Then, the current automation situation with the case bank is analysed with the help of business process modelling. The supply chain finance business process within the case bank can be further divided into several sub processes: daily transaction, buyer sales and setup, supplier onboarding, contract management, customer services and supports, and contract termination. The study finds out that the daily transaction process is already a highly automated, which is carried out through the web-based trading platform. However, for other business the automation degree is relatively low. Among these business processes, supplier onboarding is most needed for further automation. Then, some solutions are also suggested to automate the supplier onboarding business process. In the end, the study also foresees some challenges during the further automation of supply chain finance business process in the case bank. Some suggestions are also given to deal with these challenges.

The Anchoring Bias of Investors and the 52-Week High Momentum Strategy in the OMX Helsinki Stock Exchange: Psychological Approach to Market Efficiency

The behavioural finance literature expects systematic and significant deviations from efficiency to persist in securities markets due to behavioural and cognitive biases of investors. These behavioural models attempt to explain the coexistence of intermediate-term momentum and long-term reversals in stock returns based on the systematic violations of rational behaviour of investors. The study investigates the anchoring bias of investors and the profitability of the 52-week momentum strategy (GH henceforward). The relatively highly volatile OMX Helsinki stock exchange is a suitable market for examining the momentum effect, since international investors tend to realise their positions first from the furthest security markets by the time of market turbulence. Empirical data is collected from Thomson Reuters Datastream and the OMX Nordic website. The objective of the study is to provide a throughout research by formulating a self-financing GH momentum portfolio. First, the seasonality of the strategy is examined by taking the January effect into account and researching abnormal returns in long-term. The results indicate that the GH strategy is subject to significantly negative revenues in January, but the strategy is not prone to reversals in long-term. Then the predictive proxies of momentum returns are investigated in terms of acquisition prices and 52-week high statistics as anchors. The results show that the acquisition prices do not have explanatory power over the GH strategy’s abnormal returns. Finally, the efficacy of the GH strategy is examined after taking transaction costs into account, finding that the robust abnormal returns remain statistically significant despite the transaction costs. As a conclusion, the relative distance between a stock’s current price and its 52-week high statistic explains the profits of momentum investing to a high degree. The results indicate that intermediateterm momentum and long-term reversals are separate phenomena. This presents a challenge to current behavioural theories, which model these aspects of stock returns as subsequent components of how securities markets respond to relevant information.

Crowdfunding and its utilization for startup finance in Finland – factors of a successful campaign

This thesis studies crowdfunding with qualitive methods to introduce the phenomenon as well as provide guidance to those interested in its utilization. Knowledge and ideas were gathered form several sources, from academic literature to commercial media and expert interviews. Crowdfunding has already demonstrated its ability to impact the startup scene but is still far from being utilized to its full extent, especially in Finland, where even its legality has been questioned. Crowd financing can provide capital to entrepreneurs who might not otherwise be able to obtain funding as well as enable crowdsourcing the funders in several ways. A successful campaign, however, requires a wealth of knowledge on the subject, careful planning and hard work on the implementation. The thesis will provide most benefit to entrepreneurs who are considering the use of this new form of finance, but should also be of value for investors, academics, politicians and everyone else interested in the subject.

Transferrin polymorphism in Amazon turtle (Podocnemis expansa) stocks

The transferrin gene locus (Tf) was investigated in five populations of the Amazon turtle (Podocnemis expansa) sampled from five geographical areas in the Amazon region. This locus was polymorphic, showing three genotypes (Tfª Tfª, Tfª Tf b and Tf b Tf b), presumably encoded by two co-dominant alleles, Tfª and Tf b. All populations showed good genetic balance according to Hardy-Weinberg expectations, and may sustain the hypothesis of a single stock in the area investigated. The data are consistent with free flow of genes among the population samples examined.

Synthesis of stocks and phenotypic effects of dwarf and bantam sex-linked major genes in egg-type chickens

The present study describes the production of stocks segregating dwarf (dw), bantam (dwB) and normal (dw+) alleles, as well as the characters, shank length, adult body weight, age at sexual maturity and egg production. Heterozygous K dw+/k dwB sires were mated to normal (dw+) dams to produce stock D6.a, and mated to dwB females to produce stock D6.b. Stock D4.a came from mating F1 heterozygous dwB dw sires to dwarf Leghorns. In a third series of matings, 7/8 Sebright and 1/8 dw-Leghorn dwB dw sires were crossed to three groups of dams of different genotypes. The progeny of the normal (dw+), dwarf (dw), and bantam (dwB) dams were designated as stocks D4.b, D4.c and D4.d, respectively. The dw+ dams were White Leghorn strain cross females. The difference between the rate of laying of normal (69.7%) and their bantam sisters (68.6%) was not statistically significant when the average 32-week body weight of the dw+ sisters was 1,897 g. However, when the 32-week body weight of the normal daughters from the same sires and smaller dams was around 1,646 g, the difference between the rate of laying of the normal (78.1%) and their bantam sisters (75.9%) was significant (P < 0.05). The dwB gene may have a similar but smaller effect on the rate of egg laying than its dwarf allele. The difference between sexual maturity of normal and bantam daughters of either the largest or the smallest dams was not statistically significant, even though the smallest dwB pullets were in average 2.9 days older at first egg. The use of shank length combined with adult body weight allowed a precise discrimination between bantams and dwarfs

O circuito finance-investimento-poupança- funding em economias abertas

The finance-investment-savings-funding circuit in open economies. On monetary economies the Finance-Investment-Savings-Funding circuit (F-I-S-F) prevails. Investment precedes savings. This circuit was worked out for a closed economy. This study seeks to demonstrate that the circuit F-I-S-F also prevails for open economies. A second point studied in this paper relates the relationship between budget deficits and savings restriction for investment. Conclusions highlight that the circuit F-I-S-F prevails for open economies and that budget deficits do not cause savings restriction for investment. In some situations budget déficits transfer the effects of investment for national savings formation from domestic economy to the rest of the world.

Finance-Led Growth Regime no Brasil: estatuto teórico, evidências empíricas e consequências macroeconômicas

This paper analyzes the Brazilian growth pattern during the post-liberalization period, emphasizing the structural links between finance and productive capital accumulation. The results indicate a finance-led growth regime in the period 2004-2008, under a very specific financialization process. The first part is a survey of the international literature, which defines the financialization concept and its relevance for understanding Brazilian economic problems. The next part provides a historical overview on the structural changes that made possible the development of financial-led regimes. The paper also applies an empirical analysis of some selected Brazilian macroeconomic indicators.

Marketing performance measurement in the marketing-finance interface

Marketing and finance are both facing challenges in the constantly changing business environment. Finance is challenged to change its role from cost control to value-adding business partner while marketing needs to be able to demonstrate its accountability so how it contributes to firm performance. Finance is the key partner for marketing to prove its impact by helping marketing to measure its actions. By doing so, finance can also emphasize its business partner role. There is not a lot of research conducted of the relationship between marketing and finance departments. The aim of this study is to investigate how the professional differences of marketing and finance and their forms of cooperation affect marketing performance measurement. Literature of marketing and finance disciplines, their cooperation, performance implications of their interface as well as the roles of marketing performance measurement, performance measurement system and measures were reviewed. This research was conducted as a qualitative case study among senior management of marketing and finance in the sporting goods company. The data collected through semi-structured interviews, participant observation and secondary data was described and classified and connections were made. The results of the study show that the nature of marketing and finance disciplines has many effects on their cooperation and performance measurement. Due to the ambiguous nature of marketing, measuring its performance is still seen as a challenge but digitalization is helping the measurement. It was indicated that marketing and finance professionals need to have different skillsets in order to perform their roles effectively and thus cooperation is needed. Marketing performance needs to be measured with both financial and nonfinancial measures. Both marketing and finance interviewees highlighted the importance of marketing measures over financial measures. Measuring marketing performance comprehensively is seen as a challenge since marketing and finance cooperation is still shaped by the cost control and budget management roles, rather than performance measurement. We recognized three constraints affecting this cooperation and performance measurement: people, time and software. If marketing and finance would develop deeper cooperation, they could create comprehensive performance measurement system that improves organizational performance.

Finance, development and the Chinese entrepreneurial state: A Schumpeter-Keynes - Minsky approach

ABSTRACTThe paper's central claim is that China's speed and ability to leapfrog its peer-nations in the last three decades stems, largely, from the fact that it is a fully developed Entrepreneurial State (ES). The discussion seeks to dig deeper on ES as a bridging concept that fits well with the Schumpeter-Keynes-Minsky analytical framework and one that is particularly appropriated analyzing contemporary China's development trajectory. Although rooted in a historical perspective and using historical examples, the main purpose of the paper is analytical, not descriptive.

Arrêt du conseil d'Etat qui ordonne que le recouvrement de la finance de la vente des offices de greffiers secrétaires et gardes des archives des universités sera fait à la requête de Me E. Bertier

[Acte. 1704-02-16. Versailles]

Arrêt du Conseil d'Etat qui subroge François Fontaine au lieu et place de François Cheron pour faire le recouvrement de la finance qui doit provenir de la vente des offices de conseillers secrétaires de Sa Majesté, créés par édit du mois de décembre 1708

[Acte. 1712-03-15. Versailles]

Édit... portant suppression des offices de conseillers du Roy notaires et secrétaires dans les cours de Parlement, Chambres des Comptes et Cours des Aydes, Grand Conseil, Requestes de l'Hostel et du Palais, Conseils supérieurs et provinciaux, Cours des monnoies et Bureaux des Finances ; ordonne que les greffiers en chef des cours seront tous tenus de se pourvoir de l'un des offices de secrétaires, créez dans les chancelleries près les Cours par édit... de juin 1715 ; que la vente des offices de receveurs et payeurs des gages des officiers desdites chancelleries créez par édits... de novembre 1707 et décembre 1708 sera continuée ; et restablit les gardes des sceaux des chancelleries près les Cours dans leurs offices, en payant un supplément de finance... [Enregistré au Parlement le 13 juin 1716.]

[Acte royal. 1716-05-00. Paris]

Arrêt du conseil d'état qui ordonne que ceux des officiers des chancelleries près les cours et conseils supérieurs du royaume, qui payeront leur supplément de finance dans les termes y indiqués, seront déchargés des 2 sols pour livre

[Acte. 1755-11-25. Versailles]