Would an Extra $100k Get Your Attention?
William “Bill” Cherry
Director, Public Partnerships
If you are the CFO of a municipality, public university, or any public entity, then you are already performing cash-management tasks on a daily or weekly basis. It can be as basic and straightforward as a treasurer or staff member transferring funds from one account to another in order to pay operating expenses, or it can be as complex as a cash-management division that monitors all liquidity and is responsible for daily cash-flow requirements, future forecasting, and investment tracking.
Regardless of the size of the organization, a surprisingly high percentage of public funds are sitting idle in checking accounts and earning little or no interest for taxpayers. Shifting just one or two million dollars from one of these accounts into a one-year CD today can generate as much as $100,000 or more for your municipality or entity, locked-in and guaranteed. Even moving some funds into a short-term, high-interest account where the cash remains available at a moment’s notice can significantly improve earnings revenues, although those rates can change overnight.
Imagine the powerful revenue-generating engine that all that cash represents. Here at three+one, that is EXACTLY what our team imagines each and every day! We want every
public entity to get the maximum value out of every dollar they have on deposit. In order to do that, we generally find 73% more liquidity to put to work than our clients thought they had available. We then provide our clients with a panoramic view of their liquidity—spanning all of their bank accounts—which informs them of precisely how much cash they have on deposit overall. We thoroughly analyze their historical spending patterns in order to provide our clients with highly-accurate future cash-flow forecasts; these tell them how long every dollar should remain on deposit and what their cash levels are projected to be next month, six months from now, and next year. We then compare all rates being offered by local, regional, and national banks in order to give them an independent, third-party look at interest rates so they can make the best decisions for their particular community as to where to deposit the funds for which they are responsible.
It’s not magic. Rather, it’s just a combination of common sense and having access to the most accurate information and data. At three+one, we are 100% certain that EVERY public entity can see a financial benefit from effective cash management using our cashVest® information to help them make the best cash-management decisions.
We’d love to have a chat with you on how much more your public entity can do with its cash.
Prior to joining three+one®, the author served for 38 years in local government including 24 years as a County Treasurer and CFO responsible for managing and investing public funds. He can be reached in person by phone at 585-484-0311, ext. 709 or by email at wec@threeplusone.us
