Banks perform data analytics, statistical modelling, and automate financial processes using model software, making model software essential for financial risk management. 

Why banks are recently moving their model software to open-source¹: 

• Volume dependent costs: Open-source comes with flexible storage space and computation power and corresponding costs and capacity.  
• Popularity: Graduates are often trained in open-source software, whereas the pool of skilled professionals in some specific software is decreasing. 
• Customization: You can tailor it exactly to your own needs. Nothing more, nothing less. 
• Collaboration: Required level of version control and collaboration with other software available within the bank. 
• Performance: Customization and flexibility allow for enhanced performance. 

Often there is a need to reconsider the model software solution the Bank is using; open-source solutions are cost effective and can be set up in such a way that both internal and external (e.g. regulatory) requirements are satisfied. 

How Zanders can support in moving to open-source model software. 

Proper implementation of open-source model software is compliant with regulation.   

• Replication of historical situations is possible via version control, containerization and release notes within the open-source model software. Allowing third parties to replicate historical model outcomes and model development steps.   
• Governance setup via open-source ensures that everything is auditable and is released in a governed way; this can be done through releases pipelines and by setting roles and responsibilities for software users.  
• This ensures that the model goes from development to production only after governed review and approval by the correct stakeholders.  

Migration to open-source software is achievable. 

• The open-source model software is first implemented including governance (release processes and roles and responsibilities).  
• Then all current (data and) models are refactored from the current model software to the new one.  
• Only after an extensive period of successful (shadow) testing the migration to the new model software is completed.  

Zanders has a wealth of experience performing these exercises at several major banks, often in parallel to (or combined with) model change projects. Hence, if you have interest, we will be happy to share some further insights into our latest experiences/solutions in this specific area.  

Therefore, we welcome you to reach out to Ward Broeders (Senior Manager).

In an effort to continuously improve and automate its internal processes, the American multinational cosmetics company wanted to leverage technology and further enhance the Transfer Pricing compliance of financial transactions. As a result, it engaged Zanders to use its cloud-based Transfer Pricing Suite.

Estee Lauder has been Zanders’ client for quite some years. “We have been working with Zanders before in some projects and that always worked very well. In this instance too”, says Bart Taeymans, Vice President Global Treasury Operations. “They helped to draft and execute the bank selection RfP and restructure our European banking structure, and supported with the implementation of SAP Inhouse Cash and Bank Communication Management. And recently, they supported us with their Zanders Inside Transfer Pricing Suite.”

In view of the changed regulatory environment, we wanted to increase control of the entire process. Zanders Transfer Pricing Suite looked as a sustainable tool to automatize the process, while maintaining a robust technical methodology compliant with the OECD TP Guidelines.

Bart Taeymans, Vice President Global Treasury Operations

Challenge

New OECD Transfer Pricing guidelines

With the release of Chapter X by the OECD, the company wanted to implement a new process in order to comply with its Transfer Pricing obligations in-house, without depending on external parties, Taeymans explains. “In view of the changed regulatory environment, we wanted to increase control of the entire process. Zanders Transfer Pricing Suite looked as a sustainable tool to automatize the process, while maintaining a robust technical methodology compliant with the OECD TP Guidelines’’.

Solution

Sophisticated tool

Treasury Director Marc Vandewaeter: “Zanders’ Transfer Pricing Suite is very sophisticated. In addition, during the onboarding process, Zanders added some additional currencies to the tool that were not there yet for us to cover additional regions. Another important thing for us is that we are able to instantly generate the Transfer Pricing reports – including the supporting documents providing details on the economic analyses.”

Due to the tool’s flexibility, Estee Lauder had a managed transition phase. “It’s challenging to change processes, but the tool supported the transition phase in a controlled manner.”

Having all the information in one tool helps us understanding the approach followed and financial information considered for each case. This is important for us as we need to make sure that we fully understand the details.

Marc Vandewaeter, Treasury Director

Performance

Timely implementation

Taeymans: “I think it’s been a great integrated implementation. The team was very supportive, providing clarifications where needed and support when required – all to ensure timely implementation of the new procedure, focused on the start of our new fiscal year.”

Vandewaeter: “The challenge of importing the financial data was that it needed to be implemented in the Zanders Inside tool format, which is required to determine a rating. Luckily all financial data from all our affiliates is already standardized. That makes it easier to reproduce and implement this data. That saves quite a lot of time.”

“The benefit we have is that we are on one SAP instance globally”, adds Taeymans. “That helps us to great extent in retrieving the financial information in a structured manner. So once we had the templates to convert to the information required by Zanders, everything went very well.”

The entire process in one user-friendly platform

Vandewaeter has been intimately involved in working with the tool. “We wanted to make sure that Zanders’ tool would provide a consistent approach for all transactions, in line with what we had done before, and that potential differences in the results could be explained. Having all the information in one tool helps us understanding the approach followed and financial information considered for each case. This is important for us as we need to make sure that we fully understand the details.”

Taeymans: “To have that entire process – from the financial information, credit rating analyses, benchmark rates, to the final reports – featured in one tool is obviously what we’ve been looking for. It’s very important to have it all in one system generating a full report on an entity basis. Of course, you need to know what to enter and what to select. But as a web-based tool it is very user-friendly, easy to navigate and well designed. It is quite easy to extract the pricing for a certain loan. And from an operational point of view, it is also useful to do a simulation and it doesn’t take much time to do that. You need to upload all the financial statements, but it is more dynamic and the pricing update is based on current data. In addition, the support received from Zanders team is very good.”

Learn more about our Transfer Pricing Solutions