Sageworks Blog

May24

What does recent guidance recommend for stress testing? Libby Bierman [email] Analyst

May 24, 2013 15:29

Before the recent wave of guidance, there had been a lot of frustration with stress testing because there had been little direction as far as what “stress testing” actually meant and what a bank should do. [More]

May23

Top priorities: Improve your marketing, business development Jessica Ballard [email] Director of Marketing

May 23, 2013 08:03

Guest post by Lauren Prosser, Director of ProfitCents Professional Services, Sageworks Previously, I described how a recent survey of CPA firms by Sageworks’ ProfitCents Professional Services identified marketing and business development as among the most important management issues facing these establishments. CPA firms ranked these two areas of focus higher in importance than either pricing, compensation of firm members or client service plans.  Developing new business and marketing your firm effectively go hand in hand. But before you can market your firm effectively in order to develop new business, it’s critical to answer these questions: 1. What truly sets you apart... [More]

May22

5 Rules of financial slideshows Sageworks [email]

May 22, 2013 18:38

Whether you are a business owner speaking to employees or an experienced chief financial officer tasked with presenting to a board of directors, presenting financial information through a slideshow can be difficult. Whatever your experience level, here are 5 rules to follow when creating your next slideshow for a financial presentation, based on feedback from accountants and CFOs: [More]

May21

Relationship-based banking: Outlining credit risk metrics Billy Burnet [email]

May 21, 2013 08:32

It can be difficult for financial institutions to create a relationship-based banking environment with customers while also protecting against credit risk and potential drains on profitability. The key is to utilize objective measures of credit risk and to build expectations among customers as well as lending staff that the measuring process is ongoing in the lending relationship and is not optional. Described in this post is one of the major components of developing objective measures: outlining key credit risk metrics and thresholds. [More]

May20

Leverage what you learned during busy season. It’s not too late! Jessica Ballard [email] Director of Marketing

May 20, 2013 14:28

Busy season is the perfect time to learn more about your clients and their businesses. Think back to the conversations you had and what they shared with you. Did they mention any changes or concerns with their life or business?  Even if you weren’t able to spend a lot of time with them during tax season, that doesn’t mean you haven’t learned new things about their business. You just finished up completing their tax returns, which hold a great deal of information about a business and its health. Now is the perfect time to leverage that information and offer ways to help.  AICPA President, James C. Metzler, CPA.CITP, CGMA, recently offered a few ideas to help you r... [More]

May19

4 Reasons private companies matter Mary Ellen Biery [email] Research Specialist

May 19, 2013 09:00

Wall Street may get the headlines, but did you know that of the 27 million businesses in the U.S., less than 1 percent are publicly traded on the major exchanges? The rest are privately held, and these private companies represent a vital segment of the U.S. economy. Here are four reasons to learn more about private companies. [More]

May18

Monthly vs. quarterly calculations for your ALLL reserve Sageworks [email]

May 18, 2013 08:58

As part of Sageworks’ ongoing video series addressing some of the challenging issues and questions regarding allowance for loan and lease losses calculations, today’s video focuses on the benefits of performing monthly versus quarterly calculations for your ALLL reserve.

[More]

May17

Sageworks Bank & Credit Union Examination Survey goes live Jackie Peluso [email] VP of Media Relations

May 17, 2013 16:50

Sageworks made available its new Bank & Credit Union Examination Survey to clients and other financial institutions this morning. The anonymous, 8-question survey aims to collect data on the federal safety and soundness exam experience of banks and credit unions within the last 12 months. At the conclusion of the survey, the survey data will be anonymously aggregated and disseminated in a comprehensive report to help peer institutions prepare for their next OCC, FDIC, NCUA or Federal Reserve exams. [More]

May17

FDIC officials: CECL implementation timeline unclear Mary Ellen Biery [email] Research Specialist

May 17, 2013 11:58

FDIC officialsencouraged financial institutions to provide feedback by May 31 on FASB's proposed new model for accounting for credit losses. Officials described some key differences between current practices and the proposed current expected credit losses, or CECL, model. They also outlined uncertainty surrounding when the changes might be implemented. [More]

May16

Where to find data for stress testing Sageworks [email]

May 16, 2013 10:30

In a recent post, we reviewed what types of data should be used in stress testing, whether the institution is using a top down or bottom up approach. But where can the analyst find this data if it's coming from disparate systems?



Key loan and customer information will often be found in the financial institution’s core operating system. For larger institutions using several core systems, integrating the data into a central platform may be necessary. It is critical to have codes built into the loan portfolio to filter various concentrations of loans and to provide granularity when stress testing loans with higher risk characteristics. If the data isn’t already available, financial institutions can start amending underwriting policies to ensure this type of loan-level detail is collected. [More]