Global Cash Concentration delivered through expert Project Management

LRQA is one of the leading global assurance partners. Operating in more than 150 countries with a team of more than 5,000 people, LRQA offer their clients expertise in assessment, advisory, inspection and cybersecurity services.

HSBC UK is now the core clearing bank of LRQA, having supported their carve-out by Goldman Sachs from Lloyds Register Group with debt and guarantee facilities. Building on the close working relationship with LRQA’s new treasury team, HSBC UK were the obvious bank of choice to deliver a solution to help centralise their global liquidity.

Consolidating accounts and centralising cash

Consolidating the number of accounts and centralising excess cash in the UK was of paramount importance to LRQA. Post carve-out from Lloyds Register Group, LRQA were in a prime position to adopt a streamlined and automated banking solution which will support their future business growth.

HSBC UK worked in partnership with LRQA to create an optimised account structure with an automated Domestic and Cross-Border Cash Concentration solution. Available balances are swept from 10 markets globally where LRQA operate, to header accounts in the UK. Using HSBC’s Global Liquidity Solutions self-service tool via our electronic banking platform HSBCnet, LRQA have full visibility and control over their global liquidity structure.

Implementation

HSBC UK provided LRQA with a dedicated Project Manager who was responsible for delivering LRQA’s chosen solution which was designed to be deployed across 10 markets globally. A phased approach was adopted, and a detailed project plan was created, outlining the steps, key deliverables and clearly defining roles and responsibilities. During regular project meetings, LRQA’s treasury team were kept up to date on the progress of key activities, with discussions also covering upcoming milestones and providing governance and oversight to ensure the project remained on track.

HSBC UK acted as a true partner during implementation – not only setting up the chosen structure but ensuring LRQA’s treasury team were satisfied with the outcome in BAU, supported by a warranty period and ongoing post-implementation support. Additionally, to improve LRQA’s reconciliation experience within their accounting software, during the phased rollout, HSBC UK created a bespoke fix in LRQA’s MT940 reporting to ensure their accountancy team could easily reconcile the Cross-Border Cash Concentration sweeps from each market.

The success

• Reduced number of accounts and banking relationships
• Automated zero balance Domestic and Cross-Border Cash Concentration
• Centralised excess cash in the UK