While there are some settlement trends giving hope to Russell Pierce that key securities operations can be optimized, much relies on getting executive buy-in.
“Well, I think over time it’s going to be continued IT innovation, less human intervention, more straight through processing,” says Pierce about the current trends in settlement. He is head of settlements at Landesbank Baden-Württemberg and his title includes MBA, CPA, CAMS and CFCS. Pierce agreed to a video chat with FTF News during a break in the action at FTF’s SecOps event in Boston, this past June.
In addition to the emerging trends, operations managers have to make the right arguments to help executives think beyond cost-cutting for middle- and back-office operations, Pierce says. He served as the moderator for the “Navigating Cost Pressures to Build an Optimal Staff,” panel at SecOps. The panel focused on “all the challenges that we as operations managers” face in recruiting staff and keeping them engaged, and getting senior management to support systems and individuals that would make a positive difference.
“I think the way to covey that to senior management is to describe the risk financially whether it be in fines or whether it be in losses, or reputational risk,” Pierce says. “So, I think that if you can convey that in dollars and cents to senior management, they’re more apt to change their opinion. And if we aren’t able to convince senior management that a more robust infrastructure is required, then anything we’ve learned in the process is all for nothing.”
CREDITS:
Video Production: Janene Knox and William J. Poznanski, Jr.
Interview conducted by: Eugene Grygo, chief content officer, FTF News
Co-Producers: Sarah Hathaway, vice president, Financial Technologies Forum (FTF) and Eugene Grygo
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