Software provider eyes treasury departments

MANILA, Philippines - The local unit of software solutions firm Misys Plc. is planning to tap the treasury departments of large corporations to expand its business in the country. "Another area of interest to us is corporate treasuries. We will come up with products that will help them manage structured products and maintain their corporate treasury activities," Misys Managing Director for Asia Pacific Graeme Beardsell told reporters in a briefing Friday. Mr. Beardsell Friday conducted a seminar on the basics and implications of International Accounting Standards (IAS), the implementation of which, he said, was not only "accounting-intensive" but also "IT-intensive." While the company has already cornered about 80% of Philippine banks as a market for its banking solutions, Mr. Beardsell said non-banks may be in need of effective risk management systems as more of them use structured financial products. "No matter what kind of regulations there are, structured products are here to stay. There are corporations here in the Philippines who are delving into structured products, and they may need help in managing their treasury activities. We are looking at that [opportunity]," Mr. Beardsell said. Misys International Banking Systems, Inc., the Philippine unit of the London-based firm, has been in the country for 10 years. It provides local banks with software solutions for retail banking, corporate or wholesale banking, solutions for treasury and capital markets, among others. - G.S. de la Peña, BusinessWorld