Plansmith Blog

Times are strange. We haven’t been in our Plansmith offices together since March 16^th. That’s over a hundred and sixty days – it feels crazy. But like with anything else, we adjust and move forward to reach our goals, but the plans for getting there have definitely changed.

We still want to get together with everyone. We still want to talk about what works, what doesn’t, and how things are going. Even though we can’t meet face to face at our Schaumburg offices this year, we can still come together virtually!

Given the current low-rate environment, I’ve again been getting some questions on “negative rates” and the impact they would have on financial institutions, and more specifically interest rate risk modeling. We’ve all heard about negative rates in Japan and parts of Europe, so it would seem reasonable to wonder about the impact that negative rates could have here in the U.S.

We have some exciting news! Our first installment of Plansmith’s Client Spotlight Series is here. Our intimate spotlights are designed with you in mind. You’ll hear firsthand from our guests as they share their real-life experiences with planning, budgeting, managing risk, and making strategic business decisions.

Oh, Autumn. The changing of the leaves, the crispness of the morning air... and the crunching of numbers?

Yep. We're bankers. It's what we do. And fall, it's the perfect time for some of our favorite - and most crucial - banking activities.

Here are the 3 game-changing activities Plansmith recommends starting as early as possible in the fall:

There’s something about summer that always represents freedom to me. It could be the Fourth of July resonating past the day of, or it could be the warm weather and carefree attitude that comes with it. Maybe it’s the road trips we take and barbecues we host with friends and family. Maybe it’s the trips to the pool or the beach. Maybe it’s the general sense of enjoyment that we try to soak up before the weather gets crisp again.

Most of us hate planning. So why would I want to start now, when I could wait until the usual time next year?

Actually, there are two great reasons to plan early and often:

One of the most common calls we take at Plansmith is from a bank or credit union looking to improve their entire budgeting, forecasting, and board reporting process. While the organizations vary greatly in size, and the person calling is sometimes the president and other times a financial analyst – most often they all have one thing in common: “I’m currently using Excel.”

If COVID-19 has taught us anything, it’s that plans change.

For example, I had a cruise booked and paid for, including excursions to play with sea turtles and visit Mayan ruins this spring. Two of my close friends and I were set to venture from Tampa to Cozumel, Belize, and Honduras – live our best tropical lives, if you will. We were supposed to set sail April 19^th and return April 26^th.

As Plansmith’s ‘budgeting software’ evolved from its onset in the early 1970s, it became referred to as a ‘profit planning model.’ This distinction was made because it was much more than just balances on a spreadsheet or basic historical trends cast forward for the next year.

By now, you’re probably wondering what to do about CECL. Although it’s been delayed, the fact is that CECL is still happening. In our educated opinion, now is the time to start finalizing CECL plans.

Here are four reasons why we believe financial institutions shouldn’t wait to implement CECL.