FX Risk Management Maturity Model

Foreign exchange (FX) risk management involves identifying, analyzing, and prioritizing various foreign currency exposures, and developing and implementing a coordinated and systematic plan that utilizes company resources efficiently and effectively to mitigate FX risk.

The degree to which companies implement adequate foreign exchange risk management practices can vary substantially, from not managing the risk at all to engaging in robust hedging activities, and as a result, the impact on the bottom line can vary widely across organizations.

This FX Risk Management Maturity Model outlines the 5 stages of a comprehensive currency risk management program. The process involves performing a FX risk assessment, developing a FX risk management policy, and implementing progressive FX hedging strategies.

5 Stage FX Risk Management Maturity Model

1. FX Risk Assessment: Exposure Identification & Measurement
2. FX Risk Management Policy: Hedging Guidelines & Procedures
3. Balance Sheet Hedging: Booked Receivables & Payables
4. Cash Flow Hedging: Forecasted Revenues & Expenses
5. Net Investment Hedging: Subsidiary Earnings & Equity

The design and implementation of a FX risk management program must take into account the specific goals and objectives of the firm, the organizational structure and operations, the line of products and/or services, and any other variable that may be material and of relevance.

For firms that are new to foreign exchange risk management, emphasis should be placed on progress over perfection. Initial risk management plans are never perfect, and should be viewed as a process that is responsive to change and capable of continuous enhancement.

To learn more about FX risk assessments, policies, and hedging strategies, start your FX risk management training today, which provides 24/7 365 access to our complete suite of foreign exchange (FX) continuing professional education (CPE), examples & events at FXCPE.com.

Mapping Currencies Across Countries

Mapping Currencies Across Countries: It is evident that no one single world currency exists. There are over 180 currencies recognized as legal tender in circulation throughout the world. The most widely used list of currencies is known as ISO 4217, which is a standard published by the International Organization for Standardization or the ISO. The ISO is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations, and the ISO 4217 currency codes shown in this interactive map are used in banking and business globally.

While many of us are familiar with the “Major” currencies, which include the euro, British pound sterling, Australian dollar, New Zealand dollar, United States dollar, Canadian dollar, Swiss franc, and Japanese yen, there are so many more currencies to explore. This interactive map helps you explore the world through the lens of currency. All 180 currencies in circulation are mapped using geographic coordinates and ISO 4217 currency codes. Simply click on the dots on the map to reveal the ISO 4217 currency code, currency name, country.

To learn more about conquering currency risk, start your FX risk management training today, which provides 24/7 365 access to our complete suite of foreign exchange (FX) continuing professional education (CPE), examples & events at FXCPE.com.

End-of-Year FX Education

Take advantage of end-of-year foreign exchange (FX) education by completing our 6 part foreign exchange risk management training program. Whether you need to research a foreign exchange educational topic related to your global business, or want to simulate a foreign exchange risk management strategy using our interactive examples, we offer a wide array of quality informational topics and tools that can help you manage FX risk.

FX Initiative is designed to make complex foreign currency matters simple and manageable, and is accessible 24 hours a day 7 days a week to meet your global business needs whenever and wherever a foreign exchange opportunity arises so you can make the right decisions to meet your FX objectives.

FX Initiative helps Banking & Treasury Professionals answer FX risk management questions such as:

• How to manage currency risk?
• How to draft a FX risk policy?
• Where to look for FX risk exposures?
• What currency risks to hedge and how?
• Which strategies meet FX hedge objectives?
• What are the economics?
• How to do FX accounting?

Get acquainted with all of the educational topics and interactive examples available exclusively to subscribers. We encourage you to start by watching our 6 part online video series, then review and test with quizzes and CPE exams, and reinforce learning using real-world examples. Throughout your learning experience, feel free to visit our terms glossary and frequently asked questions for clarification or contact our support department for help along the way.

Student Subscribers have access to the following 6 one-hour long currency risk management educational videos, as well as review quizzes, CPE Exams, CPE Credits, and Certificates of Completion:

1. Foreign Exchange (FX) Market Overview
2. FX Risk Exposures
3. FX Risk Management
4. FX Spot & Derivatives
5. Hedging FX Transactions
6. Hedging Foreign Subsidiaries

Professional Subscribers have access to all Student benefits, plus access to our complete suite of interactive examples to help reinforce learning concepts and model risk management strategies:

• Currency Code Locator
• FX Risk Policy Drafter
• FX Derivative Speculator
• FX Transaction Simulator
• FX Subsidiary Consolidator

FX Initiative training is available 24/7 365 to help you with FX risk policies, FX accounting, FX hedge strategies, and everything FX risk management related. Controllers and consultants alike can enhance their foreign exchange policies and procedures and simulate common hedging strategies using our collection of tools to clarify complex issues in real time to predictably mitigate currency risk when transacting across borders.

FX Initiative is focused on foreign exchange and continuously strives to deliver world class foreign exchange (FX) continuing professional education (CPE), examples and events on currency risk management. To take advantage of end-of-year foreign exchange (FX) education, start your FX risk management training today, which provides 24/7 365 access to our complete suite of foreign exchange (FX) continuing professional education (CPE), examples & events at FXCPE.com.

Features of FX Forward Contracts

Features of FX Forward Contracts (Video): Find out the distinctive features of foreign exchange (FX) forward contracts and discover how they can be used to hedge FX risk. This video is a preview of FX Initiative’s FX Spot & Derivatives course as part of Learning Objective #1.

To learn more, start your FX risk management training today, which provides 24/7 365 access to our complete suite of foreign exchange (FX) continuing professional education (CPE), examples & events at FXCPE.com.

Happy Thanksgiving from FX Initiative!

Happy Thanksgiving from FX Initiative! We’re thankful for our wonderful team members and clients.

To our valued clients, partners, and team, we are grateful for all you’ve done for our business this year. All of your hard work, dedication, and resilience has helped us reach our organization’s goals for 2022. On this holiday, we want to make sure you know how much you’re appreciated and how much we value your contributions. We hope you have a joyous holiday and we look forward to serving your foreign exchange risk management needs well into the future.

On behalf of FX Initiative, we wish you, your family, and loved ones a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.

Recognizing FX Revenues & Receivables

Recognizing FX Revenues & Receivables (Video): Explore the economic and accounting similarities and differences between forecasted and booked foreign exchange (FX) transactions using the FX Transaction Simulator tool.

To learn more, start your FX risk management training today, which provides 24/7 365 access to our complete suite of foreign exchange (FX) continuing professional education (CPE), examples & events at FXCPE.com.

Recognizing FX Revenues & Receivables

Recognizing FX Revenues & Receivables (Video): Explore the economic and accounting similarities and differences between forecasted and booked foreign exchange (FX) transactions using the FX Transaction Simulator tool.

To learn more, start your FX risk management training today, which provides 24/7 365 access to our complete suite of foreign exchange (FX) continuing professional education (CPE), examples & events at FXCPE.com.

November 2022 Newsletter

Explore our November 2022 newsletter and discover the latest blog posts and insights from FX Initiative. We help finance, accounting, treasury, and sales professionals stay up to date with new training content, CPE webinars, and helpful tips & resources.

Get started with our foreign exchange risk management training, which provides 24/7 365 access to our complete suite of foreign exchange (FX) continuing professional education (CPE), examples and events at FXCPE.com. Start Training >

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Sharing Feedback & Suggestions (Survey)

FX Initiative remains committed to continuously enhancing our foreign exchange (FX) risk management training. To complement the transition from in-person meetings to online environments, we are working on improving our suite of FX topics and tools to better serve your currency risk management needs safely and remotely.

We are listening closely to our audience of finance, accounting, and treasury professionals with the goal of providing innovative FX risk management training and tools. Help us improve by sharing your feedback regarding what you like about our FX training and how we can do better. Take our short survey: https://www.fxcpe.com/feedback >

Hypothetical FX Hedging Simulations

To become proficient in any skill, including currency risk management, practice makes perfect. To help companies practice, FX Initiative’s Foreign Exchange Transaction Simulator addresses a wide variety of FX scenarios by stress-testing hypothetical FX hedging strategies.

This interactive risk modeling tool illustrates the economics and accounting of the most common hedging strategies for underlying foreign exchange exposures such as revenues, expenses, receivables, and payables. You can simply input your company specific and foreign exchange market variables, and then select your hedging strategy, which includes not hedging or hedging with a forward contract, vanilla option or zero cost collar.

The resulting output is a highly detailed interactive FX risk analysis that charts the economic payoff of your selected hedging strategy, ranks the alternative hedging strategies, and reports the accounting journal entries and t-accounts with authoritative references to U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Behind the scenes, our robust pricing engine and database simplifies the risk analysis process for you so you can focus on the bottom line impact to your business.

This versatile tool transforms 16 inputs into one information rich analysis in 3 easy steps.

• Step 1 is to select (1) the Underlying Exposure and input the related variables of (2) Functional Currency, (3) Foreign Currency, (4) Underlying Notional Amount, (5) Beginning Exchange Rate, (6) Currency Quoting Convention, (7) Start Date, (8) End Date and (9) the Day Count.
• Step 2 is to select a (10) Hedging Strategy and input the related variables of (11) Hedge Ratio %, (12) Domestic Interest Rate, (13) Foreign Interest Rate, (14) Implied Volatility, and (15) the Collar Range.
• Step 3 is to forecast (16) the ending exchange rate to see how positive and negative changes in exchange rates impact the cash flow and financial reporting of your selected hedging strategy.

This FX risk management web application customizes strategies and can be modified efficiently and effectively. For example, if you want to change your underlying exposure or hedge strategy, it’s as simple as one-click. If you want to know which strategy yields the best outcome, all 4 strategies are ranked for you automatically. If you want to see how the default or elective accounting treatment differ, the journal entries and t-accounts are instantly presented side-by-side. This Foreign Exchange Transaction Simulator acts as your own personal quantitative analyst, and puts you in a positions to make a qualified foreign exchange risk management decisions.

To begin practicing hypothetical FX hedging, start your FX risk management training today, which provides 24/7 365 access to our complete suite of foreign exchange (FX) continuing professional education (CPE), examples & events at FXCPE.com.