The challenge
Complexity caused by cost uncertainty
Hogan Lovells is a global legal business providing innovative, commercial legal advice across an exceptional breadth of practices to market-leading clients around the world. The firm employs more than 5000 people, including 800+ partners, and operates in over 47 offices across 25 countries.
Hogan Lovells’ UK finance operation makes approximately 600 international ‘exotic’ currency payments per annum, with a total FX value of GBP 2.5m. These payments are made on behalf of clients, and are billed to those clients in GBP, EUR and USD.
Exchange rates often fluctuate in the period between receipt of disbursement invoices and their due date, leading to significant changes to the actual cost of each invoice. This created uncertainty around expenses and ultimately the need to adjust for any gains or losses.
The solution
Cost certainty with future payments
Convera introduced Hogan Lovells to future payments, a currency hedging solution the provides the convenience of fixing FX rates for individual invoices at the point of receipt. This allows Hogan Lovells to lock in an exchange rate for up to six months, and release the payment at the click of a button.
Future payments provide certainty at the point of billing and eliminate the need to absorb costs due to FX rate fluctuations. They also increase transparency of costs for the client. Bank details can be confirmed upfront when the deal is approved to avoid delays on the due date as any queries can be flagged and resolved before settlement.
Hogan Lovells has also leveraged Convera’s Collaboration Centre process to manage any payment queries. The firm is notified via email and directed to a shared portal where its team can work with Convera to proactively manage queries.
The results
80 hours efficiency savings a year
Chris Harp, Senior Finance Operations Manager, Hogan Lovells, explains, ‘’Since implementing this solution we have been able to put in place a much-improved process for managing our international payments, gaining certainty of exchange rate we will be able to secure when the invoice is due. This delivers 80 hours of efficiency savings a year as we can now release payments at the click of a button without the need to post a loss or gain and input them twice.
In addition, we also find that the service we receive from the team at Convera is excellent. They understand our needs and take on board our feedback and requirements. This is a real partnership, where Convera is genuinely interested in helping us grow our firm and deliver our strategy.
This delivers 80 hours of efficiency savings a year as we can now release payments at the click of a button without the need to post a loss or gain and input them twice.”
Chris Harp
Senior Finance Operations Manager, Hogan Lovells
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