Q&A: Can My Bank Produce an EDI 822 File?

When I thought to write Q&A posts I assumed I'd run out of questions to answer but, from outside the field, very few Bankers or Treasurers understand Account Analysis so it has given me more to write about and - hopefully - this space remains informative.

Can my bank produce an EDI 822 file?

The first thing I ask when I get this question is, "who is your bank?"  It is safe to assume that the big banks of the USA are all producing an EDI 822 file for their Account Analysis customers.   There are some smaller, when compared to the Big Four, banks who have yet to move to an electronic file format for their Account Analysis.  Then there are some banks who would prefer their customers never find out an EDI 822 file exists!  Some banks will attempt to charge the customer requesting an EDI 822 an exorbitant initial set-up cost and/or try to appease by sending a MS Excel spreadsheet in place of or in addition to the paper Account Analysis statement. Usually, neither are good options which I will explain below.

Should my Treasury dept request an EDI 822 file?

The answer to this question depends greatly on what you plan to do with the EDI 822 file.  If you have already purchased and implemented an Account Analysis system, then an EDI 822 file is a must have.  It makes the capture, translation, and analysis of your EDI 822 file and even your BSB files easier and thorough.  However, if your Treasury staff does not have a software program which can capture and analyse the 822 data then how much benefit will an 822 file offer?

The comment I hear frequently from Treasury staff regarding an EDI 822 file is, "I can't read this thing!"  If you can't decipher what the file says and you do not have an Account Analysis system or module as part of your Treasury Workstation, then continuing to receive either a .pdf or Excel spreadsheet from your bank is a low cost alternative.  Always weighing the cost-benefit of any financial decision is a smart thing to do.

When would you recommend receiving an EDI 822?

Since the goal of Treasury is to cut costs and use money efficiently, my first response is when it helps your company achieve those goals.  Some Treasury departments are not fully staffed.  Even then, some are not staffed with an expert analysis team.  I have seen some pretty elaborate spreadsheets and macros used in MS Excel to calculate bank pricing, charges, volumes, fluctuations of either, and historical trends.  Since adding a new row for a bank service and/or account signifies an addition, the staff is aware of new services and accounts as well.

When the expert Treasury staff is not available, when the resources are just not there, and/or making the time to thoroughly analyse your bank fees is the last thing you attempt to do before the invoice must be paid; this is when I'd recommend an EDI 822 file.  Coupled with an Account Analysis system, it offers an efficient use of time which allows less focus on manually keying in data into a spreadsheet but more focus on analyzing that data.  Better management of your bank fees and cutting costs so your Treasury department's annual budget actually decreases with each passing year, should be the ultimate goal of any Treasury department.  How you get there depends on the individual needs of each company.

What about the BSB file?

The same would apply to the BSB file as well.  If your company has only domestic bank accounts denominated in the local USD currency, then a BSB is unnecessary.

With currency conversions, conversion rates, possible taxes, etc the BSB is slightly easier to read in its .xml format.  However, not all Account Analysis systems or Account Analysis modules of Treasury Workstations are TWIST BSB or ISO BSB/camt.086 message compatible so make sure you ask the right questions if you are deciding this is the right path for your company.

As always, if you have an Account Analysis question please feel free to email me: GirlMeetsAA@gmail.com. 

Happy Analyzing!