Mortgage Servicer: The Vital Role

Join BearingPoint senior manager Marianne Lamkin as she explores the role of a mortgage servicer and why the role is so important. Typically, a mortgage servicer collects payments from the borrowers, and above all, manages the day-to-day relationship. When a borrower cannot commit to a payment schedule or has come into an unfortunate time, the mortgage servicer is the one who will work out a plan and determine the best course of action for all parties.

With a large number of borrowers being threatened with the recent credit crisis, there is a lot at stake. Many individuals are at risk of losing their home and/or business and the servicer is stepping in to help remedy the situation. With assistance comes some monitoring on the borrowers end. Anyone who has contact with a servicer needs to be concerned with how they are managing the relationship. Luckily, there are resources such as data reports that the servicer is required to supply. It’s essential that the stakeholders talk to the servicers, those that are managing the operations and the default managers. The most important thing is that a stakeholder needs to be truly sure that they understand the risks and how they can manage those risks and take proper precautions. If they don’t have the expertise, they need to find someone who does.

That’s where BearingPoint comes in. We can assist the client with outlining the risks and determining how well their servicer is managing their assets. Our new thinking in this space can help ensure our clients are meeting their legal and market obligations, as well as profiting financially in this ever changing world.

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Global trade management: how to navigate international markets

The global trade environment is complex—and steadily growing more so. International customs organizations and other regulatory bodies that govern international trade are becoming more adept at using technology to collaborate on and detect noncompliance with regulations and laws. Other factors, most notably terrorism, have added to organizations’ compliance burdens.

These burdens are not easily avoidable as organizations are beginning to realize that global trade is a critical part of their supply chains. Whether they ship products internationally, source raw materials from low-cost countries or set up operations in emerging markets to supply goods locally, today’s global businesses must find ways to cope with the many challenges of moving goods across international borders.

This paper explores new thinking around how to develop a global trade management strategy to seize the opportunities created by globalization while mitigating the risks.

Managing assets in the age of global warming

Everyone can relate to global warming, there have been countless articles and news programs, even blockbuster documentary films, such as “An Inconvenient Truth”; but the causes and remedies are constantly debated. The human contribution to global warming is undeniable and companies seeking to create a sustainable business must evaluate the environmental footprint left by their facilities and other infrastructure. Many facility assets—directly or indirectly—consume energy and emit greenhouse gases (GHGs), which are an environmental concern.

Since climate change has come to the forefront as a key sustainable development issue, many governments are taking steps to reduce GHG emissions. These steps include national policies that introduce emissions trading programs, voluntary programs, carbon or energy taxes, and regulations on energy efficiency and emissions. As a result, companies must be able to understand and manage their GHG risks to achieve long-term goals in an environmentally conscious environment.

Read some new thinking on managing assets in the age of global warming, which can assist your company in identifying your environmental footprint and put you on the path to sustainability.

New Thinking from the floor of SAPPHIRE

A podcast with John Tikka, senior director at Johns Hopkins
Series 2 of 3

We joined our SAP team at the recent SAPPHIRE event in Orlando. The event gave us the opportunity to sit down with new thinkers in various industries and get their take on SAP and the future of IT strategies.

In this podcast, the second of 3 from the floor of SAPPHIRE, we have for you John Tikka, Senior Director for Business Systems at Johns Hopkins, discusses exciting developments in the healthcare industry and the opportunity for information technology to improve patient care. He talks about the unrelenting demand for new capabilities and how The Johns Hopkins University is using SAP to become more agile and deliver information to the end user, allowing them to be more productive and provide better services.

(SAPPHIRE 2008 – The Johns Hopkins University)

About John
John is the Senior Director for Business Systems at Johns Hopkins. He is responsible for business systems in Johns Hopkins Health System, Johns Hopkins Medicine, and Johns Hopkins University. Includes payroll, finance, research accounting, supply chain, purchasing, accounts payable, and accounts receivable.

Effectively manage your risk and performance

With the recent market turmoil, the question has been raised: “Are traditional risk mitigation systems inadequate in times of crisis?”

Here are some steps organizations should consider to address risk management:

1. Push analytics to the limit. How you measure risk impacts how you address it.

2. Be strategic. Drive a comprehensive data strategy.

3. Examine your business processes. Change them if necessary.

4. Put better information and tools in the hands of deal makers. Empower CEOs with information on the risk environment.

5. Pursue capital arbitrage and compliance opportunities.

6. Jump start the incentive structure. Mobilize your workforce and address the human factor.

7. Implement a comprehensive, integrated performance and risk management framework.

This new thinking on risk management is explained in more detail in this paper. Find out what helps organizations address these issues and position themselves to deliver superior results.

New Thinking from the floor of SAPPHIRE

A podcast with Patrick Smith, Sr. Business Process Specialist from Orange County Public Schools – Series 1 of 3.

SAP’s recent SAPPHIRE event Orlando allowed us access to various new thinkers in a wide variety of industries to learn their thoughts on SAP and what the future holds.

In this podcast, the first in a series of 3 from the floor of SAPPHIRE, we talk with Patrick Smith, Sr. Business Process Specialist for Orange County Public Schools. Patrick explains what he sees that excites him at SAPPHIRE, how simplification and accessibility for mobile devices are the keys to information management, and if that means the end of the desktop.

(SAPPHIRE 2008 – Orange County Public Schools)

About Patrick
Patrick Smith is a Certified Integrator for mySAP Public Sector Solution (ERP 2005). He started as an end user of SAP in 1999 and is currently a Sr. Business Process Specialist (Business Analyst) for FI/FM/Org Management at Orange County Public Schools (Florida).

Virtual Desktops

Over the past few years there has been a lot of buzz around virtualization, in particular virtual desktops. A virtual desktop is one where all computing happens remotely. It contains a very simple screen that allows you to replace the heavy workstations that are currently being used by the majority of companies. Virtual desktops provide a “virtual” space, in which the user can place all their application software.

Virtual desktops allow companies to house all the data and applications in one secure location; allowing someone to manage employee’s desktops, even when the computer is off. This podcast explores the importance of virtual desktops and why they are being hailed as the wave of the future.

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How Can We Stop Rogue Traders?

Rogue trading is when an employee makes unauthorized trades on behalf of their company, often resulting in the loss of enormous amounts of money for that organization. This activity is often times hard to identify because the perpetrator is a legitimate employee and his actions will sometimes go unnoticed. Rogue Trading is actually very common, but it only hits the press when the company is well known and people come forward to announce the company’s losses.

This podcast explores new thinking on “How can we prevent Rogue Trading?”

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Digital Asset Management

The web and the enterprise are filled with countless volumes of content and it is growing exponentially every second. Videos, podcast, user data and content in general, these various formats have organizations scratching their heads on how to manage all of this data. With the breath of delivery channels and opportunities for new revenue models, digital asset management should be addressed by all organizations in order to recognize the benefits of this wealth of data.

Here is some new thinking on Digital Asset Management that weighs caution about DAM against the expected benefits, examines effective DAM implementations, and reviews success factors and traps to avoid.

A Changing World requires New Thinking

Did you know that 5 exabytes of new information will be generated this year?  To borrow a phrase from Carl Sagan, that’s “billions and billions” of bits of information (10 to the 18^th power to be exact) which are ready to be discovered, reviewed, stored, lost, protected, managed or more importantly shared!  Is it any wonder we can feel over-loaded and over-whelmed by it all?

In the spirit of adding useful information to the mix, BearingPoint is pleased to launch this blog to tap into new thinking wherever it resides.  We’ll share ideas from some of our own best thinkers, but we’re opening up this online stage to everyone to foster a dialogue on the issues that matter most to today’s organizations.  Information isn’t currency unless it’s current, so we hope that this real-time discussion can help us all leverage some of the best new thinking in today’s rapidly changing world.  Think of it as another way to get the right information to the right people at the right time.

So, what’s on your mind? We’re here to help…