Conversion to euro just around corner: Businesses must take steps to prepare

The Austrian schilling; Belgian, French and Luxembourg francs; Finland’s markke and Germany’s mark; the Italian lira, Spanish peseta, Greek drachma, Irish punt, Netherlands gilder and Portuguese escudo — say farewell to these “legacy” currencies and say hello to the euro, especially if you’re a U.S. company doing business abroad.

Soon, a fundamental change will occur in the way business is conducted in Europe, and the legacy currencies of the 12 “euro zone” nations will disappear. Now is the time for U.S. companies to prepare for these changes.

For example, as of July, all foreign checks that would previously have been issued…