Treasury Strategy & Transformation
Published  6 MIN READ

Corporate Treasury at a Crossroads:

The Challenges and Opportunities in Modernising Treasury Operations

Treasurers are struggling to modernise treasury operations at a time when the consequences of technological weaknesses have never been greater. The expanding role of the treasury function, accelerated pace of innovation, and greater complexity of market and cyber risks have placed more pressure on treasurers than ever before. In 2020 and beyond, they’ll be forced to adopt new technologies, re-engineer processes and strengthen controls – or face the consequences.

A new global treasury modernisation study from FIS reveals just how profoundly treasury has changed and why departments must act now to address the challenges of the new digital treasury era. Sixty-eight percent of companies indicate that treasury’s scope of responsibility has expanded. At the same time, fundamental issues like risk management, regulatory compliance and operational efficiency are still keeping treasurers up at night. 

Seventy-four percent of respondents have treasury technology initiatives under way, indicating that today, treasury departments don’t have sufficiently effective technology to manage their expanded responsibilities and associated challenges. To address these shortcomings, treasurers need to recognise their evolving business requirements, understand which new technologies can help, and create a vision for a more strategic and sustainable future.

Modernisation Challenges

According to 72% of respondents, risk management is the most challenging issue today, with only 29% of treasury departments considering themselves very effective at managing foreign exchange risk and 28% saying the same for interest rate risk. Cybersecurity risk is one of the most important emerging challenges, with the vast majority – 91% – of treasury departments facing hurdles in this area.