While the traditional treasury functions of managing cash, liquidity and working capital and handling foreign exchange as well as interest rate risk continue to be core, how these functions are performed and the additional value that can be added around them, is continually evolving – often at speed.

This change is being driven by three key factors: the ongoing disruption caused by geopolitical uncertainty; the need to effectively manage the risk of cybercrime; and the emergence of new business models, from e-commerce to marketplace solutions.

As part of this shift, treasurers have been able to take on a range of additional duties and responsibilities. In Tomorrow’s Treasury, this role will become even more strategic – rather than waiting for change, treasurers will increasingly take the initiative in facilitating change within their organisation to enable business growth and better manage risk.

However, this will only be possible if treasurers can rely on a solid foundation in terms of treasury setup. This includes centralising operations, leveraging now well-established solutions such as in-house banking and virtual accounts, as well as driving automation.

“While the road to this real-time destination is long – and with various obstacles – if treasurers are able to reach it they can unlock instant visibility and control over cash, faster decision-making and improved liquidity management“
Christof Hofmann, Global Head of Corporate Cash Management, Deutsche Bank

From here, treasurers can begin to fine-tune policies and processes to ready them for a real-time treasury world, where they have access to the right information at the right time for taking decisions quickly and effectively.

In the decade ahead, treasury of (the day after) tomorrow might even be able to count on currently emerging technologies, like artificial intelligence (AI), central bank digital currencies, and tokenised deposits, to expedite certain parts of their transformation – as Navigating Tomorrow’s Treasury landscape outlines.