In the ever-evolving world of finance, staying ahead of the curve is not just advantageous—it’s imperative. As we usher in 2024, the landscape of treasury technology stands at the intersection of past achievements and future aspirations. When we look back on the journey thus far, we’ve seen how market factors and technical improvements have led to dramatic alterations in the way firms conduct their financial operations.
According to a report by Deloitte, global spending on treasury management systems reached a staggering $1.4 billion in 2022, underscoring the growing importance of robust treasury technology solutions. This investment was propelled by a pressing need for greater efficiency, enhanced risk management capabilities, and improved decision-making processes within treasury functions.
Looking back, the trajectory of treasury technology has been marked by significant milestones. From the advent of cloud-based platforms to the widespread adoption of data analytics and automation tools, each innovation has reshaped the way organizations approach financial management.
In this blog, we’ll explore the major economic challenges that are impacting corporate treasury and how various technologies are transforming the treasury technology landscape that will likely shape the financial scene in this year at large.
The financial sector has been operating under tremendous strain in these uncertain economic times and has been dealing with a risky environment for a while. Is it going to continue in a similar manner? In 2023, technological advancements and regulations have changed the corporate treasury landscape, thereby impacting treasurers and enabling them to act as strategic decision-makers for the finance functions and CFO.
The aftermath of COVID-19 and the possible risk of major economies slipping into recession have brought liquidity risk management to the forefront of the CFO’s priorities. In order to navigate through these economic uncertainties of a high inflation rate, geopolitical tensions like the war in Ukraine, financial crises, and stock market fluctuations, Treasury teams need to roll their sleeves up and adapt to the rapid technological advancements and embrace them. To thrive in this challenging terrain, businesses have to adopt the latest industry trends and have real-time cash visibility.
As per a survey by AFP and Deloitte, 68% of treasury practitioners report that aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought cash management and cash forecasting to the forefront of CFOs’ priorities.The demand for accurate cash forecasting surged significantly during COVID-19 and is still on a rise.
As CFOs shift gears to enhance liquidity management and improve cash forecasting, they are exploring potential automation and digital capabilities and accelerating their pace to streamline the entire function. This will enable treasurers to focus more on strategic tasks and give 360-degree visibility to senior stakeholders.
With these advancements and rapid changes happening at an accelerating pace, companies have started implementing Treasury Management Systems to streamline their existing processes. While TMS has been a top trend and focus of most of the treasury teams now, trending technologies like AI/ML, Gen AI, blockchain, and APIs are also making headlines for all the powerful capabilities they have to reshape how treasurers perform their daily activities.
As per a recent survey conducted by BNP Paribas, only 46% of companies believe that their Treasury teams are well-equipped to make adept treasury-related decisions. They are somewhat 24/7 ready for any such kind of situation.
One of the major challenges that Treasury teams have when selecting systems is determining how they will meet all of the necessary expectations and requirements. They have to spend a lot of time evaluating multiple systems because they lack a defined evaluation process and end up implementing the wrong system.
In the current market, we have majorly four types of systems for streamlining the treasury processes, based on the requirements and system capabilities treasury teams can make choices.
A Treasury Management System (TMS) is a software platform facilitating efficient cash, liquidity, and risk management for organizations.It provides functions like financial reporting, investment management, payment processing, and cash flow forecasting. Through seamless data exchange and automation of treasury processes, TMS integrates with trading platforms, ERP software, bank systems, and other financial resource management and optimization tools.
A Treasury Aggregator is a platform that consolidates financial data from multiple sources, such as bank accounts, payment systems, and trading platforms.It provides functions including account reconciliation, real-time cash visibility, and centralized reporting. With integration capabilities with various financial systems and APIs, it enables seamless data aggregation, analysis, and decision-making, empowering organizations to optimize liquidity management and mitigate financial risks.
Supply Chain Finance (SCF) is a financial solution that optimizes cash flow within the supply chain. It allows suppliers to access early payment for invoices, while buyers extend payment terms. Features including supplier onboarding, dynamic discounting, and invoice finance are available on SCF platforms. Integration features allow for the efficient automation of transactions and enhancement of cash conversion cycles by establishing connections with banks, third-party financing providers, and ERP systems.
An Enterprise Liquidity Management System is a software solution facilitating comprehensive management of an organization’s cash and liquidity. Integration capabilities enable seamless connectivity with bank accounts, financial institutions, ERP systems, and other relevant platforms, ensuring real-time data exchange and informed decision-making to optimize liquidity across the enterprise.
According to a recent Treasury survey on technology trends, businesses preferring AI/ML and predictive analytics more and more when it comes to automating Treasury processes; about 50% of these companies rely on cloud-based SaaS and APIs. Notably, cloud-based solutions with AI/ML capabilities are becoming more and more popular. Most firms are expected to switch to these kinds of solutions in the coming years. Since 2021, treasurers have continuously adopted data visualization technologies in their decision-making, with a 50% adoption rate.
Following are the five major corporate treasury technology trends:
It is fairly new and making headlines, but its adoption has been on the lower side compared to other technologies like AI/ML and API. Treasury professionals are still unaware of the capabilities of Gen AI. Gen AI, when combined with GPT, can translate into a powerful tool that can automate complex tasks, generate predictive insights, and enhance decision-making processes.
It is among the most popular and preferred choices among the treasury and finance professionals. We all know how AI/ML have been transforming various functions across industries. AI/ML has a wide range of applications in the corporate treasury and is not limited to automating daily routine tasks; it also provides valuable insights and predictions for strategic decision-making.
AI/ML, when combined with the capabilities of Predictive Analytics, can become a very powerful tool that harnesses the immense potential of data to help treasurers anticipate financial trends and threats with previously unthinkable accuracy in the future.
Let’s deep dive into the possible use cases of AI/ML in Treasury and how they are revolutionizing those areas: –
It is one of the most significant benefits of AI/ML where we have seen quite impressive results, and it helps analysts save time and effort.
The majority of the companies that are focusing on accelerating their digital transformation initiatives are also concurrently expanding their cybersecurity capabilities, with fraud detection as their top priority. By utilizing advanced AI/ML algorithms, these systems quickly sift through massive datasets to identify irregular patterns and anomalies that may indicate fraudulent behavior.
AI plays a vital role in cash forecasting, a notoriously challenging task for treasurers. AI algorithms can predict future cash flows by analyzing historical and real-time data. This task is of strategic importance to the senior stakeholders as it enables them to make informed business decisions.
AI helps with cash and asset management by optimizing investment portfolios, automating daily tasks like tracking expenses, and forecasting market trends. By detecting fraud, it improves risk management and finds areas for strategic investment. Overall, it ensures efficient utilization of various resources to contribute to better financial outcomes.
AI streamlines expense reporting by automating data entry, categorizing expenses, and detecting anomalies or policy violations. It accelerates reimbursement processes through faster validation and approval workflows. AI-powered analysis offers insights into expenditure trends, assisting in the identification of areas for cost savings and the optimization of budgetary allocations.
Most of the companies are expediting their Treasury Transformation Initiative with these TMS. In a recent AI webinar by HighRadius & Genpact, we discovered that around 70% of treasurers see TMS as a viable solution to address their current treasury process challenges. These systems are known for their accessibility, scalability, and integration capabilities. They can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection and can integrate with a variety of financial systems to accommodate changing business requirements without much investment.
These are relatively newer technologies with few use cases, but they are gaining popularity in the finance realm due to their security and stability capabilities. Businesses are still exploring the possible use cases and potential of such systems.
APIs are pivotal in treasury transformation, facilitating seamless integration with banks and fintech solutions, automating cash management processes, and providing access to real-time market data. They strengthen security, streamline workflows, and enable customization to meet specific needs. Treasury departments can quickly adapt, increase efficiency, and make well-informed decisions in a financial landscape that is changing at a rapid pace.
At HighRadius, we have developed a very unique solution that caters to the different needs of a Treasury department, ranging from managing, analyzing, reporting, and forecasting. HighRadius has three different solutions: cash management, cash forecasting, and payments.
Furthermore, from a treasury standpoint, our AI/ML model helps the treasury team with high-level accuracy for AR/AP forecasts, along with predefined category forecasts, deal lifecycle management, and financial instrument tracking.
New technologies in treasury management, such as AI and machine learning for risk assessment and cash flow prediction, blockchain for secure transactions, RPA for task automation, and cloud-based treasury management systems for scalability and accessibility, enhance accuracy, efficiency, and decision-making capabilities in treasury operations.
Treasury technology encompasses digital solutions and software employed within business treasury departments to streamline and expedite financial processes. Enhancing efficiency, precision, and decision-making, these tools aid in cash management, liquidity forecasting, risk assessment, and financial reporting, thereby optimizing the overall treasury operations.
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