How Technology is Helping Treasurers

The profession of treasurer has changed significantly over the last 30 years. The days when treasurers managed a company’s treasury alone on their PC – often on a spreadsheet, independently from the rest of the company’s information system – are now long gone. 

Today, treasurers work in a connected world where the notion of virtually real-time operations is omnipresent. They must manage real-time market information, electronic trading, relationships with banks and counterparties, subsidiaries, etc., both inside the company and its information system and with external contacts.

Globalisation and the digital and technological revolution have profoundly changed the needs and working habits of treasurers. Today, certain modern treasury management systems (TMS) provide functionalities to enable collaborative work, ensure information is unique, separate tasks and mandates, centralise and improve visibility of cash positions, assist in decision-making, and enable electronic signatures, as well as virtually instantaneous exchanges and infinite reporting possibilities. However, many large companies still do not take advantage of these tools and continue to use outdated technologies in obsolete software packages. 

Many group treasury departments still use a variety of software packages each managing a limited functional perimeter. These packages are interlinked with varying degrees of efficiency, resulting in a greater administrative workload, difficult maintenance operations, and even the need to re-enter information concerning certain operations. Other groups have opted for more integrated solutions which are now technically outdated, difficult to implement and that end up costing a lot to use over time. Finally, some companies have chosen more modern solutions, but the technical design of these systems limits their use and makes them too rigid.

What treasurers dream about:

1. Standardising their treasury management system in order to have a solution based on a single repository and database. The solution must cover all the components of the trade: front, middle, back office and associated risks, cash management (including payments), treasury accounting operations (cash and trading), bank communication, reconciliation of market transaction confirmations, management of standard and electronic bank mandates (eBAM)
   
   
2. Easily integrating the solution into the company’s general IS while limiting (or even completely removing) the need for IT developments to manage the interfaces
   
   
3. Making it easier for subsidiaries to access to the solution thanks to simple deployment (no more local installation)
   
   
4. Guaranteeing the total security, confidentiality and traceability of data
   
   
5. Moving closer to real-time management and ‘zero paper’ by automating tasks as much as possible (straight-through processing) and having configurable workflows that fit exactly with the processes
   
   
6. Simple administration and maintenance to reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO).

[[[PAGE]]]

Thanks to technology, this dream has become a reality. Today, with server storage and processing capacities, 3-tier architectures (data, application, web), device-oriented development tools, and increasing network bandwidth (internal and Internet), it is now possible to have solutions such as Treasury Line  (http://www.treasury-line.com )  that can respond to all these needs perfectly.

The first criterion group treasurers will look at is the functional coverage of the solution. However, they must also take into account the technical aspects, which are essential for the success of their project in the medium and long term, and for this they should be supported by their IT department. Consequently, they will opt for a full-web solution in order to facilitate deployment and centralise data in a single place. The aim of having an increased visibility of cash flows while facilitating the administration and maintenance of the tool will then be fulfilled.

The type of programming used for the solution can also impact the interdependence of the application with the company’s general IS. For example, a Java solution is more likely to fit with the architecture defined internally (operating system, database, etc.).

The last criterion concerns the type of service offer proposed: a solution hosted internally or by a third party in ASP or SaaS mode. A well-designed solution should enable reversibility (internalising the solution after use in SaaS mode for example).

Finally, treasurers need to understand the software-publisher’s product strategy in order to gauge their ability to keep up with functional or regulatory changes, as well as with technological developments that will provide ever-greater flexibility, productivity and security.