Treasury & cash management
While technology has been invaluable for treasury teams, agility and work culture are just as vital, Stockmann says.
55%
The percentage of treasurers that claim the pandemic has accelerated the rate of adoption of technology
within their company. 80%
The percentage of treasurers that say they’re interested in exploiting technology.
ACT 32
All the same, Stockmann points out that increased use of technology comes with a caveat. “Used wisely, it is absolutely fantastic, but if people think that a new forecasting system will do everything for them, then they have got it wrong,” she says, warning that while digital systems can deal with large volumes of data, work out trends and extrapolate it forward, they can’t actually predict the future. “It’s really important to understand the non-systems part – the discussions with your colleagues to understand what they’re hearing in the markets,” Stockmann adds. “You need to be careful that you don’t assume that the system will work out your forecast for you. It will do better in a stable environment, but in times of lots of change in external environments, you’ve really got to really be using your head.” Stockmann also emphasises that technology is of little benefit to treasurers without agility – something many companies have learnt to their detriment during the pandemic. “You need to think about your culture and your ways of working as well,” she says. “If you’re not an agile organisation, then that’s what you need to think about because you can effect a strategy or you can try and forecast, but it can all change in a moment – and people saw that during Covid.”
In other words, while technology offers significant benefits for treasury teams, it doesn’t come without challenges. Stockmann, for her part, cites budgetary pressure as the first hurdle when it comes to securing the funds necessary to invest in the best digital resources.
New expectations
Changes in technology also mean revamped skill sets. Indeed, Stockmann says the “classic” treasury role is evolving, with some teams trying to attract more tech-savvy employees. “As they’re recruiting, they’re now sometimes saying, ‘well we can train them up on the treasury side, or we can get them to do ACT qualifications, but they need to have more of a tech background’.”
Stockmann says retaining some Covid working practices – such as an element of working from home – may help attract good talent as technology and society change. “We’re also having a look at the way younger people are learning – they’re using technology to learn and they’re moving away from reading long textbooks to get a big qualification that they’ll stick with for their whole career,” she says. “The younger generation doesn’t necessarily plan to stay in one role forever.” The challenge, Stockmann says, will be to “capture
people’s attention and keep them loving the job for a longer time”. Here, empowering team members may hold the key – something that was seen throughout the pandemic, albeit more by accident than design. Stockmann hints that this was one of the silver linings to come out of an otherwise dark 18 months. “Many treasurers we surveyed talked about how
there’s now greater trust between themselves and their office,” she says. “People were empowering each other and trusting people to do their work without checking in on them all the time. I myself have delegated far more to the team than usual.” Stockmann adds, moreover, that this would lead to healthier relationships within teams and an increase in confidence among treasurers to work more independently. Stockmann also emphasises that fostering “softer skills” can further empower team members. The 2021 ACT research indicated that the biggest blocker to career development for treasurers is a lack of the interpersonal communication skills required to build relationships both inside and outside a business. “Like in other finance roles, treasury has become a lot more demanding – you’re needed to do much, much more than in the past,” she summarises. “Whereas in the past it may have been possible to hide a little bit behind the numbers, it’s no longer appropriate. You need to be a strategist, you need to be a people person, you need to speak to people across other areas of the business and you need much more communication with the board and the CFO. And that has really come to the fore during Covid.” ●
Finance Director Europe /
www.ns-businesshub.com
Philip King/
Shutterstock.com
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