“How are Treasurers Navigating the Real-Time Revolution?

The move towards real-time, whereby data is accessible immediately and transactions can be performed instantly, is one of the most transformative shifts the financial services industry has seen in decades. It allows Treasurers to create a completely integrated ecosystem with their various partners, allowing for immediate information exchange and decision making. Moving away from fileand batch-based processing, real time transactional processing allows for immediate settlement and ultimately more efficient use of liquidity for working capital improvements. Weathering the storm of geopolitical events, globalisation and technology requires robust and proactive treasury management. The more global the organisation, the more the need to run operations in real-time. Global market and macro volatility makes it a necessity for organisations to understand the full picture of their cash flow in a real-time environment. This includes the organisation’s exposure to inflation and higher interest rates globally that will support protecting revenues. Real-time data will support better risk management, by allowing for immediate visibility in forecasting and identifying possible risks proactively to safeguard the organisation from costly investments. Real-time also allows for the immediate movement of surplus cash which is critical to financial success. Additionally, technology advancement allows for greater efficiencies and better deployment of human capital, ultimately supporting the further growth of the organisation. Treasurers often underestimate the benefits of real-time payment schemes and how this will drive cost efficiencies, enhance working capital optimisation, allow for reduced lending and speedy deposit placements. However, the investment and time needed to implement a real-time ecosystem is not to be underestimated, as projects can take several months if not years. Treasurers should work on a robust business case for this investment in order to realise the significant benefits, particularly with AI likely to create further efficiencies in the future.The journey has only just begun! 

Is Real-time Data the Key to Revolutionizing Treasury?

Data is the core element of the digital transformation journey. Its usage in forecasting cashflows, managing liquidity and ensuring correct funding is fundamental to treasury management. Now with the ability to analyse data in real time, transparency and speed have been added as extra ingredients. Data analytics tools are replacing spreadsheets, and as data volumes increase there is a greater need to better interpret the data, especially with data in real-time. This will require structured arrangement of data sources, the most important being TMS and ERP systems, as well as CRM and connectivity to banks. Identifying actionable insights from across various sources, including payment data analysis treasurers can be benefit a number of areas, including better forecasting of cash flow, identifying payments patterns, credit risk and in identifying fraud.

 

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• The quality and accuracy of the data lakes: Ensuring the integrity of the data is a crucial element as poor data quality can lead to erroneous insights and decision-making, and brings no value add. In worst case scenarios, costly mistakes are made unintentionally, and risk is added.

• Change Management: Implementing a real-time model involves significant changes in treasury processes, procedural workflows, and organizational culture. Technology advances capabilities but also requires an uplift of skillsets.

• Costs and resource allocation: Implementing and maintaining real-time treasury requires investments in technology, staff training, and ongoing maintenance. 

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