CFOs Identify Three Key Areas Where Treasurers Need to Be More Strategic

Risk Management, Cash Management and Working Capital Optimization Cited as Key Areas for Improvement, According to New CFO Publishing Survey

NEW YORK--()--Kyriba, the #1 provider of cloud treasury and financial management solutions, today announced the results of a new survey with CFO Publishing that shows exactly where CFOs think treasurers need to elevate their performance to help them navigate an increasingly complex global business environment.

As it stands now, most CFOs see room for improvement in the treasury function, according to the survey and report, entitled “3 Key Areas Where CFOs Say Treasurers Need to be More Strategic.” While 40 percent of respondents currently consider their treasury operations better than average, a majority (45 percent) ranked them as average. Only 8.1 percent consider them “best in class,” the report states.

“The results are surprising because treasurers typically set very high standards for themselves and the treasury function,” said Christopher Schmidt, director of research at CFO Publishing, an Argyle company. “To me, this is a sign that many treasury functions face organizational and technological impediments that are preventing them from delivering the highest value.”

To assist them with accelerating growth and protecting against loss in a new interconnected global landscape, CFOs say treasurers should focus on optimizing 1) risk management, 2) cash management and 3) working capital, according to the survey, which queried more than 150 senior financial executives across multiple industries in North America.

Other key findings include:

  • The top three treasury issues that keep CFOs up at night are unreliable cash visibility and forecasts, inability to optimize working capital, and potential of payments fraud
  • CFOs acknowledge key challenges working against effective treasury management, including complexity of financial structure, inadequate technology for effective analysis, and lack of a standardized approach to working capital management
  • CFOs would like to see treasurers improve their technology solutions to match industry best practices in the areas of 1) cash management, 2) data visualization and reporting, and 3) payments management

One finance and treasury executive said better data visualization tools can go a long way toward helping CFOs enhance their perception of treasury, while accelerating strategic value.

“One challenge for treasurers is that a large part of their activities and focus are transaction oriented, and so the CFO may not feel like they are getting a lot of strategic insight from treasury,” said Eric Ball, the general partner of Impact Venture Capital and a former CFO who served as Senior Vice President and Treasurer at Oracle for 10 years. “Better data visualization and reporting of key treasury metrics is one initiative that can help the CFO better understand the value of treasury in a time-efficient manner, and also enable that CFO to make faster global business decisions.”

To download a free copy of the report, visit www.kyriba.com. Kyriba will also be distributing a limited number of free printed copies of the report at the AFP 2018 Conference, scheduled for Nov. 4-6 in Chicago. Kyriba will be in booth #1132.

About Kyriba Corp.

Kyriba empowers financial leaders and their teams with award-winning solutions for cash and risk management, payments and supply chain finance. Kyriba delivers a highly secure, 100 percent SaaS enterprise platform, superior bank connectivity and a seamlessly integrated solution set for tackling today’s most complex financial challenges. Thousands of companies, including many of the world’s largest organizations, rely on Kyriba to streamline key processes, protect against loss from fraud and cybercrime, and accelerate growth opportunities through improved decision support. Technology analyst firm IDC recognized Kyriba as a global leader in its MarketScape for SaaS and cloud-enabled treasury and risk management applications for 2017-2018. Kyriba is headquartered in New York, with offices in San Diego, Paris, London, Tokyo, Dubai and other major locations. For more information, visit www.kyriba.com.

About CFO Research

CFO Research, an Argyle company, has been a trusted source of insight into the business issues that matter most to finance professionals since its founding in 2000. CFO Research is the sister firm of CFO Magazine, and relies on senior finance executives to share their experiences, insights, and observations on critical business issues.

To learn more about Kyriba PartnerSURGE, email Kyriba at treasury@kyriba.com.

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Contacts

Kyriba Corp.
Daniel Shaffer, +1 (858) 263-2218
dshaffer@kyriba.com

Release Summary

New CFO survey finds three key areas where CFOs say Treasurers need to be more strategic.

Contacts

Kyriba Corp.
Daniel Shaffer, +1 (858) 263-2218
dshaffer@kyriba.com