90% of Corporate Treasuries Surveyed Still Use Manual Processes for Counterparty Risk
Nearly 90% of US corporate treasuries are still using manual processes, such as spreadsheets, to manage counterparty risk and cash flow forecasting, despite the fact that counterparty risk and cash flow forecasting as seen as top concerns by 87% and 28% respectively, according to a survey of 46 of the leading US-headquartered Fortune 500 multinational corporate treasuries by Wall Street Systems and consultancy Treasury Strategies.
This means they are without the real-time view and information needed in uncertain environments. In the wake of the recent market collapse, manual processes are no longer acceptable for corporate treasury functions, according to survey respondents.
To further exacerbate the problem, treasurers have traditionally relied on the credit rating agencies to provide their only measure of credit risk. Without question they can no longer rely on ratings as the only determinate of risk, and as a consequence they have cut their more risky exposures and moved to specific counterparties the government would view as ‘too big to fail’.
Treasurers are now in need of other tools to help them view and manage their counterparty exposure and ensure the group’s liquidity across the organisation, such as an integrated treasury management system (TMS) – providing a real time view of exposure and liquidity on demand. Mark Lewis, director, corporate treasury, Wall Street Systems said: “Today the cost of making an investment in real-time treasury technology does not compare with the size of a possible loss caused by a failed counterparty. The opportunity to unwind the exposure prior to the failure could save the company millions, and is an essential point for proving the business case to the board.”
A white paper details the findings and the top emerging technology needs among US corporate treasurers and includes: