Research Highlights Importance of Cash Visibility Across Organisations
New research has confirmed that many treasury departments are actively engaged in continuous operations to improve their cash visibility, finding that at present the estimated level of visibility of cash as a percentage of the total cash in the organisation is 78%.
The research, undertaken by IT2 Treasury Solutions, also found that in the next three years responding treasurers projected that the level of visibility of cash as a percentage of the total in the organisation will rise to 91%.
Looking at ways to improve cash visibility over the next three years, the survey found that treasury departments are prioritising:
Kevin Grant, chief executive officer (CEO), IT2 Treasury Solutions, said: “For all organisations that are striving for greater cash visibility, most are planning to achieve this by centralising the cash positioning and forecasting processes, and are looking to improve the controls around these workflows by using treasury management technology more effectively. There may not be an economic case for going for 100% visibility, but there is a growing consensus that a figure of above 90% is valuable – and achievable.”
Treasurers were also asked about their attitude towards electronic bank account management (eBAM), which allows a company to open, maintain and close banks accounts electronically. The survey found that 18% of respondents are planning to implement eBAM in the next three years, with 12% planning to do so at some point after this. A growing number of treasurers are identifying eBAM as a valuable advance in bank account management, bringing greater reliability, control and transparency to this aspect of cash management.
Grant added: “eBAM’s primary benefit is to decrease operational risk by accelerating, streamlining and securing the bank account administrative process. Therefore, it is surprising that eBAM is not a priority on more treasurers’ radar, especially given that the additional benefits it brings are close to the top of the treasurers’ agenda: increased visibility and control on the global cash position and bank exposure. I expect eBAM adoption to increase in the coming months, as its benefits become more generally accepted by the treasury community.”