BOSTON ––
November 7, 2011 –– Companies today are placing a greater value on the historic
role of their treasury department in managing cash and liquidity as a direct
consequence of the current economic and
credit environment, according a survey by the Association for Financial
Professionals (AFP) released today at the AFP Annual Conference. At the same time, treasury responsibilities
continue to expand to include critical finance activities ranging from
accounting and SEC compliance to financial planning and analysis to serving as
a valued internal financial consultant to the company.
The AFP
Strategic Role of Treasury Survey, underwritten by SunTrust, found that
the role of corporate treasury, the subset of finance that assures that a
company has enough cash on hand to meet its needs, in the last five years has
become more strategic than operational. Not surprisingly, companies are also
keeping a close eye on how they measure financial performance.
“At many companies,
treasurers and their staff are interacting directly with senior management,
including the board. Their expertise in forecasting and budgeting is even
required at the business unit level as companies seek to calculate ROI on a
project basis,” said Jim Kaitz, AFP’s president and CEO. “Time is also critical. Companies need to know how they are
performing according to plan, so we are seeing an increased focus on financial
metrics.”
"SunTrust
is pleased to sponsor the 2011 Strategic Role of Treasury Survey,” said Eric
Brewer, Executive Vice President of Treasury & Payment Solutions at
SunTrust Banks, Inc. “This timely report captures the perspectives of
senior-level financial professionals and offers analysis which highlight
emerging trends and subtle shifts in the treasury function.”
Key survey findings:
Eighty-one percent of senior-level
financial professionals report that treasury is playing a greater strategic
role in their organizations than it did five years earlier.
Treasury’s greater strategic role is
the result of:
*
Increased importance of cash management and liquidity given economic and credit
market volatility (78 percent)
* Senior management and boards seeking
increased visibility into liquidity and risk
exposures (70 percent)
* Closer monitoring of financial metrics on
projects and other activities (44 percent)
Treasury takes a leadership role key
finance functions, including bank relationship management, global treasury
management, borrowing, investing and cash flow forecasting.
Treasury also plays critical roles
in financial risk management, working capital management, financial planning
& analysis, risk management, mergers & acquisitions, counterparty risk
analysis, business continuity planning, enterprise risk management and capital
structure.
*
In 87 percent of organizations, the treasury group acts as an internal
financial
consultant
to other departments.
*
This expanded strategic scope has occurred even while many treasury departments
committed
a greater percentage of resources to traditional cash management
responsibilities. The dual expansion was able to occur due to
automation, professional
development
leading to expanded employee skill sets, and by recruiting employees with
broadened
skill sets.
View the full report
on www.afponline.org/research
About AFP®
The Association for Financial
Professionals (AFP), headquartered outside Washington, D.C., serves a network
of more than 16,000, members with news, economic research and data, treasury
certification programs, networking events, financial analytical tools,
training, and public policy representation to legislators and regulators. AFP
is the daily resource for the finance profession.
AFP's global reach extends to
over 150,000 treasury and financial professionals worldwide, including AFP of
Canada; London-based gtnews, an on-line resource for the treasury and finance
community; and bobsguide, a financial IT solutions network.