2009 AFP Treasury Benchmarking Survey Results

AFP is proud to present the results from the second annual survey of the AFP Treasury Benchmarking Program. In partnership with IBM and underwritten by Deutsche Bank, this multi-year project provides financial professionals with the data needed to identify best practices and to improve treasury processes within their organizations.

The 2009 study focused on the delivery of treasury services and evaluates the impact of the decision to centralize, decentralize, or outsource treasury operations based on cost, staffing and performance. The study also examined the effects of automating key treasury processes, and concludes that automating treasury processes often leads to demonstrable improvements in staffing levels and cycle times, especially in areas related to cash management.

. Among the key findings from the initial survey are:

• Treasury Costs - The smaller the organization, the more intensive the investment is for treasury operations relative to revenue. Also, the financial services industry tends to incur the highest level of FTEs and costs. This is likely due to the regulatory requirements and strategic emphasis on cash management. In other words, financial services organizations view treasury as a competitive differentiator.

• Full-Time Treasury Equivalents - The smaller the organization, the more FTEs are required to conduct treasury operations relative to revenue. The financial services industry tends to employ higher FTE levels.

• Treasury Cycle Times - With a few exceptions, size is not a significant predictor of cycle time, suggesting that size does indicate overall complexity when other factors are constant. Financial services tend to have lower average and benchmark cycle times than those of other industry groups.

Dowload the 2009 Executive Summary Report

Download the 2008 Executive Summary Report.

The AFP Treasury Benchmarking Program is just one of the treasury and finance tools available to our more than 12,000 members. See how you can make AFP Your Daily Resource, too.

For more information about the AFP Treasury Benchmarking Program, send an email to research@AFPonline.org.