2008 AFP Treasury Benchmarking Program Survey Results

AFP is proud to present the results from the initial 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.

This 2008 survey covered treasury operations and features question about an individual's organization, management practices and key performance measures. Among the key findings from the initial survey are:

• Treasury Costs - Typical treasury operations cost 97 cents per $1,000 of annual revenue, with costs for the 80th percentile at 35 cents per $1,000 of annual revenue

• Treasury Service Delivery -- Forty-five percent of organizations rely on spreadsheets to manage treasury functions while another 22 percent use even more manual processes. The combination of "Manual" and "Spreadsheet" categories reveal that two-thirds of organizations have yet to exploit enabling technologies to streamline operations

• Treasury Full-Time Treasury Equivalents -- Most treasury departments are very lean and operate with relatively few personnel. The typical participating organization has 4.3 full-time treasury equivalents (FTEs) per $1 billion of annual revenue, with the 80th percentile treasury organization having 1.7 FTEs

Survey participants received a customized benchmark report that compares their operations with those of their relevant peer group, as well as with all other participants. In addition, AFP, IBM and Deutsche Bank are pleased to share the key results of the 2008 survey in an executive summary report. AFP members can download the Executive Summary Report here.

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