Research Reports

AFP research provides a benchmark for financial professionals to use in planning their corporate strategies, drawing on the knowledge of AFP members and subject matter experts. The AFP Research team is led by Managing Director of Research and Strategic Analysis, Kevin A. Roth, PhD, who is joined by a team of research analysts.

AFP EconWatch, published Monday mornings, provides financial professionals with commentary on the latest economic data releases that could affect their organization.

Current Issue:          February 6, 2012 
The labor market continued to gain momentum in January as U.S. employers added 243,000 workers and the unemployment rate declined to 8.3 percent during the month. 

43 percent of organizations had larger cash balances versus a year earlier while 26 percent reported their balances had contracted, according to the January 2012 reading of the AFP Corporate Cash Indicators™ (AFP CCI), a quarterly measure of recent and anticipated changes in corporate cash balances, primarily in the U.S.

2012 AFP Risk Survey
(January 2012)
AFP and Oliver Wyman have joined forces to produce a series of annual risk management surveys to study the impact that uncertainty has on Treasury and Finance and on organizations as a whole. The survey generated responses from 435 financial professionals across North America that provide insight on what companies perceive to be the biggest risks to earnings and the challenges in dealing with them.

2012 AFP Business Outlook Survey 
(December 2011)
Financial professionals expect the U.S. economy will continue its pace of modest growth and job creation in 2012. In its eighth year, this survey tracks financial professionals' views of economic conditions and the impact that has on business decision making. Underwritten by SunTrust.

AFP Annual Conference Onsite Survey: 2011 Results
(November 2011)
AFP surveyed attendees to the 8:30am Monday November 7th sessions about their views on the U.S. being a destination for capital investment and hiring in the current environment. The survey generated 1,205 responses.

AFP Treasury Benchmarking Program: 2011 Survey
(November 2011)
The goal of the AFP Treasury Benchmarking Program--in partnership with IBM and underwritten by PNC--is to provide benchmark data to financial professionals so they can compare the performance of their organizations' treasury operations against that of comparable peers. The 2011 survey focuses on bank relationship management with questions ranging from the number of banks organizations work with to the criteria employed to select bank partners and the methods used to evaluate the value of these relationships. 

2011 AFP Strategic Role of Treasury Survey
(November 2011)
Treasury continues to take on a more strategic role within organizations. The heightened visibility of Treasury to management comes not only from expanded responsibilities but also from a heightened value attached to traditional Treasury functions—such as cash and liquidity management—resulting from the economic instability over the past several years. Underwritten by SunTrust

Executive Perspectives on the 2011 AFP Liquidity Survey
(November 2011)
The inaugural CTC Research Perspectives takes a second look at 2011 results from the AFP Liquidity Survey. AFP partnered with Schmidt CS to interview 16 respondents to the 2011 AFP Liquidity Survey. 

Reaction to the U.S. Credit Rating Downgrade
(August 2011)
Four out of five organizations that were holding U.S. Treasury securities on August 5, 2011 have no intention of changing their holdings as a result of S&P’s move, while two out of five organizations anticipate a detrimental impact on the access to and/or cost of capital as a result of S&P’s move. But the biggest impact may be on the perception of the U.S. as an investment destination—a quarter of financial professionals view the U.S. as a less desirable investment destination as a result of S&P’s downgrade.

AFP's 2011 Compensation Report
(August 2011)
Financial and treasury professionals continued to experience an increase in salaries and bonuses in 2010. The 2011 Compensation Report addresses the impact of education and certification on compensation in diverse financial areas. The report features salary information on 25 job titles and looks at the effects that different demographics such as company size and industry have on compensation. The report also includes job descriptions and organizational charts. 

Raising the Debt Ceiling
(July 2011)
The survey conducted July 13-15th shows that the current debate about raising the U.S. debt ceiling are impacting short-term investment strategies and access to capital at U.S.-based organizations. Half of companies are likely to take a defensive action should the Congress and the White House fail to reach an agreement on raising the debt ceiling.  

 2011 AFP Liquidity Survey
(June 2011)
In its 6th year, the AFP Liquidity Survey provides CFOs, treasurers and other financial professionals data to benchmark their companies' short-term investment strategies against their peers. The 2011 AFP Liquidity Survey is possible thanks to the underwriting support of Citi.

2011 AFP Retail Industry Survey: Bank Relationship Management
(May 2011) 
In a challenging year for retailers, many have been shopping for different banks. Last year, 80 percent of retailers ended an existing bank relationship, usually to trim costs, according to a new survey by the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP), and underwritten by Fifth Third Bank.

2011 AFP Payments Fraud and Control Survey
(March 2011) 
In its seventh year, the AFP survey series has examined the nature and frequency of fraudulent attacks on business-to-business payments, the environment that allows those attacks to occur, and the methods that organizations use to control them. The 2011 survey was underwritten by J.P. Morgan. 

Current Trends in Estimating and Applying the Cost of Capital 
(March 2011) 
Survey of 300+ financial professionals confirms the belief that the finance profession is far from agreement on the proper techniques to accurately model and forecast their organizations’ actual cost of capital.

2011 AFP Business Outlook Survey
(December 2010)
Financial professionals are increasingly optimistic about 2011 business prospects, according to executives in the finance departments of U.S. companies, but they believe several factors stand in the way of 2011 growth.
2011 AFP Business Outlook Policy Supplement   

2010 AFP Annual Conference Onsite Survey
(November 2010)
AFP Research surveyed attendees to the AFP Annual Conference in San Antonio on November 8th on the expected impact the midterm elections and the recent decision that the Federal Reserve would resume its policy of quantitative easing would have on their organization and on the economy as a whole. The survey generated 959 responses.

2010 AFP Electronic Payments Survey
(November 2010)
The use of checks to make business-to-business (B2B) payments continues to decline, as only 57 percent of B2B payments in 2010 were made with a check (versus 81 percent in 2004). The reasons for the increasing use of electronic payment methods: advances in both technology and the transmission of remittance information along with a growing need to make cross-border payments. The survey was underwritten by J.P. Morgan Treasury Services.

2010 AFP Treasury Benchmarking Survey
(November 2010)
This is the third year of the benchmarking program, which generates critical data that financial professionals can use to compare the performance of their organization's treasury operation to that of their peers and top performers. The 2010 survey report finds that human capital factors, such as education and training of key finance personnel, have a significant impact on the efficiency of treasury operations. The survey is conducted in partnership with IBM and is underwritten by Deutsche Bank. (Survey access for AFP members only)

2010 Women in Finance Survey: Financial Professionals in an Uncertain Business Environment
(August 2010)
Results of this year's survey—which was conducted in June 2010—indicate that financial professionals believe the recession is still extant even though the textbook definition suggests that it ended nearly a year ago. However, most respondents to this year's survey feel fairly positive about their job security. But there are notable differences in these views between female and male respondents. Female respondents are much more likely than their male counterparts to believe that the U.S. economy is still in recession, feel less comfortable in expressing divergent opinions in public or private meetings in their organizations, but are just as likely to be concerned about job security. Underwritten by BNY Mellon.

AFP's 2010 Compensation Report
(July 2010)
Financial and treasury professionals continued to experience an increase in salaries and bonuses in 2009. The 2010 Compensation Report addresses the impact of education and certification on compensation in diverse financial areas. The report features salary information on 25 job titles and looks at the effects that different demographics such as company size and industry have on compensation. The report also includes job descriptions and organizational charts. The full report can only be viewed by AFP members that have successfully logged in.
Survey Highlights and Guide - An abbreviated report featuring general results and analysis. This version of the report can only be viewed by registered users and members.

Survey of Corporate Practices Using the BAI Codes Information Reporting Standard
(June 2010)
Most organization rely on the 20+ year old BAI Version 2 (BAI II) standard to receive important information about the cash management and treasury services provided by their banks and other vendors. This survey of financial professionals will be used to support a group of stakeholders who are working with the ANSI X9 standards body to update this standard to make it more compatible with other global industry standards.  

2010 AFP Liquidity Survey
(June 2010)
Senior management remains unconvinced of the viability of the economic recovery as reflected in both corporate cash holdings and short-term investment strategies. In its 5th year, the AFP Liquidity Survey provides CFOs, treasurers and other financial professionals the data to benchmark their companies' short-term investment strategies against their peers. The 2010 AFP Liquidity Survey is possible thanks to the underwriting support of Promontory Interfinancial Network, LLC.

2010 Payments Fraud and Control Survey
(April 2010)
B2B payments fraud is still a threat to US organizations, but many are employing fraud control measures to keep it at bay. A majority of organizations experienced attempted or actual payments fraud in last year. However, most now employ measures to combat these threats, using a combination of account-level solutions and services provided by their banks. The 2010 Payments Fraud and Control Survey is underwritten by J.P. Morgan.

2010 AFP Financial Risk Survey
(April 2010)
This report shows that interest rate risk and credit risk are the most common financial risks that organizations face. However, for some organizations, market risk, liquidity risk, energy risk, and commodity risk are actually more significant threats than the more common risks from interest rates or credit. Whereas interest rate and credit risk can adversely affect earnings and cash flows -- often significantly -- even short-term market or liquidity risk can still call into question the financial viability of an organization.

2010 Business Outlook Survey
(December 2009)
The U.S. economy will continue strengthening at a modest pace in 2010.  That is the view of U.S. financial professionals based on results of the sixth annual survey on business conditions, underwritten by Wells Fargo. While more than a quarter of respondents indicate that their organizations will further shrink their payrolls 2010, 46 percent expect that their organizations' workforce will be stable in the New Year.

AFP Annual Conference Survey: Rebound in Economic Activity?
(October 2009)
Even as the U.S. economy has exhibited signs of stability in recent months, financial professionals have not seen solid evidence that business conditions have turned the corner. The vast majority of attendees to the annual conference of the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) believe the U.S. economy remains in a recession, despite indications of economic growth in the third quarter.

2009 AFP Treasury Benchmarking Program Survey Results
(October 2009)
Deploying automated systems can reduce cycle times and staffing requirements, especially for cash management activities, according to the 2009 AFP Treasury Benchmarking Survey underwritten by Deutsche Bank. The Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) conducted its second annual benchmarking survey this spring to provide data points of reference that financial professionals can use to compare the performance of their organization's treasury operation to that of their peers and top performers.

Providing Remittance Information with Wire Transfers
(July 2009)
AFP has been working with the Federal Reserve Banks and The Clearing House, operators of the Fedwire® Funds Service and CHIPS®, to develop a solution to the problem of insufficient remittance information not traveling with the wire transfer message. AFP conducted a survey asking organizations about the value of receiving remittance information with wire transfers and the systems and software they currently use to send and receive wires. Survey results highlight the value to organizations of receiving expanded remittance information with wire transfers. Ninety-five percent of the survey's 331 respondents indicate that remittance information would be valuable to their organizations if it were made available in the wire transfer message.

2009 AFP Liquidity Survey
(June 2009)
With little easing in access to credit, U.S. organizations continued stockpiling cash in early 2009. Almost three-quarters (72%) of companies had increased or maintained their U.S. cash balances during the first part of 2009. The 2009 survey, the fourth of the annual series, was underwritten by The Bank of New York Mellon. The survey also asked about corporate access to credit— over half (59%) of survey respondents indicate that their organizations' access to short-term credit has not changed significantly since the beginning of 2009.

AFP's 2009 Compensation Report
(June 2009)
Financial and treasury professionals continued to experience an increase in salaries and bonuses in 2008. The 2009 Compensation Report addresses the impact of education and certification on compensation in diverse financial areas. The report features salary information on 26 job titles and looks at the effects that different demographics such as company size and industry have on compensation. The report also includes job descriptions and organizational charts. The full report can only be viewed by AFP members that have successfully logged in.
Survey Highlights and Guide - An abbreviated report featuring general results and analysis. This version of the report can only be viewed by registered users and members.

2009 Payments Fraud Survey
(March 2009)
Deteriorating financial conditions in 2008 coupled with the emergence of new payments types and the growth of electronic payments opened up new opportunities for payment fraud. The assault on payments is widespread: over seventy percent of organizations surveyed experienced attempted or actual payments fraud in 2008. The survey, the fifth in the annual series, was sponsored by J.P. Morgan Treasury Services.

2009 Business Outlook Survey
(December 2008)
The U.S. economy will continue to weaken during 2009 as it remains in a recession that began in December 2007. That is the view of U.S. financial professionals based on results of a survey of financial professionals conducted during the first two weeks of December 2008. This is the fifth year that AFP has survey its members on expected business conditions