Advancing beyond the limits of “one-size-fits-all” treasury platforms
Summary
In today’s ever-accelerating technology landscape, global treasury teams are leveraging turnkey integration to take advantage of specialized tools offering superior performance in key areas across front, middle, and back offices. This shift from the “all-in-one” vs. “best-of-breed” conversation to one emphasizing connectivity and interoperability stems from the recognition that no single platform can address all the needs of a modern treasury function. It also reflects the treasurer’s continued expansion into a more strategic, higher visibility role on the corporate leadership team.
Treasury systems keep pace with the role of treasury
Over the last several years, treasury teams raised their profiles and earned a seat at the table for enterprise-level strategic conversations with senior management, boards of directors, and investors. To deliver the financial performance metrics and analyses these senior stakeholders require, many expanded their technology capabilities and integrated treasury platforms within the corporate-wide technology infrastructure. This technology stack often includes an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, a financial risk management platform, FP&A and financial modeling software, cash forecasting and liquidity tools, electronic banking and payment systems, supply chain financing technology, general ledger accounting automation, and more. Finance and treasury teams harness this diverse set of technologies to employ data-driven scenario planning, enhance decision-making, adopt innovative approaches, streamline processes, and improve controls. The result is an advanced ecosystem where leadership can synthesize data from multiple systems to inform the organization’s strategic direction.
An example of a connected treasury technology ecosystem
Connected systems enable transformative technology
As they evaluate the transformative potential of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and robotic process automation, treasury practitioners are considering its role in data-driven decision-making and process automation. They also continue to leverage advanced business intelligence (BI) to visualize data, inform decision-making, and quantify program performance. As their current and potential technology partners incorporate these technologies into new and advanced capabilities, treasury teams need the agility to choose the right system for their organization, one that offers the most advanced capabilities for gaining insight and achieving efficiencies. Connected treasury ecosystems enable treasury teams to incorporate relevant innovations as they emerge, rather than locking the organization into large legacy systems that may not keep pace with advancements.
SFTP, API, and ETL make connecting systems easier
When assessing the potential for your integrated treasury technology stack, remember that establishing secure connections across different financial tools is easier than ever. You no longer need to weigh trade-offs between using the best software for specific jobs and dealing with the difficulties of connecting the different components of a treasury ecosystem. With the proliferation of APIs (application programming interface), more consistent SFTP (secure file transfer protocols) standards, and a growing number of companies providing ETL (extract, transform, and load) capabilities, your organization can choose the best tools for specific jobs with confidence that you can integrate these platforms at a fraction of the effort once required.
The trend toward connected technology systems both reflects and enables treasury’s strategic role within the organization. By selectively incorporating advanced technologies that fit the organization’s needs, treasury teams can gain insights and efficiency like never before. With today's financial risk management technology, treasury teams can evaluate and incorporate new essentials such as automated exposure management, hedge flattening, long-haul hedge accounting, advanced management reporting, and more without disrupting the overall treasury technology infrastructure. This can offer a strategic advantage to forward-thinking treasury organizations.
Manage financial risk confidently with ChathamDirect
ChathamDirect is a groundbreaking financial risk management and hedge accounting platform that supports foreign exchange, interest rate, and commodity hedging programs. ChathamDirect provides a clear view of your entire hedging program, including cash flow forecasts, balance sheet exposures, and hedge requests — all securely available on a leading SaaS platform. ChathamDirect is backed by Chatham Financial, an independent market leader with a global team of capital markets experts, risk management advisors, CPAs, lawyers, quantitative analysts, and technology developers who serve more than 3,500 clients annually. Register below for our upcoming webinar to learn more.
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Disclaimers
Chatham Hedging Advisors, LLC (CHA) is a subsidiary of Chatham Financial Corp. and provides hedge advisory, accounting and execution services related to swap transactions in the United States. CHA is registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as a commodity trading advisor and is a member of the National Futures Association (NFA); however, neither the CFTC nor the NFA have passed upon the merits of participating in any advisory services offered by CHA. For further information, please visit chathamfinancial.com/legal-notices.
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