Building resilience through treasury policies
This article is a contribution from our content partner, TreasurySpring Following our webinar on Treasury Policy, it’s clear that the evolving financial landscape presents both challenges and opportunities for treasurers. The discussion shed light on the critical role of treasury policies in guiding organisations through uncertainty, fostering resilience, and embracing innovation. This blog captures the webinar’s key insights to help organisations stay ahead in 2025. Importance of treasury policies Treasury policies are more than just procedural documents; they’re the backbone of financial governance. They serve as essential frameworks to manage cash, foreign exchange, debt, compliance, and banking relationships. Effective treasury policies ensure consistency, provide clear guidance for stakeholders, and establish measurable benchmarks for performance, making them indispensable for organisations aiming to navigate challenges with confidence. As a treasurer, they’re your license to act. 2025 challenges and adjustments Navigating interest rate volatility The Federal Reserve’s uncertain trajectory on interest rates continues to create market turbulence. This interest environment will require treasurers to remain agile, conducting out-of-cycle policy reviews to reassess investment strategies. What may be an annual or bi-annual review cycle, in times of uncertainty, can be increased to ensure you have the right risk exposure and controls. This proactive approach ensures that organisations can pivot quickly, safeguarding returns, and minimising risk. The rise of Bitcoin and digital assets With increasing regulatory clarity and institutional adoption, boards are urging treasurers to assess the feasibility of incorporating digital assets. While this represents uncharted territory for many, it underscores the need for forward-looking treasury policies that adapt to emerging trends. Evolving treasury policy best practices Striking a balance between flexibility and governance For multinationals with treasury teams operating across geographies, ensuring some degree of decentralisation of decision-making to account for regional nuances is important. The general philosophy of the policy should be the same everywhere, but global teams need flexibility for regional variations, particularly in areas with: exchange controls; less robust banking systems; limited financial options; different payment processing requirements etc. Quantifying policy parameters Clear, measurable guidelines, such as FX exposure limits or weighted average maturity targets only enhance a policy’s effectiveness. These metrics provide treasurers with actionable insights and a concrete framework for decision-making. Socialising policy changes Securing buy-in from audit committees, CFOs, and other stakeholders early in the process fosters trust and accelerates approval for policy updates. Transparency and collaboration are key to ensuring seamless implementation. Emerging topics in treasury Integrating artificial intelligenceAI is revolutionising treasury operations, offering unprecedented efficiency. However, this innovation comes with risks. Policies must govern the use of AI tools, ensuring compliance with data security standards and mitigating the potential for breaches or errors. By addressing these challenges head-on, treasurers can leverage AI’s benefits without compromising security. Strengthening bank and vendor management Effective management of banking relationships remains a critical challenge. Treating banks as vendors, with clear oversight, transparency, and cost-control measures is essential. Regular reviews and structured policies can help mitigate risks associated with poor account management. Enhancing cybersecurity in treasury operations With cyber threats on the rise, treasurers must prioritise cybersecurity. Regular penetration tests, employee training, and robust callback protocols are vital to safeguarding financial systems. Additionally, periodic reviews of cybersecurity insurance and internal disaster recovery plans ensure preparedness against potential breaches. As treasurers face an era of unprecedented challenges and opportunities, robust and adaptable treasury policies are more critical than ever. From navigating macroeconomic uncertainties to embracing technological advancements, these frameworks should enable organisations to remain resilient and forward-looking. And by staying proactive and collaborative, treasury teams can turn policy into a powerful tool for navigating the complexities of 2025 and beyond. *TreasurySpring’s blogs and commentaries are provided for general information purposes only, and do not constitute legal, investment or other advice. Also Read Join our Treasury Community Treasury Masterminds is a community of professionals working in Treasury Management or those interested in learning more about various topics related to Treasury Management, including Cash Management, Foreign Exchange Management, and Payments. To register and connect with Treasury professionals, click [HERE] or fill out the form below to get more information. Notice: JavaScript is required for this content.
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Formula for trouble: why Excel can’t handle FX portfolio management anymore
This article is a contribution from our content partner, Bracket Spreadsheets have served treasury teams well – but markets, tech, and FX risk have moved on. It’s time to rethink how you manage your foreign currency portfolio and stop clicking on that familiar green icon. Love it or hate it, Excel is embedded in treasury workflows across the globe. But what started in the 1980s as a flexible, go-to tool has become a bottleneck – especially for mid-market teams managing multi-entity, multi-currency portfolios in fast-moving conditions. As Pierre Anderson, Co-Founder, Bracket, explains: “It’s not that Excel is broken per se. It’s just not designed to handle the complexity of modern FX portfolios. And it’s holding many treasury teams back.” Here’s why spreadsheets are no longer cutting it: 1. Markets move fast. Excel doesn’t FX is a real-time market. Spreadsheets are typically static (unless you do the work to automatically pull in rates, which many teams don’t have the in-house skills or resources to achieve). So, by the time treasury has updated yesterday’s rates and rebuilt its exposure view in Excel, the market has already shifted. “That delay has both operational and strategic impacts, weakening decision-making and potentially increasing risk,” cautions Anderson. 2. Risk management shouldn’t rely on VLOOKUP In addition to the lack of real-time data, when markets are calm, spreadsheets can give the illusion of control. But in volatile conditions, the cracks become obvious. “Rather than being purely reactive to market moves, treasurers are increasingly looking to be proactive around their FX exposures, running stress tests, modelling worst-case scenarios, and determining clear courses of action,” elaborates Anderson. But Excel isn’t built for that. “Simulating the impact of a 5% move in EUR/USD on cash flow, for example, typically requires manual inputs, duplicated tabs, and formula checks. Often, it also means hours of work – and the potential for human error can lead to a lack of confidence in the result,” he notes. The problem with Excel isn’t just humans, of course. It’s more structural: “All this means there’s no real safety net. And when you’re managing millions in FX exposure, that’s not only inefficient, but also dangerous,” explains Anderson. 3. Your team is working around the system, not with it Many treasury teams have built complex workarounds just to make Excel behave like an FX portfolio management tool. They’ve added macros, linked files, and built templates with tabs for each counterparty and/or currency. And in some cases, they’ve created truly impressive set-ups (with very limited resources). Until a link breaks and things unravel. Or the key person who built the macros decides to leave, taking their knowledge with them. As Anderson points out: “This kind of workaround also means highly qualified professionals are buried in repetitive maintenance tasks, spending more time updating spreadsheets than thinking about pricing, timing, or strategy. Understandably, team members become frustrated. It’s not sustainable and doesn’t add value.” 4. Fragmented files mean fragmented decisions Another challenge facing many mid-market businesses is that FX exposure doesn’t live in one place. There is no single source of truth. As Anderson explains: “Different business units often maintain their own spreadsheets. Trades might be logged in different formats. Subsidiaries might also update their numbers at different times. Group Treasury is then expected to manually piece together a coherent view from scattered sources.” Unsurprisingly, this approach can be time-consuming and unreliable. “We’ve also seen teams double-count trades because of mismatched formats. Or miss exposures entirely because of delayed updates. Another common issue is making hedging decisions based on partial data, only to revise them days later when new numbers surface.” In other words, this fragmentation makes it much harder to act decisively or explain the company’s true risk position. Time for a rethink What’s clear to Anderson (and no doubt many treasury leaders) is that Excel was never meant to be the main tool for managing currency risk. It’s become the default because it’s accessible, affordable – and already in place. But when Excel starts hampering decision-making, limiting talent, and draining value from the function, it’s time to think again. “I’m not advocating entirely ditching Excel! It’s just about choosing the right tool for the job,” explains Anderson. “Spreadsheets are still useful. But they’re not enough for managing currency exposure at scale. And we see more mid-market firms making the switch to dedicated FX portfolio management tools. Because they’ve realised that Excel was creating blind spots they couldn’t afford to ignore.” In contrast, a centralised FX portfolio management platform creates a single source of truth. “Everyone sees the same data. Everyone works from the same numbers. And when a fast decision is needed, treasury is prepared and ready, not busy reconciling.” The benefits are real: And perhaps most importantly, a team that’s no longer buried in ‘busywork’, thanks to the significant reduction in time spent on manual data entry and reconciliation As Anderson concludes: “Spreadsheets have served their purpose, and still do in many areas. But FX portfolios have evolved. The tools we use to manage them need to evolve too. Because when you’re using something that wasn’t built for the job, you’re not managing risk. You’re adding to it.” Also Read Join our Treasury Community Treasury Mastermind is a community of professionals working in treasury management or those interested in learning more about various topics related to treasury management, including cash management, foreign exchange management, and payments. To register and connect with Treasury professionals, click [HERE] or fill out the form below to get more information. Notice: JavaScript is required for this content.