Treasury Leadership: Balancing Hard Skills and Soft Skills
In today’s fast-paced and complex work environment, it’s crucial to strike a balance between hard skills and soft skills. The role of treasury within organizations is becoming increasingly strategic, driven by global economic volatility, advancements in technology, regulatory changes, and the need for enhanced risk management. Developing soft skills, on the other hand, relates to how you work and interact with others. Communication, empathy, adaptability, and teamwork are key to leading successfully in today’s world. Treasury leaders are expected to go beyond traditional roles of managing liquidity and financial risks. We are increasingly involved in strategic decisions, providing insights that impact the entire organization, from capital structure decisions to mergers and acquisitions and even strategic investments. As specialists in our area of expertise, our roles are critical as advisors to the C-suite. Staying up to date with technology and being early adopters is key. The adoption of advanced technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain, and robotic process automation will continue to reshape treasury functions. Treasury leaders need to be at the forefront of advocating for and overseeing the implementation of these technologies to enhance efficiency, improve accuracy, and provide better predictive analytics for decision-making. In a global financial world, treasurers need to focus on comprehensive risk management strategies. This involves not just financial risks but also operational, geopolitical, and cyber risks. The future treasury leader is expected to have a comprehensive risk management framework that is agile and adaptable to changing conditions. For efficient collaboration, treasury leaders must enhance the integration of treasury functions with other parts of the business. It is critical to work closely with IT, HR, legal, tax, and other departments to ensure that financial strategies are fully integrated across the organization. As regulations become more complex globally, treasury leaders must stay ahead of the curve to ensure compliance. This includes understanding and preparing for the implications of changes in tax laws, banking regulations, and financial reporting standards. As treasury leaders, we must be able to self-assess our strengths and weaknesses and be willing to receive feedback to develop soft skills, which will allow our teams and ourselves to create impact. Proposing tools like 360-degree feedback can offer insights into how others perceive your hard and soft skills, helping us evolve. Getting out of our comfort zone is another key to success. Commit yourself to lifelong learning to enhance both types of skills. For hard skills, consider certifications, courses, and webinars related to our field. For soft skills, workshops, mentorship, and coaching can be invaluable. Throughout my career, I have learnt that adapting your communication style is crucial. I continuously strive to improve my communication skills, adapting to new generations and different cultures and focusing on improving digital communication tools. Making efforts to understand non-verbal cues and thinking every day about how to be clear and concise is even more important when working in a second language and/or multicultural and multilingual teams. Being an active listener is key to success in all these areas. I remember old management in treasury telling me not to be too soft if I wanted to manage teams. Today, I understand those managers had zero skills in emotional intelligence and empathy. Through the years, experience has taught me that cultivating emotional intelligence skills is a cornerstone of effective leadership, enabling me to understand and manage my emotions and those of others. I truly believe it improves team dynamics, conflict resolution, and decision-making. Developing a genuine interest in the challenges and aspirations of our teams fosters trust, loyalty, and open communication. Every leader will have to manage and solve problems. Therefore, developing problem-solving skills that combine technical knowledge with creative thinking and collaboration is key. This often involves using both hard and soft skills. The treasury leader of today and the future must encourage teamwork and demonstrate a balanced approach in our actions while showing proficiency in our technical duties and strong interpersonal skills. We treasurers must understand the strengths and weaknesses of our team members and delegate tasks accordingly. This not only ensures the best use of hard skills but also develops soft skills within the team, such as responsibility and leadership. Regularly seek feedback on your leadership style and the balance between your hard and soft skills. Reflect on this feedback and make continuous adjustments. Balancing hard skills and soft skills in leadership doesn’t imply equal proficiency in all areas. Instead, it means recognizing the value of both, continually improving, and using them effectively to lead your team towards success. Other Articles in this Series 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. Notice: JavaScript is required for this content.
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Treasury Masterminds; Year 1. Reflections on our Inaugural Year
A simple idea—that’s how it all started. Treasurers love networking, and I love networking. Great things happen at conferences: we share ideas, projects, tips, and tricks. We have fun! We also get to know each other because treasury is a relatively small community. But, yes, there was a “but.” We only met 2–4 times a year—at the big conferences and national ACT meetings. What if we could meet more often, virtually, and share ideas 24/7? Not through LinkedIn, where everyone is present, but in a space exclusively for treasurers. That’s how TreasuryMasterminds was born. It was just January 2024—though it feels like ages ago. The starting point? A simple forum. Treasurers could post questions and get relevant information and answers. Looking back, the forum’s engagement wasn’t massive, but it sparked the idea of online knowledge sharing and building a treasury community. Soon, we began adding partner content. Treasury vendors, partners, and consultants often produce insightful or educational materials for the community—not all of them, of course, as some lean more toward sales. We decided to cherry-pick the best articles and share them on our platform. One central place to access relevant information—no more endless browsing. You can read all our blogs here. The community started to respond. Engagement and reactions from treasurers grew, and before long, fellow treasurers joined the cause. We added board members—fellow hardcore treasury nerds like me, passionate about the field and what we do. We also began creating our own content, which was a huge success. Some articles reached thousands of readers, sparking engagement and bringing new members into the community. The platform kept growing. We expanded our board beyond the EU and UK, and the US quickly became a key market for followers and readers. Now, our reach extends to Africa, LATAM, and Asia as well. You can explore our full list of board members here We established a regular content calendar: two original articles every week. On Tuesdays, our newsletter articles reach thousands of readers, and Thursdays are for our own fresh content. For a while, we even ran the Treasury for Non-Treasurers series, which might make a comeback! None of this would have been possible without our followers, readers, the enthusiastic treasurers in our community, and my amazing board members. I never imagined we’d reach so many people in such a short time. In our best months, we hit 40,000+ views a month on our website and socials. Followers are now nearing 2,500 and counting—all in less than a year! (More stats at the end of the article—but let’s be honest, this isn’t about numbers… says the treasurer.) A big THANK YOU to everyone who made this possible and who is a fellow Treasury Mastermind! What’s Next for 2025 For 2025, we’re going bigger. We’ve launched premium partnerships for our partners, and several have already signed up. Some partnerships will include custom content and productions (more on that in January), while others will involve webinars, podcasts, and premium articles written by our team of expert treasury writers. But we want to stay different. We’re bringing the FUN factor into treasury. Learning doesn’t have to be boring. Knowledge sharing can be engaging. We’ll feature famous treasury speakers, but we also want to hear from YOU. Ask questions, share your challenges, and we’ll help. Real-life cases, real-life solutions. No generic fluff. Have a question or a challenge to share? Submit it here, and let’s tackle it together! Expect more webinars, masterclasses, and collaboration between treasury partners and treasurers. Our next working group will focus on junior treasurers—helping them grow into great treasurers. We’re also expanding TreasuryPedia as a hub for knowledge sharing. Plus, we have an exciting project involving AI—a unique treasury AI tool that every treasurer in the world will want to use. (Sorry for the teaser—it’s coming soon!) Our team is growing too. Alongside new board members, we’ve added talented people in marketing, content creation, and social media. These young professionals bring fresh perspectives, energy, and ideas. Let’s face it, their creativity makes me feel old—but it’s exactly what treasury needs! I could go on for hours about this, but I’ll stop here. Again, thank you for making TreasuryMasterminds such a success. Stay with us, get involved, and don’t be shy—tell us what you want to see, share your stories, write blogs, or speak with us. We’re here to give you a voice and a stage. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! PatrickFounder, Treasury Masterminds What can you do on the Forum?
Franklin
The Keys to Managing Cash Across Multiple Banks
This article is written by our content partner, Nilus Following the SVB and Credit Suisse fallouts, the risk of keeping your cash in one bank has risen to the forefront. Companies, both small and large, have shifted to multiple banks in order to keep their cash safer. Unfortunately, managing cash across multiple banks is a real challenge. While larger enterprises spend years building treasury management systems to address this, earlier-stage companies can struggle with the extra load. Now, instead of having one place in which to manage liquidity and burn rate, finance teams need to constantly log into and monitor multiple banks to stay on top of their cash. And then pull reports, parse them, and compile them to analyze the data. While multi-bank is definitely the way to go for scaling businesses, it matters how you do so. Without clear visibility or cash management processes in place, it becomes a real challenge to answer key questions around liquidity, burn rate, and cash flow performance.This makes it harder to optimize cash efficiently, forecast future cash flow, and understand your liabilities and risk. As you grow, this challenge only scales with you, with stakeholders demanding this information on a consistent basis. 3 keys to multi-bank cash management At a high level, the keys to proper cash management are understanding where your money is, what it’s doing, and how risky it is. Where is your money? The most common challenge companies face when it comes to cash management is getting complete visibility in real time—especially when it sits across multiple banks, accounts, entities, and currencies. When you work across multiple banks, you have to log into multiple platforms just to know where your cash is. Apart from being time-consuming and tedious, this means you will only be able to see where all of your cash is after manually pulling and compiling this data across accounts. Many companies operating in multi-bank environments can’t get a daily or weekly view into this most basic question, instead waiting for end-of-month reporting to see it. The second challenge is data integrity—making sure your data is actually correct. Pulling data manually leads to inevitable manual error, meaning that you’ll have to double-check numbers to make sure the data is accurate. You’ll want to make sure you have matching data for opening and ending balances, transactions that net your balance, and reconcile transactions to know that there are no errors in your data. Companies that require more visibility will often build in-house solutions to pull this data automatically, but maintaining these solutions is a struggle. Data integrity becomes a consistent challenge here, as you need to verify that the data matches the data in your bank. What is your money doing? Even when dealing with one account, it’s hard to know what your money is doing for you. As you scale accounts, understanding where your money is coming from or going becomes even harder. Identifying and mapping transactions takes a lot of time and effort, so you’ll either spend a lot of time on it or have tons of errors. Generally, finance leaders will define the purposes or natures of each account—whether it’s a corporate account, for client funds, or interest-bearing, for example. Ensuring these accounts are used properly is challenging but essential to cash management. Additionally, optimizing liquidity across these accounts is essential. You’ll need to make sure you not only meet minimum or maximum limits for each account but also ensure they have the optimal level of liquidity for that account type. As you scale across banks, regulatory needs also come into play, especially in industries like fintech, marketplaces, and SaaS. You’ll need to ensure that you meet the regulatory requirements for each geo and bank. Finally, you’ll want to optimize for interest by asking if your money is working for you. Do you have the optimal amount of cash in interest-bearing accounts, or is your cash just sitting there? For very early-stage companies, this won’t be a major issue, but as you scale, you don’t want too much cash to be inactive. How risky is your money? After the SVB fallout, the importance of evaluating counterparty risk is obvious, but with fluctuating FX rates, understanding your currency risk is also essential. Once you know where your money is and what it’s doing, you’ll now want to optimize for risk. There are many ways to evaluate counterparty risk, with Moody’s being the most commonly leveraged, though many companies choose to evaluate it internally. You’ll need to ensure that you don’t exceed insured maximums for certain banks, especially those with high risk. Optimizing for FX rates is a real challenge across banks, as you’ll need currency visibility across accounts. After compiling this data, you’ll want to compare it to FX rates and ensure your cash isn’t too volatile and that you limit your currency risk as much as possible. More from Nilus 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. Notice: JavaScript is required for this content.
Feedback Loops: How to Measure and Sustain Change in Treasury Operations
Treasury is a function focused on managing cash and financial risks that a company faces. How would a perfect Treasury look? It’s one that allows the organisation to operate in a risk environment aligned with its risk appetite while doing so with finesse and ease in an efficient manner. Are there many perfect Treasury teams out there? Probably not, since the better you become, the more you uncover what else you want to do and achieve. It’s only in comparison with others that you may understand the areas where you excel and also those where you could become better. Even though perfection is quite an elusive target, there is much to be said about great treasury teams or those that have the potential to become such. There may be a few differentiators for a Treasury team to become great, but one of the most important ones, in my opinion, is the ability to recognise its own shortfalls and learn from them to become better. Thus, on this journey to greatness, every Treasury team will go through continuous change, be it a transformation or incremental improvement. There will be a constant burning desire to become better one step at a time, no matter how small the step may seem, always moving towards the vision of how the function should work and operate in an effective and efficient manner. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): What’s important for your treasury function Peter Drucker famously said, “What gets measured gets managed,” which applies directly to our discussion in this article. On the journey to excellence, it’s important to recognise that, regardless of how advanced your treasury function is, there will always be areas for improvement. Therefore, it’s essential to prioritise enhancements that are most critical at a given time. These priorities should align closely with the organisation’s strategic goals. As highlighted in PwC’s 2023 Global Treasury Survey, there is an increasing expectation for treasurers to act as strategic business partners involved in business growth. Consequently, a treasurer must not only align their team’s activities with initiatives that directly benefit the business but also effectively communicate to senior stakeholders the value of these activities. Treasury teams don’t engage in tasks merely for the sake of activity; everything we do benefits the business to some extent. However, treasurers often fall short in articulating how their activities benefit the business. To communicate this effectively, a treasurer needs emotional intelligence to understand what’s important to the audience and how to convey it best, as well as data to substantiate their claims. While emotional intelligence is a subject of a different article I penned recently, data is of utmost importance to managing the change we discuss today. Using this approach, the Treasurer would prioritise activities and improvements expected to deliver the most value to the business, either by enabling scalability or preserving existing assets through risk management and efficiency initiatives. These priorities will also become the KPIs that Treasury will track over time to present results (a before-and-after picture) to stakeholders. This leads us to discuss the two kinds of feedback loops. What are the feedback loops, and why is monitoring KPIs important? There are two types of feedback loops: positive and negative. A positive feedback loop allows you to identify favorable developments in the KPIs that you track—these are the metrics you want to increase or enhance. Examples include: Conversely, a negative feedback loop helps you monitor KPIs you’d like to reduce or minimize. Examples include: In general, I find it more effective to formulate KPIs in a manner that drives towards an aspirational goal, ensuring a more positive direction. Consider these two KPIs: I would argue that the first KPI is framed more positively, motivating the Treasury team to achieve the target and aiding in communicating to stakeholders why it’s impactful and important for the business. This KPI formulation facilitates a positive discussion, such as, “We feel great about achieving 95% of cash actively invested.” While the ultimate goal might be 100%, acknowledging that it may not be fully attainable is psychologically easier for stakeholders to accept. On the other hand, the second KPI might prompt stakeholders to question, “Do we still have 5% of cash not earning any return?” This could lead to concerns about the exact amount in monetary terms and the interest foregone. Setting a goal of 0% idle cash, though ideal, may be unrealistic, and such discussions might result in less acceptance of the narrative that perfection is unattainable. Even negative feedback loops can be utilized positively, especially in areas like risk management where reduction is beneficial. Therefore, it’s advisable to use either type of feedback loop based on the circumstances, but strive to develop a bias towards a positive narrative around the KPIs you’re tracking. This approach focuses on moving towards a goal rather than away from an issue. Once the Treasurer understands what’s important for the business and determines the KPIs to track, the prioritization process begins. This involves deciding which initiatives will be most impactful to implement or improve. At this stage, prioritized projects enter the change implementation phase. The model Unfreeze-Change-Freeze, introduced by Kurt Lewin in the 1950s, remains highly relevant in the context of Treasury change management. We’ll use this model to understand how continuous feedback and monitoring assist in each step of change management. Unfreeze The first step in Kurt Lewin’s Change Management Model is the Unfreeze stage, which involves preparing an organization to accept that change is necessary. This process entails breaking down the existing status quo before building up a new way of operating. A critical aspect of this stage is motivating the individuals responsible for current processes, as well as stakeholders who consume or utilize the outputs of these processes, to recognize the necessity and benefits of change. One effective approach is to highlight areas within the existing process that require improvement. Monitoring business activities through Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) becomes essential in this context. Data-driven insights make it easier to articulate the need…
FX Hedging for Beginners: Reduce Foreign Currency Risk
This article is a contribution from one of our content partners, Bound What is FX hedging? FX hedging is a currency risk management strategy businesses use to protect themselves against losses caused by fluctuations in foreign exchange rates. Essentially, this means a business purchases financial products to protect itself against unexpected movements in exchange rates. Why do businesses hedge FX? When a business hedges its FX exposure, it enters into a financial contract that can lock in an exchange rate for a future date or protect the business if exchange rates move in the wrong direction. This means the business knows exactly how much it will pay or receive in its home currency, or at least will know a worst-case scenario, regardless of how the exchange rate changes. By doing this, CFOs and treasurers are able to forecast their financial performance more accurately. Many businesses also consider hedging FX exposure to prevent their margins from being compressed. Depending on the business, FX exposure can have very noticeable effects on top-line and bottom-line financial performance. How does FX hedging work? When a business hedges its currency exposure, it enters into financial contracts that mitigate the potential of financial loss. The finer details on this depend on the type of currency hedging method (which we’ll go over below). Depending on the business use case, companies can select different methods to help protect against losses caused by fluctuations in exchange rates. What are the different types of currency hedging? Internal Hedging Methods External Hedging Methods Automating currency hedging Many treasurers are looking into ways they can automate manual tasks such as currency risk management. Companies like Bound have put in place products to make this possible, giving businesses a cockpit of tools to make this a smoother process and improve efficiency. How to choose the right hedging strategy Businesses have the choice of internal and external hedging methods; they first need to decide which makes more sense for their business. The best hedging strategy for a company will depend on its specific circumstances and the way foreign currencies move through their businesses. Where treasury teams are uncertain of which strategy suits their needs, they should consult a financial advisor to choose the right hedging strategy for their needs. Currency hedging use cases Conclusion FX hedging is a complex topic, but it can be important for businesses that operate in multiple currencies to manage risk. By hedging their currency exposure, businesses can protect themselves from losses caused by fluctuations in foreign exchange rates. Recommended Reading 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. Notice: JavaScript is required for this content.
DEME’s Treasury Transformation: Driving Efficiency and Mitigating Risk Across Borders
This article is written by EuroFinance DEME has been recognised with the Risk Management & Resilience Award from EuroFinance. This award underscores DEME’s strategic initiatives to bolster its treasury operations, particularly its advancements in payment controls and sanctions screening. In an ever-evolving financial landscape, resilience and adaptability have become cornerstones for companies striving to maintain stability and drive growth. For DEME, a global leader in the specialised fields of dredging, offshore energy, and environmental remediation, the challenges are uniquely complex. The company’s treasury team has been at the forefront of navigating these turbulent waters, focusing on innovative strategies to mitigate financial risks while enabling sustainable growth. The centralisation of payment systems and the adoption of innovative risk management practices have been pivotal in achieving this accolade. Balancing risk and growth in a dynamic market Geert Wouters, head of structured finance & treasury at DEME Group, shared his insights into DEME’s approach to managing risk in a constantly shifting environment. “One of the key challenges we face is the inherent unpredictability of the financial parameters affecting the markets in which we operate,” Wouters noted. “From fluctuating currency rates and interestrates to volatile commodity prices, the risks are multifaceted and require a proactive and integrated approach.” To address these challenges, DEME has embraced a multi-layered risk management strategy that includes active hedging policies and a strong focus on maintaining liquidity. Wouters emphasised the importance of a comprehensive understanding of the market dynamics, stating, “Our approach is not just about mitigating risk; it’s about anticipating it. We constantly analyse market trends and economic indicators, which allows us to make informeddecisions that align with our long-term strategic goals.” DEME’s treasury team employs a mix of traditional and innovative financial instruments to safeguard the company’s assets and ensure financial stability. The company utilises forward contracts to hedge against currency fluctuations, ensuring that project costs remain predictable despite market volatility. “We actively employ a mix of hedging instruments tomanage our exposure to currency fluctuations,” he added. This proactive stance not only protects DEME’s margins but also provides a level of certainty that is crucial for long-term planning and investment decisions. Innovative financing solutions amid regulatory shifts The regulatory environment for maritime and offshore operations is another layer of complexity that DEME must navigate. With tightening environmental regulations and evolving standards, financing large-scale projects has become increasingly challenging. Wouters pointed out, “The regulatory landscape is constantly evolving, and this directly impacts how we approach financing. We need to be agile and innovative, leveraging our financial expertise to structure deals that are both compliant and advantageous.” DEME has adopted a strategic approach to structured finance, combining traditional debt instruments with green financing options that align with the company’s sustainability objectives. This approach not only supports DEME’s commitment to reducing its environmental footprint but also opens up new opportunities for funding in a market that increasingly values sustainable investments. Wouters elaborated on the importance of aligning financial strategies with regulatory requirements, noting, “Our ability to adapt to regulatory changes quickly and efficiently is a key component of our risk management strategy. We work closely with legal, compliance and sustainability teams to ensure that our financing structures are robust and adaptable to thechanging regulatory environment.” DEME’s primary objective was to enhance visibility and control over outgoing payments while eliminating the risk of payments to entities on sanctions lists. Prior to the project’s initiation, DEME employees were using over 45 different electronic banking systems to initiate payments locally. To address this issue, DEME centralised the payments process by replacing the disparate local banking systems with a unified system. The new system was designed to connect to external banks through a single communication channel, specifically Swift, ensuring streamlined and more controlled payment processing and a daily view on the group’s liquidity. In addition to this, DEME integrated a new central payment sanctions screening system. This system screens all outgoing payments against the most current sanctions lists before they are transmitted to external banks. This measure was introduced to mitigate the risk of inadvertently making payments to sanctioned entities, with great success. It has now beenrolled out across all countries where DEME operates, including complex and highly regulated regions such as Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia. Initially, DEME managed over 85 banking partners worldwide and approximately 1,030 bank accounts. To streamline the implementation of the new centralised payment infrastructure, DEME rationalised its number of banking partners and conducted a thorough review of its bank accounts. Non-critical accounts were closed, taking into account the new “payments-on-behalf” setup to increase control and visibility over the remaining accounts. The role of technology in treasury transformation Technology plays a critical role in DEME’s treasury operations, providing the tools needed to enhance efficiency, improve forecasting accuracy, and streamline decision-making processes. The integration of advanced treasury management systems (TMS) allows DEME to monitor cash flows, manage financial risks, and optimise liquidity in real time. Wouters highlighted the transformative impact of technology, stating, “The digitisation of treasury functions has been a game-changer for us. We can now access data-driven insights that inform our risk management strategies, enabling us to react quickly to market changes. This level of agility is essential in an industry where conditions can shift rapidly.” The implementation of advanced analytics and automated processes has also freed up valuable time for the treasury team to focus on strategic initiatives. By leveraging technology, DEME can enhance its operational efficiency while maintaining a proactive stance on risk management. Improving reporting and transparency Looking ahead, DEME remains committed to building a resilient financial foundation that supports the company’s long-term growth objectives. Wouters emphasised the importance of a forward-looking approach, stating, “Resilience is about more than just weathering the storm; it’s about positioning ourselves to seize opportunities when they arise. Our goal is tooffer a treasury function that not only mitigates risk but also adds value to the business through strategic insight and financial expertise. As the global economic landscape continues to evolve, DEME’s treasury team stands ready…
The Digital Euro: A Comprehensive Update on the European Central Bank’s Digital Currency Initiative
The European Central Bank (ECB) has recently released a progress report (Progress on the preparation phase of a digital euro – Second progress report) detailing the development of the digital euro, providing insight into the ongoing digital currency project. Since November 2023, the ECB has been actively working on the digital euro initiative, gathering comprehensive feedback from various stakeholders. The project has received approximately 2,500 comments from financial experts, merchants, and members of the public. In May 2024, the ECB launched seven workstreams addressing different aspects of the digital currency, including user experience and risk management. User research commenced in September 2024, with a focus on understanding potential usage patterns across different demographic groups. The project aims to develop a digital currency that can effectively serve various segments of society, including vulnerable populations and small merchants. Key features under development include: The project has involved over 1,000 financial professionals in online sessions, with ongoing workshops exploring potential applications, including business-to-business payment solutions. By the end of 2025, the ECB will make a definitive decision on the implementation of the digital euro. A distinctive aspect of the project is its inclusive approach. The ECB is not simply developing a technology for tech-savvy urban populations but is considering the needs of a broad range of potential users. Executive Board member Piero Cipollone described the initiative as addressing “monetary sovereignty in the digital age,” highlighting the project’s strategic importance for European financial independence. The project timeline indicates that the first concrete results will be available by mid-2025. While the potential implications are significant, the ECB continues to carefully assess the feasibility and potential impact of the digital euro. This initiative represents a notable effort to reimagine digital currency within the European financial ecosystem, with potential implications for how financial transactions might be conducted in the future. As the project progresses, stakeholders and the public will continue to monitor its development and potential implementation. Insights from Treasury Experts We thought it would be valuable to get perspectives from a Treasury professionals, Royston DaCosta and Bojan Belejkovski who are also Treasury Masterminds board members. “JP Morgan is one of our relationship banks, and they call their solution, Onyx, categorised as a ‘payment rail’ with all the characteristics of a DC, IMO. JPM informed me at the AFP conference recently that they have begun to negotiate partnerships with 2 international banks, which is a game changer and what I have been waiting for! Definitely a solution for a perennial treasury problem – visibility of payments!” – Royston Da Costa “I’ve been following these developments from a US banking perspective. It is an interesting topic. The currency’s advanced digital infrastructure has the needed capacity to help global treasurers with enhanced risk management through robust cybersecurity protocols, instantaneous transaction traceability, and granular financial data capture. Higher visibility will offer more sophisticated financial planning and forecasting. The introduction of the digital euro will be huge for compliance and enhancing financial operations. Yet another tool to empower treasurers in their efforts to optimize strategies.” – Bojan Belejkovski 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. Notice: JavaScript is required for this content.
The Soft Skills that Drive Treasury Success: Collaboration, Negotiation, and Empathy
In today’s dynamic and complex financial landscape, the role of a treasurer extends beyond traditional responsibilities such as liquidity management, risk assessment, and capital structuring. While technical proficiency in treasury functions—such as cash forecasting, funding, and investment strategies—is essential, soft skills are emerging as critical differentiators for success. Specifically, collaboration, negotiation, and empathy are the foundations that support strong treasury functions and elevate the impact of treasury professionals within an organization. In one case, a treasury team struggled to align a new procedure with a core company department. After several months of drafting, discussions, and revisions, they still had not reached a satisfactory conclusion. The treasury manager opted to renegotiate directly with the department head, proposing, “Let’s take control of 80% of this now. During the year-end review, we will demonstrate the team’s capability to manage the entire process, which will free up your team’s time for core activities.” Though not everyone was fully pleased with the terms, the compromise helped overcome the impasse and built trust with the stakeholder. The treasury team took on the initial task and is set to assume full responsibility for the process in the coming review cycle. 1. Collaboration: The Power of Teamwork in Treasury Effective treasury management requires collaboration across a diverse range of internal and external stakeholders, from finance and procurement to legal departments, banking partners, and regulatory bodies. When collaborative efforts thrive, treasury functions can operate seamlessly to support cash flow management, compliance, and strategic financial planning. Key points: For example, during a treasury-led M&A process, two newly combined teams faced challenges in meeting deadlines, partly due to a lack of trust that developed from remote communication constraints. After identifying the root issue, the team proposed in-person team-building activities at the headquarters. These activities fostered a more collaborative environment and open dialogue, enabling the combined teams to address their concerns and ultimately meet project milestones successfully. 2. Negotiation: Driving Favorable Financial Outcomes Negotiation is central to treasury operations. From securing optimal terms with banking partners to reducing borrowing costs and negotiating advantageous foreign exchange rates, successful negotiation ensures the financial health of the organization. A skilled treasurer must balance assertiveness with diplomacy to achieve the best financial results. Key points: In a past project, for instance, treasury negotiated funding to establish a production facility in Brazil. Global banks were approached to provide financing, with target rates based on local and international benchmarks like the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) and long-term interest rates. This data-driven approach ultimately helped secure favorable funding terms, benefiting the business’s financial position. 3. Empathy: Understanding Stakeholder Needs Treasury professionals interact with a wide range of stakeholders, each with distinct needs and perspectives. Empathy enhances these interactions, allowing treasurers to better understand underlying concerns, align objectives with those of other teams, and build trust. Key points: Encouraging treasury teams to “think like stakeholders” is a crucial approach to empathy in action. This perspective shift helps uncover reasons behind resistance to change, allowing treasury teams to respond to these concerns effectively. Understanding stakeholder perspectives allows treasury teams to adjust their strategies and align more closely with the organization’s broader needs. Conclusion While technical expertise remains indispensable in treasury, soft skills—particularly collaboration, negotiation, and empathy—are the hallmarks of exceptional treasury professionals. These interpersonal capabilities improve decision-making, strengthen relationships, and contribute to better financial outcomes across the board. Strong communication and relationship-building skills are, in many ways, the keys to becoming a well-rounded treasury professional. Treasury professionals who combine technical acumen with solid interpersonal skills are poised to drive the future of the industry. However, success in treasury requires more than just articulating strategies or envisioning best practices—it demands action and accountability. Exceptional professionals “walk the walk” by embodying the principles they advocate. This means proactively fostering collaboration, demonstrating empathy in stakeholder engagements, and translating strategic ideas into measurable results. It’s about showing, not just telling, how these qualities lead to real-world success. By consistently living out these values, treasury leaders inspire trust and build credibility, both within their teams and across the organization. Ultimately, those who align their actions with their words create a legacy of integrity, innovation, and impact, setting themselves apart as true drivers of progress in the field. Other Articles in this Series 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. 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Navigating the ISO 20022 Migration
This article is written by Kyriba Understanding ISO 20022 ISO 20022 is a universal translator for financial data that uses XML-based data elements, allowing different financial systems to communicate seamlessly. It can also replace local proprietary bank-specific payment initiation or statement reporting formats. Consider a future where managing multiple messaging formats is a thing of the past and transactions are processed in real-time. ISO 20022 will provide a foundation that enhances data management and quality, improves interoperability, and supports real-time capabilities, making this a reality. Interestingly, ISO 20022 is not a new initiative. It was established in 2004, two decades after SWIFT introduced the MT messages. Since then, its adoption has experienced two major accelerations: the first occurred around 2010 when Europe adopted ISO 20022 XML as the de facto standard for SEPA directives. The ongoing acceleration, which began in 2022, is driven by the need for a unified messaging standard across interbank systems. Over the last decade, nearly every new interbank system has been developed using ISO 20022. The spread of real-time payments has contributed significantly to the creation of new interbank systems. More than 70 countries have updated their local ACH systems to align with ISO 20022. Now, with International Payments (based on correspondent banking), and most domestic real-time gross settlement payment systems (CHIPS, CHAPS, Fedwire, Target and their equivalent in many countries) migrating to ISO 20022 by the end of 2025, “nearly all of the interbank space will be conducted using ISO 20022 in a few years” according to Kyriba’s VP of Product Management – Payments Guillaume Metman. Looking beyond the technical specifications, why does the ISO 20022 migration matter to businesses? Let’s break down the impacts: The push for ISO 20022 adoption is about seizing an opportunity to transform financial operations significantly. By adopting this standard, businesses can position themselves to take full advantage of new technological advancements and regulatory changes, ensuring they remain competitive and efficient in the evolving financial landscape. Preparing for the ISO 20022 Migration The mandate to adopt ISO 20022 primarily focuses on cross-border transactions and bank-to-bank exchanges. While there is not currently a migration deadline for corporate-to-bank communications, there are strong reasons for corporations to consider adopting ISO 20022. For instance, SWIFT is introducing capabilities that will allow businesses connected to the SWIFT network to exchange ISO 20022 messages with the same functionalities as banks. This includes network validation and interoperability with other standards. Additionally, by the end of 2026, structured (or hybrid) addresses will become mandatory, and unstructured addresses will be phased out for cross-border and high-value payments. This means that sourcing structured data from legacy formats will become more challenging. Finance and operations teams should follow strategic steps to ensure a smooth and successful migration to ISO20022: The Possibilities of ISO 20022 The ISO 20022 migration will transform financial operations, ushering in a new era of efficiency. “ISO 20022 is the oil for the machine,” Brice Goemans, SWIFT Corporate Products Owner, said on a recent panel. It enables better tracking, dashboarding, and overall transparency in payment processing, allowing organizations to streamline processes, offering numerous benefits: Are You Ready for the ISO 20022 Migration? The ISO 20022 migration is just the beginning. Organizations navigating this transition must prepare for a landscape that demands higher-quality data, robust compliance measures, and innovative payment methods. The time to act is now. By preparing for the ISO 20022 migration, businesses can ensure they remain at the forefront of financial innovation, ready to meet the demands of a rapidly changing global economy. Whether it’s through strategic planning, collaborating with banks, or upgrading existing systems, the steps taken today will pave the way for a more efficient and resilient tomorrow. Check out this on-demand webinar to learn more about the ISO 20022 migration. Read more from Kyriba 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.