This article is written by EuroFinance
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has undergone a technological transformation to enhance its integrations for financial and treasury management systems. This approach aims to streamline treasury operations and use financial technologies for banking connectivity to improve global liquidity and currency management, together with increased efficiency of aid distribution to millions of refugees and forcibly displaced people worldwide. The integration of new systems and the adaptation to UNHCR-specific processes have been central to this change. UNHCR was honoured with the Technology Transformation Award for its exceptional advancements in Treasury and financial technology, demonstrating its commitment to modernising integrations for Treasury operations together with banking connectivity to reach the financial ecosystems worldwide.
The need for technological enhancement
Operating across 135 countries, UNHCR requires an integrated treasury management system to meet its operational banking requirements. Carmen Hett, UNHCR’s treasurer, highlighted the reasoning behind this transformation: “The scale and complexity of our operations have outgrown our legacy systems. We needed a robust solution to manage our treasury and banking operations more effectively.”
In September 2023, UNHCR implemented significant upgrades to its treasury management and also introduced a banking connectivity infrastructure. The new systems were integrated with UNHCR’s cloud-based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system and UNHCR’s Digital Hub of Treasury Solutions (DHoTS), ensuring a seamless flow of core treasury management and with interdependencies across the organisation. According to Hikaru Kozuki, assistant treasurer, “automation has significantly reduced manual intervention, improved traceability, and accountability for reporting.”
The integration of systems together with the adoption of automation is crucial for managing liquidity, foreign exchange, and investments. Kozuki noted, “Automation of foreign exchange and investment transactions ensures we have the most accurate information and data available to inform our decision-making. This capability is vital for managing a diverse currency portfolio across global markets and for selecting investment instruments”.
Improving reporting and transparency
The modernisation also enhanced UNHCR’s real-time reporting capabilities, together with predictability for adaptive decision making. Hett explained, “We now have integrated and automated reports available that significantly reduce the time and effort required for report generation, providing baseline data and information for further introducing advanced tools and algorithms to analyse vast amounts of data, and predict outcomes more accurately.”
One of the key benefits of the new systems is the holistic integration of traceability across treasury functions and its embedded processes. This transformation has led to significant improvements. The integrated treasury management systems are connected to the general ledger in UNHCR’s cloud-based system, ensuring that all accounting entries, payment files, and bank account information are consistently messaged and seamless reported across platforms. Automated data feeds provide a comprehensive view of cash positions and financial performance together with integrated reporting
Collaboration and future-readiness
The successful implementation of these new treasury technologies was supported by strong collaboration between UNHCR’s internal teams and external specialised treasury consultants. Kozuki emphasised that real-time reporting has improved transparency and oversight, which is crucial for maintaining accountability, mitigating fraud, adhering to compliance requirements and being able to report to all UNHCR stakeholders.
This project underscored the importance of scalability and future-readiness. By upgrading from a legacy system to an integrated, automated treasury management solution, UNHCR is better equipped to handle future challenges and continue its mission efficiently and effectively.
UNHCR’s holistic approach to modernising Treasury and banking operations has set a new standard in the non-profit sector. The EuroFinance award recognises their successful integration of advanced financial systems, setting a benchmark for excellence in Treasury management.
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