written by Jeroen Overmaat with his background of Sales at Kyriba
Amsterdam, April 14, 2025
In today’s market, FX rates represent both a significant risk and opportunity for companies with international operations. The volatility we’ve seen in currency markets this past few days has left many finance teams scrambling to adapt their strategies.
You might recognise this scenario: your team manually collects FX rates from various sources, inputs them into spreadsheets, and makes hedging decisions based on this labour-intensive process. Meanwhile, millions in potential savings slip through the cracks due to delayed or incomplete data.
This approach simply doesn’t work anymore. Companies reported nearly £12 billion in impacts to earnings from currency volatility in a recent quarter alone. That’s not pocket change.
The problem stems from what I call the “visibility gap.” Most companies have limited visibility into their true FX exposures. A finance director at a FTSE 100 company told me recently, “We thought we had about 70% of our FX exposure covered, but after proper analysis, it was closer to 40%.” That 30% gap represented millions in unnecessary risk.
What’s changed? The combination of supply chain disruptions, geopolitical tensions, and economic policy shifts has created a perfect storm of currency volatility. Add fragmented internal data systems to this mix, and you have a recipe for financial surprises no CFO wants to explain to the board.
FX rates as a component of liquidity planning
Post-pandemic, CFOs have shifted their focus to increasing free cash flow with greater precision in forecasting and planning. FX rates play a critical role in this new approach to liquidity management.
When currency movements impact your receivables and payables, they directly affect your cash position. The ability to accurately forecast these impacts allows for more informed liquidity decisions. This is where integrated cash and liquidity practices become essential.
Modern solutions now connect FX management with broader liquidity planning, allowing treasury teams to see how currency fluctuations affect their overall cash position and make data-driven decisions about investing and borrowing.
From reactive to proactive
The good news is that technology has evolved. Modern FX management solutions now automate the entire process—from collecting real-time rates to identifying exposures across multiple systems and recommending optimal hedging strategies.
Companies using automated FX management report impressive results. One manufacturing firm reduced its Value at Risk from £3.4 million to just £0.5 million. Another saved £2.2 million annually just on transaction costs. A third eliminated 63% of its exposure internally, transforming an FX impact of £0.06 per share to less than £0.01.
The key is moving from reactive to proactive management of FX rates. This requires:
- Comprehensive visibility across all systems and entities
- Automated data collection and validation
- Real-time analytics to identify natural hedging opportunities
- Integrated workflow from exposure identification to hedge execution
Making FX rates actionable
What makes today’s approach different is how it makes FX data actionable. Rather than simply reporting on exposures, modern solutions demonstrate the impact of hedging decisions with real-time data insights.
This allows treasury teams and finance leaders to proactively manage the entire cash lifecycle end-to-end, with FX rates becoming a strategic tool rather than just a risk factor.
The right technology partner makes this transformation surprisingly straightforward. Kyriba’s approach combines deep treasury expertise with cutting-edge technology to give finance teams control over FX risk while reducing costs and supporting broader liquidity objectives.
As one treasury director put it, “We now spend our time analysing opportunities rather than collecting and validating data.”
In a market where currency movements can make or break quarterly results, turning FX rates from a risk factor into a competitive advantage might be the most important financial move you make this year.
Fancy a chat about how your company approaches FX risk? I’d love to hear about your challenges and share some insights from companies that have successfully navigated these waters.
Stay sharp. Stay skeptical.
Disclaimer Alert
Folks, let’s get a few things straight: this article is my own personal take on the matter, and it’s as personal as your grandma’s secret cookie recipe – unapproved by anyone but yours truly! So, consider this article as my solo journey into the quirky world of tech, where my (sales) creativity dances with analysis. If it makes you chuckle or raises an insightful eyebrow, that’s awesome! If it makes you scratch your head in bewilderment, well, that’s part of the fun too.
But remember, dear readers, this is all in good fun, and it doesn’t constitute official tech doctrine or employer-approved wisdom. It’s just me, my thoughts, and a touch of humor thrown into the tech mix.
About the author
The author is a seasoned Sales Account Executive at Kyriba Netherlands, where he helps organizations optimize their financial operations through cloud-based treasury, payment, and risk management solutions. With over 30-years of enterprise technology sales experience, Jeroen combines his deep understanding of the Dutch market with his passion for helping businesses transform their financial processes.
Based in Arnhem, where he often finds inspiration cycling along the city’s beautiful nature reserves of the Veluwezoom, Jeroen has built a reputation for developing strong, lasting relationships with key decision-makers across the Netherlands’ enterprise landscape. Although recently started at Kyriba, his customer-centric approach and strategic insights have consistently helped organizations navigate the complexities of digital transformation that so many modern treasury management and financial risk mitigation departments currently face.
As a technology enthusiast with extensive experience in enterprise software, Jeroen is passionate about helping businesses leverage innovative solutions to optimize their liquidity and streamline their financial operations. His collaborative approach and ability to understand unique customer needs have made him a valuable resource for companies looking to modernize their treasury and risk management practices.
Jeroen has wrote many articles / blogs with his own personal view on the matters. There is no consistency in the cadence of his publications, he publishes when he feels like it. You can find these articles on his LinkedIn profile.
Article’s used:
- What would a US-China trade war do to the world economy?
- Bridging FX Risk Management And Operational Efficiency
- European banks exposed to risk of US dollar shortfall, says EU watchdog
- What is FX Risk?
Also Read
- From spreadsheets to AI
- When a CFO called me at 7 AM on a Tuesday
- Why your risk management system might be sabotaging your business
- The Economics of Liquidity: Why CFOs Must Regularly Monitor and Coordinate with Their Treasurer
- Cash Forecasting: Your Blueprint for Liquidity Performance
- How to Tackle Troublesome Tariffs with 5 Savvy Working Capital Solutions
- TreasurySpring Announces Launch of a Public API and Partnership with Kyriba
- Navigating the ISO 20022 Migration
- Optimize Your Cash Forecasting with AI
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