white-collar jobs? Is there even the pos- players – there is even a robot hedge their organisations. CFOs are urging sibility of another future? fund; and there are a number of block- treasurers to be involved in finance pro- chain prototypes for automated bond cesses beyond the traditional scope for In PwC’s poll of CFOs, there is a glimmer issuance (for example the partnership treasury such as in working capital man- of hope. “CFOs expect treasurers to take between SIX Securities Services, the agement and in actively managing new responsibility for enterprise wide liquidity Swiss post-trade provider and Digital exposures as these are created by core and financial/commodity risks. They Asset Holdings, the blockchain devel- businesses. Treasurers should seize the urge treasurers to identify exposures pro- oper). No treasury function seems safe. opportunity. Going forward, they should actively and manage liquidity actively.” not only master traditional treasury top- In addition, treasurers themselves report ics, but also business consultancy, project It is true that in all the talk of digitalisa- that they are increasingly being used in a management, (cyber) security and Fin- tion, funding and risk management have cross-business unit collaboration and yet to fall victim to technology. However, consultancy role outside of their direct Tech developments.” FinTechs like FiREapps are developing reporting chain. In this sense, treasury In this view, the treasurer becomes analytics systems that integrate with has indeed the chance to become the almost an internal business consultant TMS and ERP systems and hold out the strategic business enabler we’ve all been whose core competence is process opti- promise of FX risk management automa- talking about. tion; Goldman Sachs has mapped equity misation and risk management. So are IPOs into 127 steps and has already As PwC observes: “The CFO’s ambition today’s treasurers qualified for the job? worked out how to automate half of is an open invitation to treasurers to claim And if they are, is this new paradigm them. Liquidity allocation and manage- a more strategic role and become the cus- treasury at all? Either way, it’s the end of ment has been automated by a number of todians of liquidity and financial risk for treasury as we know it. www.eurofinance.com TREASURY PERSPECTIVES 2017/2018 // 39