Editorial

Collaboration and cooperation

As the role of the corporate treasurer becomes increasingly strategic, the importance of treasury cooperating and collaborating with other divisions across the business is more important than ever. It is a key theme to emerge from this edition.

For example, treasury and procurement may have different or even competing priorities – but there is also plenty of common ground between the two functions, particularly where working capital is concerned. Our trade feature explores how treasurers go about nurturing a closer relationship with procurement.

Elsewhere, our investment feature asks two corporate treasurers based in the UK and Singapore to discuss their contrasting investment strategies. They are distinguished by innovation, sustainability and low risk but are both united by a shared approach to collaboration with other divisions be it IT or Responsible Investment.

In this edition’s Corporate View we profile Sarah Symes, APAC Senior Treasury Director at Fluence, the energy storage company. She shares her observations on how treasury departments have become steadily more integrated with other functions across the business. “I think a lot more CEOs and CFOs understand how important it is for treasury to have a seat at the table, and I see them increasingly partnering very closely with their treasurers,” she notes. She also offers advice on the importance of cash. “At the end of the day, most companies don’t fail because they run out of revenue. They fail because they run out of cash.”

Our exploration of the emergence of new C-suite titles and the evolution of CFO responsibilities also touches on the importance of collaboration and relationship building outside treasury. We explore what these changes mean for treasury and ask how treasurers can advance the profile of the treasury function within the organisation.

This edition’s Regional Focus travels to San Francisco’s Bay Area, home to some of the most innovative companies in the world. We find that the tech mantra of digitisation and collaboration has shaped corporate treasury where in-house technology, strategic thinking and data drive strategy. Still, there is a surprising lack of treasury tech amongst smaller companies where budgets compete with other departments.

Our Market View offers a sobering outlook on future growth, crimped by the retreat of globalisation and a warning that many of the large-scale investments governments need to make around the energy transition will provide relatively little productivity growth.

Elsewhere, we delve into how AI in cash management will transform forecasting but flag implementation risk and the consequences for treasury headcount. Lastly, our Question Answered explores the role of treasury in contributing to sustainable and inclusive corporate growth.