Photo of Prateek Rastogi, Citi, Yvette Jessica Yashavantha and Jefri Jacob Thomas, Kent and Daniel Chamoun, Kyriba.
Jefri Jacob Thomas
Senior Group Treasury Manager
United Arab Emirates
Headquartered in Dubai, Kent is a global energy services company with annual revenues of US$1.5bn. The company employs 13,000 people across 34+ countries and provides a range of services including advisory and consulting, engineering and project delivery, commissioning, maintenance and decommissioning.
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Global energy services company Kent has been recognised in the 2026 Adam Smith Awards, with the company named as a Highly Commended Winner in the prestigious Top Treasury Team category – an accolade that requires evidence of an impressive team effort, alongside far-reaching technical achievements.
A worthy winner, the ‘lean but mighty’ Kent treasury team impressed the judges with its well-executed treasury management system implementation, as part of a broader effort to drive transformation across cash management, FX management and treasury automation.
Spanning 22 countries, 170 bank accounts and multiple banks for treasury management system (TMS) implementation, Kent’s winning solution is a powerful demonstration of teamwork, technology and vision.
From fragmentation to centralisation
In recent years, Kent has expanded rapidly – particularly following its 2021 acquisition of SNC Lavalin’s oil and gas business, which saw the agile, four-strong treasury team issuing a US$65m corporate bond. But with 96 legal entities, operations in more than 34 countries and 30 banking relationships, the company was facing significant treasury complexity.
Fragmented banking structures, legacy infrastructures, manual payment processes and non-standard formats all presented challenges. Treasury processes relied heavily on manual inputs, spreadsheets and individual banking portals, while payments involved rekeying information – thereby increasing the risk of errors and delays.
Kent had limited visibility over bank charges, debt servicing schedules and cash positions, while integration gaps with its enterprise resource planning (ERP) system Oracle Fusion created duplicated work and delays in reconciliation.
When the decision was taken to centralise treasury operations at the company’s headquarters in Dubai – while also delivering a global digital treasury model – it was clear that a single, scalable platform would be needed.
“Winning the Adam Smith Award is a proud moment for our team and a testament to the journey we’ve been on together. It not only reflects what we’ve achieved, but also how we have worked together to deliver meaningful value to the business. It recognises the collaboration, discipline, trust and dedication of a small but highly driven team.”
Kent
Adopting a best in class solution
Kent opted to address these challenges by harnessing best practice in the form of seamless global integration, standardisation and automation.
The team decided to adopt a sophisticated TMS to support control and automation alongside the company’s global expansion. This was reinforced by an independent analysis carried out by PwC as part of a wider cost optimisation programme.
Following a rigorous three-month request for proposal (RFP) exercise, Kent selected Kyriba as its TMS provider, with Zanders appointed to support the implementation. The solution included a fully integrated, multi-country treasury and payments infrastructure, with host-to-host connectivity via Swift FileAct and seamless integration between Kyriba and Oracle.
During the implementation, Kent prioritised integration with seven core global and regional banks – Citi, HSBC, SAB, Royal Bank of Canada, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and Emirates NBD – which together accounted for around 170 bank accounts.
Reaping the rewards
As a result of the implementation, Kent has successfully achieved its original goals. Treasury operations have been centralised, with enhanced global visibility covering 90% of the group’s cash. Seamless automated payment processing now takes place across multiple jurisdictions, and the company is able to monitor its FX and debt activities using a single platform.
By eliminating manual payment processing, the company has significantly reduced manual intervention and the risk of errors. A streamlined end-to-end process is now in place, from the moment vendors enter invoices into Oracle through to payment execution.
Through effective monitoring, the team has gained clear visibility over its bank charges, leading to better cost control and more informed discussions with collaborating banks. Meanwhile, automated debt payment scheduled ensure that obligations are met accurately and on time.
Collaboration and teamwork
As with all winners in the Top Treasury Team category, teamwork was an important feature of the solution.
The Kent treasury team worked across multiple time zones in order to align with the project timelines, which often involved early starts and late evenings. The team effort was coordinated carefully to maintain momentum, with extensive testing cycles enforcing a culture of accountability and precision within the team.
The rewards of the project have been felt by the team as a whole, with treasury professionals developing new skills beyond their day-to-day responsibilities. As a result, the team has been repositioned as TMS implementation specialists, rather than simply system users.
Beyond the TMS implementation, the team has also enhanced its short-term cash flow forecasting abilities by adopting Power BI for advanced visualisation. Meanwhile, the multi-currency forecasting model allows the treasury to anticipate FX movements, and plan hedging and funding strategies accordingly.
Last but not least, the team is currently establishing a treasury shared service centre in Mumbai that will further enhance service delivery, standardisation and efficiency across the group.
What the judges said:
“The Kent treasury team tackled a complex TMS implementation with aplomb, alongside a range of other initiatives to support centralisation, efficiency and business growth. A powerful example of an agile team harnessing technology and teamwork to achieve results.”
Dhruv Narain
Head of CCB Services Sales, MEA, Citi
Citi is proud to support Kent in its treasury transformation journey across its global operations. By leveraging Citi’s global cash management capabilities and unmatched global network, Kent has enhanced liquidity visibility, streamlined cross-border payments and strengthened operational efficiency. This collaboration reflects a shared commitment to delivering scalable, digital, future-ready solutions that support the group’s continued growth and expansion. We value our strong collaboration with Kent and remain committed to enabling best in class treasury practices through innovation, connectivity, and deep local market expertise.
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Daniel Chamoun
VP Sales, EMEA North, Kyriba
Kent’s award-winning initiative is a powerful example of how a lean treasury team can deliver global impact through standardisation, automation and disciplined execution. With Kyriba as its centralised platform, Kent has strengthened visibility, control and automation across a highly complex multi-country, multi-currency environment. Kyriba is proud to support Kent as it standardises payments, improves connectivity with banks and Oracle and reduces reliance on fragmented manual processes. This achievement reflects Kent’s commitment to building a secure, efficient and future-ready treasury function that can support continued global growth.
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The Adam Smith Awards are the industry benchmark for best practice and innovation in corporate treasury. The 2026 awards attracted 635 nominations. To find out more please visit treasurytoday.com/adam-smith-awards
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