GTreasury, a treasury and risk management platform provider, and PNC Bank, one of the largest diversified financial services institutions in the U.S., today announced the release of a joint survey report entitled, Pressure Points, Payments & Plans for Automation: The Road Ahead for CFOs and Treasurers, which explores the current state of CFO and corporate treasury strategy, execution and outlook. The full report, conducted by Topline Strategy and commissioned by GTreasury and PNC Bank, is available here: https://resources.gtreasury.com/PNC-Report-2022.html

The research paints a picture of a turbulent road ahead for CFOs and treasury leaders over the next few years—but one that respondents view with somewhat surprising optimism. The majority (85%) of CFOs and treasurers surveyed expect to see either significant or moderate company growth throughout the remainder of 2022 and into 2023, but that optimism is grounded in the fact that nearly half (49%) of these leaders identified cost efficiency as the primary strategic imperative for the New Year.

“CFOs and treasurers seem to have clear goals in mind when it comes to achieving more accurate, more efficient, and more automated treasury practices—and they are eager to harness new technology to get there,” said Howard Forman, senior vice president and head of Digital Channels for PNC Bank. “Clearly, CFOs have an especially close eye on costs right now, but smart use of modern technology, such as embedded finance applications and automation, will reduce costly or redundant inefficiencies, while giving treasurers the best tools available to do their jobs.”

Among the highlights from the report:

• Finance departments are lagging with their digital transformation journey. The majority (58%) of companies have not progressed in making a formalized digital transformation plan or approach to meet marketplace demands. However, the tide seems to be changing with many CFOs and treasurers identifying real-time payments and ‘full-service’ treasury systems as good investments.

• Treasury teams aren’t growing in size—but are asked to do more with less. Most treasury teams are small but face rising expectations from management teams and leadership. 70% of treasury teams have five or fewer team members but manage companies with more than five subsidiaries, which is likely why 53% of surveyed treasurers are hyper-focused on improving operational efficiency.

• Outsourcing treasury functions is increasing. Smaller treasury teams, larger workloads, and higher expectations have put outsourcing on the shortlist for businesses looking to get more done with less. About one-quarter of companies now outsource some treasury functions to partners to tap into expertise and efficiency advantages, with banks receiving more than 50% of that business. Outsourced technology and resources will not only help companies navigate through an uncertain market, but also potentially unlock key financial opportunities and add more business value.

“For CFOs and treasurers, this report offers insight into how many of their peers are navigating a particularly critical and turbulent era,” said Renaat Ver Eecke, CEO at GTreasury. “Not only will organizations be affected by economic headwinds out of their control, but the competitive disadvantages of failing to modernize and automate key functionality within finance and corporate treasury are growing by the day. The report provides a window into how businesses are positioning themselves for more digital transformation and growth even as macro conditions remain very much uncertain.”

Pressure Points, Payments & Plans for Automation: The Road Ahead for CFOs and Treasurers aims to help educate finance and treasury leaders across the industry and advance finance automation. Participants included 93 finance executives and corporate treasurers, which came from a cross-section of more than 20 industries and represented both large and mid-sized enterprises.