Nordea: Treasuries need new skills to become key players in digital transformation

Four out of five corporate treasury functions expect to be strongly involved in the strategic decision-making on digital business transformation by 2025. However, executive business leaders do not share this expectation, as they see the treasury function as just another specialist unit. This is a finding from Nordea’s Treasury 2025 Report, a comprehensive study including some 300 executive respondents from treasury and business functions in Nordic and international corporates.

Corporate treasuries and management teams have very different views on what kind of role treasuries are capable of taking on when it comes to digital business transformation. 

Today, treasury functions are only involved in digital business transformation in one out of eight cases. Less than a third of treasury respondents agree that business leaders view them as strategic partners in digital business transformation. 

Even so, 76% of the treasury functions surveyed expect to be “moderately” or “highly” involved as strategic partners to management by 2025 – whereas just over one in five business area leaders see the treasury in the same way.

”The positive forecast by members of the treasury is not reflected by those working in the wider business. It’s a common complaint that the treasury is too detached from the rest of the business. If the treasuries want to become more involved in strategic decision-making, as they expect to, they have a lot of people to win over,” says Johan Trocmé, Director at Nordea Corporates, Institutions & Investment Banking. He points out ways that the treasury function can step up skills to be seen as a relevant partner for digital business transformation. 

Increased automation could bring treasury more impact, but priorities are unclear

Treasury respondents in Nordea’s survey said that they expect to see increased automation in everything that they do. The study suggests that automation offers treasury the chance to free up more time to focus on innovation and digitalisation projects, develop new relationships and play a bigger part in the wider business and ultimately become more involved in strategic decision-making. But the prioritisation of automatisation efforts is still unclear.

”Automation has the potential to bring benefits wherever it’s applied, but treasuries need to make sure that their adaption of automation is focused. Right now, few treasuries have the experience required to run widescale transformation. Focusing on getting a few targeted wins under your belt could help build skills and give the business confidence in your plan,” Johan Trocmé says.

Bigger role for treasury requires new data skills

With increasing automation within the treasury, the skills required within the unit will change. Many of these new skills will focus on how treasuries draw value from new data streams.  Research shows that the treasury is still focused on having the skills needed to do the job as it is today rather than looking ahead to build the expertise needed to redefine its role. 

”Capabilities such as system integration, business development, data analytics and programming will all be vital for coping with the expected increase in automation and digitalisation. The same is true when it comes to strategic influence. With treasuries expecting their role as a strategic partner to management to grow, their competencies will need to keep pace,” Johan Trocmé advises.

Additional info box when applicable:

Based on the results and analysis of the survey, Nordea suggests five steps for treasuries to achieve their ambition of becoming a strategic partner:

1. 1. Build bridges and change perceptions
   2. Demonstrate relevance 
   3. Become an innovation role model 
   4. Build the skills needed for innovation 

• Leverage new business models

Read the full report here.