The corporate treasury function has evolved rapidly in recent years, driven by digitalisation, increased regulation and changing macroeconomic environments.
The core functions have not changed, but how those functions are performed and the added value that can be added to them is constantly evolving. By adopting new technologies and digitizing processes, treasurers can increase automation, efficiency and accuracy, while reducing risk and enhancing treasury’s role as a strategic partner to the business.
Strategic potential
Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) is leading the UAE in leveraging technology to deliver broader, more flexible and more strategic solutions that enable corporate treasury functions to meet the evolving expectations of its clients.
ADCB is working with several treasurers who are modernizing their treasury management system (TMS) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to support connectivity, for example, including the use of APIs and Swift for automation, as well as enabling information sharing. in near real time and providing automated reports that support simplified reconciliation. Likewise, its digital supply chain platform enables seamless paperless transactions between all parties, helping to facilitate liquidity management, assist in cash forecasting and optimize conversion cycles; while a bank’s liquidity management solution allows it to adapt efficient structures to support the centralization of cash positions through automation.
The solution provides 24/7 online access to a consolidated cash position and tools allowing treasurers to manage their liquidity locally or globally in a fully automated and seamless manner. It provides a consolidated view of company structures and balances across all accounts, allowing treasurers to monitor subsidiary budgets, change drill-down types to suit needs, and access customizable dashboards with one click.
An example was working with a client that included seven different business verticals and over 100 accounts controlled by central treasury.
Key issues faced by the client were overall visibility into day-to-day cash management and working capital requirements at the group level. Enormous time and effort was spent reconciling multiple accounts across different verticals and subsidiaries. Excess cash was not effectively optimized and was only occasionally centralized at head office.
The ADCB team spent significant time working with the client to understand their reconciliation operations and pain points. The resulting solution integrates various products and custom reports that automate the client’s operations across seven business verticals, providing complete visibility and control at the head office, while maintaining the autonomy of the subsidiaries regarding collections and payment processing. The solution includes multi-level two-way clearing, daily budgets at the vertical level of the business, end-of-day cash concentration at treasury head office, cross-host, and custom reporting at varying frequencies, automatically mapped to the client’s ERP for automated reconciliation and dashboards.
Payment optimization
Over the past decade, the payment sector has also developed at a rapid pace. The need to enable real-time or near-real-time multi-currency payments 24 hours a day, 7 days a week is a growing priority for treasurers looking to optimize cash flow. From a consumer perspective, the key factors are convenience and speed—expectations that are increasingly prevalent in the enterprise world, where the need for fast and constant access to data is becoming the norm. Thus, banks have to constantly adapt to keep up with increasing demands.
Here again, ADCB has improved its payments environment through continued investment in digital systems and channels. Its flagship ProCash platform provides a highly reliable and secure online banking cash management solution. It allows businesses to initiate, coordinate and manage multiple payment types, providing an exceptional level of customization to meet specific needs. With ProCash, over 90% of transactions are straight through processing (STP) without the need for any manual intervention. The platform also provides complete, real-time visibility into the payment lifecycle through Swift GPI integration. Swift also helps simplify treasury and cash management processes. This reduces the risk of errors while providing global coverage, allowing companies to manage their financial transactions and accounts with increased transparency and security.
Success through partnership
Working with a banking partner with a strong track record of digital innovation and customer focus is essential if corporate treasury functions are to realize their potential as a valuable strategic business in this rapidly digitizing world.
With a reputation as one of the most innovative banks in the Middle East, ADCB is well positioned to provide solutions, systems and support that enable corporate treasury functions to achieve their goals and achieve long-term success.
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