Treasury’s evolving role in global business

Today’s treasury function faces mounting challenges from both internal changes and external pressures. Economic constraints, regulatory shifts and technological disruption expand treasury’s responsibilities while increasing operational complexity.

In addition to this ongoing evolution, global disruptions—from geopolitical conflicts to pandemics—create immediate challenges for treasury operations. The function must also navigate increasing fraud risks, complex merger integrations and aging infrastructure that can compromise efficiency.

These operational vulnerabilities create direct financial risks for the organization. Treasury teams must regularly evaluate and adapt their processes, systems and controls to address emerging challenges while meeting core business needs.

Treasury often cannot rely on other teams to lead its transformation. The function must develop and execute its own change-management vision.

Treasury needs a systematic approach to address the organization’s goals, processes and technologies. Developing new capabilities, investing in the right resources and creating a structured framework for transformation are all critical elements of such an approach.

Change management for treasury entails regularly reviewing and adjusting roles, processes and structures to align with the expanding needs of the organization. Failure to do so can result in the enterprise forfeiting the full potential of its investments due to missed deadlines, stakeholder dissatisfaction, cost overruns and unachieved benefits.

A structured treasury change management framework strengthens efficiency, visibility, compliance and risk management.

Building your treasury change management framework

A successful change management framework within treasury requires a systematic, repeatable approach. Key elements include setting clear objectives, assessing readiness, developing action plans, providing training and measuring progress.

Preliminary considerations

Define objectives for the change initiative. They should directly link to treasury operations, financial performance, risk management and stakeholder satisfaction. Set specific key performance indicators (KPIs) to track progress and measure the business impact.

Assess organizational readiness. Identify any potential barriers and measure stakeholder support. Use these insights to refine treasury’s transformation approach.

Define clear governance and accountability. Establish roles, reporting structures and progress metrics to guide the process.

Create momentum through early, frequent stakeholder engagement. Break down silos to gather diverse perspectives and secure leadership support before implementation begins.

Communicate strategically. Develop clear, concise messaging that explains both the business case for change and its impact on financial operations.

Anticipate risks. Define specific risk mitigation strategies before starting the process.

A change management framework requires a structured approach, including clear definitions of roles and responsibilities as well as unambiguous processes for monitoring and reporting progress. Governance structures ensure regulatory and internal-policy compliance. 

In general, the process consists of three phases:

1. Set the direction.

• Set expectations for what you are doing and why. 
• Define specific, measurable outcomes.
• Align initiatives with the organization’s strategic goals.
• Identify and address potential resistance.

2. Assess the impact.

• Map stakeholder dependencies.
• Plan technology transitions, including security requirements.
• Design training and support programs.

3. Execute and monitor.

• Implement project, risk and communication plans.
• Create a plan for data transfer and integration, potentially including data mapping and cleansing, data migration and user training.
• Finally, monitor and evaluate progress. Track progress against established metrics, celebrate milestones, and conduct post-implementation reviews to obtain stakeholder feedback and make necessary adjustments.