API, robotics, fintech… with the buzzwords that have taken over the technology space touting the potential of countless shiny new tech solutions, picking the right one for your treasury can be difficult. Johan Larsson began the panel discussion with advice on how to make a choice: “Start with the ‘what’. What do you need?” Instead of getting distracted by the buzzwords and jumping into tech that may not be usable for your organisation, “identify your main objectives and your priorities,” he suggested.
Some treasuries may encounter resistance to taking up new technologies and it’s not without reason. “The paradox of tech is that the more tech we implement, the more vulnerable we become. As treasurers, we are typically risk-averse and cautious about going into new things,” Johan Larsson continues. In addition, as with anything new, it takes a while to establish standards. “The current lack of standards (in new technology) is an obstacle. It makes it difficult to harmonise processes.”
Mario del Natale had an innovative suggestion for making technological transformation in treasuries more painless: get a data scientist on the team. “Treasuries have changed. Tech is key; you can no longer have one person who knows about the business and one who knows the tech. You need a profile who can combine both and has a helicopter view of all these things,” he explains.
The panellists were:
Johan Larsson, Head of Cash Management & Settlement, Volvo Cars, and
Mario del Natale, Treasury Director, Global Digital Treasury, Johnson Controls,
under moderation by Torben Winther, Partner, Deloitte.
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