In the summer of 2023, 107 companies took part in an online survey organised by the French Association of Corporate Treasurers (AFTE) and Redbridge. The aim of the survey was to assess the resources they allocate to each of the treasury-finance department’s main roles. The data collected can form the basis for discussions on companies’ roadmaps to digital treasury. We’re delighted to present an excerpt from the report, which will be published in full on our blog in June. If you’d like to receive the full report as soon as it’s available, please fill in the form at the end of this page.
Treasury departments: a mix of generalists and specialists
Our recent survey of treasury organisations confirms the existence of two kinds of treasury department: those in SMEs and SMIs, which are generally made up of generalists, and those of large groups, in which treasury team members generally focus on particular areas.
The treasurers in SMEs and SMIs have very limited resources at their disposal. Generally, they cover the three dimensions of treasury – risk, cash flow and liquidity management – with teams ranging in size from just two to eight people.
Companies with turnover of EUR 5 billion and above tend to have much larger treasury teams.
Beyond this threshold, there can be big differences in terms of the number of team members. This is because treasury departments may face specific challenges and as organisational issues often take on greater importance in larger firms.
Source: Redbridge – Corporate Treasury Organisation Survey, May 2024
A budget comparison tool for treasury-finance departments
Source: Redbridge – Corporate Treasury Organisation Survey, May 2024
Half of the respondents to our survey shared information about their treasury-finance department’s budget.
The distribution of these budgets, excluding bank and card fees, increases steadily in line with company turnover. This information? makes it possible to assess whether a treasury team’s budget is within the normal range for the company’s turnover.
Information systems: a huge drain on human resources
Regardless of the size of the company, on average the finance department allocates close to 20% of its time to financing matters. In relative terms, cash flow / cash management requires less of the treasury staff’s time? in the largest groups.
By contrast, the proportion of time allocated to risk management and managing information systems rises sharply as company turnover increases. This can be explained by the higher number of tools dedicated to daily tasks being used as the company grows.
Source: Redbridge – Corporate Treasury Organisation Survey, May 2024