Growing Pains

Solving Treasury Challenges for Firms Spreading their Wings Overseas

Technology and novel business models are emboldening increasing numbers of small firms across sectors such as e-commerce to tackle new overseas markets in the quest for rapid growth. Here, HSBC’s Ray Suvrodeep and Jon Denny shed light on the myriad of finance and treasury challenges these firms face and offer advice on how to overcome them.

The rise of e-commerce, and the digital economy more broadly, has been a notable feature of the global economic landscape over the past few decades. Recent upheavals, not least the pandemic, have accelerated that trend, presenting, fast-growing firms in these sectors with even more opportunities to expand their footprint. But, inevitably, rapid business growth also translates into challenges for finance and treasury functions.

For many of these established firms , treasury operations will be in their infancy. Jon Denny, Treasury Solutions Group, Global Payment Solutions, HSBC says while it is not unusual for an experienced treasurer to be brought in from a larger firm to kick-start treasury specialisation, they will have to be versatile. For beyond being an expert in risk management, treasurers of rapidly growing firms must undertake non-treasury tasks, including overseeing operational processes and controls and potentially reviewing legal contracts. They will also need to have a flair for technology and systems, and also become good trainers of new staff with no treasury background.

Ray Suvrodeep, Head of Liquidity Solutions, Global Payments Solutions, HSBC, further observes that these firms generally perform well in the initial rapid-growth phase, onboarding customers successfully and at volume as they enter new markets and diversifying their offering.

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