Treasury Strategy & Transformation
Published  6 MIN READ

The Resilient Treasury: Optimising Strategy in the Face of Covid-19

No sooner had treasury departments signed off on their 2020 strategy plans than Covid-19 transformed priorities and shifted the conversation around treasury. With treasurers having had six months to readjust, TMI speaks to Ole Matthiessen, Global Head of Cash Management, Deutsche Bank, about the results of the latest EIU annual corporate treasury survey, which this year covers macro risks, regulatory changes and emerging technologies.


TMI: The results of the sixth Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) annual corporate treasury survey, supported by Deutsche Bank, have just been released. Can you tell us more?

Ole Matthiessen (OM): Absolutely. I am incredibly excited to discuss the latest survey – it comes at a critical point for treasury, where a number of different factors are driving strategic change in the treasury function. This year’s survey covers a lot of ground. It looks at the macro and financial risks that impact strategy, the effect of negative interest rates on investment plans and the regulatory initiatives that are currently top of mind for treasurers. Additionally, it analyses the technologies that treasurers are using today, the skills that treasury functions require and the approaches they are taking towards cybersecurity. Critically, it also identifies the key priorities that treasurers will pursue up to 2025.

As you mentioned, this is the sixth edition of the survey. As we embark on a new decade we have tried, where possible, to factor in findings from previous EIU corporate treasury surveys in this series (conducted between 2015 and 2019) to highlight how the industry has developed over the past few years.

Bringing together responses from more than 300 corporate treasurers across the globe, the report is structured in three sections: