Why CFOs Need Treasury in the Quest for Value Creation

Published: August 18, 2026

The value of treasury is high and rising, so say Myles Corson, EY Global Strategy and Markets Leader for Financial Accounting Advisory Services, and François Holzman, EY Global Leader for Treasury and Commodity Services. Here they detail how that value can keep building. 

For decades, CFOs have been central to how organisations protect financial discipline and make confident decisions on performance, capital, and risk. But in today’s volatile environment, that agenda increasingly depends on the contribution of treasury –from safeguarding liquidity and managing funding to helping organisations understand risk, resilience, and financial flexibility.

The opportunity now is not to replace what Finance and Treasury already do well, but to build on it. As CFOs are increasingly expected to shape long-term value creation, treasurers have an important role to play in making that agenda practical: connecting strategy with insight on cash, capital, risk, and funding flexibility.

EY has just published its 2026 DNA of the CFO Survey, which provides an in-depth look at the challenges and opportunities confronting CFOs globally, and it highlights that the CFO role is at a major turning point.

It’s no secret that organisations are grappling with huge challenges, technological disruption, shifting business models and increasing demands for long-term, sustainable growth to name just a few, and for CFOs the implications are profound. The CFO role is fundamental to shaping how organisations create value. Treasury should be central to that conversation because decisions on capital structure, funding, liquidity, and risk can determine whether strategic ambition is financially achievable.

But our survey reveals a striking disconnect. While six in 10 CFOs worldwide recognise that they can and should play a leading role in shaping value creation, only a few are taking the obvious steps to make that impact felt. For example, just 25% say they are leading the critical discussions and investment decisions that determine long-term growth.

There is a gulf between intent and action, and it highlights a host of structural and capability challenges across the finance function. Importantly, this is not a question of ambition. It reflects a deeper shift in how value is created today – and the need for CFOs and treasurers to work more closely together to bring the right tools, data, and insight to strategic decisions.

Part of the challenge is that all too often finance teams are so heavily focused on traditional activities such as reporting, controls, and compliance that they overlook, or simply can’t find time for, forward-looking, value-driven decision-making.

But another crucial issue is access to the best possible data. For treasurers in particular, effective risk management depends not only on accurate data, but on real-time information that enables them to make timely decisions on hedging, funding, and cash investment.

And there appears to be a perception issue too: only 27% of CFOs believe that their teams are regarded as serious players in value creation. For treasury functions, which are often even more operationally focused, this challenge can be even more pronounced – limiting their visibility in strategic investment and funding decisions.

For CFOs, the message is clear: reputation as value creators must be earned, and it comes through consistent influence and shaping of strategy. But achieving this level of impact also depends on treasury having a stronger voice in the decisions that matter, these include bringing forward-looking insight on liquidity, capital, funding options, and risk exposure, not just backward-looking reporting.

One of the main challenges relates to measurement. Traditional metrics — revenue growth, profit margins, cash flow – do still matter. They always will. But if CFOs are to effectively identify opportunities for value creation, then the way value is measured has to evolve. Nearly 70% of CFOs interviewed believe that enterprise value metrics must be redefined to reflect the realities of modern business.

We know, as finance leaders, that value is not always created through tangible assets. It can be produced through data, technology, innovation and, of course, human capital. However, many CFOs still struggle to translate these broader forms of value into measurable outcomes. Around half of the CFOs we spoke to said they find it hard to prove ROI, particularly where benefits are long term or less tangible. For treasurers, this raises important questions about how to assess funding decisions, capital deployment, and risk in areas where returns are less certain but potentially more transformative.

So, without new frameworks for measuring value, finance leaders risk defaulting to short-term, easily quantifiable returns and ultimately limiting their impact on strategic decision-making. Treasury can help broaden that lens by combining financial metrics with insight, supporting more balanced decisions about where and how value can be created.

Another obstacle, that’s standing in the way of CFOs and value creation is technology. While there’s no question that the profession has access to the latest technology, what’s lacking is readiness to use it. The survey shows that only around one in five CFOs believe their finance function is well prepared for AI.

To compound this, data quality issues, challenges in articulating business cases, and limited skills capacity also constrain adoption. In treasury, where decisions rely heavily on accurate, timely, and increasingly real-time data – from cash visibility to market risk – these factors can directly impact the ability to support real-time, strategic decisions.

More fundamentally, finance teams don’t always look at technology with a broad mindset. Organisations may have access to advanced tools, but many CFOs lack the confidence or capability to apply them to high-value decisions. As a result, technologies such as AI are still more frequently applied to risk monitoring or fraud detection, rather than to forward-looking areas such as forecasting, liquidity planning, or capital optimisation where they could drive significant value.

Perhaps the most important insights from the survey relate to learning and skills and they deliver a powerful wake-up call to businesses. More than two-thirds of CFOs say they need new skills and leadership styles to remain effective. Many believe the CFOs are evolving faster than their own teams.

This places another constraint on the ability of CFOs to influence strategic decisions both now and in the longer term. Without the right mix of analytical, technological, and leadership capabilities, finance teams will likely struggle to engage in high-stakes discussions and deliver meaningful change. For treasury professionals, the implication is clear: technical expertise in liquidity and risk must be complemented by stronger capabilities in strategy, data, communication, and cross-functional collaboration.

Our survey delivers a clarion call to CFOs, treasurers, and wider finance teams. Those who are serious about value creation cannot afford to sit on the sidelines. They should be present in investment discussions, help reshape how value is measured, build confidence in the use of technology, invest in leadership development, and establish new ways of working that free up time to focus on what matters.

For treasurers, the opportunity is significant. By bringing a clearer view of cash, capital, liquidity, funding, and risk into strategic decision-making, they can help CFOs turn value creation from an ambition into a practical agenda. In an increasingly complex world, treasury has a critical role to play in ensuring that decisions on investment, growth, and transformation are grounded in financial reality and aligned to long-term value.

For treasury professionals, there is also a significant career opportunity. Those who build the strategic, leadership, and technology capabilities needed to support value creation will be well positioned to take on broader finance leadership responsibilities, including future CFO roles.

Now is the moment for treasury to move closer to the centre of the CFO value agenda.

The views reflected in this article are the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the global EY organisation or its member firms.