It’s all about the Cash - thoughts from AFP 2022
As I head back to Chicago from the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) 2022 Conference in Philadelphia, I would like to share a few initial thoughts. Patricia Hines and I enjoyed connecting with banking and technology clients to discuss global treasury management priorities with industry leaders and, on a personal note, it was great to see so many friends and colleagues for the first time in years.
Congratulations to the AFP for hosting a full in-person event. Some 5,000+ people attended from the treasury community, their banks, and solution vendors. There was real energy around the event – it felt close to the pre-COVID experience.
Congratulations to the treasury team from Marsh McLennan, Celent’s parent organization, for winning the annual Pinnacle Award. By implementing AI models to reliably predict client churn, the client teams are freed to focus on client relationships.
In terms of major topics, there were three themes: forecasting, forecasting, and forecasting. That’s right, although this has been a top priority for several years, the urgency to implement solutions has clearly increased. Educational sessions on this topic were full, and the good news is that many banks and vendors offer a range of new solutions. Celent clients have access to Breakthrough Innovation in Cash Management: Bank Pacesetters and Point Solutions Partners in Cash Visibility and Forecasting. This report published in the last year profiles solutions from Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, and PNC - plus vendor solutions from Cashforce (now part of TIS), NTT Data, Tesorio and Trovata.
Although the focus on managing cash and liquidity was paramount, another major theme is the challenge of managing and maintaining top talent. Treasuries are squeezed by a shortage of resources as they navigate through the current economic turbulence. In response, banks have an opportunity to help their clients with products and tools that improve operational efficiency and working capital management.
Celent leaders will soon be sharing our view of technology priorities for corporate banking in 2023. The Corporate Banking Technology Trends “Previsory” webinar is on November 7th at 10am ET. Please register at the link below and mark your calendars!