A full spectrum of opportunities in cash management

Digital technology is transforming and inspiring new work practices

In today's digital world, treasurers expect to extract value through digital capabilities and channels to help them overcome treasury challenges and seize growth opportunities.

Throwing new light on cash management optimisation

Digitalisation is having a profound effect on the way we communicate, commute and consume services, including banking services. As a result, banks are innovating to transform and enrich their client experiences through new solutions enabled by technology, as well as providing new perspectives and taking a multi-faceted approach to exploring potential solutions. This is at the heart of our strategy at DBS, and the inspiration behind the development of our innovative dynamic digital solutioning and advisory platform DBS Treasury Prism.

The birth of DBS Treasury Prism

DBS Treasury Prism is a dynamic digital solutioning platform that enables corporate treasurers to simulate cash and liquidity management scenarios within the context of risk, return and regulation. It provides an interactive interface for modelling structures, benchmarking of solutions, guidance on regulatory and tax implications, as well as insights on local market practices.
In addition to the multi-faceted functionality and insights that it offers, what distinguishes DBS Treasury Prism is the way it has been developed, which places the client’s needs and journey at the core of its development. The result is a highly functional, pragmatic and insight-led design based on in-depth engagement and feedback from a deep pool of both existing and prospective clients.
Embarking on the journey, DBS’ research and insights emphasised:

Time challenges - Treasurers say that it takes too much time and preparation to define and deliver an optimal cash management solution, leading many to postpone or cancel the implementation of new cash management initiatives, particularly given competing business priorities.

Uncertain benefits - Many companies find it difficult to quantify the cost and productivity benefits of a new cash management solution, which is a major obstacle when trying to develop a compelling business case.

Keeping up to date - Given the diversity and speed of change across Asia, treasurers and finance managers lack the time and resources to navigate and keep up to date with the plethora of regulatory and tax changes that have an impact on cash management decisions. This creates challenges when trying to position a new cash management solution, and treasurers may ultimately decide not to implement a new cash management strategy for fear of non-compliance.

Stakeholder engagement - Treasurers typically need to work with a large number of stakeholders across the business, including central functions such as legal, tax and other finance teams, as well as operating units. Consequently, the easier it is to collaborate and share knowledge, such as the ability to create a dynamic visualisation of account and liquidity structures, the more likely that a cash management project will be successful.

Implementation risk - Implementing a new cash management solution, even with an existing bank, is seen as a high-risk project for corporate treasurers, often with significant internal scrutiny. Treasury functions are often small, so it can be difficult to balance resources across day-to-day activities and specific projects. Hence, treasurers tend to be sceptical about implementing new cash management solutions unless they have assessed and are fully assured of the benefits of doing so.

Treasurers often express frustration that they are not necessarily able to replicate the solutions that they read about in the treasury media or bank brochures due to regulatory or tax considerations.

DBS Treasury Prism however, enables them to simulate potential solutions and gain clarity on the outcomes for their business to devise a compelling business case. Furthermore, they can manage project risk and complexity more effectively using DBS Treasury Prism's dynamic guidance on the latest restrictions, regulatory implications and documentation requirements.

Transforming bank-corporate conversations

Today’s emerging technology solutions, from instant payments and collections through to bespoke use of industry standards and APIs to enhance integration, enables companies to ‘unbundle’ bank solutions and reconstruct them to build best-of-breed solutions. And this digital transformation doesn’t stop here.

By leveraging digital banking capabilities and insights through online advisory tools such as DBS Treasury Prism, together with the bank’s co-creation approach to new solution design, treasurers and CFOs can keep up to date with market developments and new opportunities, and use this knowledge to shape the company’s digital strategy.

“Treasurers and CFOs will increasingly rely on their bank’s advisory services to help articulate the value proposition of digitisation, and identify where the greatest value can be added. With a variety of drivers, whether technical, regulatory, or internal, such as supporting liquidity and information requirements across the business, online advisory services, such as DBS Treasury Prism, can help to build multi-dimensional views of potential solutions, pinpoint opportunities or obstacles, and support treasurers in maximising value for the enterprise.”

John Laurens
Head of Global Transaction Services


Explore DBS Treasury Prism now at https://treasuryprism.dbs.com