According to a survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit and Deutsche Bank, corporate treasurers say they're being asked to provide more strategic input into their companies' operations, but their ability to generate insights is often hampered by day-to-day macroeconomic and operational concerns.
More than half of the respondents, for instance, cited sluggish growth as the most serious risk to their firms' financial success over the next three years.
Real growth in EU nations was 1.4 percent in the EU, according the study, and global GDP growth was 2.3 percent.
This risk is being compounded by slowing expansion in once-hot emerging markets as well as currency volatility.
"The economic crisis and weak recovery have been with us since 2008 -- seven years," the study quotes Damian Glendinning, VP and treasurer of Lenovo and president of the Association of Corporate Treasurers in Singpore. "At what point do we start to consider that this is the new normal state of affairs?"
In response, the survey say, major companies continue to stockpile cash, with more than eight in 10 respondents saying their companies have excess cash.
Although keeping cash on hand to respond quickly to investment opportunities is one reason for maintaining cash, treasurers also cite concerns about the ability of their financial institutions to provide credit and a resulting return of liquidity shortages.
"A continued focus on liquidity management and credit access is vital," said Richard Nield, VP and regional treasurer, APAC and EMEA, at Cargill.
Watching the Regulators
Treasurers also cite their companies' expanding compliance obligations as a major concern, with more than two-thirds saying they spend very large or fairly large portions of their day on monitoring and implementing compliance-related initiatives.
Along with industry- or country-specific regulations, such as Dodd-Frank in the United States, treasurers cited broader efforts such as the European Market Infrastructure Regulation and Basel III as initiatives that can affect their and their business partners.
For instance, international variance on derivatives regulations can affect multinational companies' risk management strategies.
A Broader Role
Corporate treasurers also say they're collaborating more with company and line-of-business leaders on strategic and operational issues, with more than three-quarters saying they are consulted regularly.
That being said, however treasurers say their ability to enhance key performance indicators and strategic insights can be hampered by staffing and budget shortages, as well as their daily challenges.
Internal integration and communication with business-unit leadership is another challenge treasurers cited in the survey.