Just as most accountants remain deeply attached to Excel, many treasury professionals likewise are still relying on manual or fragmented systems despite the availability of more advanced technologies.
That’s according to a poll of 246 treasurers by TD Bank, taken at the Association for Financial Professionals’ 2025 annual conference in Boston.
It could be viewed as a puzzling response, given that 75% of the respondents agreed digital cash flow visibility and liquidity management solutions have “revolutionized” their growth strategies, the bank reported.
But adoption of such solutions remains low, with treasury teams clinging to manual processes rather than fully embracing automated systems for activities such as cash management and payments. As such, the “path to funding growth remains challenging,” TD Bank said.
More than a third (36%) of the treasurers cited manual or fragmented systems as one of their biggest challenges. Others included macroeconomic uncertainty and market volatility (36%) and a lack of real-time cash flow data (20%).
Survey results suggested that investing in treasury capabilities will have a significant impact on managing cash flow in real time. Improvements, the treasurers indicated, could include real-time reporting and visibility (cited by 35% of those polled), integration across banking platforms and data sources (34%), and automated cross-border payments and currency conversions.
“As businesses navigate shifting rates, evolving supply chains and rising expectations for efficiency, treasury teams that embrace digital integration now will be better positioned to manage growth and guard against risk,” said Tom Gregory, head of treasury management, merchant and government banking, for TD Bank.
The call for systems integration extends to fraud prevention, another issue facing the treasury profession. According to TD Bank, as organizations process increasingly higher volumes of transactions across multiple channels, the complexity and frequency of fraudulent schemes, such as business and email compromise, payment diversion and cyberattacks have grown substantially.
According to the survey, 82% of treasury professionals expressed confidence in their fraud defenses. Nonetheless, on average, 62% of employees fail fraud tests, the survey participants said.
Indeed, with AI agents increasingly involved in cyberattacks, treasury teams may be less prepared than they think they are. “Effective defense starts within, through best practices, employee education, and proactive risk management,” Gregory said.
Survey respondents identified key areas where additional support and solutions are needed to mitigate fraud risk. These include vendor or payment verification tools (mentioned by 29% of the treasurers), real-time monitoring and alerts (28%) and employee training and awareness programs (17%).
