Whether we like football or not, it is undeniable that for everyone it is clear or easily deducible the role played by a goalkeeper: a player whose main function is to take care of the goal so that the opposing team (or due to some carelessness or accident) does not manage to score. a goal

This function is usually a bit thankless. The goalkeeper is a player who has to make too many efforts to stand out. His team and, in general, the fans assume that he must always respond to the pressure of the opponent.  

Thus, errors must be close to zero, since any small oversight can result in the loss of the match  and, even worse, the championship or, why not, the World Cup. His teammates can afford to make more mistakes, but for the goalkeeper, the mistake can easily be unforgivable.

The treasurer: the guardian of a company

If we make a parallel with the role of the Treasurer, there are many common points. He is the guardian of the company’s cash and everyone always assumes that he will fulfill his duty: payments will be executed on time, resources will never be lacking, collections will be properly managed, service to the banks will always be controlled and, with or without a technological system behind it, he will also manage to keep the company’s liquidity afloat. This is the basics, the duty of the role. However, if for any reason the treasurer fails and there is a slight oversight, the result may be the loss of a supplier, a relationship with a financial entity, even the company.

The Treasurer must be a good guardian of the company’s resources : he will guarantee the healthy functioning of the company, he will offer guidance to senior management on what strategies to undertake for the present and, especially, in the future. But his role should not be limited to being a good goalkeeper. He must go further: stand out by preventing the company from conceding goals, ensuring that his organization can score and position itself favorably with the available resources.

In order to explain how the treasurer shines thanks to the extras that will allow him to score, let’s first summarize some of the basic requirements involved in taking care of a company’s goal:

It is vital to be constantly updated . Not only about the general environment of the country in which your company’s business is carried out, but also about the particularities and new knowledge regarding your academic subject.

You must have a long-term vision.  Their recommendations can take past and present references, but the perspective must be aimed at how the company can respond to future challenges and what strategies must be structured so that, under different simulated scenarios, the company can move forward with its cash flow.

Balanced management of expenses and collections is essential.  Exceeding either of the two aspects can lead to a bad relationship with suppliers or a serious deterioration of the portfolio. Correct control of working capital is a guarantee of good business performance.

Maintain a generous portfolio of banks or financing sources that allow you to have options against the daily challenges of the company.  Marrying limited options can lead to assuming high funding costs or simply not having options for sources of resources.

Empathy is needed.  The role of Treasurer implies a high level of relationship: with suppliers, with financial entities, with all the business units within the company, with senior management… in itself, it requires good management of soft skills to adequately comply with the objectives.

Treasury and its strategic role

Moving on to the extras that will allow the Treasurer to transcend his mission as a good goalkeeper to become a great scorer, we can summarize some instruments that they use to convert the Treasury, not into a Support Unit, but into a Generating Unit Revenues, global protagonist in Cash Flow, Balance Sheet and P&L:

1. Strategies must be developed that allow the financing of suppliers.

In some sectors or specific companies, it is not entirely well regarded to execute Prompt Payment Discount, Confirming or Factoring operations since they can lead to negative interpretations about the financial health of the company. However,  if the appropriate validations are made, instruments such as those mentioned not only help to have a better Client-Supplier relationship and to innovate in different funding strategies  but will also bring additional benefits and financial returns as a result of good management of the Treasurer. The financing that some companies use by refraining from paying suppliers is not a strategic option in any way.

2.Every process is susceptible to improvement.

There are frequent cases of Treasurers who live with highly manual processes that do not allow them to give the extra to be able to go beyond their standard role.  It is essential to automate and add technological methods in Treasury management  because, without them, the need to solve operational problems will cloud the real focus of achieving additional returns and will also be wearing down the work team.

3.It is important to analyze hedging operations.

In a changing reality that, today more than ever, puts us in front of global paralysis of all types of markets, it is necessary to contemplate scenarios of the impact that the organization could suffer due to different fluctuations, for example in the exchange rate.

Having said this, it is vital to review financial coverage options that fit the needs and that, in the face of abrupt market changes, allow for much more calm navigation.  Not doing reviews of this style can lead industries to the point of having quarters, semesters and even years with red numbers due to lack of adequate forecasting .

If the Treasurer manages to cover the two fronts mentioned – being the goalkeeper that everyone expects, but, at the same time, proposing strategies that allow the company to score several goals – he will surely not be perceived as a member of an area that only provides support. , but will become the protagonist in defining the company’s north, leading it to meet the objectives set and, why not, win the world championship.