Global Shifts Push Finance Leaders Toward Data, Liquidity and FX Mastery
As businesses worldwide brace for economic shocks and reimagined supply chains, a new global survey by DBS reveals that finance leaders are recalibrating their strategies, not just to survive the now, but to thrive in an uncertain future. The top priorities?
A shifting global environment is prompting companies to look far beyond the next quarter. Instead of simply reacting to volatile interest rates and fragmented supply chains, finance leaders are planning for long-term resilience, according to DBS’ newly released «New Realities, New Possibilities» report.
Based on insights from over 800 senior finance executives across 14 markets and seven sectors, the report captures a strategic pivot in corporate thinking. The key takeaway: organisations are moving away from reactive short-termism and embracing structural overhauls to financial intelligence, liquidity strategy, and FX management.
Data Takes Centre Stage in Financial Strategy
The survey underscores that leveraging data-driven financial intelligence is now a top strategic priority for finance teams. Tools for data visualisation, security monitoring, and advanced analytics are being rapidly adopted to improve decision-making and enable more accurate forecasting amid uncertainty.
This shift is seen as crucial for anticipating threats and deploying capital proactively. Executives believe that these technologies will empower finance departments to serve not only as guardians of cost but also as enablers of growth.
FX and Liquidity Leap to the Forefront
In a dramatic reshuffling of priorities, liquidity and foreign exchange (FX) management surged from seventh to second place. This reflects concerns over increasing costs and currency fluctuations in a world where geopolitical developments can upend markets overnight.
More than half of the respondents are exploring innovative solutions, such as integrated payments, blockchain-powered capabilities, and regional treasury centers, to anchor financial stability in the face of rising volatility.
Working Capital Efficiency Completes the Trifecta
Completing the top three is a sharpened focus on working capital efficiency. With 69 percent of respondents experimenting with Generative AI to fine-tune inventory forecasting, improve receivables collection, and accelerate cash cycles, finance functions are becoming more agile and intelligent than ever.
These technological upgrades reflect a broader transformation in how companies perceive their treasury functions, from traditional cost centres to digital nerve centres for strategy and value creation.
Cost, Transformation, and Sustainability Stay in Play
While data and liquidity top the charts, traditional pillars of financial strategy haven’t fallen away. Transformation initiatives, cost optimisation, and sustainability remain central to long-term planning.
Half of the surveyed leaders said they are continuing to reconfigure supply chains to bring production closer to key markets. A similar share is revisiting their capital structures and deploying trade finance and cross-border payment solutions to drive growth and efficiency.
Green Finance Gains Ground
Sustainability has also become embedded in treasury thinking. Half of all respondents reported that meeting environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards is a core goal for the finance function.
To do so, firms are leveraging digital tools for rigorous ESG reporting (77 percent), partnering with ESG ecosystems (64 percent), and exploring sustainable trade finance solutions (63 percent) to meet both compliance demands and investor expectations.
New Role for Treasury and Finance Leaders
Han Kwee Juan, Group Head of Institutional Banking at DBS, summarised the shift: «We are entering a new norm marked by greater uncertainty and an accelerating pace of technological transformation. Businesses must proactively adapt across several dimensions to build long-term competitive advantage.»
Lim Soon Chong, Group Head of Global Transaction Services at DBS, added that treasury and finance teams are stepping into more strategic roles, helping firms not just to weather turbulence, but to shape the future. Partnering with banks like DBS, they’re tapping into new tools and insights to lead confidently through complexity.
Charting a New Path in Finance
«New Realities, New Possibilities» is the third edition in DBS’ flagship thought leadership series for finance professionals. It delivers timely insights into how corporate finance functions are evolving and how treasury leaders can turn today’s challenges into tomorrow’s opportunities.
