iStock / Helen Davies TECH FOCUS says Jean-Baptiste Gaudemet, senior vice president of data and analytics with Kyriba. Cash Management AI users can make real-time forecast adjustments and select an optimal confidence level based on the risk profile and policy of their organisation, aligned to its short-term payment, funding and investment decisions. Philipp Leitner Joining the dots The spread of open banking and connectivity provided by application programming interface (API) capabilities can have a positive impact on cash forecasting in various ways. By facilitating real-time payments and status reporting, for example, they can enable organisations to collect faster, reconcile faster and use funds faster, and by enhancing cash positioning such efficiencies can also allow treasurers to better predict cash needs and evaluate liquidity. How API connectivity delivers benefits that can impact positively on cash forecasting is highlighted by the US-headquartered Hunt Companies, an investor in operating businesses, real estate and infrastructure assets globally. The treasury team at Hunt has co-innovated an API between the Institutional Cash Distributors (ICD) portal that it uses for short-term investments and its TMS, Kyriba, to become an early adopter of realtime payments and to digitise Hunts investment management process. Over one three-month period, this enabled Hunt to increase its volume of real-time payments by 375% and also reduce wire transfer costs. It expects further benefit with increased volume and transaction sizes. I want us to be there when its widely accepted by more banks, says David Miller, treasurer and senior vice president at Hunt. With the API between ICD and Kyriba, we now have visibility into liquidity and earn interest on cash that otherwise might sit idle. Forecasting ecosystems For all that tech can potentially do to help treasurers improve aspects of cash management and forecasting, it might be a mistake to rely too heavily on it, particularly if the organisations systems and processes are not ready to make the most of technology advances or upgrades. The quality of a cash forecast is dependent on the quality and reliability of the data that informs this, which isnt always within the treasurers control. As with many aspects of treasury, there are benefits to automating what can be automated, particularly when integrating systems and services that rely on shared data. Forecasting, however, can be adversely impacted by inaccuracies in data from business units as well as disconnected feeder systems whether that is a spreadsheet or a TMS so clear and effective communication with all parts of the business is vital. Treasurers may need to proactively ensure that all stakeholders appreciate this. CFOs are demanding greater accuracy and reliability from their cash forecasts Lesley Meall is a freelance technology writer 34 ISSUE 1 2023 treasurers.org/thetreasurer TT ISSUE 1 23 pp32-34 Tech Focus.indd 34 23/02/2023 09:20