Treasury Management and TMS: Cash, Liquidity and FX Risk for Corporates

Treasury Management and TMS: Cash, Liquidity and FX Risk for Corporates | Financely
TREASURY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM CASH POSITION BY ENTITY $84M UK $62M US $101M SG $53M DE $74M AE $43M AU $88M JP FX EXPOSURE EUR/USD 1.0842 +0.12% GBP/USD 1.2634 -0.08% USD/JPY 148.72 +0.23% USD/AED 3.6725 flat TREASURY KPIs $505M Total Cash 94.2% Forecast Accuracy 18 CCY Currencies Managed 4.2% Avg. Yield 12-MONTH LIQUIDITY FORECAST TREASURY MANAGEMENT Treasury Management & TMS for Corporates Cash, liquidity, FX risk, and working capital for corporates. 6 Pillars of treasury function Real-time visibility via TMS FE Financely Editorial March 2026 · 14 min read
Corporate Finance · Treasury

Treasury Management and TMS: Cash, Liquidity and FX Risk for Corporates

Treasury management is the function responsible for managing a corporation's liquidity, cash flow, financial risk, and capital. A treasury management system (TMS) is the technology platform that automates and centralises these activities across currencies, entities, and banking relationships. Financely supports corporates and financial institutions with working capital, FX, and structured finance solutions through its deal submission practice.

Author
Financely Editorial
Corporate finance and treasury specialists.
Perspective
Practitioner
Grounded in live treasury advisory work.
Last Reviewed
March 2026
Reflects current TMS market and ACT standards.
Industry Body
ACT
Aligned with ACT chartered treasury standards.
6
Core pillars of a corporate treasury function
Real-time
Cash visibility enabled by modern TMS platforms
FX + IR
Primary financial risks managed by treasury

What Is Treasury Management?

Treasury management is the discipline of managing a company's financial assets, liabilities, and risks in order to optimise liquidity, reduce financial risk, and support the organisation's strategic objectives. The treasury function sits within the finance department but operates with a distinct mandate: to ensure the business has the cash it needs, when it needs it, at the lowest possible cost and risk.

The Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT) is the chartered professional body for treasury in the UK and internationally, setting the benchmark qualifications and standards for the profession. At its broadest, treasury management encompasses cash and liquidity management, FX risk management, interest rate risk, funding and capital markets activity, banking relationship management, and financial risk governance.

The Six Pillars of Corporate Treasury Management

01

Cash Management

Forecasting, pooling, and optimising cash across entities and currencies to ensure sufficient liquidity and minimise idle balances.

02

Liquidity Management

Ensuring the organisation can meet its short-term obligations at all times, including managing credit lines, revolving facilities, and intraday liquidity.

03

FX Risk Management

Identifying, measuring, and hedging foreign currency exposure across transactional, translational, and economic dimensions using forwards, options, and swaps.

04

Interest Rate Risk

Managing exposure to interest rate movements on floating-rate debt and investment portfolios through hedging instruments such as interest rate swaps and caps.

05

Funding and Capital

Arranging short and long-term funding, managing debt maturity profiles, and optimising the cost of capital across bank debt, bonds, and equity.

06

Working Capital

Optimising the cash conversion cycle by managing receivables, payables, and inventory financing to reduce the net working capital requirement of the business.

What Is a Treasury Management System?

A treasury management system (TMS) is a software platform that centralises and automates the core activities of the treasury function. A TMS provides real-time cash visibility across banking accounts and entities, automates payment processing, tracks financial risk positions, and generates cash flow forecasts. It replaces manual spreadsheet-based treasury processes and reduces operational risk through automated controls and audit trails.

Modern TMS platforms connect directly to banking systems via SWIFT or API, aggregating cash positions in real time across multiple banks, currencies, and legal entities. They also integrate with ERP systems to pull receivables and payables data for cash flow forecasting.

TMS vs. ERP treasury modules: Many ERP systems (SAP, Oracle) include a treasury module, but these typically cover basic cash management and payments rather than the full range of TMS functionality. Standalone TMS platforms such as Kyriba, FIS Quantum, and ION Treasury offer deeper functionality in areas such as FX risk management, hedge accounting, and bank connectivity, making them the preferred choice for larger or more complex treasury functions.

Core Functions of a Treasury Management System

TMS Function What it does Business benefit
Cash position management Aggregates real-time bank balances across all accounts and entities Eliminates manual balance reporting; enables same-day funding decisions
Cash flow forecasting Combines ERP payables and receivables data with treasury inputs to forecast cash needs Reduces idle cash; improves investment and borrowing decisions
Payment processing Automates and approves outgoing payments with workflow controls Reduces fraud risk; improves payment accuracy and timing
FX management Tracks FX exposures, executes hedges, and monitors hedge effectiveness Reduces P&L volatility from currency movements
Debt and investment tracking Manages loan drawdowns, repayments, and short-term investment portfolios Optimises interest income and reduces cost of carry
Bank relationship management Tracks bank account structures, signatories, and fee analyses Rationalises banking relationships and reduces bank fees
Hedge accounting Documents and tests hedging relationships for IFRS 9 or ASC 815 compliance Reduces earnings volatility through compliant hedge accounting treatment
Intercompany lending Manages intragroup loans, notional pooling, and cash concentration structures Reduces external borrowing costs through internal cash optimisation

Treasury Risk Management

Treasury risk management encompasses the identification, measurement, and mitigation of financial risks arising from the organisation's business activities and balance sheet. The primary risks managed by treasury are FX risk, interest rate risk, counterparty credit risk, and liquidity risk.

FX treasury management

Companies with revenues or costs in foreign currencies face FX risk. Treasury identifies the net exposure across all currencies, determines the hedging policy (how much to hedge, over what horizon, using which instruments), and executes hedges through the banking market or via a TMS connected to FX execution platforms.

Hedging instruments include forward contracts, FX options, cross-currency swaps, and natural hedging strategies such as matching revenues and costs in the same currency.

Liquidity risk management

Liquidity risk is the risk that the organisation cannot meet its financial obligations when they fall due. Treasury manages liquidity risk through cash flow forecasting, maintaining committed credit facilities as a liquidity buffer, and implementing cash concentration structures to pool cash across entities.

Intraday liquidity management ensures the organisation can meet payment obligations on the day they are due, even when incoming payments are delayed.

Interest rate risk

Companies with floating-rate debt face earnings volatility when benchmark rates move. Treasury assesses the proportion of debt that should be fixed versus floating, and implements hedging strategies using interest rate swaps, caps, or collars to manage the exposure within board-approved risk limits.

Counterparty credit risk

Treasury manages exposure to the default of banking and financial counterparties by setting credit limits per counterparty, diversifying banking relationships, and monitoring counterparty credit ratings. TMS platforms track mark-to-market exposures on derivative positions in real time.

Cash Management Treasury: Pooling and Concentration

Cash management within treasury focuses on ensuring the organisation's cash is available where it is needed and earning the best available return on surplus balances. The two primary structures used are notional pooling and physical cash concentration (zero balancing or target balancing).

In a notional pool, bank balances across participating accounts are notionally offset for interest calculation purposes without physically moving cash. In a physical concentration structure, cash is swept from subsidiary accounts into a header account on a daily basis, allowing the treasury centre to manage a single consolidated cash position. Both structures reduce the organisation's need for external borrowing by offsetting surpluses in one entity against deficits in another.

Working capital treasury management: Treasury and working capital teams increasingly collaborate to optimise the cash conversion cycle. Initiatives such as supply chain finance programs, dynamic discounting, and receivables securitisation are now often structured jointly by treasury and procurement, with the TMS providing the data to measure working capital improvement and model the cost of capital trade-offs.

Treasury Management Solutions for Different Organisation Sizes

Organisation type Treasury priorities Typical solutions
Large multinational Multi-currency cash visibility, FX hedging, hedge accounting, intercompany lending Enterprise TMS (Kyriba, ION, FIS Quantum); in-house bank; SWIFT connectivity
Mid-market corporate Cash forecasting, bank relationship management, basic FX hedging Mid-tier TMS or ERP treasury module; online banking aggregation; TMS-lite platforms
SME Day-to-day cash management, FX payments, working capital optimisation Multibank online banking; FX platforms; invoice finance and supply chain finance
Financial institution Liquidity management, ALM, regulatory compliance (LCR, NSFR), funding Bank treasury systems; ALCO oversight; central bank reporting infrastructure

Frequently Asked Questions

Treasury management is the function responsible for managing a company's cash, liquidity, financial risk, and capital. It ensures the business has sufficient funding at all times, manages exposure to FX and interest rate movements, and optimises the cost of capital across banking and capital market relationships.

A treasury management system (TMS) is a software platform that centralises and automates treasury activities including cash visibility, payment processing, FX risk management, debt tracking, and cash flow forecasting. It connects to banking systems in real time and integrates with ERP platforms to provide a single view of the organisation's financial position.

Corporate treasury management refers to treasury activities within a non-financial corporation, as distinct from bank treasury or government treasury functions. It covers cash management, working capital optimisation, FX and interest rate hedging, funding strategy, and banking relationship management.

Treasury risk management is the process of identifying, measuring, and mitigating the financial risks that arise from the organisation's business activities. The primary risks managed by treasury are FX risk, interest rate risk, liquidity risk, and counterparty credit risk. Risk is managed within limits approved by the board or a treasury committee.

FX treasury management is the process of identifying and managing a company's foreign currency exposure. Treasury determines the net FX exposure across all currencies, sets a hedging policy, and executes hedges using instruments such as forward contracts, FX options, or cross-currency swaps to reduce P&L and cash flow volatility from currency movements.

Liquidity management in treasury is the process of ensuring the organisation can meet its financial obligations when they fall due. It involves cash flow forecasting, maintaining committed credit facilities as a liquidity buffer, implementing cash pooling structures, and managing intraday cash flows across banking accounts.

Treasury operations refers to the day-to-day execution activities of the treasury function: processing payments, managing bank accounts, executing FX and money market transactions, reconciling cash positions, and maintaining banking documentation. It is distinct from the strategic and risk management activities of the treasury function.

Treasury management software is a category of financial technology platforms used to automate and centralise treasury activities. Leading platforms include Kyriba, ION Treasury, FIS Quantum, SAP Treasury, and Oracle Treasury. They differ in functionality, scalability, and integration depth, with enterprise platforms offering the broadest range of features for large multinationals.

Cash management treasury refers to the treasury team's responsibility for managing the organisation's cash position on a day-to-day basis: forecasting inflows and outflows, concentrating cash from subsidiaries into a central pool, investing surplus balances, and drawing on facilities to cover shortfalls.

Working capital treasury management refers to the treasury function's role in optimising the cash conversion cycle. Treasury works with procurement, accounts payable, and accounts receivable teams to implement supply chain finance programs, dynamic discounting, and receivables financing structures that reduce the net working capital requirement and lower funding costs.

Treasury management solutions is a broad term covering the technology platforms, banking products, and advisory services used to support the treasury function. It includes TMS software, cash pooling and notional pooling products from banks, FX execution platforms, short-term investment programs, and working capital finance facilities.

Working Capital and Treasury Finance Solutions

Financely supports corporate treasury teams with working capital finance, supply chain finance, FX solutions, and structured financing. Submit your requirement and we will revert with relevant structures.

Disclaimer: This page is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Financely operates on a best-efforts basis. All engagements are subject to diligence, KYC/AML compliance, and counterparty approval. No guarantee of outcomes is expressed or implied.

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