Treasury is rarely the hero of the company. We’re the quiet, usually small team in the background keeping the business afloat: cash in the right place, risks under control, funding secured, banks calm, payments flowing.
When everything goes well, nobody notices. Which is fine, most treasurers don’t need applause.
But then something goes wrong:
A cash forecast misses.
FX moves the wrong way.
Liquidity gets tight.
A hedging decision suddenly looks “expensive.”
And somehow treasury becomes the first department people look at like:
“Why did you not prevent this?”
Treasury is invisible by design
The problem is: a “perfect” treasury day looks like nothing happened.
No drama, no emergency calls, and no big wins people can screenshot and share on LinkedIn.
Treasury is like oxygen. You don’t celebrate it, you only notice it when it’s missing.
Forecasting isn’t “a treasury number.”
Cash forecasting is one of the worst examples of blame culture.
Because treasury doesn’t magically create the forecast. We consolidate it, challenge it, and translate business inputs into something usable.
And those inputs depend on:
- Sales being realistic
- Capex being planned (not improvised)
- AP and AR behaving normally
- Local teams sending numbers on time
- Systems providing clean data (good one)
So when the forecast is off, it’s rarely “treasury failed.” It’s usually: the business moved faster than the numbers did.
FX losses: the classic scapegoat moment
FX is even worse because it’s measurable and painful.
If FX goes against you, there’s always someone saying:
“Why didn’t treasury hedge more?”
But when treasury hedges and it costs money, the same people ask:
“Why did treasury hedge at all?”
Treasury can’t win, because some people compare reality to a fantasy world where currencies never move and risks don’t exist.
The real issue: responsibility without full control
Treasury is accountable for liquidity and risk, but we depend on the rest of the company for timing, data, and decisions.
We’re expected to manage risk, often with incomplete information, and after decisions are already made.
Which is like being asked to steer the ship, but only being invited onto the bridge once you’ve already hit the iceberg.
Treasury doesn’t need praise, but it does need alignment
Treasure isn’t asking for a medal.
But if a company wants fewer surprises, it needs to treat treasury like a strategic function, not an emergency service.
That means:
- Involve treasury earlier
- Define ownership clearly
- Accept that risk management has a cost
- Stop acting surprised when unmanaged risk becomes visible
Because treasury isn’t the hero. Treasury is the reason the company can keep running quietly, even when markets don’t. And that should count for something.
Pecunia closing thought
At Pecunia, we work with treasury teams who are doing a great job… often with too little time, too little data, and too much blame.
If you want treasury to perform at its best, the solution isn’t “work harder.”
It’s: align earlier, organize smarter, and treat treasury like a strategic function instead of an emergency service.
And most importantly: Contact us or follow our Online Treasury Scan
