This is a YouTube video titled "The Role of Technology in Treasury with Felix Meyer" containing a monologue or talk by Felix Meyer recorded in June 2023. Felix discusses the pressures on treasury organizations to reduce costs, increase efficiency, and comply with regulations, emphasizing the role of automation and technology integration in treasury functions. He also highlights the cautious approach many companies take toward investing in AI and robotics, focusing instead on basic automation and internal control issues amid day-to-day operational demands.
You look at, for example, this whole shareholder holder value concept, there is pressure on the treasury organization, like it or not. Even I'm sure these guys are holders of the cash. But there's even pressure on these guys, you know, to reduce costs, to increase efficiency, to be compliant with sox or whichever area of compliance there that's applicable. There's pressure that says, oh guys, we need to deliver with less people. That's kind of a general theme. I know very few companies that are saying, oh, we need to deliver with, let's hire a lot more people so we can deliver the same amount. You never hear that. And so because there's a pressure from above that the automation and the technology piece is for me really just an integrated piece in so much of what we do, but also particular in Treasury. So this is then, if you look then at a big part of what I'm doing now is taking a look at the different systems we have at local level, at regional level, country level, at group level in figuring out how can we put these pieces together, what pieces can we get rid of, which pieces can we integrate into existing solutions? Cost saving also a big part of this and just to drive a more efficient Treasury. And I remember distinctly in a room full of treasures that last year was, for example, that there was only one person that raised their hand that said their company is actually doing investment in AI and robotics. And the rest are kind of more cautious, more waiting. They're waiting for a certain level of maturity, they're waiting for others to take the first lead, which I have nothing against, which is quite okay. And it's also feeding a little bit to this risk aversion. So I don't feel that treasures are missing the show by not investing in this emerging technology. I would say they're missing the show if they're not investing. I mean in what I would call just basis technology, automation pieces, things that make, you know, things that are the norm, the standard. And if they're not on that level, then I'd say they're behind the wave. If they're already on the next, on the next generation, I'd say they're a little, they're definitely ahead of the wave. I don't know how much value added it's going to bring those. Because a lot of those projects are also, it's, it's, they're, they're laced with a bit of risk. We're stuck in a lot of day to day tasks. I mean I, as well, I look in the priorities of what ABB is working on. I mean, we're carving out a quarter of the business. You can only imagine that is a big exercise. And Treasury Ulta plays a big role in that. And so a large part of the resources are focused on that. They're not focused on these really fun, sexy things, they're focused really on these day to day activities. And another parallel topic that we're very much focused on, where it's a reality focused on internal control stuff, resolving it related internal control issues. We're almost working day and night and we don't even have time to like enjoy the light at the end of the tunnel that some of this technology might offer us. So I'm not sure if I answered your question on that one, but I think that's very much a reality that we see also within the treasures that we don't have time to explore to make that big leap we're trying to get through day to day and we hope then at the eighth hour, the ninth hour of the day, that we have just a little bit of time to think about what's, you know, what could help us out more tomorrow.
