From Risk-Averse to Risk Aware: Treasury's Strategic Pivot

This month’s Inside Treasury4 digs into the biggest shift happening in treasury right now.

As 2025 wraps up, one thing is clear: treasury is undergoing a fundamental shift in how it operates, partners, and delivers value. In our recent expert interview with Tracey Knight Principal at Real Treasury, we explored the growing mandate for treasury leaders to move beyond control and compliance, to actively enable innovation.

Tracey underscored a key theme that we’ve heard echoed across AFP, EuroFinance, and McKinsey’s recent finance outlooks:

Treasury teams must evolve from risk-averse to risk-aware if they want to remain relevant in a rapidly digitizing economy.

This shift isn’t just semantic. It signals a broader transformation in how treasury approaches technology, liquidity visibility, forecasting, and data strategy. As AI, digital assets, and real-time infrastructure become part of the treasury toolkit, treasurers must lead—not lag—on adoption and integration.

Plus — this month’s upcoming events, top treasury jobs, and more inside.

Tracey Knight, Principal at Real Treasury, brings a practitioner’s perspective, sharpened by decades of experience across corporate treasury, consulting, and solution design. Tracey recently sat down with our Chief Product Officer, Ed Barrie, to discuss how treasurers can evolve into leaders.

3 Takeaways from Tracey Knight and Ed Barrie's Conversation:

1. Liquidity is Fragmenting & Visibility Must Keep Up

Liquidity now lives in a far more diverse ecosystem than even five years ago. Treasurers are tasked with tracking cash not only across traditional bank accounts, but also in virtual accounts, embedded wallets, merchant processors, and even stablecoins.

“Where’s my cash?” is no longer a simple question—and treasury technology must be equipped to answer it in real time.

Tracey emphasized that visibility and control are no longer negotiable, even as liquidity moves beyond the boundaries of the banking system.

2. Automation Starts with Better Data

While automation and AI remain hot topics, Tracey pointed out a core truth: they’re only as good as the data behind them. Treasury teams that are still operating from spreadsheets or manually aggregating data are unlikely to see meaningful gains from AI—until foundational data challenges are addressed.

“We’re finally getting closer to solving cash forecasting,” she shared, noting that improved data integration across business functions is unlocking more accurate, real-time insights.

3. Strategic Treasury Requires a Shift in Mindset

Tracey called for treasury teams to evolve their soft skills alongside their systems. While technical fluency matters, traits like curiosity, adaptability, and risk awareness are becoming the real differentiators.

“We need to move from being risk-averse to risk-aware,” she explained. “Treasury shouldn’t be the department that says no. It should help the business move faster—safely.”

She also warned against waiting for a crisis or leadership change to drive innovation. Treasury has the opportunity—and responsibility—to lead proactively.

Listen to the full interview →