ATLANTA and CHERRY HILL, N.J., Oct.
28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- While companies hinted at waning
optimism in 2019, COVID-19's impact on almost every aspect of
business operations led to a significantly more negative
organizational outlook, according to the 2020 Treasury Perspectives
survey, released today by Strategic Treasurer and TD Bank,
America's Most Convenient Bank®. The survey, in its
third year, was fielded from April 20 to
July 10 at the onset of COVID-19 restrictions and polled
bank and corporate respondents across a range of categories,
including technology use, economic outlook, credit access and
regulation.
The majority of survey respondents anticipate 2020 will end on a
significant economic downturn, with 81% expecting gross domestic
product (GDP) contraction. This economic concern is solidified by
the mere 14% of respondents who have a more positive outlook for
their organization in 2020. However, there are some bright spots on
the horizon as 46% forecast some level of GDP restoration and 44%
expect their sales to increase by the end of 2021.
The rapid move to a remote work environment has also created a
positive catalyst for the adoption of new and established
technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), machine
learning (ML), robotic process automation (RPA) and application
programming interface (API) as corporations adjust to a new normal.
The majority of respondents (80%) are excited about these
technological changes, with use of APIs expected to reach 69%
adoption within the next two years and AI or Predictive Analytics
incorporation nearly doubling to 47% by 2022.
Other key findings from the 2020 Treasury Perspectives Survey
include:
- COMPANIES SCALE UP THEIR FRAUD DEFENSES: Cyber fraud
remains a top global economic concern and was identified as such by
62% of respondents, only to be surpassed by the global health
pandemic's impact on customer supply chain (82%).To combat
potential fraud exposure, which has significantly increased in this
remote work environment, firms have bolstered their fraud defenses
by adopting multi-factor authentication (MFA), encryption and
monitoring software/anomalous behavior detection/tracking. Concerns
about accounts payable fraud grew in 2020, with 82% of
organizations identifying it as the most susceptible group as
compared to 67% in 2019, while treasury and payroll fraud concerns
subsided from 53% in 2019 to 46% in 2020.
- CORPORATES LIMIT EXCESS EXPENDITURES: Despite this
challenging economic environment, 48% of corporates report they are
in a stable stage and 35% are in a growth stage. However,
corporates plan to hold on tightly to excess funds due to
ever-changing COVID-19-related restrictions and the virus'
unpredictable trajectory. Thirty-two percent plan to hold onto
excess cash for future financial investments, 29% for capital
expenditures and 28% for debt repayment. Very few plan to use these
funds for acquisitions (16%) and 17% do not anticipate having any
excess cash.
- COMPANIES PREPARE FOR FUTURE UNCERTAINTY: In light of
the COVID-19 pandemic, corporates have enhanced their emergency
preparedness planning. Half of corporate respondents noted they
updated their plans within the last year. The key focus areas of
these plans include remote work (87%), business continuity (86%)
and online meeting availability (83%). While emergency preparedness
continues to be crucial in this ever-evolving economic environment,
there is still room for improvement. On a 5-point scale, only 15%
of corporate respondents gave their organization the top "extremely
prepared" rating for pandemic preparedness.
The 2020 Treasury Perspectives Survey was sponsored by TD Bank
and conducted by Strategic Treasurer. A copy of the in-depth survey
analysis is available here. There were approximately 340
respondents to this year's survey who were primarily treasury and
cash managers with North American based operations.
About TD Bank, America's Most Convenient
Bank®
TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, is one of the 10
largest banks in the U.S., providing more than 9.5 million
customers with a full range of retail, small business and
commercial banking products and services at more than 1,220
convenient locations throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Metro
D.C., the Carolinas and Florida.
In addition, TD Bank and its subsidiaries offer customized private
banking and wealth management services through TD
Wealth®, and vehicle financing and dealer commercial
services through TD Auto Finance. TD Bank is headquartered in
Cherry Hill, N.J. To learn more,
visit www.td.com/us. Find TD Bank on Facebook
at www.facebook.com/TDBank and on Twitter at
www.twitter.com/TDBank_US and www.twitter.com/TDNews_US.
TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, is a member of TD Bank
Group and a subsidiary of The Toronto-Dominion Bank of Toronto, Canada, a top 10 financial services
company in North America. The
Toronto-Dominion Bank trades on the New
York and Toronto stock
exchanges under the ticker symbol "TD". To learn more, visit
www.td.com/us.
About Strategic Treasurer
Strategic Treasurer provides research and consulting services
for treasury, security, technology and compliance. Corporate
clients, banks and fintech providers throughout the world rely on
their advisory services and industry-leading research. Strategic
Treasurer is headquartered in Atlanta, with consultants also based out of
Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit and Washington D.C. To learn more, visit
strategictreasurer.com.
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SOURCE TD Bank