INTRODUCTION

A corporate treasury department manages cash, liquidity and financial risk to support daily operations and long-term strategy. Typically reporting to the CFO, treasury links internal finance needs with external financial markets by monitoring cash positions, forecasting funding needs, maintaining working capital, mitigating foreign exchange, credit and interest rate risks, managing debt and equity financing, and overseeing banking relationships, accounts, fees and credit facilities.

As this report is being written (July/August 2026), treasury departments are navigating an environment of volatile stock markets, tariffs, ongoing Middle East unrest, rising energy prices and persistent inflation. At the same time, they must manage cash effectively, plan liquidity, keep pace with payment technologies, address evolving fraud risks, and expand the use of technology and analytics to improve efficiency, accuracy and compliance.

In many organizations, the Treasurer leads treasury, overseeing strategy and operations across cash management, risk assessment, capital markets and banking relationships. Often a member of the strategic leadership team, the Treasurer typically reports directly to the CFO.1 Other treasury roles may include Assistant Treasurer or Director of Treasury Services, followed by Senior Manager or Manager of Treasury Services and Senior Treasury Analyst or Treasury Analyst.2

Treasury teams oversee a range of functions, with cash management and debt management cited as the top two responsibilities in this year’s survey. Nearly half of organizations report that their organizations’ philosophy on treasury policies are enterprise-wide standards mandated and enforced across all departments. The policies viewed as most effective in supporting their organizations are bank account management and bank relationship management.

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more widely used across organizations, treasury teams will need to evolve and adopt AI to improve efficiency. Treasury practitioners recognize AI’s importance and complexity, with survey respondents identifying AI’s opportunities and risks – along with automating manual processes – as two of their top three most challenging tasks. Although AI was not addressed in the 2025 AFP® Treasury Benchmarking Report, its growing importance is evident in this year’s study, as AI has become a priority for most organizations.

AFP® conducted the 2026 AFP® Treasury Benchmarking Survey: People and Policies in May 2026 with distribution primarily to U.S.-based treasury practitioners. The survey explores treasury departments’ priorities and challenges, the importance and effectiveness of skills among treasury leaders and non-leadership professionals, and the policies that support treasury operations and the broader organization. Survey results reflect data for 2026. Comparisons to 2024 data refer to findings published in the 2025 AFP® Treasury Benchmarking Survey Report. The survey received 425 responses, with 64% of respondents completing the survey in full. AFP® thanks PNC Bank for sponsoring the survey.