More than a third of chief financial officers (CFOs) and corporate treasurers (36.1 percent) in the country see themselves as key to implementing their company's digital agenda, according to a survey commissioned by DBS Bank. However, 34.4 percent of the respondents believe that the digital agenda is the domain of their technology colleagues

Seven out of ten companies in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region risk being left behind by a lack of digital strategy and execution plan, revealed the Digital Treasury Index survey.

It further showed that Indian companies lag behind their global counterparts in adoption of emerging technologies in treasury function.

CFOs and corporate treasurers in India said that the top three risks to digital adoption were:

1. Execution of challenges and delivery of outcomes (87.1 percent)

2. Speed of change and complexity of the enabling technologies (76.2 percent)

3. The availability of talent to help execute digital transformation efforts (49.5 percent)

The top roadblocks for adopting new technologies in India were managing unknown or hidden consequences of these solutions (82.2 percent), followed by high costs (59.4 percent) and limited skill set of employees (53.5 percent).

Divyesh Dalal, head of global transaction services at DBS Bank India, said: CFOs and treasurers are increasingly evaluating strategies and solutions for digital transformation to enhance efficiencies and support business growth. While there are perceived roadblocks to scalable adoption, the quality of advice and expertise of relevant partners is key to enabling corporates accelerate their digital transformation agenda.

"Given the evolving digital payments landscape in the country and usage of APIs becoming more prevalent, the timing is right for CFOs and treasurers to drive digital transformation meaningfully within their verticals and across their organizations at large,” he added.

The survey conducted in May 2019 by East & Partners Asia interviewed 1,304 chief financial officers (CFOs) and corporate treasurers in 13 markets. DBS is a leading financial services group in Asia with a presence in 18 markets.

First Published:Oct 14, 2019 3:51 PM IST