Skills race begins as India treasuries put AI first
Indian treasury teams are entering a new phase of digitisation, ranking automation as their number-one investment priority and moving artificial intelligence from pilot projects into live processes, according to EY India’s Corporate Treasury Survey 2025.
Based on responses from 85 treasury leaders, the report argues that treasuries are shifting beyond traditional cash and risk stewardship toward AI-enabled operations, talent renewal and shared services models.
The survey identifies a clear inflection point in adoption: 82% of organisations are either planning for or actively implementing AI.
Early gains are concentrated in cash forecasting, where 26% are piloting AI-led models, and in use cases such as foreign exchange risk, trade finance and anomaly detection.
The common aim is to compress cycle times, reduce errors and redeploy staff from data gathering to higher-value decisions.
EY India’s treasury advisory leadership said the backdrop of volatility, regulatory change and rapid digitisation is forcing teams to “do more with less” while delivering predictive, real-time insights.
The report frames “digitally intelligent” treasuries as those that pair automation with redesigned operating models, allowing functions to anticipate risk, shape capital allocation and support resilience.
Skills and structure are becoming decisive. Nearly half of respondents report a 50:50 balance between functional and technology roles, while 35% favour a 70:30 tilt toward traditional expertise.
At the same time, 52% rank technical skills such as software and data analysis as “very important,” underlining the premium on hybrid talent.
Modular models are spreading: 35% partially or fully outsource treasury technology maintenance, 25% outsource back-office accounting and 11% outsource front-office dealing to free internal teams for strategy and control.
Yet core weaknesses could slow momentum. More than 70% of teams still rely on disparate spreadsheets and fragmented historical data, and nearly two-thirds cite weak reporting and dashboarding.
The survey warns that without structured upskilling embedded in career frameworks, digital programmes may underperform despite investment.
Looking to 2030, the report envisions treasuries that are digitally native and real-time, staffed by cross-functional specialists fluent in finance, technology and transformation.
The institutions that invest in platforms, disciplined governance and people capability should be able to anticipate risks faster, accelerate decisions and capture strategic opportunities ahead of peers.
The findings position Indian corporates at a pivotal juncture: AI has moved from promise to production, but execution will depend on hardening data foundations, scaling skills and clarifying ownership of change.
The race, the survey suggests, is now less about tools than about talent and operating discipline.