As Asia heads into 2026-2027, treasurers operate at the sharp end of corporate resilience amid unrelenting turbulence. Fresh US tariff moves announced on 21 February 2026 have reignited trade volatility, while supply-chain decoupling, China+1 shifts, and retaliatory measures continue to reshape cross-border flows.
Currency fluctuations remain acute across ASEAN and East Asian markets, compounding liquidity pressures amid policy divergence and regulatory fragmentation.
According to J.P. Morgan’s CFO View: Asia Pacific Outlook 2026, 41% of APAC CFOs and treasurers rank tariffs and trade policy as the single greatest impact on financial planning, 38% name cash-flow forecasting their top liquidity challenge, and 44% expect a tougher economic climate overall.
Key challenges include heightened counterparty risk from sudden supplier shifts, inconsistent Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) standards, and the “always-on trap” where real-time payment rails outpace legacy banking support. FX timing errors and trapped cash erode margins at precisely the moment boards demand strategic control.
Yet the opportunity is equally compelling. Agentic AI, layered dynamic hedging, and real-time visibility platforms are enabling treasuries to evolve from back-office cost centres into command centres that unlock working capital, protect margins, and turn volatility into competitive advantage.
In 2026, mastering real-time liquidity insights and continuous forecasting is no longer optional—it is the difference between merely surviving economic uncertainty and actively driving business resilience across Asia.
In the fast-evolving landscape of Asian finance in 2026, the treasury function stands at a pivotal crossroads, observes Kingshuk Ghoshal, group CEO and co-founder at Singapore-based TASConnect.
For CFOs and heads of treasury across Southeast and East Asia, achieving real-time cash insights and continuous forecasting is no longer a competitive edge—it is the lifeline for navigating persistent economic uncertainty driven by trade tensions, currency volatility, and fragmented supply chains.
Kingshuk Ghoshal
“The Treasury landscape is facing a dynamic environment shaped by monetary policy differences, very swift technological advancements, and obviously, unpredictably changing regulatory requirements.” Kingshuk Ghoshal
Southeast Asia’s treasury crossroads in 2026
A dynamic tension characterises the treasury landscape in Southeast and East Asia in 2026: the pull towards centralised, real-time, AI-enabled architectures on one hand, and the need to maintain robust governance amid fragmented regulatory, FX, and banking environments on the other.
Ghoshal notes that this duality creates significant pressure points: “Treasury in Southeast Asia is probably being pulled in two directions at once. One being a more centralised, real-time, and AI-enabled architectural context.
“The other is to retain its governance, its frameworks in a largely fragmented regulatory foreign exchange (FX) and banking landscape.”
Singapore and Hong Kong continue to lead with hyper-automated, AI-driven treasury hubs, while markets such as Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand rapidly scale payment networks—yet execution lags in fully integrating advanced technology.
This regional disparity aligns with J.P. Morgan’s CFO Outlook 2026, which found that 41% of APAC CFOs and treasurers expect tariffs and trade policy to have the greatest impact on financial planning.
Top struggles for CFOs and treasurers in fragmented Asia
CFOs and treasury teams grapple with fragmented globalisation, where supply chain decoupling, China+1 strategies, and tariff shifts create multi-jurisdictional compliance headaches.
Ghoshal stresses that a large part of the payment problems isn’t really market problems. “They are compliance-driven. They are documentation-driven. They are data problems, misaligned AML/CFT controls, inconsistent standards across borders,” he continues.
Beyond traditional challenges, heightened counterparty risks have emerged—exacerbated by interest rate volatility and sudden supply chain disruptions. The “always-on trap” compounds this: real-time payment rails demand 24/7 liquidity, yet legacy banking systems lag. Poor FX timing due to last-minute payments further erodes optionality.
These struggles resonate with J.P. Morgan data: 38% of APAC CFOs and treasurers cite cash flow forecasting as their biggest challenge, and 35% point to market volatility. EY’s 2025 DNA of the Treasurer report reinforces this, revealing that only 17% of treasurers have complete, near real-time visibility into operating cash, while 65% lack highly accurate 12-month forecasts.
Is Agentic AI a boon for treasury teams?
Agentic AI is unequivocally good for treasury teams, according to Ghoshal: “Of course, good. It is not just AI and the tools being able to perform the executions better, with more speed, agility and therefore preserve more value.”
He comments that, in that instant, the role of the treasury team is going to shift from an operational, execution-oriented focus to a more supervisory or advisory one.
“The real skill of the treasurer will probably finally emerge when you combine the power of AI with the advisory human instinct and skill,” he opines.
EY data shows 82% of treasurers frequently use data analytics and visualisation tools, with frequent AI/ML users achieving far higher forecast accuracy. This shift transforms fragmented data into continuous, real-time liquidity insights—critical for managing uncertainty in volatile ASEAN currencies.
Building resilience against 2026 volatility
Preparation demands behavioural and strategic shifts. TASConnect’s co-founder advocates: “I think two or three ways. One is what we call a layered hedging – move away from static monthly hedges. Second, make the hedging as natural as you can. Third, probably improve your stress testing scenarios better.”
Many treasuries now run Black Swan simulations weekly rather than quarterly. Deloitte’s Global Economic Outlook 2026 projects moderated growth across Asia amid trade uncertainties, with China at 4.5% and ongoing tariff impacts heightening the need for resilient liquidity buffers. J.P. Morgan notes 44% of APAC CFOs anticipate a tougher economic climate.
Cracking real-time treasury adoption barriers
Legacy ERP and TMS systems struggle to ingest API data feeds essential for real-time analytics. Ghoshal highlights: “There are a lot of legacies of ERP, TMS that are out there in production environments.” He posits that these old technology investments, often featuring data silos among other features, are setting back organisations.
Overcoming these requires a mindset shift towards partnering with technology centres of excellence. The liquidity ALM solutions market is projected to grow from US$2.47 billion in 2026 to US$3.47 billion by 2030, driven by demand for real-time analytics and AI forecasting.
Upskilling for real-time data mastery
The CFO role is evolving from numbers gatekeeper to data evangelist. Ghoshal positions TASConnect as an agent of transformation:
“At TASConnect, our biggest competitor is not another fintech – it is change management. Technology is helping the CFO and Treasury to change as a DNA because you cannot be technology illiterate forever.” Kingshuk Ghoshal
EY reports that 82% of treasurers leverage data visualisation, while 70% develop digital skills—empowering treasurers to deliver board-level strategic insights on liquidity under uncertainty.
Ghoshal advises: “First and foremost, I think the appreciation that the cost of technology and AI illiteracy can be debilitating from an opportunity cost. Second, develop and use the language of risk rather than the threat of technology. The third is always validate the opportunity cost metric with data.”
He cites the example of a very effective tool – the application of heat maps and gap dashboards for visual benchmarking. He sees the importance of quantifying losses from idle cash and presenting them visually to elevate discussions to the board level.
Most technology vendors in the market espouse the importance of being at the forefront of technology adoption. This may add to one trend – FOMO – the fear of missing out.
Ghoshal bucks this trend, suggesting CFOs and treasurers consider adopting the “N-1 version” principle: “I always go by the N-1 version principle that doesn’t go by the Nth (latest) version which is out there in the market.”
He cautions that rapid evolution—from SaaS to agentic AI—demands error tolerance and universal AI literacy: “AI is going to be your execution tool. To be clear, AI will always be an execution tool. It will never be able to replace the human brain.”
In 2026, mastering real-time cash insights and continuous forecasting equips Asian CFOs and treasurers to thrive amid uncertainty. Applying Ghoshal’s insights alongside verifiable industry shifts might benefit Asia’s treasury functions – not merely surviving but actively driving profitability and resilience.
Allan is Group Editor-in-Chief for CXOCIETY writing for FutureIoT, FutureCIO and FutureCFO. He supports content marketing engagements for CXOCIETY clients, as well as moderates senior-level discussions and speaks at events.
Previous Roles
He served as Group Editor-in-Chief for Questex Asia concurrent to the Regional Content and Strategy Director role.
He was the Director of Technology Practice at Hill+Knowlton in Hong Kong and Director of Client Services at EBA Communications.
He also served as Marketing Director for Asia at Hitachi Data Systems and served as Country Sales Manager for HDS’ Philippine. Other sales roles include Encore Computer and First International Computer.
He was a Senior Industry Analyst at Dataquest (Gartner Group) covering IT Professional Services for Asia-Pacific.
He moved to Hong Kong as a Network Specialist and later MIS Manager at Imagineering/Tech Pacific.
He holds a Bachelor of Science in Electronics and Communications Engineering degree and is a certified PICK programmer.
