Process Before Prompts: A Treasury Leader’s AI Approach
# People and Talent
# AI
SLB’s digital treasury lead Dan Morrison says treasury teams can’t afford to treat digitalization as optional.
As treasury teams face a flood of new AI and automation tools, one treasury leader suggests a simple way to dip your toes in the water: “Start with curiosity,” says Dan Morrison, Global Treasury Digital and Performance Manager at SLB, in a new NeuGroup Insights video you can watch by clicking the play button below.
Mr. Morrison, who helps lead digital transformation efforts at SLB (formerly Schlumberger) says treasury teams should take a practical, simple approach to AI, starting with where it can add value.
In the video clip, taken from a conversation with NeuGroup's Justin Jones in an upcoming episode of the Strategic Finance Lab podcast, Mr. Morrison also underscores the urgency around AI as treasury roles evolve beyond manual tasks and toward more analysis, oversight and decision-making. “If we are still doing some of the manual things we’re doing today and we feel we’ll be relevant for the future, we’re kidding ourselves,” he says.
Mr. Morrison’s advice is to avoid getting overwhelmed by the pace of change or the growing number of tools. Instead, he says treasury teams should start by looking at their current work, asking where they can add value and then identifying where technology can make that work simpler, faster or more useful.
That means starting with the process before AI prompts. In the clip, Mr. Morrison says teams should think first about whether work can be standardized or simplified, and whether steps can be eliminated before deciding what to automate. From there, AI can become a useful tool rather than just another layer of complexity.
He also points to a broader shift in treasury’s value. As more routine work becomes automated, teams will need to spend less time on manual tasks and more time on analysis, interpretation and decision support. That includes understanding exposures, monitoring market moves and helping the business respond more quickly.
Stay tuned for the full conversation with Mr. Morrison in a future episode of NeuGroup’s Strategic Finance Lab podcast.
