Corporate treasurer

Corporate treasurers help to shape a company's financial strategy and are responsible for managing its financial risks and investments

As a corporate treasurer, you'll play a vital role in the financial health and success of a business. You could be responsible for:

• determining financial strategy and policy
• advising on what businesses to invest in
• arranging appropriate funding
• managing financial risks in an organisation.

This is a varied and responsible role that ensures a company has the capital to meet its obligations, involving raising funds from banks, debt and equity markets and, in some companies, actively trading in the foreign exchange, commodity and money markets.

Other activities may involve dealing with property, taxation, insurance and pensions.

Responsibilities

Key areas of treasury functions include:

• capital markets and funding
• cash and liquidity management
• corporate financial management
• risk management
• treasury operations and control.

Within these functions, corporate treasurers are likely to:

• manage daily cash balances and trade in the financial markets
• ensure that a company's cash flow allows it to operate effectively
• make decisions about the use of company finances
• forecast payments and anticipate challenges from limited cash flow
• undertake risk management activities to protect financial well-being
• monitor market conditions for any external factors that could adversely affect the financial health of the business
• analyse the impact of financial markets on performance of products or services
• devise financial strategies to manage potential risks to the business
• identify new opportunities that could benefit the business financially
• progress financial projects, such as the acquisition of another business
• evaluate the financial impact of new business ventures
• negotiate loan or overdraft terms with company bankers
• create solutions to new financial challenges by applying financial or treasury knowledge
• provide advice on financial matters impacting on the company as a whole
• liaise with other departments on a range of financial issues
• supervise and take responsibility for more junior members of staff
• liaise with bankers and investors to maintain positive working relationships
• keep up to date with financial and industry developments
• attend board and senior management meetings
• make presentations to the company board on financial issues.

Salary

• Salaries for graduates entering the treasury profession are around £35,000. This can increase after 12 to 18 months in the role, subject to performance.
• Treasury analysts can earn between £35,000 and £65,000.
• As you progress your career, salaries can rise to between £50,000 and £110,000. Salaries at the very highest levels, for example in group treasurer roles, can range from around £120,000 to more than £200,000.

Salaries can vary widely depending on a range of factors including the type of company you work for, your location, the type of role you have within a treasury department and the complexity of the treasury operation. The current economic climate also affects salary levels.

Other factors that affect salary include your skills, experience and professional qualifications, as well as your performance levels.

Bonuses and benefits packages are also usually provided.

For corporate treasurers with professional qualifications and sufficient experience, there are opportunities for self-employment in consultancy or in interim management during times of change or crisis in a company. Daily rates typically range from £250 to more than £1,500 depending on the type and seniority of the role, and the sector you’re working in.

Salary figures from Brewer Morris UK treasury market report and salary guide. Income figures are intended as a guide only.

Working hours

Work is usually Monday to Friday with standard office hours. However, you may need to work extra hours during busy periods for meeting project deadlines and attending meetings.

Part-time roles are extremely rare.

What to expect

• The job is office based with travel to company sites and for meetings with external organisations.
• You'll usually be based in the head office of a company, so opportunities can arise anywhere in the UK, although there is a strong concentration in London and the South East. Only companies of a certain size need corporate treasury, so opportunities tend to be within larger organisations.
• The ACT is seeking to increase inclusion and diversity within both corporate treasury and the UK banking sector and has set out guiding principles for diversity and inclusion.
• The job can be challenging at times and carries considerable responsibility as you must guide a business through a wide range of risks, as well as opportunities.
• Business dress is usually required, particularly for meetings with City contacts, such as company bankers. Otherwise, dress will depend upon the culture of the company.
• There are some opportunities for overseas work or overseas travel, particularly if the company has international interests or is multinational.

Qualifications

This area of work is open to graduates from most academic backgrounds, but business or finance-related degrees are most relevant. The following degree subjects might be useful:

• accountancy
• business studies
• economics
• finance
• mathematics.

Entry with an HND or foundation degree alone is highly unlikely.

A Masters in a financial or management-related subject would give you an insight into areas such as treasury and may give you an edge over other candidates. Search postgraduate courses in finance.

Entry tends to be competitive due to the limited number of direct-entry graduate training roles.

Corporate treasurers, and other financial professionals who require knowledge of treasury management (for example, accountants or public sector financiers), take examinations administered by The Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT).

The key ACT qualifications are the:

• Certificate in Treasury Fundamentals (CertTF) - entry-level qualification that introduces treasury and accounting, and tax and regulation
• Certificate in Treasury (CertT) - for those who already have a background in business or finance
• Diploma in Treasury Management (AMCT) - for experienced treasurers in a senior operational or managerial role.

Working towards professional qualifications as soon as possible may be helpful to your career development.

Other ACT qualifications include the Award in International Cash Management and the Certificate in International Cash Management, which are relevant to those working in domestic and international cash management and liquidity.

ACT also offers a Financial Services Professional Level 6 (degree-level) apprenticeship. The apprenticeship combines paid work with study for the Diploma in Treasury Management, meaning that you can train on the job.

Skills

You'll need to have:

• strong interpersonal and communication skills for liaising with senior management, operational staff, and company bankers and investors
• numeracy skills as well as IT literacy
• the ability to analyse financial data and to put it into easy to understand language for non-technical colleagues
• teamworking skills to be able to collaborate with colleagues across the business
• excellent attention to detail and accuracy, for dealing with company funds and managing substantial contracts and capital projects
• the confidence to make big decisions that will have a direct impact on the financial performance of a business
• the ability to think and plan ahead to ensure you maximise opportunities for growth and reduce financial risk to the business
• analytical skills to identify and assess potential risks to the financial health of the business
• negotiation skills and the ability to persuade and influence others to adopt a certain course of action
• a curious mind
• an ethical approach to work and integrity
• problem-solving skills and the ability to see the bigger picture
• an interest in the financial markets and how they operate
• the motivation to keep your knowledge and skills up to date in a constantly changing financial market.

Work experience

Having relevant work experience will enhance your job applications, as it's important to be familiar with the nature and demands of the job.

Try to get work experience in different types of business as they all work in different ways and have different treasury structures. There are a small number of treasury-related summer internships available with large and multinational companies, or you might be able to get treasury experience in a more general finance or banking internship.

It's important that you understand the wider business, so any experience in a financial role can be useful. Make sure you get involved in as many areas of the business as possible during your experience and try to build up a network of contacts.

Experience that helps develop your communication and interpersonal skills is also useful as these are key skills for treasurers.

Voluntary work as a treasurer for a local charity or for a university student society is also useful experience and will give you a good insight into the role of a treasurer.

Becoming a member of the ACT is helpful and will get you networking early on to build up contacts. You should also attend industry events and conferences.

It's also a good idea to read the specialist press, such as The Treasurer (ACT magazine), to keep up to date with the latest financial developments, new regulations and best practice.

Specialist financial recruitment agencies can be a source of permanent and temporary opportunities.

Find out more about the different kinds of work experience and internships that are available.

Employers

Corporate treasurers typically work in the head offices of large companies in the private sector, many of which are based in London or the South East.

In the public sector, treasury specialists work in central and local government, health and education, and the larger charities.

Experienced treasury professionals may also join management consultancies and advise clients on improving their cash management, capital raising and risk management procedures.

The size of treasury departments varies significantly depending on the size and type of the company. For example, large and multinational companies will usually have a whole team of treasury staff based in different regions and even different countries. They will form part of larger finance division.

At the other end of the scale in small businesses and start-ups, you may conduct treasury activities as part of your wider finance responsibilities.

Look for job vacancies at:

• ACT jobs pages
• eFinancialCareers
• Financial Times

Specialist recruitment agencies such as Brewer Morris also advertise vacancies for permanent and interim jobs.

Professional development

Many aspiring treasurers join as graduate recruits in the finance divisions of medium to large companies and multinationals, where the training programme may include placements across several specialised functions such as:

• audit
• financial and management accounting
• financial reporting
• taxation
• treasury.

You will usually undertake training for ACT professional qualifications such as the Diploma in Treasury Management. Employers may provide funding and time off to study for these exams if you don't already have them.

Other areas of training that can help with professional development include:

• risk management
• leadership
• relationship management.

Keeping up to date with financial developments, trends and markets is an essential part of the job. The breadth of many corporate treasury roles and the demands of increasing legislation can make this challenging, but getting membership with the ACT can help. They provide a range of resources, such as The Treasurer magazine, short courses on specialist topics, events and networking opportunities to help you stay up to date.

Career prospects

There are not as many corporate treasurer jobs as there are in other areas of finance, and if a department is small, opportunities for progression may be limited. However, many companies do have treasury departments, so moving to another company can open up more opportunities for increasing your knowledge and experience. Being flexible about your geographical location can also help.

You'll need to take responsibility for your own career development. Treasurers liaise with many departments inside and outside of their own companies, so there is potential to branch out into other financial areas.

From more junior roles as a treasury assistant or analyst, treasury professionals may move into more specialised roles, perhaps as treasury manager in:

• corporate finance
• liquidity management
• risk management.

With sufficient experience and qualifications, you may be able to progress to the position of group treasurer and even more senior roles such as director of finance or chief financial officer (CFO).

Alternatively, some experienced and qualified treasurers move to other senior financial positions because of their knowledge of accounting, tax and administration.

Companies not large enough to support a treasury function might consider applicants who have a treasury background and qualifications from the ACT for senior financial posts.