To promote growth within the treasury profession, the ACT Educational Trust charity offers a bursary scheme to provide financial assistance for students from developing countries who are unable to fund or gain sponsorship for their ACT studies. We recently caught up with Wisdom Akakpo, Money Market Dealer, Barclays Bank Ghana Ltd. We're delighted to say, Wisdom achieved a distinction for the Certificate in Treasury Fundamentals (CertTF) and is currently studying the Certificate in Treasury (CertT).
It all began during the summer of my year of graduation. I was selected for the SEO Career Program and was placed at Barclays. I had a 3-month rotational internship in Credit, Corporate Banking, and Treasury. I received an offer for my national service at Barclays Treasury after that internship and got a full time offer after an enjoyable national service experience. Now I am a Money Markets Dealer at Barclays Bank Ghana Ltd where I manage the bank’s liquidity position in various currencies. More specifically, I manage the bank’s liquidity requirement in line with Central Bank regulations. I took CertTF because I personally believe in building my capacity and technical expertise. It is a globally acknowledged qualification which will make me competitive in my chosen career field – treasury. Apart from arming myself with a strong knowledge in Corporate Governance, these qualifications will further equip me with skills in liquidity forecasting, cash management, corporate finance, among others. CertTF improved my understanding of cash management and liquidity forecasting, which I find very useful in my work. The self-explanatory nature of the course material aroused my interest so much so that I finished the course in just three months after enrolling.
To be successful at work, one needs to pay attention to detail and be focused. The ability to think on one’s feet is also key. CertTF has greatly improved my confidence through the knowledge acquired about the treasury environment, corporate finance, and ethics, among others. I am able to pro-actively share best practices with colleagues at work. Having CertTF on my CV is both a confidence and career booster. It demonstrates my commitment to constantly improving my tactical skills and also gives me confidence that I am international marketable as a treasury professional. I must say it was a rewarding experience studying through ACT Learning. I could interact with other people and seek clarifications on any readings. The questions and discussions raised by fellow learners were encouraging, and the tutors were always ready with answers and clarifications. I had a lot of inspiration from my learning manager who told me she was with me every step of my CertTF journey and was just an email away should I need to talk about the program! It was very flexible and helpful for a full time worker. I was able to study whenever I was free on any day and at any time. The LMS resources were extremely helpful. The end of section quizzes were very crucial in testing my understanding of the readings and actually helped to keep me in check. The ability to download available materials also meant I did not always need internet connectivity to study, which was very helpful as well. The various links provided in each segment served as practical cases to the readings as well. I really liked the idea of being able to take the assessment from any chosen location. Plus the ProctorU team was very helpful when I initially experienced technical problems. It was a wonderful experience. The ACT qualification is a comprehensive and internationally respected qualification, whose members serve in top finance roles and help to drive the development of the capital markets. Apart from its global reach, the ACT charter will broaden my knowledge in financial markets, sharpen my practical finance skills, improve my marketability globally, and prepare me as an agent of change through sharing both my acquired knowledge and best practice with my colleagues. Via the ACT mentoring service I have access to a network of ACT charter holders for mentorship. One of my career objectives is to become a world-class global markets professional who is well-equipped in terms of skills and intellectual resources. I am humbled at the ACT's level of dedication to see me succeed."
We wish Wisdom lots of success with his future studies and career progression.
The ACT Educational Trust is currently offering bursaries to cover the course and assessment fees for the Certificate in Treasury Fundamentals (CertTF). For more information click here.
