In my blog last week, I offered one key piece of advice to my colleagues and friends in treasury and finance: stay on top of the trends. Perhaps that left the rather tantalising question of, ‘how?’ and perhaps that’s why you’ve returned to read my second instalment.
Well, I aim to please, so I will explore this in a bit more detail for you.
It might be helpful to think of trends in a slightly different way. In my mind, ‘evolve’ is an apposite alternative word. As long as you are evolving, moving with the times and adapting to the shifts in your profession, you are more than likely on-trend. Indeed, our profession is one that has evolved dramatically over the last 25 years, so it will have been hard to avoid evolving if you’re not new to treasury.
The treasurer’s role, responsibilities and expectations placed upon them have grown and much has been made of the fact that these have enhanced greatly since 2008. This is something the ACT’s own research, published in our annual Contemporary Treasurer survey, supports.
Since the ACT was formed in 1979, every year the treasurer’s role has become more complex, more demanding and vital to the continuing health of an organisation. Sadly, this has not always been recognised by the Board, or even the CFO, who even today often doesn’t have any treasury skills or even a proper understanding of treasury. Both the ACT and individual treasurers have to take some responsibility for this. We need to sell ourselves more; we need to raise our profile even further, and we need to do this as our profession evolves.
The ACT has recently taken significant steps in enhancing our profile during these changing times. Gaining a Royal Charter for the treasury profession means that treasurers now have greater credibility and respect. We’ve also introduced compulsory continuing professional development (CPD) for members; our award winning global events help showcase treasurers’ achievements and we introduced the world’s first competency framework for treasurers. The ACT’s “Ones to Watch” publication and prestigious Deals of the Year awards showcase treasury talent, and our Careers Hub gives treasurers a wealth of support and tools around their careers. We’ve forged links with major multinational employers and invested heavily in our new qualification and training programmes which include on-line learning options and remotely invigilated treasury exams.
I am very proud of how the ACT has evolved and, think it’s fair to say, even blazed a trail in some areas, but there is so much more to do. Individual treasurers have to help continually raise the profile of their profession within their organisations. ‘Don’t waste a good crisis’, get out there and tell your employers why skilled and qualified treasury professionals are vital to their success. Work with the ACT and your treasury associations and we will support you with the tools to do this and evolve with the profession.
