In summer 2015, we carried out a research consultation with members and students to inform our strategic planning process and gain an understanding of members’ career aspirations, needs and relationship with the ACT.
Thank you to all who participated in the research – we have already taken steps to action many of the points raised.
This report provides a summary of the main findings from the membership survey. We received 1,314 member responses (19% of the membership population) and a further 350+ responses from the wider treasury community. In addition, we received 38 responses from accredited employers (36% of the population).
The key themes resulting from the research were:
The desire to be integral to the business was the most frequently mentioned factor for members working in treasury with 52% stating that being able to add real value to the business and working at the head of the business was a key inspiration for starting their treasury career. 43% of members talked of a career in treasury being more forward-focused than other financial roles and that treasury offers a more stimulating career path.
Those working in corporate treasury appear the more settled, with only 15% showing a desire to move into a different sector such as banking or consultancy. This is in comparison with those not working in corporate treasury where 30% indicated they would look to move into another sector. Over half would consider working abroad in the future, particularly in English speaking countries.
In realising career aspirations, the biggest career barriers were perceived to be lack of new job opportunities and lack of opportunities to broaden skills. In terms of skills development, the skills most needing development were leadership skills (66%), followed by influencing (46%) and management (46%) skills. We are working to address these needs through our qualifications, events, training, publications and the ACT Career Hub which was launched in late 2015 and provides a wealth of resources to support careers and develop broader business and behavioural skills.
Key challenges members face in their work centre around increasing regulatory and administrative pressures (50%) and not being involved early enough in business decisions (38%). This lack of early involvement in business issues mirrored the findings in our 2015 Contemporary Treasurer research.
Over two-thirds of members feel valued by their organisation and peers, with just under two thirds feeling understood to some degree by these two groups, though there is scope to develop this understanding further.
All members feel more valued in their careers than five years ago, with the most cited reason being the increase in awareness and treasury capability or skills since the global financial crisis.
The most popular reasons for joining the ACT were to support career progression (74%) and to gain a professional qualification recognised by employers (72%). The ability to gain new skills, and the opportunity to be part of an internationally recognised professional body were also strong motivating factors.
Almost 60% of respondents consider the provision of education and training opportunities as the current key role of the ACT. This was followed by the need for the ACT to raise the profession’s profile (50%) and the need for the ACT to represent the interests of its members and the treasury profession (42%).
Membership is considered to offer good value for money, with 21% of respondents saying it represents very good value – significantly ahead of the norm for membership associations1 of 17%.
Just over 50% of members have their membership paid for by their employer, a pattern that is reflected across other ACT services, such as events and conferences. This figure is a little higher for qualifications, with 69% of employers paying for a qualification.
Advocacy of the ACT amongst members is high as measured by the Net Promoter Score (NPS) of +12, with 35% of members classed as Promoters. Both parameters are ahead of the norm for membership associations (NPS: -4 and Promoters: 30%).
Most members thought the ACT was very effective or fairly effective at: conveying information about ACT qualifications; providing events and networking opportunities; communicating the importance of treasury; providing technical updates and advice; showing how training and learning can support career development; and raising awareness and the profile of the ACT.
When asked what improvements the ACT could make to establish more effective communications, the greatest number of members suggested that more electronic communications would be their preference, and that these communications should be more personalized. That is certainly something we are working on.
You told us that you would like our vision and strategy geared towards members’ geographical mobility and desire for professional recognition. You want us to demonstrate opinions, leadership and influence on important topics such as legislation and regulation.
In short, you want us to be international, forward thinking, leading and influencing. We are already working towards these goals and together we will accomplish incredible things.
1 As calculated by our research partner, Research by Design, using a base of 16,925 and significance testing to 95% confidence level
2 As calculated by our research partner, Research by Design, using a base of 12,561 and significance testing to 95% confidence level
