The 2016 joint annual poll conducted by financial cloud software provider Kyriba and the ACT found that 62% of respondents had been targets of either internal or external fraud over the past year – up from 43% in the previous survey.
But while fraud prevention would, on that basis, appear to be a priority area for improvement, respondents indicated they were far more focused on honing their skills in other areas, such as:
The survey revealed that resource-strapped treasurers face the concurrent issues of growing operational complexity, more onerous compliance requirements, and an expanding role. Not only are treasurers increasingly concerned with the ‘traditional’ treasury issues of liquidity and risk, but their skills are in demand to take the lead in working capital optimisation, and to play a more strategic role in the business.
2016 transpired to be a year of expecting the unexpected and, while we’re yet to survey to see if priority area improvements were made as planned, we can help you with your skills development if they were put to the wayside. By listening to your needs, it’s now even easier to fit learning in around your work commitments, due to changes made over the last year.
Getting professionally qualified gives you comprehensive grounding in the priority areas. By popular demand 2016 saw us introducing the Award in Cash Management Fundamentals. This allows learners to get accredited in the essentials of cash management and working capital in 40 -45 study hours. The qualification has been well received by professionals across the globe. The Award is a precursor to the internationally renowned Certificate in International Cash Management. A qualification many revere for its tuition school run by industry experts and the opportunity to network and learn from other industry professionals’ experiences.
For those after a more immediate solution, we saw a rise in attendance to The nuts and bolts of cash management, a one-day training course which provides a broad understanding of the basic principles and practices of cash and liquidity management and an understanding of its importance to the business and treasury function. Other popular solutions were training courses in working capital, advanced cash management and interest rate risk.
We also addressed the need for professionals to fit in a more urgent skills fix and eLearning can now be done online in a little as 40 – 90 minutes. Don’t let the length fool you though, the content is comprehensive!
But to make sure you kick off 2017 with an injection of the latest thinking and insight, don’t miss the Smart Cash conference on 8-9 February where our cash management and tech experts will help you navigate the new opportunities and challenges.
