“The Treasury Career Corner Catch-Up” – Not A Newsletter

Who likes newsletters anyway? If you’re anything like 18.7% of people (as disclosed by Dr. JJ Peterson at StoryBrand), you probably don’t even open emails with “NEWSLETTER” in the title. We get it, and we’re with you.

That’s why we’ve decided to go rogue and create something that’s not just another newsletter. Say hello to “The Treasury Career Corner Catch-Up”, your weekly dose of NON-NEWSLETTER.

What makes it a NON-NEWSLETTER? Simple. It’s not about us, it’s about you. No company updates, no press releases, no vacation pictures. Just a weekly nugget of knowledge that you can use.

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This could be a pro tip for the week, an enlightening resource, or the best takeaways from our recent podcast. And the best part? It won’t cost you a penny! Yes, you read that right. Full price = $0, £0, €0. Zero. Nada.

Once a month, we’re giving you an EXTRA – a useful resource at absolutely ZERO cost. Our first freebie is “A Guide to Hybrid Working,” packed with advice on managing your time at home and leading hybrid teams.

Future resources will include a refreshed set of LinkedIn Tips & Tricks, and updated resume and CV templates. Plus, get the highlights from our quarterly salary survey, revealing compensation trends across the US, the UK, and Europe.

You might be wondering – what’s the catch? Simple. We want to be your first call when you’re ready for your next career move or when you need to hire the best talent in Treasury. Plus, we’d love to see the impressive LinkedIn profile and resume you’ve crafted using our tips!

So, how about it? Sign up for our free NON-NEWSLETTER – “The Treasury Career Corner Catch-Up” and join the revolution against boring emails. You won’t regret it. 😉

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The Future of Treasury Operations: How ChatGPT could Transform the Treasury Industry

The treasury industry, responsible for managing an organisation’s financial assets, is undergoing a transformation with the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation technologies. One technology that has everyone talking is ChatGPT, an advanced AI language model developed by OpenAI. With its capabilities in natural language processing (NLP) and analysis, the platform has the potential to revolutionise treasury operations in several ways.

Automation of Tasks Within Treasury Functions with ChatGPT

One of the most significant impacts of ChatGPT on the treasury industry is automation. Many routine and repetitive tasks, such as data entry, reconciliation, and report generation, which are time-consuming and prone to errors, can be automated using ChatGPT. This could lead to increased operational efficiency and cost savings for treasury departments. With the AI platforms ability to process vast amounts of data quickly and accurately, treasury professionals could rely on the technology to streamline operational processes and free up time for more strategic and analytical tasks.

Enhancement of Decision Making for Treasury Professionals with ChatGPT

AI in treasury and finance is already enhancing decision making. ChatGPT’s model can analyse complex data sets, such as financial market data, cash flow forecasts, and risk assessments, and provide insights and recommendations to treasury departments. This can aid in making informed decisions related to cash management, risk management, and investment strategies. With ChatGPT’s ability to process and interpret data in real-time, Treasurers and their teams can access timely information and make data-driven decisions, which can lead to improved treasury strategies and better financial outcomes for organisations.

Improved Communication via ChatGPT within Treasury Teams

Communication and collaboration within treasury departments and with other stakeholders could also be improved with ChatGPT. The model can facilitate real-time communication and collaboration by providing information and insights to treasury teams through interactive chat interfaces. This can enable faster decision-making, streamline workflows, and enhance co-ordination between team members. ChatGPT could also assist in standardising communication and documentation across different treasury functions, ensuring consistency and accuracy in treasury operations.

ChatGPT Has the Ability to Process Large Volumes of Data for Risk Management

Another area where ChatGPT could have a significant impact is in risk management. Treasury departments are responsible for managing various risks, such as currency fluctuations, interest rate changes, and market disruptions. The technology can assist in identifying and analysing potential risks by processing large volumes of data and providing recommendations on risk mitigation strategies. This can help treasury professionals in proactively managing risks and protecting an organisation’s financial assets. ChatGPT’s ability to analyse data and provide insights can also help in identifying patterns and trends that may not be easily discernible to human analysts, thereby improving risk assessment and management capabilities.

What Does the Emergence of ChatGPT Mean for Treasury Jobs?

As with any technological advancement, the next stage of technology in treasury and the impact of ChatGPT on the treasury industry may also bring changes in job roles. While automation may reduce the need for some routine operational tasks, it could also create opportunities for the likes of Treasury Analyst’s and Treasury Manager’s to move into more strategic and analytical roles. Skills such as data analysis, risk management, and decision-making will become even more critical in the future of treasury operations, as professionals will need to work closely with AI technologies to leverage their capabilities effectively. A Global Treasurer, Head of Treasury or Treasury Director can leverage the emergence of ChatGPT and other technologies to make quicker, data-backed decisions that will free up time for other tasks.

However, it’s important to note that while ChatGPT and other AI technologies can bring significant benefits to the treasury industry, they are not without challenges. Concerns related to data privacy, security, and ethics need to be addressed to ensure responsible and ethical use of AI in treasury operations. Adequate training and education on the use of AI technologies like ChatGPT will also be crucial to enable treasury professionals to effectively integrate them into their operations and decision-making processes.

Conclusion

ChatGPT, and AI in general, is changing the way treasury professionals work, automating routine tasks, enhancing decision-making, improving communication and collaboration, and enhancing risk management. It is important that treasury professionals embrace the emergence of new technologies and that treasury leaders are making smart treasury technology decisions on what technologies to adopt.

New technologies emerge regularly, and AI is becoming more advanced every year, but that shouldn’t be cause for concern within the treasury industry. Treasury functions look very different today than they did 5, 10 or 20 years ago, with technology at the forefront of the evolution of treasury operations. As we’ve said for many years now, technology isn’t going to eliminate treasury jobs. If embraced and utilised in the right way, advancements in technology can only be seen as a benefit to support treasury professionals in their roles.

International Women’s Month: Celebrating Women in Treasury

This March, we’re putting the spotlight on all the fantastic Women in Treasury to celebrate international Women’s Day (8th March) and International Women’s Month.

We’re huge supporters of Women in Treasury here at The Treasury Recruitment Company. It’s a topic we feel passionately about and something we have been pushing for a number of years.

This month, we have featured every single female podcast guest to appear on The Treasury Career Corner podcast over the years with our Women in Treasury podcast episodes. These amazing ladies talk about their jobs in Treasury, their career journeys, their insights into the world of corporate Treasury and provide plenty of advice to our wonderful listeners.

Listen to topics such as how these unbelievable women broke into the Treasury industry, the challenges they face in their Treasury jobs, and how they worked their way up the corporate Treasury ladder from positions such as Treasury Analyst, Treasury Executive and Treasury Manager to Director and Board Level positions despite the lack of female representation within leadership positions within Treasury globally.

Treasury remains a predominantly male-dominated industry, but our female podcast guests have had, and continue to have, remarkable careers. Many of the women that have been on the Treasury Career Corner podcast hold roles such as Group Treasurer, Head of Treasury, Director of Treasury, and other senior leadership roles. It’s a breath of fresh air to see so many fantastic women doing amazingly well within senior Treasury roles, but we know there is still so much more to be done to bridge the gap between male and female leaders within the Treasury industry.

There is growing promise that the gap is closing as we see more and more females climbing the corporate Treasury ladder each year. It is also brilliant to see the rising number of women joining the Treasury industry year on year and we hope to see these trends continue.

As we continue to support Women in Treasury, we feel it is vitally important that all women have a platform where they feel comfortable to celebrate their achievements, discuss their struggles, and shout about their career success, which is exactly what our female guests have done on The Treasury Career Corner. We’re dedicated now more than ever to growing the number of female Treasury professionals that appear on The Treasury Career Corner.

Our podcast has featured over 240 guests and has over 100,000 downloads to date (and counting!). If you’re a female Treasury professional looking for exposure and a place to share your Treasury journey, we’d love to hear from you and have you as a guest on The Treasury Career Corner. Please feel free to get in touch today to discuss how we can make this happen.

Our treasury podcast covers the careers of Treasury professionals that hold positions in the UK, Europe, the US and across the world. To hear from some truly inspirational podcast guests discussing their Treasury careers, subscribe today at The Treasury Career Corner to listen to all our guests.

Trends in Treasury According to International Top Recruiter Mike Richards – Interview with Cobase

Mike Richards has been around the world of Treasury Recruitment for over twenty years now. He has seen how the role of treasurers has significantly changed. And he sees that the pool of potential treasurers seems quite small. How should companies and candidates act in these difficult but interesting conditions?

It is not about you; it is about them

The one thing companies need to realise now is that in this extremely tight market, the wants and needs of the candidates have to be met. According to Richards, it is all about candidate attraction now. “Professionals from mid to senior levels need to be aware that it’s about candidate attraction. I say it’s not about you anymore; it’s about them.”

This is quite different from the situation fifteen or twenty years ago. Back then, the candidates came running if you just put an advert out there. But these times have definitely changed. The job of treasurer is not very well known, even among finance specialists. And the way people look at their work also has changed a lot, so the needs of the treasurer might be quite different compared to before.

It’s not just all about the big names anymore

The way companies need to recruit their treasurers has to be adjusted to their wants and needs. It is not just the normal job description with all the obvious information that attracts candidates. It takes a lot more to pull people over the line. Companies have to talk about their vision and about their values because they are not only interested anymore in big names like Porsche. They need to be able to identify themselves with the company’s impact on the world. So it is also important to mention sustainability goals in the job descriptions.

Although these things are essential, according to Richards, he also thinks that the needs and expectations have changed because of the big changes the world experienced with the rise of the internet and digital technologies. “It is all about information and access to information. This changes the way people look at their potential employers, and they want and need to know as much as possible to make a well-informed decision. There is a flip side to this information growth as well; companies can get to know a lot more about their candidates than they sometimes need to.”

Treasurers have to be aware of their (and their companies) external image as well

Most treasures Richards knows can be characterised as outgoing people. It just goes with the job, but it also means they must be careful about what information they share.

One story especially comes to Richard’s mind here: I got to meet a junior guy who was trying to go for internships. He’s putting his name forward, and we met up. He told me he had locked down his social media accounts. And I said, ‘Look, you must be really careful. Why not just take them down?’ But he was sure he took care of it and got rid of the stuff he’d done at college that he was worried about. He had been a real party guy. At one point, he went off and got me a beer. When he came back, I asked him how Tijuana was and showed him a photo of him and his mates on holiday. He was shocked and asked me, ‘How did you access that?’ And I said, ‘I just used this very little known thing called Google.’ “

It is really important to be aware of all the information out there because it is also accessible to all your clients and external stakeholders. So during the recruitment process, it is essential to be aware of this and talk to candidates about the fact that they must also be mindful of the company’s image in their Treasury roles.

If you’re not asking how your people are doing, someone else is

One of the things that count in recruitment and that people are not always aware of, according to Richards, is the fact that they need to keep their current Treasury team happy as well. “This might sound a bit strange coming from a recruiter. Because why wouldn’t I like a high turnover? It could mean that I just got to recruit more and more people. But it is just not like that. When companies aren’t able to keep their treasurers, something is wrong. And even the very best recruiter with the very best candidates won’t be able to help them out.”

There is a saying, ‘If you’re not asking how your people are doing, someone else will’. Meaning: you need to check in regularly on how your Treasury talents are doing to avoid being snatched away by another company. And you can start recruiting all over again. The only way to prevent this ánd be even more attractive for new talents is to keep your Treasury team as happy as possible, according to Richards. “In the end, it is quite simple; people just want to join happy teams. This also applies to treasurers.”

More in-depth insights into Treasury career development?

Would you like to know everything about the career developments for treasurers? We have interviewed more experts in the field next to talented Treasury professionals. You can read all about their opinions and insights into the current market and the future of Treasury in the report ‘Hidden Gems, The Subtle Art of Finding Your Next Treasurer.”

Treasury Talent Insights

Hidden Gems – The Subtle Art of Finding Your Next Treasurer

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Rise of hybrid working

Hybrid working patterns have become more widespread since the pandemic began, and treasury teams are no exception. As such, employers need to take note of junior employees’ expectations.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies and workers around the world have continued to embrace hybrid and remote working patterns. In the UK, for example, a 2022 survey by the UK’s Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) found that 60% of employers had seen an increase in hybrid working since the pandemic, with over half reporting an increase in staff working from home full time.

In the world of treasury, likewise, hybrid working patterns have become increasingly widespread. The quarterly Global Treasury Salary Survey carried out by The Treasury Recruitment Company has found that a minority of respondents are currently working in the office full time, with many now spending two or three days a week in the office. The percentage that would like to work in the office full time is even smaller, ranging from 1% of UK respondents to 5% of respondents in Europe.

“This is the new hybrid world of treasury,” comments Mike Richards, CEO & Founder of The Treasury Recruitment Company. “In this new world, post-COVID, you can work from home 100% of the time.” In practice, he says, the two-to-three days a week model is a “happy medium”, although this will depend on how the model is structured. “For example, if you’ve got junior staff coming in for training, you’re going to have to come in and provide input on those days – you can’t do a lot of that training virtually.”

Royston Da Costa, Assistant Treasurer at Ferguson, says Ferguson in the UK requires associates to go into the office on average two days per week – “and I find I’m a lot more efficient, because I’m not spending two hours in traffic. I’m also more motivated if I have the flexibility of being able to manage my time.” While the lack of social interaction is often presented as a downside of remote working, he argues the social interactions that do take place while working remotely tend to be of a higher quality. “And of course, employees can facilitate social interaction by meeting up with colleagues over coffee.”

Empowering the next generation

On another note, Richards says the Salary Survey has also revealed that junior staff tend to be the least happy in their roles – “and as you become more senior, you also become much happier.” He adds while salary is an obvious factor, the results of the survey suggest there is a different reason for this trend.

“It’s actually about empowerment,” Richards says. “If you’re a junior treasury analyst, you’re being coached or mentored or told what to do most of the time. The more senior people become, the more self-directed their roles are. At the same time, junior candidates tend to have a different ethos around work.”

Where hybrid working is concerned, Richards says some treasurers are finding their junior employees are unwilling to come back into the office. “People spend more time at work than they do with their families,” he notes. “They’ve decided they want their work to be part of their life as a whole, rather than something completely separate.”

As such, while not all senior treasury executives are in favour of the hybrid model, Richards warns employers need to pay heed to candidates’ expectations. “If you insist on five days a week in the office in today’s environment, you’ll find that candidates just won’t apply,” he adds. “So, for some senior treasury professionals, a change in mindset is needed to realise people don’t have to be in the office.”

As Da Costa points out, it’s easy to miss the big picture. “It’s not just about working from home versus working in the office,” he concludes. “It’s about what employees from the new generation are looking for in terms of employment and the workplace.”

Treasury Recruitment: 2022 recap and a look ahead to 2023

As 2022 comes to a close, I wanted to look back at what has been a difficult year in many ways, but a successful one, nonetheless.

When I think back to the beginning of year, we were turning a corner in terms of Covid, with us offering the team the ability to work remotely or in the office – whatever they’d prefer. A lot of the time, the team have elected to come into the office for the social aspect, which I must admit I prefer myself. A trend we’ve seen across Treasury and with our clients is remote working being offered far more than years prior to Covid as the demand for remote Treasury jobs has skyrocketed. The businesses that have recognised this and evolved have had huge success in securing the best possible Treasury talent available, as well as retaining their staff. This is a trend I expect to continue in 2023.

Throughout 2022, I’ve had some absolutely amazing guests on The Treasury Career Corner Podcast. The podcast has grown from around 40,000 downloads at the beginning of 2022, to around 100,000 downloads as I write this. The podcast has been running for 4 years now and it took 3 years to get to 40,000 downloads, so to get 60,000 in a single year in 2022 is incredible! A special thank you to all our listeners and guests to whom it wouldn’t be possible without.

In terms of the Treasury markets geographically, the UK sprung to life when we kicked off 2022 before slowing down slightly. There was a bit of uncertainty around the war in Ukraine and the rise in inflation to name a couple of things. That said, we’ve still been busy and made some key hires across the UK, notably for Anglian Water who we’ve supported successfully on numerous hires throughout 2022.

Across Europe, we’ve had a number of assignments that have kept us busy, particularly across The Netherlands, Belgium and more recently, Luxembourg and we’re currently recruiting for a number of roles for Porsche – Wolfgang and the team have been incredible to work with.

The US market has taken off and we’ve seen real growth over the pond! We’ve recruited in Texas, the East Coast and the West Coast as well as hiring for a number of remote roles that have kept us really busy.

To support the growth we’ve seen across these markets, we’ve grown the team with Holly Jefferys and Sophie Holland joining us. Both have been great additions to the team as I’m sure any of our candidates or clients that have spoken with them can vouch for!

We’ve continued with our Salary Survey which we’ve been doing for several years now. We’ve seen some great growth here too with around 500 – 600 participants at the end of Q2 rising to just shy of 1000 participants in December which is incredible. Again, thank you to everyone that has taken part. For those that haven’t and want to receive a full breakdown of Treasury salaries across all levels and locations, please visit our Treasury Salary Survey – it only takes a few minutes to fill out and you’ll thank us for the value you receive in return!

The beginning of the year was a little different for Treasury conferences, with many of them done virtually as we saw a lot in 2020 and 2021. We did Chicago and New York events virtually in the first half of the year but then we were able to attend conferences in person from June onwards, which was great! We attended Euro Finance Leaders at Pennyhill Park in the UK, EuroFinance in Vienna, AFP in Philadelphia, IACT in Dublin to name a few, and then hosted our own event, The Treasury Career Corner Live in London. It was great to get out and about to speak to you lovely people and we’re looking forward to doing so again in 2023.

The team here at The Treasury Recruitment Company have again been fantastic this year, so a massive thank you to Carly, Craig, Katie, Holly, Sophie and Joe for all your hard work and dedication. I’m really excited to see what 2023 has in store for you all!

Looking forward to 2023

We’ve got big plans for next year, and despite the recession on the horizon, 2023 promises to be another great year.

We have plans to develop and grow the Treasury Career Corner podcast further and have plans already for some amazing guests in the new year, so keep an eye out for that!

We’ll continue to develop the Salary Survey and already have our events for The Treasury Career Corner Live planned for April and November. If you’d like to attend, or even be one of the panellists, I’d love to see you so get in touch to book your spot.

Q1 of 2023 will be a quieter one for me in terms of conferences but then we’ve already planned for US trips to New York in September and hopefully AFP in San Diego too. We’ll also be in Barcelona for EuroFinance which I’m very much looking forward to and hope to see many of you there across these events.

Final Words

Our aim is to add value to Treasury professionals globally and I hope through the podcast, the salary survey, the conferences we attend and speak at, and our own live events we host for you, that we’ve been able to do that. It’s been an absolute pleasure to have you with us on this whirlwind of a journey – we couldn’t do it without our amazing candidates and clients, so thank you! Looking forward to seeing and speaking to many of you next year and continuing onwards and upwards in 2023!

International Treasury Conference, EuroFinance, Vienna 2022

Mike & Katie recently attended the EuroFinance Conference in Vienna, the video that accompanies this video shows what a great conference it was!

If you want some of the key takeaways from the conference, then READ ON…

Eurofinance, Vienna was great conference as the team got to meet both clients and candidates face to face for the first time in 3 years!

We kept being asked ‘we desperately need people can you help us?’

I explained ‘that’s exactly why we’re here!

We were giving people advice about how they need to change their recruitment processes. They need to be flexible.

We spoke to the Austrian Treasury Association at the beginning of the conference. It was a great session, but we were saying, working remotely / working from home and flexible working are here to stay!

You’ve got to embrace it. If you don’t, you won’t find the right people.

They’re also looking at using LinkedIn.

‘Then asking, why can’t we find those people? I said it’s because you’re looking at people that are looking for a job.

As a company we speak to treasury professionals who aren’t actively seeking a new role instead they are open to their next career-enhancing move through us!

We met a massive range of candidates and clients talked to them about their lives and what is next in them for their careers and who they wanted to recruit next for their team.

The other major topic at Eurofinance was salaries.

People have been asking where should they move to?

How are treasury salaries stacking up well?

The fact is they’re stacking up well.

In the UK there is upwards pressure. The cost of living is increasing as it is across Europe.

However, in Europe, salaries are rising rapidly.

Say you have a temperature chart in the UK.

It’s very warm, a little bit red.

You go into Europe, it’s red hot.

In the US where we are recruiting a series of positions, we are getting lots of roles coming through!

We also have our newest recruiter starting with us in the USA next week, more news to follow!

I have been seeing 20 to 40% pay increases and wide differences according to locations in basic salaries throughout the USA for the same job.

9 months ago, I might have been recruiting;

  • a USA based Treasury Analyst role for $95,000 and
  • say $120,000 Senior Treasury Analyst

You can add $10,000 to $15,000 for each role now.

So, in 2022;

  • a USA based Treasury Analyst role for $105,000 to $110,000 and
  • say $130,000 to $135,000 Senior Treasury Analyst

It was interesting to talk to lots of delegates about how their salaries are stacking up, several of them have sent us their CVs / resumes since the conference.

The final conference take away was that there is a real lack of understanding from many of the clients and candidates when they’ve asked us, where do you operate?

The answer is as I previously mentioned, EVERYWHERE!

We have the lovely Craig and Sophie heading up the UK desk and they are covering all levels right the way through from Treasury Analyst to Group Treasurer.

Then in Europe, the amazing Katie also covering roles at all levels too.

Moving on to the USA, there’s myself, Holly, and our newest recruit – announcement next week!

I also got asked “how long have you been doing this?”

We do have rival recruiters; however, they don’t really invest in treasury.

For them Treasury is one of the things they do.

For us it’s the only thing we do!

That’s our SUPERPOWER!

Treasury recruitment is our business and we’ve done it for 20 as of the beginning of October 2022.

I also spoke about how I love talking to treasurers on my weekly podcast treasurycareercorner.com

It’s been going for 4 years, I thought I would do it for 10 episodes.

We’re now over 240 episodes and 90,000+ downloads, I keep talking to some incredible treasury professionals out there.

Let me know if you want to be my next guest on the podcast.

Next year’s conference is going to be in Barcelona. We’ll do a great stand like this again; it was an amazing conference, and we can’t wait to see you again soon.

Corporate treasury technology trends in 2022

The pandemic and subsequent shift to remote working has seen a significant change in the way treasurers are using technology.

Covid has really accelerated the transformation to digital, meaning many of the time-consuming jobs that used to be performed manually, such as cash forecasting, are now automated.

Quite simply, technology such as AI and Machine Learning have become a necessity rather than a luxury – and the industry is waking up and realising it.

In a recent survey by Treasury Dragons, 45% of those interviewed said they will spend more on treasury technology in 2023 than they did this year.

As well as saving time and money, this new technology is also enabling treasurers to mitigate risk, reduce errors, analyse large volumes of data at speed and helping to detect fraud.

Below, I look at some of the key technology trends that we are already seeing, and will continue to see, in 2022.

Using RPA to automate processes

RPA, or Robotic Process Automation, is a software robot that mimics the behaviour of humans.

Like AI, it is commonly used in treasury to automate labour intensive, manual operations.

As well as increasing efficiency and productivity, RPA also helps improves cash visibility.

This means that treasury teams can easily access data without the need needing to spend hours looking through different spreadsheets and portals.

RPA also helps improves accuracy, performs repetitive tasks and transfers data from one system to another.

In addition, it can also assist with invoice data, reconciliation processes and credit collection, as well as gathering information on bank statements, FX exposure and cash flow forecasts.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

I couldn’t write this without mentioning the importance of Artificial Intelligence to the future of treasury.

AI refers to machines that are programmed to learn from existing behaviour and solve problems.

It is already being used by many organisations to automate processes and speed up things like cash flow planning, cash forecasting and hedging.

This is hugely valuable as accurate cash forecasts help CFOs make key decisions on borrowing, investing, acquisitions and risk management.

As well as making it easier to manage risk, it can also reveal discrepancies in payment activities which makes it easier to flag up unusual data and help prevent fraud.

Cloud-based TMS and SaaS solutions

The demand for cloud-based Treasury Management Systems (TMS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) treasury solutions is really starting to rise.

A cloud based TMS is a solution that is fully stored and accessible in the cloud from any location with an internet connection. What’s more, there’s also no limit to the amount of data you can store.

It also eliminates the manual tasks around cash forecasting,

Treasury Management Systems (TMS) are becoming increasingly popular for centralised and accurate cash flow management as well as other tasks.

APIs

Some of the benefits of using APIs, or Application Programming Interfaces, include less errors, faster processes, time savings, increased productivity and enhanced security and decision making.

These interfaces allow third-party providers to access financial information and develop new apps and services.

This can help the treasury department monitor all their transactions without having to actually contact their bank or pay for banking fees.

Additional advantages of using APIs include the ability to retrieve real-time data from financial accounts and reconcile transactions.

Using APIs to access bank and internal systems can improve the consistency of cash-flow forecasting information, especially when combined with RPAs.

According to a recent Euromoney survey, 57% of corporate treasurers anticipate they will use APIs to help with cash forecasting and cash management going forward.

Machine Learning (ML)

Machine Learning is another emerging technology that simplifies and reduces the time needed for forecasts.

It helps treasury teams analyse large volumes of data from various sources to automate forecast generation and improve accuracy.

Machine learning also helps an organisation optimise cash management by identifying how much working capital it needs.

Predictive Analytics

Predictive Analytics is another area I predict will continue to see rapid growth in 2022 and beyond.

Treasurers can use predictive analytics to perform a variety of tasks include cash forecasting, payments, receipts and fraud.

By using historical data to capture trends, it then creates a model which can use current data to predict what will happen next, which is key to staying ahead of the game.

So, there you have it, my list of the top corporate treasury technology trends for 2022!

When considering all the above, the role of IT in treasury management cannot be underestimated either.

It’s vital to have an IT team who are not only on board, but also have the capacity and know-how to implement and integrate the technology.

Thanks for reading – and I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Amazing Women Who Have Featured on my Weekly Podcast

In support of IWD, International Women’s Day, I wanted to share a list of the amazing women that have featured on my weekly Treasury Recruitment podcast The Treasury Career Corner www.TreasuryCareerCorner.com

Thank you ladies for such amazing support since I launched the podcast 18 months ago!

Sarah-Jane Hall, Group Treasurer, GSK – Inside the Mind of a Global Treasurer

Listen now

Kate Moorcroft, Group Treasurer, Barratt Developments – Climbing the Treasury Career Ladder

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Lynda Heywood, Group Treasurer, Tesco PLC – The Recruitment Ethos Behind Corporate Treasury

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Karen Van den Driessche, Assistant Treasurer, AVNET – Why Every Treasurer Needs A Mentor

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Dana Laidhold, Treasurer, Peloton Interactive – Why Networking In Treasury is Your Ticket to Success

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Jane Pilcher, Group Treasurer, Anglian Water Group – The Importance of Treasury Qualifications

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Irene Atkins, Head of Treasury, ASOS.com – Exploring the Evolution of Treasury

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Susana Aristizabal, Assistant Treasurer, Bombardier Transportation – The Challenges of Recruiting a Good Treasury Team

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Winny Li, Group Treasurer, PPD – Investigating 21st Century Treasury

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Johan Claudot, Winkie Choi & Benoit Scholtissen – Treasury Career Corner Live in Luxembourg

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Heather Nisbet, Group Treasurer, Global Fashion Group – How to Build a Career as a Group Treasurer

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Cathy McGarry, Director of Finance & Treasury Operations, Northwestern Medicine – Treasury in the Healthcare Industry

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Julia Fordham, Group Head of Treasury, Small World Financial Services – Arts Graduate to Treasury Professional

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Séverine Le Blévennec, Senior Director EMEA Treasury & Treasury Technology Global Lead, Honeywell – The Importance of Technology in Treasury

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Tanya Kuznetsova, Director of Treasury, Centric Brands Inc – Transitioning and Taking Opportunities in Treasury

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Gloria Griesinger, Assistant Treasurer, Global Treasury and Pensions, Cummins Inc – Overcoming Adversity in your Career

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Lee-Ann Perkins, Assistant Treasurer, ION Geophysical – Structuring and Nurturing your Career

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Karen Molloy, Vice President and Treasurer, Northwestern Mutual – 30 Years of Treasury Lessons

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Marriann Bullard, Former Assistant Treasurer & Senior Director of Treasury – Structuring High-Performing Treasury Teams

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Petra Rosenauer, Head of Corporate Treasury EMEA, Flextronics International (Flex) – How to Progress your Treasury Career

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Julie Fabris, Treasurer, Britax Childcare Group Limited – Treasury in the Private Equity Space

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Catherine Porter, EMEA Treasury Director, CBRE – The Challenges of Returning to Work After a Career Break

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Kim Masucci, Treasury Director, Otis Elevator Co. – How to Progress in Treasury with Kim Masucci

Listen now

Shawn McCarthy, Treasury Consultant (former Head of Treasury, Deliveroo) – Flexibility and Problem Solving as a Treasury Consultant

Listen now

Eva Akesson, Former Group Treasurer, Transcom Worldwide AB – Data Security within Treasury

Listen now

Tamara Saront-Eisner, VP Treasurer US & Americas Hub, Air Liquide – Why Treasury Needs to be an Effective Partner to the Business

Listen now

Hailey Laverty, Group Treasurer, InterContinental Hotels Group plc – How to Develop Skills and Experience for a Treasury Career

Listen now

I would also like to mention the podcast wouldn’t be as amazing as it is without the support of the team at The Treasury Recruitment Company & the team at Content 10x.

Thanks go to my wonderful PA, Carly – https://www.linkedin.com/in/treasurycoordinator/

The Head of our European desk, Katie Hardie – https://www.linkedin.com/in/khtreasury/

And Eira Cannon https://www.linkedin.com/in/eiracannon/ soon to return from her maternity leave!

And at Content 10x, if ever you need a great podcast company then call them NOW!

Amy Woods & Rachel Wilson too!

Thanks ladies…

https://www.linkedin.com/in/amywoods2/ & https://linkedin.com/in/rachelclarewilson/

The Treasury Recruitment Company Handbook – What Is Treasury?

Recently we hired some guys who are new to the world of treasury and they wanted to understand as quickly as possible the world of corporate treasury and treasury recruitment.

The first thing I did was to give them a copy of the Treasury Recruitment Company Handbook, this explains what treasury recruitment is about and helps them better understand;

  • what Corporate Treasury is
  • why a treasury department exists
  • how a treasury department operates
  • the typical structure of a treasury department
  • typical job titles and responsibilities within corporate

The handbook also explains how we operate as a treasury recruitment company to support our clients and candidates we will cover this in greater detail in our next article.

She suggested that we share it with both our clients and candidates as they may find it useful when coaching someone who may be new to the treasury team or perhaps as training material for your finance team if they want to know what you guys actually do!

So extract 1 from the Treasury Recruitment Company Handbook describes;

What Is Treasury & What is A Typical Treasury Department?”

Why does Treasury exist?

A Treasury department manages the financial risks that arise from the ongoing and future activities of a company whether they arise from the provision of services or sale of goods. In addition they assist in the finance strategy of a company through the management of cash and liquidity needs for the group.

This is a very basic description designed to give you a simple outline of a treasury department’s responsibility I created it to try and coach my junior colleagues and describe some of the roles and responsibilities that each position holds within a treasury department.

Now before I have an influx of LinkedIn Comments saying that I have missed something this is NOT AN EXTENSIVE description. The information is intended to give those who are fresh to the world of Corporate Treasury a basic idea of what a treasury department does.

At the end of article I have listed 35 Treasury Titles to demonstrate that there are a variety of other titles that also occur within treasury but they all come under the umbrella of Corporate Treasury.

Roles Within Treasury

Treasury Assistant – The Treasury Assistant role is predominantly an operational position. The role is heavily driven by the day to day operations of the Treasury department and month end procedures.

Responsibilities may include bank reconciliation’s, cash pool analysis, the review of payments and receipts and generally assisting the Treasury back office in the day to day operation to ensure efficiently.

Treasury Dealer/ Cash Manager – The Treasury Dealer will focus on front office and the day to day dealing activity for a department. Monies received by a company in whatever currency for the products they sell / services they provide need to be effectively managed and this is when treasury dealing takes place.

This means that the Treasury Dealer will seek out the best rate to convert any money received in a different currency into the company bank account. Also the Treasury Dealer will need to evaluate and constantly assess the potential of exposures that may arise from future cash payments i.e. they need to be aware and responsive to the financial markets and have an understanding on an ongoing basis of fluctuations and the volatility within the global financial markets.

Treasury Analyst – The Treasury Analyst will take responsibility for monitoring and analyzing the company’s cash position, portfolio investments and financial exchange activity. They will, on an ongoing basis review, monitor and control both short term and long term company investments and take active responsibility for recommending changes where and as required.

Treasury Accountant – This role is exactly what the title says! Accounting for Treasury transactions and they fulfill a middle-office function, they may become involved in hedging risk in so far as when the deals are executed in the front office they may be passed to the back office for settlement / agreement but they pass through the ‘middle office’ to be accounted for the effect they may have on the company balance sheet. Any inherent risks produced by dealing activity need to be assessed and effectively hedged whenever necessary.

Treasury Manager – In terms of seniority this is a mid-level management position within the Treasury department, it will often have staff responsibility where the Treasury Manager will mentor / manage junior members of staff e.g. Treasury Dealer and Treasury Analyst.

This will usually be an operational role where you will manage the Treasury department itself on a day-to-day basis i.e. planning cash management activity, assessing dealing needs and running the department. However the Treasury Manager will sometimes but not always be involved in setting the core strategy for the Treasury department rather the Group Treasurer will set the strategy in consultation with the Treasury Manager.

Treasury Consultant – These will generally be individuals who possess a background within the corporate / banking treasury environment. In terms of experience they are likely to possess a minimum of 4 years treasury experience with no real maximum because the more experience bought to the role the more you can help clients!

Why a minimum of 4 years? If you have any less Treasury experience it is likely you will struggle to give meaningful advice / solutions to a Treasury department e.g. if a client is looking at a new treasury management system they will want to know the consultant has used a least one or treasury management systems themselves before telling them what system they should use.

Basically you don’t want people who pretend they know. Consultants should have been there, worn the T- shirt and understand Treasury.

Assistant Treasurer – Often there are two Assistant Treasurers in the group. Typically one may focus on front office activity and supervision of the operations team and the other Assistant Treasurer will oversee treasury control and the middle / back office functions.

Deputy Treasurer – There is often only one Deputy Treasurer. They will be the clearly defined second in charge of the treasury department they will be the absolute Deputy for the Group Treasurer. As deputy they have the same “sign-off” capability that the Treasurer possesses and would be expected to act in their stead whenever needed, whereas an Assistant Treasurer would be expected to refer many major decisions to / through their Group Treasurer.

International / Regional Treasurer – This position often has a number of similarities to that of Deputy Treasurer however they will usually report into a Global / Group Treasurer and will not be number two in the overall group treasury function. It will be considered a senior treasury role but they will have specific responsibility for an area linked to geography, global financial markets, group risk etc.

Group Treasurer – This person is the overall head of the Treasury function.

They usually report directly to the Finance Director / CFO and they will set the strategic direction of treasury and lead the treasury team. Ultimately they will take complete responsibility for the effective management of all treasury and cash management operations for the company.

Examples of Job Titles within Treasury

Please be aware I have not separated titles into European and American titles and the titles below are not ordered according to seniority.

Treasury Management

  • Group Treasurer
  • SVP / VP Treasury
  • Corporate Treasurer
  • Treasurer
  • Head of Treasury and Risk (and Tax and Insurance)
  • Assistant Treasurer
  • Director of Treasury
  • Treasury Manager / Manager of Treasury
  • Director of Corporate Finance & Treasury

Front-office

  • Chief Dealer
  • Head of Trading
  • VP Treasury
  • Deputy Treasurer, Head of Treasury Operations
  • Cash Manager
  • Treasury Dealer

Middle-office

  • Head of Risk
  • Risk Manager/Director
  • Head of Treasury Control
  • Head of Treasury Risk Management
  • Treasury Control Manager/Director
  • Treasury IT or IS Director
  • Treasury Systems Manager / Systems Analyst
  • Treasury Accountant
  • Treasury Analyst

Cash Management

  • (Global) Cash Manager
  • Head of (Global) Cash
  • Director of (Global) Cash

Back-office

  • Treasury Operations Manager/Director
  • Settlement Manager
  • Payments Analyst
  • Payment Manager
  • Accounts Manager

Other

  • Director of International Treasury
  • MD / President of Corporate Treasury Center
  • Treasury Assistant

I hope this article is helpful please contact us if you require further advice I am always happy to offer any advice you may need.

Look out for the next excerpt from the MR Recruitment Handbook explaining our treasury recruitment methodology.

If you want any more advice then we are only a phone call away please feel free to call Mike Richards or any of the Treasury Recruitment Company team to discuss any of your Treasury Recruitment needs.