The Association of
Corporate Treasurers
An introduction to:
The Hungarian Treasury Club
James Lockyer, Director of Education
and International Development
November 2011
What is corporate treasury?
• It is the interface between the company and financial
markets
• It deals with three critical questions in finance:
– How do we decide what to invest in?
– How do we raise the money to make those investments?
– How do we control risk in the organisation?
Which can be summed up as
– What is our financial strategy and policy?
• The finance director is responsible for advising the board
– The treasurer is responsible for advising the FD
– But often briefs the board directly
• And it has major operational responsibilities too.
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Role and profile of treasurers
Role
• Principal tasks broadly defined
under five core treasury
elements:
− Capital markets and funding
− Cash and liquidity
management
− Corporate financial
management
− Risk management
− Treasury operations and
controls
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Profile
“One day I'm a banker, the next
I'm an accountant
and then I'm a trader. Still I’m a
corporate treasurer.”
• The financial crisis has raised
profile of treasurers
• UK Government report flagged
training, transparency and
challenge as constituting good
treasury practice.
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ACT in 2011
• Members and students in 70 countries
– 4,200+ members – 20% outside the UK
– 2,400+ students – 40% outside the UK
• c70% of members and students already have a finance
qualification (eg ACA, CIMA, ACCA)
• Highly respected within the UK
– 87% of FTSE 100 have >8 ACT members
– 53% of FTSE 350 have >1 ACT member
• Now supporting
– Career treasurers, and
– Career finance professionals – CFOs, financial
controllers, internal auditors etc.
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ACT – international presence
• Tuition and/or events in Germany, Hong
Kong, India, Ireland, Netherlands,
Russia, Singapore, South Africa, UAE
and UK
• Active member of International and
European treasury groupings (IGTA and
EACT)
• Providing education support to 8
national treasury associations around
the world
• Middle East network launched in 2008
www.actmiddleeast.org
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ACT – promoting international
professional treasury standards
• Committed to developing ACT’s networks and support for
members and students overseas, in particular
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Europe
Hong Kong
India
Middle East
North America
Singapore
South Africa
• In raising the profile of ACT overseas we can increase
recognition of professional treasury qualifications and in
turn the profession.
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Who do we work with?
• Treasury Associations:
• EACT, IGTA & Members (CAT (Czech), SAF (Slovakia), AITI (Italy),
IACCT (Hong Kong), ACTSA (South Africa), IACT (Ireland), ACTS
(Singapore)
• Accountancy Bodies:
• ICAEW, ACCA, CIMA, CIPFA, HKICPA, ICPAS, SAICA, IFAC
• Regulators / Government:
• FRC, FSA, Bank of England, Treasury, European Commission,
IASB (and EFRAG), UK Financial Reporting Council (FRC)
• Other professional bodies:
• ICSA, IIA, IRM
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Why treasury qualified?
You wouldn’t trust your key legal decisions to someone
who isn’t a qualified lawyer, so – whatever the size of
your organisation – why entrust your treasury, risk and
corporate finance to someone who isn’t a qualified
treasury professional?
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ACT qualifications
Fast-track route
and exemptions
Direct entry with relevant
finance qualification or
senior experience
Standard route to ACT qualifications and membership
MCT Advanced Diploma
Level of ability
Advanced treasury knowledge
and strategic decision making –
proven ability and expertise
Full Member of the ACT
Technical treasury competence
acknowledged standard
AMCT Diploma
Modular syllabus comprising 3 stages
Associate Member of the ACT
AMCT Stage 3
Select 2 electives to complete AMCT or take as individual certificates
Shorter CertCFF paper and
exam for AMCT Fast-Track
eligible accountants
CertCFF
Corporate
Finance
& Funding
CertFMM
Financial
Maths
& Modelling
CertICM
Cash
Management
CertRM
Risk
Management
Specialist skills
ACT Faculty Member
AMCT Stage 2
AMCT entry point for
qualified accountants from
IFAC member bodies and
those with other relevant
qualifications
Qualified accountants are
exempt from AMCT stage 1
Exemptions available with
other relevant qualifications
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Compulsory for AMCT or can be taken as individual certificates
Certificate in International Treasury Management – CertITM
Certificate in International Treasury Management Public Finance –
Broad practical understanding of
treasury
ACT Faculty Member
CertITM-PF
AMCT Stage 1
Can be taken as part of AMCT or as individual certificate
Certificate in Financial Fundamentals for Business – CertFin
Fundamentals of financial and
management accounting,
economics, corporate tax and
law for business
ACT Faculty Member
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The voice of corporate treasury
Representing the corporate user of financial services to regulators and standard setters and in developing
market practices. A few recent examples
OTC derivative regulation in Europe - Successfully argued for carve out for non financial companies
European Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) - Political momentum is increasing for a new FTT in Europe
Supply Chain Finance (SCF) - Chaired working group set up by the Bank of England.
Market Abuse Directive - Lobbying for EU to adopt same high standards
Credit rating methodologies - Responded to consultations from rating agencies on changes to
methodologies for rating banks and for rating Money market Funds
Independent Commission on Banking (UK)
•
Submitted evidence to the Vickers review
For more go to http://www.treasurers.org/technical
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ACT – promoting international
treasury standards
• The Treasurer magazine and Middle East Treasurer
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•
•
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Readership >20,000, 49% outside the UK
Editorial leadership – by treasurers, for treasurers
Specialist supplements/reference books
Monthly e-newsletter
• Handbooks
• International Handbook – 40% distributed outside UK
• Asia Handbook – regional specific content
• Flagship Events
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•
•
•
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ACT Annual Conference
ACT Middle East Annual Conference
talkingtreasury – the international thought-leadership series
Annual Dinner, London
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The Association of
Corporate Treasurers
jlockyer@treasurers.org
www.treasurers.org