A treasury recruitment specialist reflects on how the profession has transformed over 20 years, covering shifts in work patterns, required qualifications, and the field's international scope. The talk traces concrete changes in how treasury roles have evolved and what employers now look for.
Foreign. So I'm a Treasury recruitment specialist. I discovered treasury many years ago. We'll get into that a bit later, but by accident, a little bit. Didn't know what it was when I first started, but met a lot of treasurers like them, but you generally find they're very relationship focused, very focused on the future. And also, you know, when you go out for a drink with them and if it's a serious drink, they're the first of the bar and usually they're the last to leave it. And I thought, I like these people. And these are. These are, you know, very outgoing and insightful, you know, accounting of finance guys and things like that. And I think that then reflects onto how treasury has evolved as well, because when I first did it, some of those treasury guys were loving treasury because it gave them a bit of an ivory tower, so meant they got a jump in salary. They were the specialists and everything else. They were, you know, look at us. Oh, you have to go to the treasury guys over there. But actually, I think treasury has gone, come down from its ivory tower and come back to work really closer to the businesses. And the more that treasury integrates with businesses nowadays, rather than just be these standalone specialists, I think it's maybe, if you like, given Treasury a real seat at the table and it's becoming more of a natural career choice. Treasury, by its very nature, is a global skill. So a treasurer working in London, a treasurer working in Frankfurt, a treasurer working in the US is constantly looking outward, if you like, and they're looking around their team and they're looking around their country, and then the specific part of their role is, by their very nature, an international job. Now, there might be major markets. If you're based in New York, your major markets might be across the US, but you might have 10, 15, 20% of your job focused on the international stuff. Maybe in, say, Europe and particularly mainland Europe, I think there's a lot more international because whichever country you're in, there's another 25 countries to deal with around you. So there's different nuances to all that. Treasury, by its very nature, is an international business and an international skill. You know, you're dealing with different countries day in, day out, and I think actually that then reflects on the skills. And there are various things you can do. You can do studying, you can. You've got the. In the us, you got the AFP and their CTP qualification, you've got the act, and the uk, you've got various European qualifications coming up now. And I don't certainly think that helps with the skills market. But again, you know, when I talk to people and when I'm recruiting people, they're not just saying, do they have ctp? Yes or no, do they have this? It's more a sort of a blended skill set. In the past I would have a treasurer and I would say, where do you want to work? And they might be based in the home counties of London, you know, in and around London. They say, oh well, ideally I'd like to work in London or I'd like to work M3, M4 corridor, something like that. Or I'd speak to one of my international clients and they'd be based. For instance, we have a couple of clients at the moment. They're based in Belgium, they spend two days a week in Brussels, they spend three days a week in Luxembourg. 10, 10, 15 years ago that didn't happen. You know, people were saying, well, yeah, I'd rather travel an hour and a half, two hours on the train each way, so four hours travel. Now people would actually rather hop on the plane and go over work for a week, you know, so say there's a couple of clients I've got based who are based in the uk, they say it's actually quicker for. Rather than me go to London, for me to go to Luxembourg, I actually get on the plane, I'm off the plane 45 minutes, I'm in my office, five minutes later, I'm there for the week and then I come back. But I think that's how different is. So a lot of people then make a relocation or they'll do long term stays. They might work in say Luxembourg for two to three years, they might work in Belgium for the same, they might work in London, you know, and you get that reverse thing as well.
