The AMCT Diploma is the benchmark of technical treasury competency. It provides practical understanding of the principles and techniques of treasury, risk and corporate financial management and develops breadth and depth of expertise. It enables finance professionals – whether corporate, banking or advisory – to speak the common technical language of treasury and is valued by financial institutions and corporates alike. It is the associate membership qualification for the ACT and leads to the designatory letters AMCT.
Automatic exemptions from AMCT stage one are available for qualified accountants from IFAC member bodies.
If you are an ACCA member or affiliate, a CIMA member or student, an ICAEW member or an ICAS member, you may also be eligible for the AMCT fast-track route, which in addition to being exempt from stage one means you also benefit from a reduced Corporate Finance and Funding paper and shorter exam at stage three.
Exemptions from AMCT stage one
Exemptions from AMCT stage one are available for qualified and part qualified accountants and those individuals with other relevant qualifications.
First, check our exemptions page to see whether you are eligible for any exemptions.
If you are NOT exempt from AMCT stage one, you should book onto CertFin.
If you ARE exempt from AMCT stage one, you should book onto CertITM or CertITM-PF – the stage two compulsory paper.
The enrolment deadline for CertFin and CertITM/CertITM-PF is 15 September for April examination and 15 March for October examination.
AMCT course content
There are three stages to completing the AMCT Diploma:
AMCT stage one (exemptions available)
Stage one establishes the underlying knowledge and understanding of the principles and techniques of corporate treasury. It provides the framework of financial knowledge in accountancy, economics, tax and law that underpins stages two and three.
Stage one comprises:
Study requirements for CertFin are 200 hours.
Stage two (compulsory)
Stage two provides a fundamental understanding of the core elements of treasury. Combining technical skills with practical application, it provides insight into the principles and techniques of treasury, risk and corporate financial management, with an international focus.
Stage two is compulsory and comprises CertITM or the public finance version of this course - CertITM-PF.
Typical study requirements are 200 hours.
Stage three (select two electives)
At stage three you choose two further electives which provide in-depth coverage of key areas within treasury, risk and corporate finance. This gives you the opportunity to tailor the qualification to your specific needs and deepen your understanding in specialist areas relevant to your working environment.
Choose two electives from the following:
Typical study requirements are 150-200 hours per certificate.
Who should take this qualification?
The AMCT Diploma in Treasury applies to a wide range of diverse finance roles and environments. It is widely recognised as an instant benchmark of competency and an acknowledged standard upon which employers, colleagues and clients can rely. In particular, it is relevant to.
- Corporate treasurers or anyone involved in or with responsibility for corporate treasury
- Accountants who would benefit from a broader skills base
- Bankers and relationship managers who need to understand the requirements of their corporate clients
- Financial analysts who want to develop their career in corporate finance, risk management and specialist treasury activities.
Course objectives
- Ensure a fundamental understanding of core topics within treasury, risk and corporate finance
- Provide knowledge, depth of expertise and insight into dealing with daily treasury issues
- Deliver a flexible syllabus with an element of choice to enable students to tailor the qualification to specific needs.
Learning outcomes
AMCT is the associate membership qualification for the ACT and leads to the designatory letters AMCT. On achieving AMCT you can become a member of the ACT and join the largest community of qualified treasury, risk and finance professionals.
AMCT enables you to:
- Use the tools and techniques of treasury management
- Understand the role of the finance and treasury function within a company
- Understand and interpret the value of core treasury topics, such as accountancy and tax as well as the more complex treasury areas of corporate finance and risk management
- Apply treasury knowledge and understanding to real life scenarios
- Analyse treasury-specific information.
AMCT combines self study with the option of face-to-face tuition and revision days. It is a distance learning qualification supported by a wide range of learning materials and tools,
the majority of which are delivered online including:
- Online study materials and learning resources
- Tutor guided forums to enable regular contact with your course tutor and study group
- Course manuals and progress tests (CertICM only)
- Past exam papers to ensure familiarity with the format of the exams
- Tuition and revision courses to reinforce key areas of study.
Study tools and methods vary from course to course so check before you enrol.
Entry requirements
You will need:
- Good standard of English: due to the course being written and examined in English, students will need to possess a good standard of English
- Access to a computer with internet connection
- Internet Browser version: the eLearning website is an important part of this course as you will be able to access the online course manual, discussion forum and further information. Therefore you do need the latest browser to access the content. We suggest one of the following browsers: Internet Explorer 7 or 8, Firefox 3 or Google Chrome to view the content correctly.
Tuition and revision
There are a number of optional and compulsory tuition and revision days available for each exam within the AMCT syllabus. We recommend attendance at the tuition and/or revision days as this has a significant positive impact on results across all papers.
Tuition has been tailored to cover the key areas of the course, reinforcing and improving knowledge. Tuition days complement your home study; each day is intensive, covering a number of topics in detail with lecturers, worked examples, and tutorial sessions
Revision courses cover exam preparation techniques, revision, tutor-structured solutions and exam question practice. The objective of revision is to revise material covered earlier, to enhance your confidence in attempting exam standard questions in the topics covered. Coverage is not comprehensive, but is designed to complement your final exam preparations and the previous tuition course and/or home study programme.
You can book onto the optional tuition and revision when you enrol or up to 10 days before the start of the courses.
Assessment and examination
Each paper within the AMCT syllabus is assessed by a three hour paper-based written examination. The CertITM exam takes the form of a comprehensive multiple choice exam.
Pass mark and pass rates
The mark you need to achieve a pass in all papers apart from CertITM is 50%. The pass mark for CertITM will vary from one examination sitting to another according to the difficulty grade of the multiple choice paper. As a guide a student achieving 70% or over will have passed CertITM.
Booking your exam venue
Students are automatically registered to sit the exam in London. If this is where you intend to sit your exam, no further communication with us is necessary.
We have exam venues in Edinburgh, Hong Kong and Singapore which you can book. You don’t need to book your exam venue when you enrol, we will write to you 10 weeks before the exam date asking you to select your venue.
If you cannot take your exam at one of the above venues and you live outside of the UK mainland, you can request to take your exam at a venue local to you. It is your responsibility to contact a suitable venue. The first point of contact is the British Council, although Universities and Colleges of Higher Education are also acceptable venues. Further details will be available to you when you enrol as a student.
For students sitting exams at venues other than London and Edinburgh, an administration fee will be payable directly to your chosen local exam venue.
Student case studies
Tushar Patel, AMCT, Assistant Group Treasurer, DP World, Dubai
I joined P&O after qualifying as an accountant and started out in a management accounting role, moving to the treasury team when P&O demerged the cruise shipping business. I have subsequently relocated to Dubai following the takeover of P&O by DP World, a Dubai based Port operating Company.
AMCT provides an essential treasury background and helped me understand treasury markets and fund raising, explaining the markets, how they move and the different issues faced. The course not only covers the theory, but is also very practical in nature. As I worked in treasury, I found I would read something theoretical in the manuals and then end up using that theory practically at work the following day. Many of the students on the course were not career treasurers but wanted to add the understanding and knowledge gained through this qualification to their skills set.
AMCT gives me a professional advantage over my accountancy peers. There are so many qualified accountants around, it is difficult to stand out from the crowd – AMCT helps me to do so.
Sarah Maystone, AMCT, Analyst – FIG Analyst Unit, HSBC Bank plc
As a recent graduate working in Corporate Banking, I enrolled on to the AMCT Diploma as it offered me the opportunity to develop financial and credit analysis skills. Additionally I learnt about the funding and risk management products corporate clients require and why – all of which are instrumental in my day-to-day job.
The knowledge I gained via the AMCT Diploma has definitely complemented my on the job training and it has given me an edge in a very competitive job market. I am currently studying towards the MCT Advanced Diploma. I took the decision to go one step further, despite the fact that I don’t work in Corporate Treasury, as the analytical skills and in-depth product knowledge that I will achieve by studying for the MCT qualification are not only useful in my current role but will be invaluable for my future career.
Becoming a member of the ACT
AMCT is the associate membership qualification for the ACT and leads to the designatory letters AMCT. On achieving AMCT you can become a member of the ACT and join the largest community of qualified treasury, risk and finance professionals.
Continuing your studies
The MCT Advanced Diploma is the full membership qualification of the ACT enabling you to use the designatory letters MCT.
Continuing your studies to MCT level will enable you to consolidate the theoretical knowledge gained from your AMCT studies and prepare you for the most senior positions in finance and treasury. Additionally, the MCT course will enable you to build a network of fellow treasury professionals, offering you the opportunity to develop important contacts with peers and colleagues.
If you really want to stand out and progress your career, this qualification is highly regarded and well worth attaining.
Frequently asked questions
These frequently asked question pages answer generic questions on our qualifications processes and rules which are applicable across the range of our products.
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