How to enrol
To enrol on CertICM as a standalone certificate please complete and return the certificate enrolment & booking form to the ACT by the enrolment deadlines:
15 September for April examination
15 March for October examination
CertICM is recognised as an individual certificate and also counts towards the AMCT Diploma in Treasury - the ACT's core treasury qualification which leads to associate membership. To enrol on CertITM as part of AMCT please complete the AMCT enrolment & booking form or go to the AMCT page for further information.
Entry requirements
- Good standard of English: due to the course being written and examined in English, students will need to possess a good standard of English.
- 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.
- An exposure to cash management is advantageous, but is not essential.
Student subscriptions
Students enrolling on ACT Certificates or the AMCT Diploma are required to pay an annual student subscription fee of £129 on a pro-rata basis from the month of enrolment and thereafter a yearly subscription each May.
This provides full student membership benefits including a subscription to The Treasurer magazine, special student rates when attending ACT training courses and events and purchasing the International Treasurer's Handbook.
Course content
The Certificate in International Cash Management explores the instruments, infrastructure and techniques of managing cash from the basics of payments and collections to foreign exchange swaps and outrights. It explains the links with working capital management together with the effects of legal, tax, technology and regulatory issues on cash management and banking relationships.
Section 1: Reviewing the basics
Introduction to cash management
Important cash management concepts
Introduction to the company
Introduction to working capital management
Introduction to banking
Basic banking services
International payment vehicles
Settlement and clearing systems
Section 2: Cash management fundamentals
International banking infrastructure
Spotlight on international systems
Foreign currency accounts
Treasury technology
Liquidity management: Forecasting
Short-term investment
Short-term borrowing
Cross-border liquidity management: Netting techniques
Cross-border liquidity management: Pooling and cash concentration
Cross-border liquidity management: Tax and regulatory implications
Foreign exchange and risk management
Treasury organisation
Bank relationship management
Efficient account structures
Section 4: Cash management case studies
Managing cash at the local level:
Case Study 1: UK vignettes
Case Study 2: Japan
Managing cash in an important but challenging environment:
Case Study 3: China
Managing cash across a region:
Case Study 4: Scandinavia and Western Europe
Case Study 5: European cross-currency, cross-border pooling
Case Study 6: Southeast Asia
Managing cash on a global basis:
Case Study 7: BP’s Virtual Treasury project
Country-specific information:
Selected country profiles
Tax and regulatory summary for selected major countries and regions
Additional sources
Who should take this qualification?
- Bankers who want to understand and advise their clients on cash management issues
- Cash managers working in larger corporations
- Anyone with responsibility for cash management outside of their own country
- Treasury professionals who wish to broaden their international cash management knowledge
- Accountants and regulators who need to know how international cash management works.
Course objectives
- Delivers core understanding of international cash management from both a corporate and banking perspective
- Provides a practical toolkit for international cash management, including the use of instruments and strategies for optimising cash management efficiency
- Helps you to work through solutions to typical cash management problems, exchange ideas and practically apply the theory in the manuals.
Learning outcomes
Following completion of the course you will be able to:
- Understand international cash management from both a corporate and banking perspective
- Appreciate the wider relevance of cash management to corporate treasury and international banking
- Understand global money transmission techniques and the details of major clearing systems
- Add real value when organising and negotiating international cash management arrangements
- Have acquired a suitable toolkit for practical international cash management.
How will I study?
CertICM is a distance learning programme combining self study with a compulsory five-day tuition school which is an integral part of the course.
Study tools include:
- A comprehensive course manual
- Integrated five-day tuition programme
- e-learning website providing access to the course manual, progress tests, past exam papers, glossary and course tutors
What’s included: Course manual (print and online), access to the e-learning website and the tuition school.
You will need: Access to a computer with internet connection.
Tuition and revision
The compulsory five-day tuition school is an integral part of the CertICM course. Taught by leading international cash management tutors, it incorporates case studies led by cash management practitioners and enables students to actively participate in finding solutions to typical cash management problems. There is a mock examination during the tuition school therefore it is important that all students are familiar with the manual by the time they attend.
Tuition schools take place in:
- Dubai
- Hong Kong
- Shanghai
- United Kingdom
Tuition dates for the October 2010 exam
UK tuition school 02-06 August 2010
Hong Kong tuition school 23-27 August 2010
Tuition dates for the April 2011 exam
UK tuition school 31 Jan - 4 Feb 2011
Dubai tuition school: TBC
How will I be assessed?
Students are assessed by a three-hour written exam. There is 15 minutes reading time before the exam starts.
Pass mark and pass rates
The mark you need to achieve a pass is 50%.
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
Nick Howden, CertICM, Sales and Relationship Manager, JPMorgan, UK
I manage a large portfolio of US Multinational Corporate clients with subsidiaries around the EMEA region, providing cash management advice to corporate treasurers, CFOs, shared service centres and in-country finance managers. I decided to take the Certificate in International Cash Management because it provided the global foundation that I needed to support my client base. At the time I was based in Singapore and covering Asian subsidiaries of US MNCs and the course enabled me to gain a truly international perspective covering the three dominant cash management regions – Asia, Europe and the United States. CertICM differentiates itself from the competition through providing global cash management knowledge that corporate treasurers need and their banking partners are expected to provide.
Through completing CertICM I gained valuable confidence in discussing a client’s theoretical and practical cash management requirements in detail. By providing innovative solutions and demonstrating sound cash management knowledge, a banker can build a corporate client’s trust and further develop key relationships. As technology and regulatory environments change (e.g. SEPA and the emerging markets) so must a corporate treasurer’s global understanding of the environment develop and it is important for them to turn to banking advisers who can help them maximise their international opportunities, which can range from tax incentives and liberalisation of FX controls to enhanced yield on surplus short-term cash balances. CertICM gives both corporate treasurers and banking service providers the knowledge to understand the bigger picture, more confidently understand the future trends in cash management, and develop truly global and scalable cash management solutions to enhance the balance sheets of both parties.
From a banking perspective, it enables proactive dialogue with the senior management of corporate clients to understand the benefits of innovative treasury structures and how to develop solutions to meet those requirements. Understanding how global clearing systems, FX, tax and regulations, liquidity management, netting, and corporate treasury structures operate, and the positive and negative aspects of each, adds significant value to both the bank that you work for and the client that you can now confidently advise.
I found the week long residential course particularly helpful in distilling the course book into key points and reinforcing the theory in a practical way. The ongoing access to the website, past exams, and reference texts enables participants to keep refreshed and at the forefront of the competition.
Without a doubt completing CertICM has given me a better understanding of my corporate clients’ needs. By understanding the balance sheet implications of varying potential solutions, products and services, I can provide sound advice and grow relationships to mutual gain. After several years in this role it is evident to me that good relationships lead to enhanced opportunities and strong revenues on both sides of the partnership.
Attila Hardi, CertICM, Manager, Project and Consultancy, BMW Group Financial Services, Japan
I identified CertICM as a programme that would provide me with an international perspective of treasury management, while developing in-depth knowledge of international cash management best practice and the latest cash management technology. This followed BMW’s decision to centralise their treasury activities for Asia, setting up a Treasury Centre in Singapore. CertICM seemed a good fit considering the cross-cultural implications and the heavily autonomous structure already in place across the region.
The qualification has undoubtedly helped in my professional development. As a project manager, I lead major finance related projects including system development and new service implementation. Recent projects include a Central Collection System consolidating our payment processes across the region. CertICM has enabled me to approach projects with a new perspective, for example, on the central collection project it enabled me to analyse and develop effective cash flow structures to best suit the need at BMW.
The course is very well structured and develops a complete understanding of cash management techniques and the international cash management environment. The programme confirmed my knowledge in the areas where I was up to date and gave me new skills where there was room for improvement. The international perspective of the course has broadened my outlook and provided me with new financial initiatives which I have used to develop BMW Group Financial Services.
The tuition school brings the whole course together and is a great opportunity to share perspectives with peers from both the corporate and banking world. From a corporate point of view I found it useful to exchange knowledge with other corporate professionals. However, discussing the possible implications with the bankers and understanding how they approached issues was invaluable. Additionally, the guest speaker presentations gave us relevant and topical illustrations of the issues that we had covered during the seminar sessions, with the opportunity to ask them specific questions.
I would recommend this course to anyone with an interest in international cash and treasury management. It provides a fantastic foundation in these areas, while giving extensive knowledge of cash management best practice. While the qualification is highly regarded at BMW – the company has since enrolled further members of staff – the real benefit to my work and my career comes from the knowledge that I gained during the course.
CertICM has worldwide recognition and is increasingly viewed as a prerequisite for applicants considering a position in Treasury and Finance.
ACT faculty membership
Once you have completed CertICM you are eligible to join the International Cash Management Faculty, which will continue your involvement with the ACT once you have finished studying and support your continuous professional development.
Benefits include access to a wide range of resources including the knowledge centre with updated CertICM course materials, best practice guidance and the latest technical content as well as The Treasurer magazine. Networking opportunities will also be available through the faculty member directory, discussion forum and ACT regional group events.
Use of the designatory letters, CertICM is exclusive to members of the ICM faculty.
Continuing your studies
As well as a standalone qualification, you may also count CertICM as one of the seven papers that comprise the AMCT Diploma in Treasury: the ACT's core treasury qualification which leads to associate membership and use of the designatory letters AMCT.
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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