Every year the ACT helps grow skilled expertise in the treasury profession by awarding bursaries through the ACT Educational Trust charity. We are committed to providing world-class education and supporting students living in countries with developing economies, to gain relevant qualifications that are highly desired and sought after by employers.
By giving students access to training and education that they would have otherwise not been able to access, the ACT Educational Trust Bursary scheme helps to lessen the current knowledge and skills gap between people and countries. This levelling up of access to opportunities allows students to specialise and go on to help contribute to the skilled practice of treasury and strategic cash management in their own countries. This in turn helps drive the performance of successful organisations within those economies, contributing to their status as successful worldwide players.
Opening doors for opportunity
Here's what one of our current bursary students, Joel Kunda has to say:
"It has been indeed a great and exciting experience studying and completing the Certificate in Treasury Fundamentals (CertTF). I have already seen the positive impact this qualification has on my career. I have studied accounts, where I have been learning how to account and measure financial instruments, derivatives etc., but I had no clue what these instruments were -in fact to me they were like theories which don’t happen in real business, so I just memorised how they should be accounted for as assets or liabilities.
Now after studying the Certificate in Treasury Fundamentals, it has given me deep insight into these financial instruments. I now understand why they are measured and reported the way they are reported in the financial statements. The CertTF has removed scales on my eyes and I have seen that these instruments are real, very real.
Piercing into the debt market, capital markets and their participants has been a heart-warming experience, now I can comfortably and confidently speak with the bankers in the language they understand and am able execute deals with the bankers. Previously my level of interaction with the banks ended only at making deposits, collecting bank statements and cashing cheques, but now am not the same. I am able to see transactions with the bank from the bankers perspective and how certain transactions can be costly to the company. I already feel I am a financial expert already..ha ha ha ha ha ha (am laughing at myself) when I still have a long way to go in treasury.
But thank you ACT for giving me this knowledge. My Country Zambia has issued some EURO bonds, when am reading financial journals and reading about our bonds being downgraded, ratings going into B- I fully understand this and repercussions on our economy because this is what I have studied in CertTF.
Because of the credibility that this qualification gives, my boss, the general manager at the company where I work, has started giving me some treasury functions. I am now able to comfortably execute FX deals, interest rate SWAPS, things I only learned in accounts but never understood them now they are a reality.
Really CertTF has transformed my financial acumen and am positive my career path is brighter like the mid-day sunshine. I am looking forward to studying the Certificate in Treasury (CertT) and I am eager to go all the way to Advanced Diploma in Treasury Management. In this complex business environment, to be an effective CFO , treasury is the way to go!"
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If you are interested in either the Certificate in Treasury Fundamentals or the Award in Cash Management Fundamentals, you can apply here.
Next application deadline: 24 February 2019
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If you would like to help up-skill professionals in developing countries, you can donate to the ACT Educational Trust here.
