To MCT or MBA? That’s the question…

The answer, of course, is that it depends on where you see your career going! Students at the more senior end of their careers often ask me whether they should continue on from their AMCT to the MCT Advanced Diploma or whether to undertake an MBA. Prior to joining the ACT, I worked as interim CEO of the Association of MBAs, which accredits the top MBA programmes in the world. Here I hope I can share with you some of my knowledge on both MBAs and the MCT qualification to help you make an informed decision on your next career step.

The ACT’s MCT Advanced Diploma is designed for specialising in treasury strategy

The MCT qualification is a postgraduate level qualification aimed at developing strategic thinking for practising or aspiring senior treasurers. It builds specialist treasury knowledge and understanding of the strategic impact of treasury decisions and how they affect shareholder value. The MCT is a unique qualification and is the recognised badge within the senior treasury community and is an excellent programme for anyone aspiring to a senior/group treasurer or CFO role. The MCT programme covers the following subjects: corporate strategy and its relationship with treasury strategy and financial strategy, treasury structure, advanced risk management, financial profiling, corporate structures, acquisitions and disposals, project finance, structured finance and leverage, strategic treasury solutions. Case studies and a project bring a real-world focus to the qualification and immerse students in the world of strategic treasury. (More information can be found in our syllabus.) Key things to consider:

• Do you see yourself as a treasury specialist who needs to understand the fit between treasury and business strategy? If so, MCT could be a good option
• Do you want to progress to a more strategic level in your treasury career? If so, MCT could be a good option as it gives you all the tools to operate at this level
• Do you want to stand out from the crowd of senior finance professionals? Recruiters and employers have high regard for the MCT designatory letters and will often stipulate this as part of a person specification for senior treasury roles
• Have you got the time to commit to the MCT qualification? It takes 18 months to complete and is a major commitment in terms of study time and effort
• Have you got the budget to pay for the MCT? The programme is £10,000 plus VAT

MBAs are designed for becoming more generalist at strategic level

MBAs (Masters in Business Administration) were developed in the 1960s as a generalist post graduate programme, aimed at developing rounded senior managers who were looking for credibility to operate at senior or board level positions. The logic being that senior people need to be a “jack of all trades” to be able to work cross organisationally and drive business strategy from a range of perspectives. MBAs typically cover the following subjects: all the major aspects of business such as marketing, finance, accounting, quantitative methods, IT, organisational behaviour & human resource management, operational & strategic management, research methods & consultancy, environment, change management, business policy & strategy, leadership & entrepreneurship, contemporary & pervasive issues, internationalisation. More recently, Business Schools have developed specialist MBAs by sector or subject, including ones with Financial Management specialisms. There are many MBA programmes available which can be very confusing to choose the right one. The Association of MBAs has an excellent guide to MBAs and runs regular MBA fairs where you can meet Business School staff and fellow students. Key things to consider:

• Do you see yourself in a future role where you need to have a broad business background? If so, an MBA could be a good option.
• Choose a credible business school to study an MBA with – look for quality kitemarks from AMBA, EQUIS and/or AACSB. MBAs cost a lot of money and you want to know that yours will mean something at the end and help you stand out from the competition
• Have you got the time to commit to an MBA? Executive or Part-time MBAs can last for up to 3 years and are academically challenging
• Have you got the budget to pay for an MBA? A top business school MBA can cost in excess of £60k (source: AMBA)
• Don’t assume you’ll get a vast salary increase on completing your MBA: recent research of the average earnings of an MBA is around £80k in the UK and this may take some years post graduation to achieve (source: AMBA) – your treasury position may well offer you more potential because of the specialist skills required

Next steps

Ultimately there’s a choice to be made between specialising or broadening your knowledge and skills. This depends hugely on what future roles you are aspiring to and the type of organisation you’d like to work in. One qualification is not a direct substitute for another because the focus is so very different. I do hope this brief guide has helped to clarify the key differences between the routes. If you would like to know more about the MCT please visit our website. Best of luck with your studies – whatever route you take.

If you would still like to talk over your options in more detail, please contact our MCT Programme Manager at learning@treasurers.org who would be pleased to help.