For over ten years, the ACT Educational Trust has been supporting individuals in developing countries who wish to forge a career in treasury but are unable to gain sponsorship to study towards an ACT qualification. We are delighted to share the success of one such individual, who has recently completed the CertTF qualification and is just about to start his CertT studies, all with the help of the Trust’s bursary scheme. Gildas Katro Digbeu, Senior Accountant – Account Receivables, Global Travel Alliance, South Africa tells us his story:
Working as a Corporate Finance Executive has always been my passion since my childhood. After high school I opted to study accounting and obtained a degree in Audit and Cost Accounting three years after I completed my high school certificate. To succeed in this field one must be rigorous, organized, accurate, and deadline driven. It is also crucial to possess good numeracy and analytical skills as well as IT literacy, high attention to detail, good knowledge of credit management, risk management, cash flow, foreign exchanges and corporate finance. After more than 10 years of working in accounting, I understood that a genuine finance executive is one who makes the most of available money and resources and creates competitive advantage. And the key to it, is to have an irreproachable skill in financial risk management and excellent knowledge of corporate finance. Completing CertTF has given me confidence to operate credibly in the field while stepping towards my goal, which is to be among the globally recognized professional in finances. For the last two years our company has rapidly expanded its activities beyond borders, i.e. in Namibia, Botswana and very soon in Kenya and West of Africa. My duty is to ensure that all payments are received collectively in the different currencies and centralised timely to the head office, assisting then the Financial Manager in cash flow forecast. Studying the CertTF has increased my knowledge in financial risk management and corporate finance, helped me to understand what corporate governance is and provided me with a good knowledge of corporate finance and financial instruments. Adding the CertTF to my CV surely open doors for global opportunities. The professionalism and ethical values of the ACT, that I have developed through taking the qualification, are an undeniable value-added that reflects onto the qualification holder. I’ve been appointed to a senior position and submitted a project of automation, synchronisation and integration of financial data from sales to collection of payments, which have been approved by the Board. The ergonomic nature of the learning academy, the learning management system, and the promptitude of staff and the tutors to assist the learners, give all students the required support for a successful journey. Combining my full time work and study schedule was challenging but with the resources available online I was able to study anytime, anywhere without any pressure and succeed. The assessment was insightful and gave me an intrinsic evaluation of my knowledge. The professionalism of the proctor allowed me to complete the assessment with much more flexibility. Applying for the ACT bursary was an amazing experience. The process was all online which meant that the application was very straightforward. Being granted the bursary to study towards the ACT qualifications helps me in achieving my plan of being an effective corporate finance professional leader. It contributes to my growth and development, and increases my ability to be a model of excellence in treasury and finance in this fast moving era.
Give yourself the best chance of success too The ACT Educational Trust is currently offering bursaries to cover the course and assessment fees for the Certificate in Treasury Fundamentals (CertTF). The next deadline for application is 19 December 2016. For more information and how to apply click here. Support the Trust The ACT Educational Trust relies solely on charitable donations. If you would like to make a donation, however large or small, please click here.