A new year brings with it the usual flurry of articles in the media with advice on how to change your life, your career and even your diet. The wider world continues to present its challenges – economically, socially, politically and climatically.
What I find interesting in all of this is the role that education plays – or rather doesn’t generally play – when commentators give their advice about how people should face these challenges. Even more to the point, when financial (or political) regulators talk about institutional reform (whether private or public sector), how often do you hear them say that the ‘new’ people should be better qualified? Or even qualified at all? How much discussion is there on relevant standards and benchmarks?
As an example, I found out quite recently that when a new MP joins the UK Parliament, he or she is not offered any form of professional career development. Is it any wonder voters might be disillusioned with the political process?
We are working towards offering a structured ladder of educational and professional development
So, you might ask, what are we doing at the ACT? Well, we are looking to help treasurers and their employers face these issues in a number of ways. We are working towards offering a structured ladder of educational and professional development to future finance leaders who aim to be career treasurers and to those who may only interact with us from time to time. This will include education and qualifications, career-long continuing professional development (CPD) and building on existing ethical standards.
Many of you will have contributed to the brief survey we have been running on treasury competency. The ACT is undertaking the survey to ensure that we provide the profession with the skills needed to be the leading treasury professionals of the future. A competency framework will be developed and launched later this year, which will identify key technical and interpersonal skills that are required by treasury professionals. This framework will then be used to refine the syllabi of ACT qualifications, develop CPD materials and the ACT training programme, and ensure that all ACT materials are meeting the needs of the treasury profession and employers.
We have been engaging with employers to develop employer accreditation. We work to support our members and students within their own organisational development programmes. This provides the employer and employee with many benefits, including employer organisation-wide accreditation for all members and students, helping the development of talent and expertise within individual companies, and encouraging a strong work ethic and high personal standards. You can see whether your company has joined the scheme at www.treasurers.org/cpd/employerlist, but bear in mind that it is always being updated.
Both of these ideas and more besides are intended to help treasurers and the profession embed the practical concept of treasurers as ‘finance specialists’ delivering strategic financial and business solutions for organisations.
On a different note, I want to mention the success of the fourth ACT Middle East Conference and Deals of the Year Awards held at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in the Dubai International Finance Centre last November. The ACT team enjoyed meeting and networking with more than 380 corporate treasurers and finance professionals who attended the event. To find out about the impressive achievements of the companies and treasurers who won awards, see the Middle East Treasurer at www.treasurers.org/thetreasurer/middleeast
The ACT Middle East (ACTME) is going from strength to strength in events, publishing, webinars and education. So we are very proud to be contributing even in a modest way to the continued development and emergence of the region. I would like to add my thanks to all who attended, especially the speakers and presenters, for their continued support of the ACTME. I hope to see you in Dubai again this year.
