I love the varied work and the broad scope of the roles that have I been fortunate enough to have held. I have come to learn that a Treasurer’s role in one organisation can be completely different with that in another which is a challenge I relish. Building strong relationships either internally across your business or externally with Banks, Investors, Rating Agencies etc. is a vital key common requirement for a Treasurer, which is something I also really enjoy.
I rather fell into Treasury by accident. When I worked for a business in the Massey Ferguson Group, during the 1980’s, I took up a role as a commercial accountant which involved administering a Finance Company to provide timely funding to meet the needs of the Operating Company. Being involved in the day to day cash flow management for these businesses got me absolutely fascinated in Treasury as a career path.
I would say that it is always good to start by having a job learning the nuts and bolts of Treasury Management whilst at the same time studying for your professional qualifications. In my opinion the ACT has a superb study programme to cater for all the stages of a professional career in Treasury. Going through this is a must!
Probably being heavily involved in arranging the financing for the £1.6bn acquisition of the Somerfield Group by the Co-op Group. This represented a massive step change in the Group’s Food Retailing ambitions and the debt financing requirement that went with this was eye watering. It was a great honour for this transaction to be recognised by my peers at the ACT’s Deals of the Year Awards.
Keeping up with the ever changing commercial world and having strategies in the Treasurers toolkit to cope with all that it throws at you…I love the promotional sketch for “Have I got News for you” where Paul Merton is a fortune teller predicting the (actual) political events of this last summer and Ian Hislop walks out due to the apparent absurdity of what was being foretold.
There were so many different things that made this role an absolutely perfect fit for me. A couple of key aspects were the challenge of a working in a completely different Sector, the Water Sector which is overseen by OFWAT the Water Regulator – a fascinating dynamic in itself. Dwr Cymru Welsh Water is also a not for profit company which has many similarities with the mutual status of the Co-op which really resonates with me. thirdly there is the location - returning to live and work in a community which is literally “the land of my fathers” is something quite special in itself.
"Treat your business’s money as if it is your own when making any financial decision on it’s behalf" – embed this into your day to day professional behaviour and values and you will not go far wrong.
I particularly admire Tim Martin, the founder of Wetherspoons. He has managed to build up an incredibly successful brand that revolutionised the pub food industry at a time when many brewerys were closing down their public houses. He has executed his brave vision to perfection. However I don’t exactly share his views regarding Brexit...!
Probably when the Co-op Group hosted the North West regional meeting. My Treasury Presentation provided an opportunity to share with others in the Treasury profession the challenges of raising debt financing in a business that is a mutual and therefore has effectively no access to equity funding. It was good to exchange thoughts with my peers on this subject.
Going back to my welsh roots, I’m currently reading the Dylan Thomas Omnibus, "Under Milk Wood – a play for voices" being a particular favourite. It is about characters that live in the fictional Welsh village of llareggub – which is "bugger all" spelt backwards.