Looking to transition into treasury (treasury analyst or assistant treasurer) - would you recommend taking the CPA or the CTP exam? Some job postings require one and not the other so I’m unsure which would be most useful in my pursuit. Thanks!
I was a Treasury Analyst for a couple years. The CTP would be helpful for the role, but don’t do it unless you know for sure that Treasury is what you want to do as it is pretty meaningless outside of Treasury. I would think that you could get around these “requirements” if you have finance/accounting experience, and can show that you are willing to go for the CTP once you have the job.
Would the CPA help me break in? If not, I’d really like to avoid it if necessary. I have an unrelated undergrad degree and a masters in finance. I’ve fulfilled all the requirements for the CPA in my state so it’s just a matter of sitting for it…
It wouldn’t hurt, that’s for sure, but it’s definitely not necessary for the position (at the time, all I had was finance undergrad).
hey steph96, could you share a little bit about your treasury role, ie day to day functions, likes/dislikes?
I was at a privately held $4B company, so there were plenty of functions in our department. I enjoyed it, but after learning about everything, I got bored, realized it would take forever to move up & left. What I did: -domestic cash management - disbursements & collections. I had lots of interaction with our banks and subsidiaries, usually troubleshooting things that had gone wrong. It was often frustrating, but I learned a lot about dealing w/people. -cash flow projections - probably the most interesting & challenging thing I did. -investment decisions for excess cash - looked at various investment options, and recommended to Treasurer. This piece is what luckily counted as work experience for CFAI. I would have liked to do more with fx and debt – those are probably more exciting areas to be in.
Thanks steph, I noticed you mentioned you landed that role with just a finance undergrad, did you have work experience in other areas prior to it? And what type of position did you move to once you left treasury? sorry about all the questions
I was actually recruited to the company out of college, and they placed me in Treasury. I lucked out, because a lot of the others that started the same time as me got really $hitty job placements. Honestly, as long as you have a good aptitude, you can learn the functions in Treasury, and do well. My experience is that companies put requirements on job postings, but they aren’t necessarily requirements for strong candidates. After Treasury, I moved to a financial role within the sales division of that company, and hated that so much that I did a job search and landed my current gig at an I-bank.
Thanks steph, really appreciate you sharing your experiences
I currently work in Treasury org of a Multinational corp… Stef is spot on… My job is mostly FX, but I also manage other aspects as well - cap structure, cash investments, etc… Cool job but does get boring after a bit…
thanks fxguy. Would you recommend either certification? I have an unrelated (i.e. useless) undergrad degree so I’m in a tougher situation than someone with a finance degree. I just finished an MBA in finance so hopefully that will help…
I’d only do either if you want to work in Treasury (CTP) or be an accountant (CPA) for the rest of your career. And MBA in finance should have you covered for anything you’ll see in Treasury. I’ve seen some shops require the CTP, but most people (myself included) don’t put much value in that designation. I’d recommend that you network with people rather than pursue more certificates / education.
did you break into treasury right after undergrad? Sorry to hear about your boredom with the field, but unfortunately it seems like 95% of the people I know are bored with their jobs. Are you planning on transitioning into something else?
yes right out of undergrad and yes looking to transition…