Treasurer

The treasurer’s role is to monitor and anticipate a company’s cash position. The treasurer compares expected receipts and payments with available balances, prepares cash forecasts and flags financing needs. Depending on their assigned responsibilities, they also examine how to use surplus cash, banking terms and foreign exchange or interest rate risks. Their aim is to give management a reliable view of cash flows, both in the short term and over the period covered by the budget.

The scope depends on the company’s size, its subsidiaries and the authority delegated by finance leadership. In a small organisation, a person responsible for accounting may also manage treasury. In a group, cash flow monitoring, account centralisation and financial risks may be handled by a specialist team. The job title alone therefore does not show whether the holder implements a plan decided elsewhere, proposes options or manages other treasurers.

Day to day, the treasurer analyses bank positions, checks the data feeding their monitoring reports and explains differences between forecasts and actual cash flows. They work with accounting on payments and reconciliations, and with management accounting on budget inputs. They discuss terms and possible solutions with banks. Final decisions on financing, investing surplus cash or hedging depend on the company’s mandate; the role does not automatically carry authority over all financial policy.

Treasurer, accountant and CFO: who does what?

• The treasurer monitors available cash, forecasts flows and prepares or implements solutions within their delegated authority.
• The accountant processes and checks accounting transactions and contributes to the receipts, payments and reconciliations needed for treasury management.
• The CFO sets the framework for financial decisions and the responsibilities delegated to the treasurer; the CFO’s remit extends beyond treasury.

This distinction helps define the actual role: specify who produces the data, who uses it to prepare forecasts and who authorises banking transactions.

Cash available today does not, by itself, show that the company will be able to meet future payments. The treasurer relates the bank balance to expected receipts, scheduled payments and variances already observed. For a business leader, the value of the role lies in this ability to anticipate needs and in the quality of the information supplied before a decision.

A poor match between candidate and role can undermine this work in several ways. Someone comfortable with accounting entries but less experienced in forecasting may be able to describe past flows without providing a sufficient forecast for upcoming payments. Conversely, financing analysis disconnected from daily bank positions leaves immediate needs unanswered. Data reliability, checks on banking terms and explanations of variances matter as much as the initial preparation of the budget.

Fictional example: a customer pays an invoice later than expected. The treasurer updates the forecast, measures the effect on upcoming payments and presents management with options within the authority delegated to the treasurer by the company. The exercise is meant to reveal the reasoning, missing data and point at which a decision becomes necessary; it is not intended to impose a single solution.

The relevant risks also depend on the business. Purchases or sales in foreign currencies may call for foreign exchange analysis. Debt exposed to interest rates may require specific monitoring. These activities should not automatically become requirements in a job description: describe the flows and risks the company actually faces, then the desired level of autonomy in managing them.

The organisation also determines the working relationships. Accounting helps process flows and ensure their reliability; management accounting contributes to the budget; finance leadership makes decisions in line with delegated authority. Clarifying these responsibilities before hiring avoids asking the treasurer alone to make up for incomplete data or a decision that belongs to management.

• Monitor receipts, payments and balances to establish the daily cash position.
• Analyse bank positions and how they reconcile with accounting records.
• Prepare cash forecasts using expected flows and data supplied by other departments.
• Compare actual flows with the cash budget and explain variances to management.
• Identify financing needs and surplus cash that could be invested, within the assigned mandate.
• Prepare discussions with banks and check the terms applied to the transactions monitored.
• Examine exposure to foreign exchange and interest rate risks where the business warrants it.
• Check the quality of the data and reporting used to monitor cash.

Several pathways can prepare someone for the treasurer’s role. Apec cites courses in accounting and management, finance, economics, management control or audit, as well as AFTE professional certificates. These are possible routes, not a list of mandatory qualifications. AFTE also offers technical training covering, among other subjects, cash management, financing, risks and controls. The skills needed depend on the role’s scope.

An accounting background can provide knowledge of entries and reconciliations, useful for establishing a cash position from recorded transactions. A finance background can provide experience of financing or risks, without guaranteeing hands-on experience of monitoring actual daily flows. Specialist training can prepare someone to build a cash budget, analyse variances or check banking terms; proficiency in these tasks then depends on the responsibilities they have actually held.

Experience should be assessed by responsibilities held rather than job title alone. The grid shows the levels “Junior treasurer” (0–2 years), “Experienced” (2–5 years), “Senior” (5–8 years) and “Head of treasury” (8+ years). These labels locate its salary bands; they do not, on their own, determine how much authority a candidate has held. Preparing data, proposing options to management and leading a team are different responsibilities. Company size, number of accounts and the presence of international flows affect the scope of an achievement without automatically making one career path better than another.

Coordinating forecasts requires the ability to obtain and explain information supplied by accounting and management accounting. If the role includes discussions with banks, investment of surplus cash or hedging, assess the candidate’s background in light of the part they actually played in preparing and implementing decisions.

GetPro’s method starts with a grid that ranks the role’s criteria and specifies how to assess each one. In interviews, a few key criteria are explored through open questions and concrete examples. With the candidate’s consent, references can supplement the assessment of skills.

For a treasurer role, start with the flows, risks and level of authority the person will be given. The questions and exercise below are suggestions to adapt to your organisation.

1. Set the criteria for the role

Distinguish daily monitoring, forecasting, bank relationships and, if your business requires them, foreign exchange or interest rates. For each activity, specify what the role holder produces and what they may decide. A simple grid might cover data reliability, variance analysis, forecast quality and clear alerts. Add financial risks only if they form part of the role.

A positive sign is experience described with a precise scope: accounts monitored, data received, deliverables and decisions submitted for approval. Be cautious when a claimed skill is not accompanied by an explanation of the candidate’s personal role.

2. Reconstruct past achievements

Ask the candidate to describe a forecast they prepared and a variance they had to explain. Which data came from accounting or management accounting? How did they check its reliability? To whom did they present their analysis, and what decision was made?

For bank relationships, distinguish gathering information, comparing terms and any negotiation. For foreign exchange or interest rate risks, ask about a situation they actually encountered, without expecting this experience for a role that does not require it. A convincing description makes the assumptions and limits of the candidate’s actions clear. An answer claiming that the candidate made the entire decision, without explaining their delegated authority, calls for clarification.

3. Offer an exercise close to the work

Fictional example: give the candidate bank balances, expected receipts and a list of upcoming payments. Then introduce a delay in a significant receipt. Ask them to update the forecast cash position, show their checks and explain when they would alert management.

Examine the method as well as the result: do they separate certain flows from assumptions? Do they spot missing data? Do they connect a potential financing need to the payment schedule? Do not assess a particular banking solution if the exercise provides neither terms nor authority to decide. The ability to state these limits is a positive sign.

4. Observe coordination and communication

Ask how the candidate would obtain a cash flow forecast from another department, then how they would explain a variance to the finance director. Listen for a distinction between the observed fact, their assumption and the recommended action. For a head of treasury role, add a situation in which the candidate assigns bank-account monitoring to team members and reviews the data they produce.

A useful alert states what needs attention, when action is needed and which options should be considered. A presentation that hides uncertainty or does not identify who is authorised to decide needs further exploration. You can also discuss confidentiality of financial data by asking how the candidate shares their analyses.

5. Check references and conclude

With the candidate’s consent, compare the achievements described with the scope of their actual role: preparing forecasts, checking positions, participating in bank discussions and the degree of autonomy. Ask about observable responsibilities without seeking confidential financial information about a former employer.

If your company lacks the expertise to assess a treasury exercise, involve a professional who can review the financial reasoning. The final decision should compare the same criteria for all candidates and remain proportionate to the role defined.