The treasurer plays a key role in managing financial mattersensuring that company members are aware of their shared responsibilities infinancial matters and understand them. As with other executive committee positions, the way the treasurer carries out his or her responsibilities can even have an impact on customer perception and confidence in the company as a whole. Are you interested ? Find out how our Master Finance can be an excellent opportunity to train yourself.
Treasurer: what is his role?
A treasurer is not only a good accountant: he or she is first and foremost a financial decision maker with multiple responsibilities. Its main task is to take care of the company’s cash flow, and therefore to ensure that it has sufficient working capital, i.e. that the company’s assets (cash on hand, inventory, paid expenses, etc.) are greater than its liabilities (debts, accrued expenses, taxes, etc.). In this capacity, he/she supervises financial flows, analyzes the company’s accounts and makes cash flow forecasts.
The second role of the treasurer is to manage the company’s financial investments and borrowings, working with banks and trading rooms. It may invest surplus cash in long-term investments, borrow or recapitalize.
The treasurer role requires many different skills, such as investment management, organizational leadership and technical accounting knowledge. It’s a critical role that today’s medium and large businesses simply cannot do without. Smaller companies, on the other hand, usually do not have a treasurer, and this function is performed by the accounting department.
The role of the treasurer has historically been mostly technical and analytical, and has long consisted of carefully monitoring financial ratios. Today, he occupies a much more strategic position, which requires a good knowledge of macroeconomics and risk prevention.
Qualities required to become a treasurer
A treasurer must have a combination of technical, financial and social skills. He or she must also be scrupulously ethical and act with integrity in all business decisions.
The main technical skills required to become treasurer are :
- Very good knowledge of accounting.
- A good knowledge of international accounting standards (IFRS).
- Proficiency in cash management and data processing software.
- Good skills in banking operations.
- Good knowledge of national and international tax law.
- Strong oral and written professional English skills.
In addition to technical skills, the treasurer must have solid professional aptitudes: a great deal of rigor, an eye for detail, the ability to solve complex problems, an analytical mind, responsiveness, great organizational skills and of course a taste for numbers.
What is the difference between a treasurer and an accountant ?
Treasury and accounting are the two areas of the company that deal with financial assets. It is common to confuse these two functions which have similarities but above all great differences.
Accounting is a legal requirement for all businesses. The Commercial Code thus requires that accounting records be kept “which give a true and fair view of the company”. The role of the accountant is to ensure the traceability of money, i.e. the financial flows of the company, by recording all operations such as expenses and resources.
The treasurer does not deal with invoices, payrolls or customer reminders. It monitors cash flows and prepares budget forecasts. It secures profitability by scrupulously controlling the inflow and outflow of financial flows.
In short, the accountant files and records while the treasurer manages and anticipates. This is why it is often said that the accountant deals with the past while the treasurer ensures the future.
What is the average salary for a Treasurer ?
The average salary of a corporate treasurer is between 32,000 and 55,000 euros gross per year, i.e. a monthly salary of between 2,700 and 4,500 euros gross per month (source: Apec). This remuneration, which concerns about 80% of treasurers, is only given as an indication because it depends on many factors, such as years of experience, the sector of activity and especially the size of the company.
The remuneration of an experienced treasurer can easily reach 5,000 euros per month during his or her career, or even much more: the remuneration of a treasurer in a large company frequently exceeds 10,000 euros gross per month.
What is the best training to become a Treasurer ?
A future treasurer must have a background in management, accounting or ideally in corporate finance. Training at the bac+3 level is possible, but a bac+5 degree is strongly preferred. The mastery of English is also recommended, and even essential for companies with international activities.
The Master’s degree in Financial Analysis at EDC Paris, which lasts two years and is accessible to students with three years of higher education, provides all the practical and theoretical tools needed to understand the fundamental concepts of corporate finance as well as investment and financing decisions. It offers courses in corporate finance, financial accounting, financial mathematics, international finance and business English. The entire program is conducted in English.
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