| Continuing education for treasurers |
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| A specialist course in Dublin City University aimed at providing treasurers with professional corporate treasury qualifications has gone from success to success writes course director James Ryan. |
The Graduate Certificate in Corporate Treasury has now been successfully running at Dublin City University for five years. The programme, which was the first and to date only, graduate level programme in corporate treasury in Ireland, is an excellent example of how a co-operative arrangement between a University and a professional body, in this case the Irish Association of Corporate Treasurers (IACT), can mutually benefit both parties.
Having identified the need and demand for a professional corporate treasury qualification, the IACT proceeded to establish the best means and process of delivery. This translated into a postgraduate university qualification, accredited by Dublin City University (DCU). This decision was substantially based on the success achieved by DCU Business School through its suite of programmes dedicated to the financial services sector. Of these, the M.Sc. in Investment and Treasury was and continues to be the flagship programme. The Graduate Certificate in Corporate Treasury is delivered through DCU Executive Education (DCUEE). DCU Executive Education was established to provide a dedicated service to the corporate market. It works closely with and draws on the resources of DCU Business School.
The course syllabus was designed in conjunction with corporate treasury practitioners, to ensure that it meet the highest international academic standards necessary for full accreditation by the University. According to Donal Forde, managing director at AIB Bank, who was involved in the initial committee to develop the programme, ‘the course is proving to be a valuable facility for all those involved in corporate treasury activities as it puts the treasurer’s role in a proper corporate context and establishes a framework in which the corporate treasurer’s responsibilities should be discharged. It is a demanding course for students but certainly adds to their standing as corporate treasury professionals’.
Among the key attributes and attractions of the programme are:
• It is the only graduate level programme in corporate treasury in Ireland, comprehensively covering the full range of disciplines in the profession. This view is echoed by Elaine Ryan, Diageo Finance Ireland, and a recent graduate, who would ‘highly recommend the course to all candidates who require a breadth and in depth knowledge of treasury as the course provides a complete and comprehensive training in all the core areas of the discipline. In particular, the programme aims to provide students with the practical and theoretical knowledge and skills to enable them to become literate and analytical practitioners in treasury’.
• It is a fluid lecture based programme that has the capacity to immediately adapt and innovate in response to changes in the profession and to the evolving educational requirements of treasury practitioners.
• The lecturers/presenters are comprised of a mix of high calibre academics and well-regarded and experienced corporate treasurers, banking professionals and professional advisers. According to Phelim Keogan, corporate treasury manager at Fidelity Investment Management (Ireland) and a recent graduate of the programme, ‘the Graduate Certificate was an important addition to my previous qualifications and career experience. The syllabus was comprehensive and relevant, delivered by a good mix of academic lecturers and recognised practitioners from the treasury marketplace’.
• It covers comprehensive modules in key corporate treasury disciplines; specifically corporate financial management, cash and working capital management, international financial markets, funding, risk management and corporate treasury case study.
• The presentation of both the funding and case study modules is structured around a series of once-off lectures/presentations on selected topics delivered by expert corporate practitioners and academics.
The case study module is particularly novel. For this the students are divided into working groups to comprehensively report and present on case studies covering the detailed establishment and operation of treasury functions and also specific treasury issues/problems. The case studies afford the students an excellent interactive vehicle and the opportunity to hone their presentation and project management skills. They also, more importantly, enable them to test their ability to practically apply the knowledge learnt in all of the other modules. This module is also much enhanced by the active involvement of FTI, the treasury consultancy, in preparing and assessing the case studies.
The class groups have typically been comprised of participants with a broad mix of professional and educational backgrounds where many, but by no means all, of participants are themselves banking or corporate treasury practitioners. This composition of the student group also contributes to the learning experience as according to Keogan, ‘the diverse group of class participants, in terms of background and experience, enhanced the interactive approach of the programme’. A particular mark of the high regard for the programme in both banking and corporate treasury arenas, has been the high number of the applicants each year who are attracted to the programme through the recommendations of past students.
The value placed on the course within the financial services community is further highlighted by Stuart Kirk, a recent graduate of the programme, who says, ‘After 15 years on the interbank FX trading side of the business, I had a very good knowledge of financial markets from a trading perspective but did not have the necessary experience of how that might be applied within the corporate environment. The Graduate Certificate in Corporate Treasury was an ideal solution. The course is designed to give a practical insight into the full range of corporate treasury skills. The academic theory is well supported by guest lectures from a range of well-respected market practitioners and experts from the accountancy & legal professions. In summary, I found it extremely enjoyable and of great practical benefit to my career. Nine months after I finished the course I was appointed Treasurer of Gensec Ireland, part of the banking arm of the Sanlam Group.’
As previously mentioned the Graduate Certificate is delivered through DCU Executive Education, which delivers professional development programmes and whose principal focus is the delivery of degrees at both postgraduate and undergraduate levels, which are tailored to the needs of customers. These programmes are designed to achieve, amongst others, the following:
• To combine the fullest academic rigour with practical application
• To create robust and imaginative connections between theory and practice
• To strongly encourage the synthesis of ideas and an interdisciplinary approach to problem solving, change management and business and leadership development
The next intake to the Graduate Certificate will take place in September 2003. As usual the course will be run over one-year, on a part-time basis, with attendance at lectures on Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings. Further information is available from the DCU web pages (www.dcu.ie) or from the DCU Executive Education at 01-7008106 or e-mail fiona.smyth@dcu.ie. |
James Ryan is academic director of the Graduate Certificate in Corporate Treasury and a lecturer in finance at Dublin City University.
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