Treasurers hold dim view of advancement at their firms.

• Author: Roberts, Blanche E.
• Position: Treasury

Last December, Zehren-Friedman Associates commissioned a survey of senior professionals in corporate treasury positions to gain insights about their attitudes toward their career advancement opportunities, perception of treasury and the role of career development, especially with regard to communication skills.

Survey respondents, largely senior corporate treasury professionals, came from relatively large organizations--25 percent hold the title of treasurer; 28 percent, director; 38 percent, assistant treasurer; and 12 percent, "other."

Respondents were from a variety of company sizes: 33 percent below $1 billion; 44 percent $1 -$10 billion; and 23 percent over $10 billion.

Highlights of the findings follow.

Career Advancement Potential: As a rule, treasury professionals do not view their department as a promising area for career advancement. Indeed, 43 percent of respondents felt that "treasury professionals often must leave the company in order to advanced" their careers; more than half (52 percent) agreed that "treasury personnel are generally limited to opportunities within the department." Just 18 percent said they stand a good chance for promotion to senior management or line management positions. Treasury Perception: Regarding the perception of their departments within the organization, overall, most treasury personnel feel their department is respected; 22 percent feel their department is highly respected.

Factors that contribute most directly to a stronger or weaker treasury department image include the skill level of treasury staff, the importance of the treasury function to business units and the degree of exposure to the rest of the company.

Professional Development Areas:

When considering how to advance their careers, over 80 percent of respondents ranked three development areas most important: increased exposure to senior management, communications skills and advanced technical skills and knowledge. In contrast, they indicated the development areas least important to treasury careers include advanced degree/certification (cited by 54 percent), line management experience (30 percent) and business development skills (16 percent). Importance of Communication Skills: Most senior treasury professionals recognize the importance of communicating effectively, whether in person or in writing. This is not surprising, given the fact that treasury often needs to communicate and interact with many different audiences and levels--both...