Why do Treasury professionals make the move?

The main reason that most people make a move is for career progression. For Treasury professionals – 76% of whom are looking for opportunities – this is a huge factor as Treasury teams tend to be small and finite so there is often the need to move externally to progress.

Career progression
40% of our respondents feel there is no adequate career progression within their firm. This is attributable to the pyramid structure of Treasury departments, meaning it’s difficult to progress up the ladder unless the person above leaves. Even in a large Treasury department, the pyramid structure persists and, with more Group Treasurer roles being used as a rotation role for future CFOs, Treasury professionals are increasingly finding that they need to make an external move to make that final step up.

Study support
For more junior candidates, the ability to study for professional qualifications and be supported through these studies is a key driver. The majority of the larger corporates do offer support through the AMCT, accounting qualifications and the CFA, but it’s not the case across the board as 32% of those surveyed did not receive study support. It’s therefore not uncommon for candidates to choose a role specifically based on the availability of study provision.

Flexible working
Although not unique to Treasury, the availability and accommodation of flexible working patterns is an increasingly important reason that people choose to move employers. The percentage of Treasury professionals being offered flexible working arrangements has grown substantially in the last year, from 54% to 64%. This is certainly a positive development, although it does still leave 36% not being offered flexible working, of which almost half would like it to be offered. This shows that there is still some way to go to ensure that employee expectations are met.

If you would like to discuss future opportunities, feel free to get in touch with myself or the treasury team, on 020 7415 2800 or charlottehughes@brewermorris.com

Download a copy of our 2019 salary survey here.