Head of Treasury and Financing – Treasurer

The treasury manager oversees the company’s cash management and cash flows. He or she is responsible for day-to-day financial coverage and requirements, while ensuring that cash inflows and outflows are optimised. A “transitional” treasury manager also carries out these tasks with confidence, thanks to his or her experience and skills in this field;

The use of an interim manager is not always foreseeable, but the head of the company can count on this new professional to strengthen the management team. Here’s how it works.

Interim management in finance: background

Interim treasury managers play a particularly strategic role. Since the financial crises of 2007-2012, these professionals have played a key role in controlling financial risks.

Recruitment in the financial sector is also becoming increasingly complex and time-consuming in France: interim management means you have more time to recruit a permanent employee.

Treasury, a key function within the finance department

A company director or finance director will rely on the treasury director’s advice on 5 major issues:

1.     Liquidity management

The treasury manager will be familiar with all aspects of managing the company’s liquidity, including cash flow forecasting, managing overdrafts and cash surpluses, and optimising returns on available funds. Their role is to manage the financial uncertainty and hazards that can affect the company’s financial stability.

2.     Financial risk management

The treasury manager’s role is to manage financial risks such as exchange rate, interest rate and counterparty risks. They must protect the company from the volatility of the financial markets and fluctuations that can have a negative impact on the company’s financial results.

3.     Relations with banks and financial partners

Relations with banks and financial partners are another important issue for a treasurer, particularly when negotiating credit terms, managing bank charges and regulatory constraints. They need to anticipate bank response times and any difficulties in accessing the banking services needed to manage cash effectively.

4.     Optimising processes and tools

The role of treasury managers can be to optimise processes and tools used for treasury management, eliminating repetitive manual tasks and obsolete or non-integrated IT systems, which can lead to delays and errors in treasury operations.

5.     Optimising costs and performance

Treasury managers have a key role to play in reducing costs and improving a company’s financial performance. They must identify opportunities to optimise treasury-related costs, while seeking to maximise returns and support the company’s growth.

What are the main tasks of an interim treasury director?

The 5 roles of a cash manager:

Short-term cash management

• Prepare day-to-day forecasts in order to optimise investments and financing, based on the specific features of the company’s activities (products, markets) of the entities and their history ;
• Prepare the budget using data supplied by management control and the financial director ;
• Implement appropriate reporting to monitor compliance with the investment and financing policy and to refine short-term forecasts ;
• Compare accounting and banking positions, check bank fees and commissions, financial interest charged by banks.

Medium and long-term cash management

• Organising the flow of incoming and outgoing payments for entities at the lowest cost and using IT tools tailored to the entity’s specific characteristics (business, geopolitical, geographical) ;
• Check that the circulation of cash (liquidity) within the Group is optimised ;
• Implement cash pooling (centralised cash management) and netting (offsetting of inflows and outflows in all currencies carried out by domestic and foreign subsidiaries) ;
• Set up loan and borrowing agreements, cash flow agreements between the parent company and its subsidiaries ;
• Ensure that the financing policy of international entities and subsidiaries is appropriate and meets cash  needs;
• Optimise surplus cash with investments selected according to their duration, nature, return, amount invested, risk, taxation (corporate tax rate): term accounts or deposits (CAT/DAT), capitalisation contracts, UCITS, etc.

Management of medium and long-term financing

• Negotiate suitable financing solutions with banks: factoring or factoring, bank loans (syndicated or bilateral), leasing, manage related guarantees. Ensure compliance with contractual clauses and financial ratios;
• Participating in arranging investment finance: acquisitions of companies or major assets ;
• Propose solutions for refinancing entities by putting in place loans, new guarantees or recapitalisations ;
• Identify or allocate grants.

Risk management

• Identify and quantify the various risks : interest rate, exchange rate, commodity, counterparty (borrower default), and assess the impacts on entities ;
• Implement hedging instruments for interest rate and exchange rate risk adapted to the assets and currencies used and the entity’s specific flows, in compliance with existing procedures and accounting rules ;
• Guarantee the reliability and security of flows.

Banking relations

• Guaranteeing the reliability and security of flows.
• Present the consolidated accounts to financial partners and answer their questions about the company’s activity and business plan.
• Negotiate pricing terms for transactions to optimise costs.
• Decide on the breakdown of incoming and outgoing flows by bank.

When should you call on the services of an interim treasury manager?

There are many cases where this type of management is required.

A specific project requiring specific knowledge

An M&A transaction, an international expansion plan or a financial restructuring are projects that require specialist knowledge. When the management team does not have the resources in-house, calling in a transitional treasury manager may be necessary to manage the financial implications of the project.

Temporary but essential assignments to manage

The company may encounter temporary staffing needs in terms of cash management. This is the case, for example, because of the resignation of the manager or a prolonged period of absence. This type of management ensures the continuity of operations, in agreement with the CFO.

Current recruitment difficulties in France

The finance job market is particularly tight at the moment: it takes longer and longer to recruit in the financial and administrative sector, such as a CFO. This time is longer if the position has high responsibility or if it is located in a region outside Paris. The interim manager enables the company to continue to operate normally throughout the recruitment process.

The advantages of using an interim manager specialising in finance

Whether on the offensive or the defensive, the arrival of an interim manager is an enriching experience for all the teams, and in particular for the managers.

Qualified professionals who are operational and available quickly

The professional qualifications of the managers in the Procadres International network have been validated and checked. This advantage allows you to benefit from the experience of a competent treasury manager.

But the other advantage is the availability of these experts. They are immediately available for the assignment, especially in the event of an unforeseen event such as sick leave or resignation.

A fresh look at the organisation of the finance department

When the head of treasury has been in post for a long time, processes have not always evolved as they should. The arrival of a new professional with a fresh perspective is an opportunity to introduce different procedures for analysing budget risks, for example. He or she may alert the CFO or head of departments if he or she notices errors during an audit.

Controlled costs for a specific mission

By taking up a position within the Administrative and Financial Department, the treasury manager has a clearly established scope of his or her mission. The cost of replacement is also defined. The company draws up an action plan to make the most of this experienced employee’s time.

How do you find an interim treasury manager?

Procadres International is a recognised interim management firm in its field. Our firm is committed to providing experienced profiles within 72 hours of receiving your request. This responsiveness is possible thanks to our pool of cash managers, which has grown and improved over the years. Our staff are all capable of taking on an assignment at a moment’s notice or as part of a planned operation.

To meet your needs, we implement a process that initially involves our consultancy team. Together, you determine your needs. The research team then selects the professional from our network who best matches your requirements.