Name: Corporate Finance & Treasury
Rating: 5.0 (13 reviews)

This course has been certified by the CPD Certification Service as conforming to continuing professional development principles. Find out more.

Explore treasury in action and learn the process of money management

Treasury is the financial heart of a commercial organisation, dealing with critical decisions that affect the success of the business.

On this four-week course, you’ll be introduced to the global world of treasury and the main factors that impact treasury decisions. You’ll examine the key drivers of treasury activity including accounting, tax, and regulation, learning how the role of a treasurer works within an organisation and the wider economic environment.

Examine financial and management accounts

Through considered actions and activities, treasurers can add value to an organisation and drive business success.

You’ll delve into the world of accounting and discover how treasury can impact reported financial performance.

Learning about financial statements, measures of revenue, costs, and profits, and reporting on a company’s financial performance, you’ll be able to identify the importance of a treasurer in communicating with stakeholders and delivering meaningful insights.

Demystify corporate tax and financial regulation

A key role of treasury is managing tax matters and cash flow, and protecting them from the costly and damaging effects of tax mismanagement.

You’ll learn about corporate tax planning, taxable profit, and operational procedures within tax management, ensuring you can adhere to the legal tax rules and regulations of corporate business.

Learn from the experts in treasury

Setting the global benchmark for treasury excellence around the world, the ACT is the authentic voice of the treasury profession representing the interests of the real economy.

By the end of this course, you’ll have gained a thorough overview of treasury and its role in corporate business and economics, equipping you to kickstart a financial career using these sought-after insights.

Syllabus

Week 1
The treasurer’s world
- Introduction
  In Activity 1, we introduce you to the ACT and treasury and what to expect in Week 1.
- The treasury business
  You will learn more about the role of the treasurer, understanding the organisation and maximising shareholder wealth. You will also hear from a treasurer on their journey into treasury.
- Financial markets and trade
  We don’t like cutting out the middle person, but here you will learn more on financial markets, foreign exchange, trade and the economic environment.
- The business cycle
  In the final activity of the week, we introduce you to recession and recovery, how the business evolves and sustainability. Again, we hear from a practicing treasurer on their experience of their role.
Week 2
The secrets of accounting
- Introduction to Week 2
  In Activity 1 we are going to introduce you to how treasurers manage their accountancy responsibilities, specifically looking at accounting rules and financial management accounts.
- Financial management accounts
  The following steps will give you an understanding of financial statements and positions. You will learn about the measurement of revenue, costs and profit, including EBITDA.
- Ratio analysis
  What is ratio analysis? In the following steps, we will take you through the ratio journey. Understanding analysis, performance ratios, debt, liquidity, gearing and leverage as well as looking how it impacts financial statements
- The role of the treasurer
  Here you will discuss the impact of external borrowing on treasury. The role of the treasurer continues and you will check your understanding of accounting.
Week 3
The myths of tax
- Introduction to Week 3
  In Activity 1 we introduce you to the week, find out what you know about tax and introduce you to tax and reputation management.
- Tax and regulation
  In this activity we take you through tax and the cost to the business, taxable profit, tax compliance and anti-avoidance and how it fits with treasury.
- Corporate tax planning
  In the following steps we focus on tax planning, the basics of corporate tax, tax avoidance and evasion, operational procedures and tax savings.
- Tax reflections
  By now your knowledge of tax has been enhanced, and here we take a look back on this through discussion and reflection.
Week 4
Regulation meets treasury
- Introduction to Week 4
  In Activity 1 we introduce you to the week, and focus on what you know about financial regulation.
- Financial regulation and the law
  Financial regulation is a key area. In this step you will learn how financial regulation and law work hand in hand, as well as understanding offences, compliances and sanctions.
- Financial regulation and operational procedures
  Other areas of regulation include insolvency, liquidation, EMIR, Dodd-Frank and European market infrastructure. We will look more closely at these in the following steps.
- Financial regulations summary
  One key area of regulation is anti-money laundering, also known as AML. The next series of steps provide an insight into AML. We finish off with a leading treasurer providing insight on their career.
- The final assessment and what comes next
  Congratulations, this is the final activity of this course. We look back at what has been taught, invite you to take your final assessment and guide you on your next steps.

Who is this accredited by?

The CPD Certification Service:

The CPD Certification Service was established in 1996 and is the leading independent CPD accreditation institution operating across industry sectors to complement the CPD policies of professional and academic bodies.

When would you like to start?

Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.

Available now

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

Describe the environment in which a treasury professional works
Describe the relationship between accountancy and treasury
Describe the relationship between tax and treasury
Describe how regulations affect the treasurer

Who is the course for?

This course is designed for anyone with a beginner’s interest in treasury, tax, regulation, and accounting.

It is particularly beneficial for those considering a career in corporate business or their associated financial organisations such as banks and other financial institutions.

Who will you learn with?

Janet Legge

Director of Awarding Body at the Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT).

Responsible for developing treasury and cash management qualifications and our FutureLearn courses.

Who developed the course?

The Association of Corporate Treasurers

The Association of Corporate Treasurers, the only professional treasury body with a Royal Charter, sets the global benchmark for treasury excellence through internationally recognised qualifications.

What's included?

The Association of Corporate Treasurers are offering everyone who joins this course a free digital upgrade, so that you can experience the full benefits of studying online for free. This means that you get:

Unlimited access to this course

Includes any articles, videos, peer reviews and quizzes

Tests to validate your learning

A PDF Certificate of Achievement to prove your success when you’re eligible

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

Want to know more about learning on FutureLearn? Using FutureLearn