Curiosity and innovation are the qualities required for the job of treasurer.

In a world that's changing at lightning speed, in a job that's constantly evolving, don't think that the profiles required to staff your teams should remain the same as they have been for the past three decades. No, it's time to look at other “soft skills” that are absolutely essential. Focusing on hard skills alone is a classic mistake. We're not saying they aren't necessary and the preliminaries to hiring, but something else is needed in addition. What Heads of Treasury or CFOs need to look for is the ability to learn and the appetite that goes with it. The curiosity to discover other paths, the taste for innovation and rethinking things. We don't need pan-urge sheep, foolishly replicating behavior that's been tried and tested a thousand times over. I-got-a-master-degree-and-that's-it” people shouldn't be hired. We're looking for people who can learn again and again and more as they get older. We can only marvel that this essential quality, curiosity, is so little sought after. Tomorrow, we wouldn't hire a treasurer without the technical base (which can easily be tested with ad hoc tests such as those offered by TreasuryXL), but with a strong dose of curiosity, coupled with a taste for technological innovation and positive change. With such profiles, you can finally rethink your processes and revisit existing ones to significantly improve them. Recruiting duplicates or triples, hiring sheep, selecting “carbon copies” is a mistake made over and over again. It's time for a change, and for us to focus on the real qualities that are essential if we are to meet tomorrow's challenges, and not just those qualities that are necessary but not sufficient. We believe that creativity is sorely lacking in the treasury teams we work with on a regular basis. A vision, a quest for the absolute, a desire for change, a need to discover and an appetite for the “best” is what you should prioritize to succeed in the digital transformations and technological revolutions we'll have to face. A new world demands different qualities. We also recommend young treasurers who will go to conferences to learn, who will be active members of associations and who will seek out new things. These are the people to look for, not the uncreative, change-resistant treasurers of yesteryear. Conservatism is out, isn't it? That's our advice for today.

Fran?ois Masquelier, CEO of Simply Treasury – September 2024

?

?Disclaimer: This article was prepared by Fran?ois Masquelier in his personal capacity. The opinion expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the view of the European Association of Corporate Treasurers (i.e., EACT).

?

?

?

?