Short bibliography
I started my professional career at Prosus in their treasury back office. In this position I focussed on treasury projects and reporting, and later – as part of their treasury front office – I focussed on cash management and financial risk management. Prosus works with large projects, which made it a great place to learn and to start my career. I have recently joined Wolters Kluwer as part of their treasury front office.
How did you get into the treasury profession?
When I was nearing the end of high school, I could not decide what to study next. My parents gave me a deadline; they booked a dinner for the next day and during the dinner I had to give them a final answer on what I had decided to study. I looked around for jobs in finance in a hurry and ended up with treasury. I had no idea what it all entailed, but during the dinner I said I wanted to work in treasury and carelessly threw around words like ‘cashflow’ and ‘liquidity’. In the end I convinced my parents (and myself), and I applied for a course that offered a minor in treasury.
During this minor in treasury I had the opportunity to do a project for ANWB’s treasury team, which led to an internship. As it was a smaller treasury at the time, I had the chance to see the many different aspects and activities of the department. This internship, together with the minor, sparked my interest in treasury. After I graduated, I knew I wanted to start my career in treasury and started looking for roles in the field.
What are your main treasury tasks?
Within Wolters Kluwer’s treasury department, my focus is on corporate finance and financial risk management. My duties for corporate finance involve, for example, making proposals on the height of our dividends and the share buyback program, as well as addressing any financing needs by issuing new bonds or commercial paper.
For financial risk management, I assess our currency and interest rate exposures and advise on hedging levels. I collaborate with other disciplines (such as tax and accounting) within Wolters Kluwer to manage these risks as efficiently as possible, reducing their impact on our financials.
Looking back at my initial ideas of the role of a treasurer, I wasn’t too far off regarding ‘cashflow’ and ‘liquidity’, as, in the end (in a simplified form), that is what most of treasury revolves around.
What appeals to you about treasury?
I get a great sense of satisfaction from solving the complex issues that arise in treasury. Whether these challenges stem from internal factors, such as entering new markets, or external factors, such as legislative changes, there are many ways to approach them. The fun for me is in solving problems that don’t have one ‘right’ answer, as it all depends on the profile of the company and the specific situation. To address these issues, it is key to work with your colleagues from different disciplines to find the optimal solution. These projects give me the opportunity to delve deeper into treasury-specific subjects and to broaden my knowledge of other disciplines, while at the same time creating significant value for the company.
What challenge in your treasury career has impressed you most?
The project that has impressed me the most, was one of the first projects I worked on in treasury. When I joined Prosus’ treasury team, they were about to start the transition to a new Treasury Management System (TMS). In addition to populating the databases, we had to design new processes. This involved testing and experimenting with the system. This gave me comprehensive insight and understanding of all the treasury processes. I gained a lot of knowledge and exposure from this experience. Since the TMS was new to all of us, I had the opportunity to contribute to this major project without much in-depth knowledge of treasury. It gave me the chance to prove myself.
Why is treasury such an interesting field?
Treasury has a global and forward-looking perspective. This keeps the work fresh and dynamic as global events can have an impact on financial markets and consequently on our work. Managing these risks brings a lot of depth to the job, as there are many different strategies and perspectives to address these risks.
The treasurer is also a key internal business partner for executive management. Decisions regarding corporate finance and financial risk management are integral to shaping long-term strategy. Treasury provides insights and analyses that help guide these decisions, giving you as treasurer the opportunity to make an impact on your organization.