MOTHERHOOD AND STUDYING
Claire Bird had been in financial roles since 2007 and landed her first treasury-specific position in 2014 before taking maternity leave. Not daunted by the pressures of motherhood and wanting to stay focused on her career, she studied for the Certificate in Treasury while she was away from work!
What does your current role entail?
Overseeing the controls and systems management of the treasury department. This includes enforcing and managing segregation of duties, access reviews, SoX compliance, internal control adherence, departmental budget management and internal controls reporting.
How did you end up in a career in treasury?
I studied Accountancy at Aston University and then joined the graduate scheme at Coventry Building Society. Here I completed my ACCA. I worked in a number of finance roles within the financial services sector over 7 years, until moving to JLR in 2014 where I took on my first role in treasury, as a Middle Office Analyst.
Why did you take this qualification? What was your main objective?
I was on maternity leave when I started studying the ACT's Certificate in Treasury. I was taking a full year's maternity leave, but as well as being a mum to my then 3-month-old son, I also wanted to stay focused on my career. The Certificate in Treasury provided the perfect balance as I was able to dedicate enough hours to my studying without compromising the work involved in caring for a baby!
Which specific areas of your job will this qualification support?
As the Treasury Controls & Systems Manager I need to have a good understanding of all of areas of treasury. This qualification gave me that theoretical knowledge and a much better understanding of the practical and technological applications in the workplace.
Which specific areas of your job will this qualification support?
As the Treasury Controls & Systems Manager I need to have a good understanding of all of areas of treasury. This qualification gave me that theoretical knowledge and means that I am able to further understand the practical and technological applications in the workplace.
Cash management was also an area I found particularly useful. It is the area I knew least about, but after studying the module I could really see how the cash management process at JLR worked, thanks to the theory I had studied.
What are the benefits of having professional qualifications to add to your CV/résumé?
I returned to work from maternity leave in August 2016 to my Middle Office Analyst role. By this time I had passed two of the CertT modules. Even though I hadn't been working, I had something to add to my CV. I had gained knowledge and a better understanding of JLR treasury processes without even being in the office.
In October 2016 the Treasury Controls & Systems Manager role came up and because I was studying towards the CertT I was able to apply. I successfully passed the recruitment process and am in the role today. I believe that without studying for the CertT, I would not have been able to even apply for the role. I was benefiting already!
What happens next in your career and how has your qualification helped?
As I mentioned previously, I have already benefited from this qualification by being able to apply for my current management role. I would like to continue to gain experience in Treasury and then in future years start studying towards the AMCT.
How was your onine learning experience with the ACT?
I found the studying experience to be very good. The layout of the course material was clear and there were plenty of questions to check my progress. I particularly liked the tutor forum. Although I didn't ask many questions myself, I found it useful to read other questions and see how the tutors had answered them.