The ACT Educational Trust is a charity that promotes the treasury profession through education and support. The Trust offers bursaries to assist students from developing countries who are unable to fund or gain sponsorship to study for an ACT qualification.
TREASURY QUALIFICATIONS BURSARIES
We offer a bursary for the Certificate in Treasury Fundamentals.
The bursary covers:
- online learning materials fee
- student membership fee
- assessment fee (your first exam sitting, and one re-sit if needed).
Having successfully completed the Certificate in Treasury Fundamentals, students can then apply for a bursary to cover the Certificate in Treasury and Diploma in Treasury Management.
If you have a minimum of three years work experience within treasury or are a qualified accountant you may be eligible for direct entry onto the Certificate in Treasury. If you think this applies to you get in touch so we can help you and ensure you apply for the correct bursary.
CASH QUALIFICATIONS BURSARY
If you are more interested in cash management specifically, you may wish to apply to study the Award in International Cash Management.
The bursary covers:
- online learning materials fee
- student membership fee
- assessment fee (your first exam sitting, and one re-sit if needed).
Having successfully completed the Award in International Cash Management, students can then apply for a bursary to cover the Certificate in International Cash Management.
If you have a minimum of three years work experience within cash management or are a qualified accountant you may be eligible for direct entry onto the Certificate in International Cash Management. If you think this applies to you get in touch so we can help you and ensure you apply for the correct bursary.
ELIGIBILITY
1. You must complete the Future Learn course: Introduction to Corporate Treasury PRIOR to applying for an ACT bursary.
You can do this for free by using the free trial on Future Learn which enables you to access the course content for a limited time. You do not need to take the assessment, which would incur a cost, but we ask you to provide proof that you have worked through the content. You can do this by:
- taking a screen shot of the last page of the courses (a photo taken on your phone would be sufficient)
- making a remark in the comments section on the Future Learn website to show you have worked through the course content
You will be asked to upload the photos you have taken when you apply.
PLEASE NOTE: you must take note of the free trial information from Future Learn and especially the expiry date as it is your responsibility to ensure you do not exceed this trial period and therefore incur costs. The ACT is not liable for any payment you may owe Future Learn should you continue beyond your free trial period.
2. Check the list of eligible countries before you apply. We only offer bursaries if you are a national and resident from one of these countries.
3. You may be exempt from the Certificate in Treasury Fundamentals or the Award in International Cash Management. Take a look at the following exemption information and if you think it applies to you, get in touch so that we can help you and ensure you apply for the correct bursary.
Qualified accountant
If you are ACCA, CIMA, ICAEW qualified or qualified with an IFAC recognised body, you are exempt from the Certificate in Treasury Fundamentals and Award in International Cash Management.
For those studying the treasury pathway: We recommend that you begin your studies with the Certificate in Treasury. You may also be exempt from certain units of the Certificate in Treasury. Take a look at the accountancy exemptions information to see which exemptions apply to you.
For those studying the cash management pathway: We recommend that you begin your studies with the Certificate in International Cash Management.
If the accounting exemptions applies to you, complete the Accountant Bursary form below.
Other professional qualifications
If you are a CFA Charter holder you are eligible for direct entry on to the Certificate in Treasury. You will need to provide a copy of your qualification certificate when applying. Please get in touch so that we can help you and ensure you apply for the correct bursary.
Other exemptions
If you have three years’ experience of working in a treasury role or working with treasury in either a financial institution or a treasury consultancy, then you may be exempt from the Certificate in Treasury Fundamentals. If you have three years' experience of working in cash management you may be exempt from the Award in International Cash Management. You will need to provide a work experience declaration form.
SELECTION PROCEDURE
Awarding of bursaries is based on their availability and the information provided on the application forms. The awards are made entirely at the discretion of the ACT Educational Trust.
Please note: every application window has an allocated budget spend. If the number of applications exceeds this allocation the bursaries will be awarded on a first come, first served basis (providing the eligibility criteria has been met).
We will offer any unsuccessful candidates the option to take a partial bursary, whereby they would need to pay for their first examination on enrolment. For CertTF this would be one examination, for CertT this would be five examinations and so on for all the subsequent qualifications. Candidates may opt to take the partial bursary or to wait for the next application window.
From October 2023 new candidates who have not completed the Introduction to Corporate Treasury - Online Course - FutureLearn will not be eligible to apply for an ACT bursary.
COMMUNICATION WITH CANDIDATES
Candidates will be contacted within two weeks of the application deadline and asked to attend a short, 15 minute meeting with an ACT member who will discuss the qualification the candidate is applying for and speak to them about what is involved in taking an ACT qualification. These meetings will be held virtually via Microsoft Teams and are informal and designed to ensure candidates have an opportunity to ask questions about the ACT bursary and qualifications.
Candidates will be notified of the outcome of their application via email within six weeks of the application deadline.
Once a candidate has been offered a bursary they are required to start the course within two months of the confirmation email. If they fail to do this their place may be reallocated to another applicant.
EMPLOYMENT DECLARATION
Please complete the attached employment declaration form. If you are currently in employment, your line manager should complete Section A, confirming that company sponsorship is not available. If you are currently unemployed, we ask you to complete Section B. You will be asked to confirm that you are not studying for another qualification when you apply to ensure you are able to focus fully on the ACT's qualification.
CERTIFICATE IN TREASURY FUNDAMENTALS BURSARY
⬤ If you are a national and resident of one of the countries listed above, and are unable to gain sponsorship for your studies from your employer, please complete the bursary application form. All applications must include information on the candidate's Introduction to Corporate Treasury - Online Course - Future Learn learning (e.g. a screen shot or photograph of their learning ) and the Employment Declaration form. We will let you know if your application has been successful within four weeks of the application deadline.
Application deadline: 24 September 2025
AWARD IN INTERNATIONAL CASH MANAGEMENT BURSARY
⬤ If you are a national and resident of one of the countries listed above, and are unable to gain sponsorship for your studies from your employer, please complete the bursary application form. All applications must include information on the candidate's Introduction to Corporate Treasury - Online Course - Future Learn learning (e.g. a screen shot or photograph of their learning) and the Employment Declaration form. We will let you know if your application has been successful within four weeks of the application deadline.
Application deadline: 24 September 2025
ACCOUNTANTS BURSARY
⬤ If you are a qualified accountant OR if you have a minimum of three years' experience you should apply for the Accountant Bursary.
If you are a national and resident of one of the countries listed above, and are unable to gain sponsorship for your studies from your employer, please complete the bursary application form. All applications must include information on the candidate's Introduction to Corporate Treasury - Online Course - Future Learn learning (e.g. a screen shot or photograph of their learning ) and the Employment Declaration form. We will let you know if your application has been successful within four weeks of the application deadline.
Application deadline: 24 September 2025.
If you would like to help the success of aspiring treasury professionals, funding for bursaries is via charitable donations.
Any amount is welcome and appreciated!
If you have any questions about donating, please contact us.
We're very proud of all ACT bursary holders. They continue to go on and do great things in their careers. If you are interested, explore some insight into the experiences of three of our bursary holders:
“Taking this qualification has given me an added advantage and confidence.” Read about my experience here.
“I really believe having these qualifications will make my CV stand out.” Read about my experience here.
"Studying with ACT opened many doors for me. After completing the Certificate in Treasury Fundamentals, I was promoted to Senior Treasury Dealer. Read more about my experience here."