Treasury analyst interview

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ks112

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Hi guys,
I have a treasury analyst interview next friday and I was hoping some of you guys can give me an example of some questions that may be asked. This is the job description and the company is a large ferry operator.
Managing the cash flows of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries;
Identifying and forecasting cash surpluses, arranging for the investment of those surpluses, and monitoring the investment fund;
Identifying and forecasting cash shortfalls, arranging the funding of shortfalls, monitoring the status of respective borrowings;
Providing critical analysis, options, implications and recommendations with respect to the Company’s cash positions to Treasury management as they make strategic and operating decisions;
Managing the transfer of funds among the Company and financial institutions to optimize cash flow;
Keeping abreast of foreign exchange conditions, setting the $US exchange rate, monitoring the exposure to US cash and arranging for the sale and purchase of $US and other foreign funds;
Preparing short-term and long-term cash flow forecasts; and
Administering cash floats and petty cash funds.
Thank in advance guys.
 
This is what my trading associate or portfolio admin somewhat does. I would say that the hard skill set would be things like Excel and your usual PC suspects. However, more important is your ability to “read” into your company’s needs/trends so you can - as they state - identify opportunities for cash surplus or shortfalls type of thing. Use lingo that suggests that you are pretty quick and perceptive.
Willy
 
be able to tell a story / share your view about the market… inflation, LIBOR, crude prices, FX trends, and the impact to company’s balance sheet position given these trends and what you can do to hedge the interest rate exposure and translation gain/loss.
 
I used to be a Treasury Analyst at a $4B international company. Important characteristics are being analytical (i.e. looking for trends in cash flow, and determine what causes those trends), good communication (you will likely be working with other financial analysts/managers throughout the company/subsidiaries as well as banking partners), knowledge of industry trends and accounting standards (like staying abreast of FASB standards). They may ask you if you’re familiar with bank products such as disbursement or collection accounts, sweep accounts, credit cards, etc. or if you have expertise/experience with foreign currency.
Hope that helps!
 
steph96 Wrote:
——————————————————-
> I used to be a Treasury Analyst at a $4B
> international company. Important characteristics
> are being analytical (i.e. looking for trends in
> cash flow, and determine what causes those
> trends), good communication (you will likely be
> working with other financial analysts/managers
> throughout the company/subsidiaries as well as
> banking partners), knowledge of industry trends
> and accounting standards (like staying abreast of
> FASB standards). They may ask you if you’re
> familiar with bank products such as disbursement
> or collection accounts, sweep accounts, credit
> cards, etc. or if you have expertise/experience
> with foreign currency.
>
> Hope that helps!
Thanx for all the tips Steph, can you tell me what sort of investments are usually made by the treasury deparment with regards to excess funds. I am guessing they have to be very safe and liquid, like T bills and such??
 
Depends a lot on the company & industry but, in general, most are active primarily in money market securities (commercial paper, BAs, repos, T-bills, etc.). The philosophy in most corporate treasuries I’ve encountered is to value safety and liquidity (as you note above); and are just looking for a marginally higher-yielding alternative to leaving surplus funds in a bank account.
 
That’s exactly right; at the company I was with, we generally used money market funds with varying levels of liquidity. We tried to avoid risks, and unlike a lot of companies, chose not to purchase auction rate securities (in hindsight, that was a GREAT choice).
 
Steph - what drove your company’s decision process behind not buying ARSs?
 
thanx again guys. Any ideas on which behavioral questions that maybe asked? I am guessing:
communication, team work skills – since the position would probably require regular contact with internal and external people.
Analytical and problem solving skills is probably another obvious one
 
Hello everyone,
I thought I’d give a quick update, I have receieved a job offer from them and I am very satisfied with the terms. I just want to thank everyone for their help and input with regards to the interview.
Stupid question but I am planning on handing in the signed copy of my employment offer tommorow ( I start on monday). I believe their dress code is business formal, should I wear a tie just to drop off the paperwork? My current work has a business casual dress code.
Thanx again guys
 
DoubleDip Wrote:
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> Congratulations!!!!! sure, wear a tie, can’t
> hurt!
Its better to be overdressed then underdressed.
congrats on the position by the way
 
I’m looking into a Treasury Analyst position as well. The thing I’m wondering is would it be a good stepping stone if I want to go into ER or portfolio managment?
Thanks in advance for the response.
 
All depends on the firm and your specfic duties. However I believe most treasury analyst work experience will count towards the CFA and since you probably need CFA to be a PM I’d say it can’t hurt. Unless of course you can get into a FO role straight up.
 
Sorry to renew an old post, but would anyone else have new insight on the topic?
I have a Treasury Analyst interview coming up for a Private Equity firm. Do you receomend refreshing any specific areas of CFA material? I just sat for L2 and haven’t thought about it since then. I’m a little nervous, so any responses would be a great help!
What would be good questions to ask the CEO, CFO, Corporate Controller, Director of Treasury?
 
cfaprincess Wrote:
——————————————————-
> be able to tell a story / share your view about
> the market… inflation, LIBOR, crude prices, FX
> trends, and the impact to company’s balance sheet
> position given these trends and what you can do to
> hedge the interest rate exposure and translation
> gain/loss.
Hey princess,
I disagree with that.
IMO the focus is clearly on the corporate treasury side and managing cash.
What to do with excess cash is part of the job, but secondary.
So I believe that the primary focus is to understand what drives the cash position / liquidity needs of this firm and its subsidiaries.
I would think in a cash flow statement framework.
- first with focus on the CFO side: seasonality in sales and in working capital. What kind of creditors and debtors do they have ? What are likely to be the conditions ? How can it be managed / improved ? What are trends in cash conversion cycle throughout the year ? etc. The only way to understand that is to understand what this business does.
- Then I would focus on the CFF and CFI of this firm. What do they invest in and how do they finance it, what are the conditions they have with banks, etc.
Then what do they have on their balance sheet and what they are going to have in the next years or so.
Then how does it work with the subsidiaries, i.e. cash pooling and what not.
Then finally focus on what to do with excess cash, FX exposure and the financial markets aspect of it.
Just my 0.02.
 
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