My Life in Treasury

Pascaline Caron, Group Treasurer, CNIM

Pascaline will be familiar to many readers of TMI as one of the acclaimed ‘Future Leaders’ at the EACT Summit earlier this year: younger treasurers who are already making a significant impact on the profession. In this feature, she describes her career so far and shares some of her professional experiences.

How did you come into treasury and what attracted you to the profession?

Unlike many people, I was already very familiar with treasury and its responsibilities when I was making my career choices, as my father was VP, Treasury for a CAC40 company. Like him, I was attracted to the breadth and diversity of the role, and I was keen to pursue a career that delivered a demonstrable service to the company. During my gap year, I got an internship at Alstom in the UK as treasury assistant, but after leaving university, I initially decided to build some experience in banking. I soon realised, however, that I preferred the corporate environment, and made the decision to join Alstom, initially in bonds and guarantees, and developed my career from there.

How did your career progress through to the role that you hold today?

I spent around eight years at Alstom, and effectively built my own graduate programme by building a broad range of experience across cash management, bonds and guarantees, FX analysis, treasury accounting, funding etc. My aim was to become an expert in treasury as a whole, as opposed to one particular element of it. This enabled me to take on the role I currently hold as group treasurer of CNIM, as although the company is smaller, I have a wide range of responsibilities. I also liked the fact that the ‘DNA’ of CNIM is similar to Alstom, although the industries in which they operate are different, as both have an engineering focus and deliver long-term contracts.

How have demands and needs in terms of treasury changed over the course of your career, and what particular skills does it now require?

Treasury is becoming more accepted as a partner to the business, so the treasury function is less isolated than in the past. In our business, treasury is now engaged before the business embarks on new projects and initiatives, rather than afterwards, so our involvement, and the value we can add, is far greater. Sales teams now only send commercial proposals to customers following consultation with treasury, rather than after the contract has been awarded, so we can assess the implications in terms of guarantees, FX risk etc. upfront and help to structure contracts appropriately. While this makes the role of treasury more challenging, it is also more interesting. Less interesting is that treasury is spending an increasing amount of time on regulatory compliance issues, and at times, it is difficult to see the value this adds. 

There are other changes too in the treasury profession and its role within the organisation, as we discussed during the panel session at the EACT Summit. For example, digitisation and automation is transforming treasury processes and decision-making, but needs to be balanced against changing cyber threats and risk of fraud. This changing technology and risk landscape means that treasurers need to develop a new mind set to embrace new opportunities and ways of thinking and working without compromising overall treasury objectives.

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What qualities do you look for when you are recruiting for your department?

Curiosity is key: treasurers always need to be looking not only at ‘what’ the situation is, but ‘why’, which may involve engaging with other departments to find out. Rigour and attention to detail is also critical: the daily cash position has to be accurate, so people need to like and understand numbers, and not be frightened of working with them. Some people have the knack of playing with figures and seeing things that others can’t.

How important do you think a formal treasury education is, as opposed to (or as well as) more general finance or accountancy qualifications?

By around 2011, it was clear to me that treasury would be my long-term career, so I decided to study for the Association of Corporate Treasurers’ AMCT qualification. This led to a very intensive two years, but it was an excellent way of developing a breadth of knowledge and expertise that it is difficult to get ‘on the job’ in one company. Although there are lots of treasury training courses available, the risk is that you forget what you’ve learnt very quickly. By studying in a more structured and sustained way, you’re more likely to remember what you’ve learned, and just as importantly, to apply it to real-life business situations. While a treasury qualification is not essential, particularly seeing as most treasury professionals do without, I would definitely recommend it as a way of extending competences quickly and broadening your perspective, whilst continuing to learn from managers and colleagues and peers in other organisations.

Based on your career so far, what would your advice be to finance professionals who are perhaps in their first treasury role?

Ask questions. Treasury is challenging, and few people have a specialist treasury education, so you need to learn from colleagues, managers and peers. While you may be comfortable with treasury technology, this does not mean that you have nothing to learn. Many people are very happy to explain things and share their advice and experience, but you need to ask them.

Having embarked on a treasury career, you need to keep on learning, continue to improve your skills and competences, and engage with the wider profession. While you might be good at your job today, you will not necessarily continue to be so, or be effective in your next role, unless you keep your skills fresh and knowledge of changing market and regulatory practices up-to-date. 

What would your ideal vacation be?

To spend two weeks in the Caribbean scuba diving, in warm seas with lots of colourful fish!

What book have you read recently that you would recommend, and why?

I recently read To Kill a Mockingbird, the classic novel by Harper Lee. I happened to see a French translation in a bookshop but I decided to order it in English. I very much liked the perspective through the eyes of a young girl, who doesn’t understand why people behave in the way they do, and the themes are just as relevant today as they were in 1936 when the novel was set, and when it was published in 1960.