People in Focus: Aleksandra Filipowicz, Polish Corporate Treasurers Association

In 2017, the Polish Corporate Treasurers Association (PCTA) celebrated its 10th anniversary. We are extremely proud of the fact that all PCTA members and partners who have participated in its growth, achievements and successes for the last 10 years celebrated this special occasion together. PCTA has over 180 members from the largest Polish entities as well as from the SME segment, representing many different branches and sectors. Our collective experiences and achievements help us to meet the purpose of the Association, which is to promote and facilitate integration among treasurers, as well as providing comprehensive support in their day-to-day tasks and activities.

PCTA offers a major forum in which to develop and improve knowledge about the role of professional treasurers and also to exchange experiences and teach the importance of liquidity at the management level of a corporate entity. From the very beginning it has been a club of friends - treasurers who regularly meet together to share best practices and discuss the role of modern treasury. After the financial crisis of 2007, exchanging ideas became a special concern and allowed us to respond to the complex situation; the PCTA community grew significantly and has developed into a group of experienced and highly motivated treasury professionals. 

Every six months the Association organises a conference and holds several events covering a wide range of topics relevant to the challenges of treasury and the corporate world. Active participation in conferences with banks and financial institutions, meetings and events allows us to exchange the best treasury practices and competencies among our members and expand their knowledge of new or upcoming market regulations, finance solutions and banking services. It is particularly important to represent the Polish treasurers’ community in economic forums and in co-operation with financial market representatives. PCTA welcomes and is proud of good relations with banks and banking industry.

The 21st PCTA conference took place on 20 October 2018. It was organised in a different – workshop only – format, in contrast to previous conferences with presentations and the participation of guests and lecturers. Financial fraud and cybercrime prevention, PSD2, split payment, and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) were important topics in  the workshops and discussions. All these subjects, as well as other more general ones, such as cash management, financing, risk management and new technology solutions play major roles in treasury. The idea of workshops, where it is comfortable to exchange individual practices and touch upon corporate treasury problems in small teams, met with a resounding response among community members. Regular meetings also deal with the current situation in financial and banking markets, and provide information on regulatory and legal developments.

I have been a proud member of PCTA since 2009 and as its Vice-President I am engaged in all its activities, as well as representing the Association on the boards of the European Association of Corporate Treasurers (EACT) and the International Group of Treasury Association (IGTA) with both of which the PCTA maintains significant links. After completing my master’s degree in economics I worked in the finance and treasury department for PTK Centertel, the mobile subsidiary of telecommunication group TP S.A., which subsequently became a part of Orange Polska S.A.  My work at Orange allowed me to grow and develop within the structure of a company with a global reach. Over the years  my professional role has expanded to include various functions and responsibilities such as managing liquidity and supervising financial transactions, cash management, co-operation with the banking sector and other financial institutions and leading the management  of  supply chain financing. At this time, I also  graduated from the Warsaw School of Economics and achieved a PhD in economics and management. This, together with my experience of financing and treasury management, allows me to share my knowledge with other PCTA members, and successfully contribute to the activities of our Association.

PCTA has been strongly involved in various regulatory developments and standards, as well as discussions, especially in the following initiatives: Polish LMA standards, partnership with the Financial Directors Forum, co-operation projects with the Polish Bank Association and with the Polish Ministry of Finance. Our members are engaged in the educational curriculum at the Warsaw School of Economics and at the University of Warsaw, where PCTA has recently opened a new chapter in its history – the launch of post-graduate corporate treasury studies which cover  various aspects of modern treasury. 

One of the most interesting and popular PCTA projects is the organisation of an annual competition for masters dissertations on treasury topics. Over the last decade the Association has been actively engaged in co-operation between treasurers in different companies and serves as a platform to integrate and share ideas across different sectors and enterprises as well as banks in the field of treasury. All our professionals and their activities have greatly strengthened our Association. Networking, commitment and a sense of camaraderie have become trademarks of PCTA .