Introduction to Treasury Course

Lesson 1 • Core Treasury Functions Overview

Surveys the primary functions: cash management, funding, risk management, and investments. Provides a roadmap for the full course curriculum.

Lesson 2 • Organizational Structure of Treasury

Examines how treasury teams are structured across centralized, decentralized, and hybrid models. Connects organizational design to operational efficiency and control.

Lesson 3 • What Treasury Management Is

Defines treasury management, its scope, and its distinction from general accounting. Anchors all subsequent topics by establishing a shared conceptual baseline.

Lesson 1 • Liquidity Reserves and Buffers

Explains how to size and maintain liquidity reserves against unexpected outflows. Links reserve policy to risk appetite and funding strategy.

Lesson 2 • Understanding Cash Flow Cycles

Maps the operating, investing, and financing cash cycles that drive daily treasury activity. Provides the analytical lens for all cash management decisions.

Lesson 3 • Cash Positioning and Reporting

Covers daily cash position compilation, bank balance reporting, and reconciliation. Directly supports accurate decision-making on funding and investment.

Lesson 4 • Cash Concentration and Pooling

Introduces notional and physical cash pooling structures that optimize group-wide liquidity. Demonstrates how pooling reduces external borrowing costs.

Lesson 1 • Bank Fee Analysis and Negotiation

Teaches how to analyze bank account analysis statements and negotiate competitive pricing. Reduces banking costs through informed benchmarking and dialogue.

Lesson 2 • Counterparty Risk in Banking

Addresses exposure concentration, credit limits, and monitoring of banking counterparties. Connects counterparty risk to the broader risk management framework.

Lesson 3 • Selecting and Evaluating Banks

Covers criteria for bank selection including credit quality, service capability, and pricing. Establishes a framework for ongoing relationship performance reviews.

Lesson 1 • Yield Calculation and Comparison

Teaches day-count conventions, yield-to-maturity, and equivalent yield calculations. Enables accurate comparison of returns across different short-term instruments.

Lesson 2 • Short-Term Investment Policy

Defines the parameters of a sound investment policy: credit quality, maturity, and concentration limits. Ensures investment activity aligns with organizational risk tolerance.

Lesson 3 • Short-Term Borrowing Facilities

Covers revolving credit facilities, overdrafts, and commercial paper programs as funding tools. Links facility selection to cost, flexibility, and liquidity needs.

Lesson 4 • Money Market Funds

Explains the structure, types, and risk profile of money market funds as a liquidity vehicle. Compares funds to direct instrument investment on yield and convenience.

Lesson 1 • Foreign Exchange Market Fundamentals

Introduces spot rates, forward rates, and the mechanics of the foreign exchange market. Provides the market knowledge required before any hedging strategy is applied.

Lesson 2 • Types of Foreign Exchange Exposure

Distinguishes transaction, translation, and economic exposures and their financial impact. Accurate exposure identification is the prerequisite for effective hedging.

Lesson 3 • Forward Contracts and Swaps

Explains how forward contracts and cross-currency swaps lock in exchange rates for future flows. Demonstrates cost and risk trade-offs versus remaining unhedged.

Lesson 4 • Hedge Accounting Principles

Introduces the accounting treatment of hedging instruments under financial reporting standards. Connects hedge documentation to income statement volatility reduction.

Lesson 1 • Measuring Interest Rate Exposure

Teaches gap analysis, duration, and sensitivity metrics to quantify rate risk. Accurate measurement is the prerequisite for selecting the right hedging instrument.

Lesson 2 • Hedging Strategy Design

Integrates exposure measurement and instrument selection into a coherent hedging strategy. Addresses hedge ratio decisions, policy constraints, and performance monitoring.

Lesson 3 • Caps, Floors, and Collars

Covers interest rate options that set maximum or minimum rate boundaries on floating exposures. Compares option-based hedges to swaps on cost and flexibility.

Lesson 4 • Interest Rate Swaps

Explains fixed-for-floating swap mechanics, pricing, and application to debt portfolios. Demonstrates how swaps convert rate exposure without refinancing underlying debt.

Lesson 1 • Sources of Debt Financing

Surveys bank loans, bonds, private placements, and asset-based financing as funding sources. Provides the menu of instruments from which a funding strategy is constructed.

Lesson 2 • Cost of Debt and Credit Ratings

Explains how credit ratings, spreads, and all-in cost are calculated and managed. Demonstrates the direct link between creditworthiness and funding cost.

Lesson 3 • Debt Portfolio Management

Addresses ongoing management of a debt portfolio: refinancing, buybacks, and optimization. Connects portfolio decisions to interest rate risk and liquidity strategy.

Lesson 4 • Debt Capital Markets Process

Walks through bond issuance steps: mandate, roadshow, pricing, and settlement. Equips students to participate in or manage a public debt transaction.

Lesson 1 • Treasury Policy Development

Guides the drafting of a treasury policy covering objectives, authorities, and risk limits. A well-designed policy is the governance backbone of all treasury operations.

Lesson 2 • Enterprise Risk and Treasury Alignment

Connects treasury risk management to the enterprise risk framework and board risk appetite. Ensures treasury decisions reflect organizational strategy, not just operational needs.

Lesson 3 • Performance Measurement in Treasury

Introduces key performance indicators, benchmarking, and value-at-risk metrics for treasury. Enables objective evaluation of treasury's contribution to organizational value.

Lesson 4 • Treasury Technology and Automation

Surveys treasury management systems, ERP integration, and automation opportunities. Technology selection and implementation directly affect treasury efficiency and control.