Treasurer
Encyclopedia
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury
Treasury
A treasury is either*A government department related to finance and taxation.*A place where currency or precious items is/are kept....

 of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.

Government

The Treasury
Treasury
A treasury is either*A government department related to finance and taxation.*A place where currency or precious items is/are kept....

 of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy
Economy
An economy consists of the economic system of a country or other area; the labor, capital and land resources; and the manufacturing, trade, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area...

, finance
Finance
"Finance" is often defined simply as the management of money or “funds” management Modern finance, however, is a family of business activity that includes the origination, marketing, and management of cash and money surrogates through a variety of capital accounts, instruments, and markets created...

 and revenue
Revenue
In business, revenue is income that a company receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. In many countries, such as the United Kingdom, revenue is referred to as turnover....

. The Treasurer is generally the head of the Treasury, although, in some countries (such as the U.K.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 or the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

) the treasurer reports to a Secretary of the Treasury, or Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...

. In Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, the Treasurer
Treasurer of Australia
The Treasurer of Australia is the minister in the Government of Australia responsible for government expenditure and revenue raising. He is the head of the Department of the Treasury. The Treasurer plays a key role in the economic policy of the government...

 is a senior Minister
Minister (government)
A minister is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. Senior ministers are members of the cabinet....

 and usually the second most important member of the Government
Executive (government)
Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...

 after the Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...

.
From 1867 to 1993, the Ministry of Finance (Ontario)
Ministry of Finance (Ontario)
The Ministry of Finance is a portfolio in the Executive Council of Ontario commonly known as the cabinet. The Finance Minister is responsible for managing the fiscal, financial and related regulatory affairs of the Canadian province of Ontario...

 was called the Treasurer of Ontario.

Originally the word referred to the person in charge of the treasure
Treasure
Treasure is a concentration of riches, often one which is considered lost or forgotten until being rediscovered...

 of a noble
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...

, however it has now moved into wider use. In the UK during the 17th Century, a position of Lord High Treasurer
Lord High Treasurer
The post of Lord High Treasurer or Lord Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Act of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third highest ranked Great Officer of State, below the Lord High Chancellor and above the Lord President...

 was used on several occasions as the third great officer of the Crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...

. Now the title First Lord of the Treasury
First Lord of the Treasury
The First Lord of the Treasury is the head of the commission exercising the ancient office of Lord High Treasurer in the United Kingdom, and is now always also the Prime Minister...

 is the official title of the British Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...

.

Corporate treasurers

In corporations, the Treasurer is the head of the corporate treasury department. They are typically responsible for liquidity risk
Liquidity risk
In finance, liquidity risk is the risk that a given security or asset cannot be traded quickly enough in the market to prevent a loss .-Types of Liquidity Risk:...

 management, cash management
Cash management
In United States banking, cash management, or treasury management, is a marketing term for certain services offered primarily to larger business customers...

, issuing debt
Debt
A debt is an obligation owed by one party to a second party, the creditor; usually this refers to assets granted by the creditor to the debtor, but the term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on economic value.A debt is created when a...

, foreign exchange
Foreign exchange market
The foreign exchange market is a global, worldwide decentralized financial market for trading currencies. Financial centers around the world function as anchors of trading between a wide range of different types of buyers and sellers around the clock, with the exception of weekends...

 and interest rate risk
Interest rate risk
Interest rate risk is the risk borne by an interest-bearing asset, such as a loan or a bond, due to variability of interest rates. In general, as rates rise, the price of a fixed rate bond will fall, and vice versa...

 hedging
Hedge (finance)
A hedge is an investment position intended to offset potential losses that may be incurred by a companion investment.A hedge can be constructed from many types of financial instruments, including stocks, exchange-traded funds, insurance, forward contracts, swaps, options, many types of...

, securitization
Securitization
Securitization is the financial practice of pooling various types of contractual debt such as residential mortgages, commercial mortgages, auto loans or credit card debt obligations and selling said consolidated debt as bonds, pass-through securities, or Collateralized mortgage obligation , to...

, oversight of pension investment management
Investment management
Investment management is the professional management of various securities and assets in order to meet specified investment goals for the benefit of the investors...

, and capital structure
Capital structure
In finance, capital structure refers to the way a corporation finances its assets through some combination of equity, debt, or hybrid securities. A firm's capital structure is then the composition or 'structure' of its liabilities. For example, a firm that sells $20 billion in equity and $80...

 (including share issuance
Secondary Market Offering
A secondary market offering, according to the U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority , is a registered offering of a large block of a security that has been previously issued to the public. The blocks being offered may have been held by large investors or institutions, and proceeds of the...

 and repurchase
Treasury stock
A treasury stock or reacquired stock is stock which is bought back by the issuing company, reducing the amount of outstanding stock on the open market ....

). They also typically advise the corporation on matters relating to corporate finance
Corporate finance
Corporate finance is the area of finance dealing with monetary decisions that business enterprises make and the tools and analysis used to make these decisions. The primary goal of corporate finance is to maximize shareholder value while managing the firm's financial risks...

. They could also have oversight of other areas, such as the purchase of insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...

.

There are various Treasurer associations. The International Group of Treasury Associations (www.igta.org) is composed of about 30 treasurer's organizations in the world. In Europe, the European Associations of Corporate Treasurers (www.eact-group.com) federates 17 national treasurers associations from 16 countries. The Certified Treasury Professional
Certified Treasury Professional
The Certified Treasury Professional is a certification awarded by the Association for Financial Professionals of Bethesda, Maryland to individuals who meet eligibility criteria and demonstrate current competency standards measured through the CTP examination.Once a CTP, certificants must abide by...

 designation serves as the professional certification for treasury managers and corporate treasurers with over 20,000 CTP's worldwide.

In the Inns of Court

In the Inns of Court
Inns of Court
The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. All such barristers must belong to one such association. They have supervisory and disciplinary functions over their members. The Inns also provide libraries, dining facilities and professional...

, a professional association in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

, the bencher
Bencher
A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher can be elected while still a barrister , in recognition of the contribution that the barrister has made to the life of the Inn or to the law...

or Master of the bench who heads the Inn for that year holds the title 'Master Treasurer'. This title is similarly used by other legal associations sharing a British heritage, such as the Law Society of Upper Canada
Law Society of Upper Canada
The Law Society of Upper Canada is responsible for the self-regulation of lawyers and paralegals in the Canadian province of Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1797, it is known in French as "Le Barreau du Haut-Canada"...

.

In other organizations

Many other organizations, particularly not-for-profit organizations such as charities, unions
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...

, and churches, appoint treasurers, who are responsible for conservation of the treasury and for generating income for the group, whether this be through pricing of a product, organizing sponsorship, or arranging fundraising events.

The treasurer would also be part of the group which would oversee how the money is spent, either directly dictating expenditure or authorising it as required. It is their responsibility to ensure that the organization has enough money to carry out their stated aims and objectives, and that they do not overspend, or under spend. They also report to the board meetings the financial status of the organization to ensure checks and balances. Accurate records and supporting documentation must be kept to a reasonable level of detail that provides a clear audit trail for all transactions.

See also

  • Auditor general
    Auditor General
    - Auditor General of National Audit Offices :*Auditor General of the Australian National Audit Office*Auditor General of Canada*Auditor General of China*Auditor General of Pakistan*Auditor General for Scotland*Auditor-General...

  • Bursary
    Bursary
    A bursary is strictly an office for a bursar and his or her staff in a school or college.In modern English usage, the term has become synonymous with "bursary award", a monetary award made by an institution to an individual or a group to assist the development of their education.According to The...

  • Comptroller
    Comptroller
    A comptroller is a management level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization.In British government, the Comptroller General or Comptroller and Auditor General is in most countries the external auditor of the budget execution of the...

  • Chief financial officer
    Chief financial officer
    The chief financial officer or Chief financial and operating officer is a corporate officer primarily responsible for managing the financial risks of the corporation. This officer is also responsible for financial planning and record-keeping, as well as financial reporting to higher management...

  • Certified Treasury Professional
    Certified Treasury Professional
    The Certified Treasury Professional is a certification awarded by the Association for Financial Professionals of Bethesda, Maryland to individuals who meet eligibility criteria and demonstrate current competency standards measured through the CTP examination.Once a CTP, certificants must abide by...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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