Recap & Recording: Where Treasury Professionals and Academia Connect

Our panel discussed the gaps in treasury education, the role of universities and associations, and how treasury can gain more visibility through stronger academic collaboration, practical teaching, and strategic positioning. Our speakers also highlighted how AI, presentation skills, and deeper research could help treasury professionals move from operational execution to a more influential role in the office of the CFO.

The session featured insights from the following lineup of speakers:

Robert Dekker

1) Treasury is still too little known as a career path, but it has strong strategic potential.

“Treasury is sometimes not well known. If you look at students, universities. They happen to fall into it or stumble into it like me.”

Robert emphasizes that treasury often lacks visibility in education, yet it can become a broad and strategic function once professionals step into it.

2) Treasury education creates long-term networks and strong careers.

“Alumni have become friends forever. That’s, I think, added value, the networking part of our programs.”

He highlights that treasury education is not only about knowledge, but also about building lasting professional relationships.

Jacques Yana Mbena

1) Treasury needs stronger academic grounding because the field is still too dependent on provider-led knowledge.

“Treasury knowledge today is distributed mostly through the knowledge, through the associations, treasury associations, and all those big conferences and white papers.”

Jacques emphasizes that treasury is still being shaped more by associations and solution providers than by independent academic research, which limits depth and neutrality.

2) Treasury needs critical thinking and strategic decision-making, not just technical skills.

“Backing that with critical thinking lead to strategic decision making. And that is how the both of them should be then taught by the university.”

Jacques stresses that education should combine practical decision-making with critical analysis so treasury professionals can claim a stronger voice at CFO level.

Máximo Santos Miranda

1) Teaching treasury examples can inspire students and show the strategic side of the profession.

“I think the idea of giving examples of strategic issues, I think it’s a way that they can realize that Treasury is not only administrative, it can be also strategic.”

He emphasizes that practical examples help students see treasury as a strategic profession, not just an operational one.

2) Treasury education can grow through dialogue and shared learning.

“We can have a dialogue, between all of us and see what the strategic things we can prepare.”

He highlights collaboration, exchange, and joint thinking as a way to strengthen treasury education and the profession.