How to Hire a Treasurer

Why hire a treasurer?

Treasurers often work in government, schools, banking, insurance and other industries. A great treasurer can help your company secure better lines of credit, navigate the complex financial field and develop a plan for your company’s financial future. A treasurer can ensure that you’re following the correct regulations in order to prevent audits. Other duties and responsibilities of a treasurer include:

• Negotiate better deals for credit lines and loans
• Develop quarterly and year end reports
• Develop policies to ensure financial solvency

Deciding between a full-time vs freelance treasurer

Before writing a treasurer job description or interviewing candidates, it’s important to decide if you need a full-time, freelance, part-time or contract treasurer (and what your budget will allow).

Some treasurer jobs may only require a few hours worth of work per week (e.g., school PTO treasurer), while other treasurer positions (i.e., corporate treasurer, treasury analyst) may be better suited as a full-time position. Additionally, freelance or contract treasurers may offer more flexibility and reduce your hiring costs.

What are the different types of treasurers?

When hiring a treasurer, it’s important to understand the specific kind of treasurer you need for your business or organization. Whether you need someone to manage budgets or oversee your company’s financial health, there’s a treasurer that can get the job done. Here are some of the most common types of treasurers to help you find one that meets your needs:

• Corporate treasurer: Manages a company’s money, financial risks, corporate accounting and decision-making process of the portfolio of investments and acquisitions for a company.
• Municipal treasurer: An elected and/or appointed official responsible for revenue and cash flow, collection, reporting and disbursement of municipal funds. Deputy municipal treasurers, on the other hand, typically assist and step in for municipal treasurers in their absence and are not elected or appointed. 
• Parent teacher organization (PTO) treasurer: Serves as a board member of the PTO/PTA, responsible for creating annual budgets, keeping accurate financial books, making regular deposits and creating reports. Often works on a volunteer basis.
• Treasury analyst: Responsible for budgeting/forecasting, variance analysis reporting, developing and managing financial dashboards and other treasury related duties. Typically reports to a controller or accounting manager. 

Where to find treasurers

To find the right treasurer for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

• Hire from within: Especially for school treasurer positions, hiring from within is a great way to give people who are driven and motivated the chance to hold more responsibilities.
• Get referrals: Ask your current employees, friends and family if they know anyone who fits the criteria for your treasurer role.
• Join professional associations: By getting involved with a professional association like the Association of Corporate Treasurers, you can attend meetups and conferences, access member directories and post jobs to reach qualified candidates.
• Post your job online: Try posting your treasurer job on Indeed to find and attract quality treasurer candidates.

Skills to look for in a great Treasurer

A great treasurer candidate will have the following skills, attributes and work experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in business, finance, accounting or a related field
• Advanced financial software knowledge (e.g., Excel, treasury applications)
• Experience in cash analysis and cash forecasting
• CPA certification (optional)
• Ability to navigate the banking industry
• Strong attention to detail and accuracy
• Honesty to create accurate reports
• Discipline to understand new regulations
• Cross-functional teamwork skills

Writing a treasurer job description

A thoughtful description is important to finding qualified treasurer candidates. A treasurer job description should include a compelling summary of the role, a detailed list of duties and responsibilities and the required and preferred skills for the position.

When writing your treasurer job description, consider including some or all of the following keywords to improve the visibility of your job posting. These are the most popular search terms leading to clicks on treasurer jobs, according to Indeed data:

• accounting
• controller
• accountant
• treasurer
• treasury
• administrative assistant
• controller accounting

Interviewing treasurer candidates

After you’ve reviewed the resumes of your top treasurer candidates, ask meaningful interview questions to gain insight into each candidate’s experience, skills and personality in order to find a focused and dedicated treasurer. Strong candidates for treasurer positions will be confident answering questions regarding:

• Financial knowledge
• Ability to maintain accurate records
• Knowledge of financial software
• Long-term career goals

Need help coming up with interview questions? See our list of treasurer interview questions for examples (with sample answers).