Treasurer
Treasurers manage the cash, debt and investments that keep an organisation solvent day to day and funded for its longer-term plans.
- Median salary
- $109,400
3.9%vs last year, before tax
- People employed
- 4,700
2.2%vs last year
- Projected growth
- +15.9%
to 2035
- AI exposure*
- Moderate
- automation risk
- Average hours
- 44/wk
+4h vs all jobs
- Shortage status
- In shortage
national
Treasurers look after cash flow, banking relationships and surplus funds for corporations, government agencies, banks and large not-for-profits. The role differs from a financial controller in scope: a treasurer owns liquidity, debt and financial risk rather than the full accounting function, though in smaller organisations one person often covers both. Most report to the CFO or the board and deal with the organisation's lenders as part of the ordinary week.
How much do treasurers earn?
The median full-time salary for a treasurer is $109,400 per annum, before tax, up $22,700 since 2018.
Sector and employer size move pay more than anything else, so a group treasurer at a listed company or a bank sits well above a treasurer doing comparable work in a smaller not-for-profit or a local council. The title covers a wide range of scope, from a manager running cash and banking alongside other duties to a group treasurer with a dealing function and a team. Public sector roles follow fixed grades and enterprise agreements, so pay within a level varies less than it does in the private sector.
What does a treasurer do day to day?
The list below is what fills most weeks; the exact mix shifts with seniority and whatever stage the current work is at.
- Forecasting cash flow across the organisation and moving funds between accounts to cover shortfalls before they happen
- Negotiating banking facilities, credit lines and loan covenants with the organisation's relationship banks
- Setting hedges against foreign exchange and interest rate risk when the business carries overseas revenue or variable-rate debt
- Preparing treasury reports and covenant compliance certificates for the board and lenders
- Deciding where to place surplus cash, balancing safety, liquidity and return across term deposits and money market instruments
What skills do treasurers need?
Employers look for financial reporting, financial analysis and modelling, risk and internal controls, backed by Treasury management systems (TMS) fluency and strong stakeholder management.
Specialist skills
- Financial reporting
- Financial analysis and modelling
- Risk and internal controls
- Budgeting and forecasting
- Regulatory compliance
- Strategy development
Software and tools
- Treasury management systems (TMS)
- Bloomberg Terminal
- SAP or Oracle ERP
- Excel
General skills
- Stakeholder management
Is the job growing?
About 4,700 people work as treasurers in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 15.9% over the decade to 2035. That's healthy, above-average growth, and the role should stay in solid demand.
How do you become a treasurer?
Here's the path most treasurers take, step by step.
- 1Complete a degree in accounting, finance or commerce
Three years full time, and the usual entry point for the graduate programs that feed treasury teams. Around 49% of the people working as treasurers hold a bachelor degree, and a postgraduate qualification is common further along.
- 2Start in a finance or accounting role
Graduate positions in financial accounting, financial analysis or a bank's operations area build the statement literacy and cash understanding that treasury hires from. Two or three years here is typical before a move across.
- 3Move into a treasury analyst or assistant treasurer role
This is where the craft is learned: daily cash positioning, short-term forecasting, bank reconciliations and the first direct dealings with lenders. Some employers rotate people out of accounting into treasury rather than hiring externally.
- 4Add a professional qualification
CA ANZ or CPA Australia for the accounting side, or the CFA program for work weighted toward funding, investments and capital markets. The Finance and Treasury Association runs treasury courses and events for people already in the role, and the Association of Corporate Treasurers offers a recognised certificate in treasury.
- 5Build toward the treasurer title
Treasury analyst, assistant treasurer and group treasurer sit at different levels, and moving between employers is common because most organisations hold only one or two treasury seats. Larger employers look for breadth across funding, foreign exchange and risk rather than a single specialism.
Ready to apply as a treasurer?
Whether you're working toward becoming a treasurer or already are one and want a hand with the next step (sharpening your resume for ATS screening, tightening your cover letter, or knowing what you'll actually be asked at interview), here are examples grounded in this specific role, not generic templates.
What jobs can a treasurer move to?
Moving into Chief Financial Officer typically comes with the biggest pay rise, worth $142,800 a year more on average.
| Move to | Typical pay change | Overlap | Retraining |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chief Financial Officer Treasurers bring cash, funding and risk oversight to the top finance role, with governance exposure needed. | +$142,800 | 50% | short course |
| Financial Controller Treasurers already manage budgets and reporting, so they can step into financial control with added accounting oversight.Known move | +$41,600 | 58% | short course |
| Finance Manager Treasurers' funding and cash management skills translate directly to managing a finance team and its operations.Known move | +$41,600 | 57% | short course |
| Investment Banker Treasurers understand debt and capital markets, which supports a move into investment banking deal work.Known move | +$24,900 | 54% | short course |
| Management Consultant Treasurers' financial analysis and capital planning suit advisory work, though consulting methods require further study.Known move | +$17,700 | 29% | requalify |
Moves are chosen from Jobs and Skills Australia's Data on Occupation Mobility, which follows income tax records between 2011-12 and 2020-21, together with entry requirements and skill overlap. A known move is one people were seen making in that data. Pay change compares median full-time pay for the two roles.
Who works as a treasurer?
The typical treasurer is 40 years old; 58% are men, 93% work full-time, and full-timers average 44 hours a week.
- 40
- Median age
- 42%
- Female share
- 93%
- Full-time
- +4h
- vs all-jobs avg
What's it like being a treasurer?
The job runs on a monthly and quarterly cycle of cash reporting, forecasting and board papers, with market events cutting across it whenever rates move or a lender changes terms. Treasurers tend to be people who are comfortable with both precision and negotiation, and who can defend a funding decision to a CFO or a board without hedging the answer. In a large organisation the role is a specialism with a small team behind it; in a smaller one it is one responsibility among several.
What people like
- Your work reaches the board. Cash, funding and risk reports go to the CFO and often to the board each month, so the analysis you prepare is read by the people who set the organisation's direction.
- Bank relationships are part of the job. Negotiating facilities and terms means regular contact with lenders, which suits treasurers who like working with people outside their own organisation.
- The problems change with the market. A rate decision, a credit squeeze or a large acquisition can reset the agenda within a week, so the work rarely looks the same two months running.
- Surplus cash has to earn its keep. Placing surplus funds across term deposits and money market instruments gives you a concrete decision with a measurable result each quarter.
What people find hard
- Holding too much cash attracts questions. Boards press for a return on idle balances while running short is treated as a crisis, so the role carries more downside than upside in how it is judged.
- Reporting deadlines cluster. Month-end cash reporting, board papers and covenant compliance certificates often fall in the same fortnight.
- Markets ignore your calendar. A lender repricing a facility or a sharp currency move can put a decision in front of you the day before it is due.
- Smaller employers fold treasury into another job. In many organisations the treasurer also covers accounting, insurance or payroll, which leaves less of the week for treasury work itself.
Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.
Which industries employ treasurers?
Financial and Insurance Services employs the largest share of treasurers, followed by Professional, Scientific and Technical Services.
Top employing industries
- 1Financial and Insurance Services
- 2Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.
| Bachelor degree | 49.1% | |
|---|---|---|
| Postgraduate | 34.5% | |
| Year 12 or below | 6.6% | |
| Diploma / Advanced Diploma | 5.6% | |
| Certificate III/IV | 2% |
Will AI replace treasurers?
Treasury sits in the middle range of exposure. The data-heavy parts, cash positioning, bank reconciliation and routine reporting, are already automated by treasury management systems, ERP modules and bank feeds. What stays with people is the judgement side: how much currency risk to hedge, which lender to use and how to explain a liquidity position to a board, so AI changes the speed of the analysis more than who makes the call.
Share of typical working time by exposure level
- Cash flow forecasting and liquidity planningShort-term forecasts that once took a morning of spreadsheet work now build from bank feeds and ERP data, but the assumptions about customer payments and supplier timing still come from the treasurer.30%moderate
- Funding, hedging and bank negotiationsDeciding when to draw a facility, how much currency exposure to hedge and what terms to accept depends on relationships and market judgement that a system can inform but not make.25%low
- Board reporting and covenant complianceReporting tools draft the movements and ratios, and the Bloomberg Terminal or treasury system supplies the market data, but the treasurer still explains the position and the plan to the board.25%moderate
- Daily cash positioning and bank reconciliationTreasury management systems such as Kyriba or SAP Treasury pull balances across accounts each morning and flag what needs moving, so the manual work is checking exceptions rather than assembling the position.20%high
Moves least exposed to AI
These career moves from treasurer work are rated low for AI exposure:
- Finance Manager
Solid skill overlap (57%), short course to get there, and a low automation-risk profile.
- Management Consultant
Some skill overlap (29%), requalify to get there, and a low automation-risk profile.
Common questions about becoming a treasurer
Straight answers to the questions people ask most.
How much do treasurers earn?
Full-time treasurers earn a median of $109,400 per annum, before tax, so half sit above that figure and half below. Pay rises with the size of the employer and the scope of the role, and a group treasurer at a large bank or listed company sits at the top of the range.
How do you become a treasurer?
Most start with a degree in accounting, finance or commerce, then spend a few years in accounting or financial analysis before moving into a treasury team. From there the path runs through treasury analyst and assistant treasurer roles toward treasurer, usually with a CA, CPA or CFA qualification alongside.
Are treasurers in demand?
Treasurers are currently in shortage nationally, and employment is projected to grow 15.9% over the decade to 2035. It remains a small occupation, at about 4,700 people nationally, and openings concentrate in banks, insurers, large corporates and government rather than being spread across every employer.
Will AI replace treasurers?
Not the whole job. Treasury management systems, ERP modules and bank data feeds already handle cash positioning, reconciliation and much of the routine reporting, which trims the analytical groundwork rather than the decisions. Funding, hedging and bank negotiations still rest on judgement and relationships, so the role is changing more than it is disappearing.
How is a treasurer different from a financial controller?
A financial controller owns the accounting function and the numbers it produces, while a treasurer owns cash, funding and financial risk. In smaller organisations one person often covers both, which is why the two roles sit so close together in career terms.
What can treasurers move into?
Many move into financial control or finance management, where the budgeting, reporting and cash work overlaps and pay is $41,600 more. The step up to chief financial officer takes on the whole finance function, including accounting and tax, and pays $142,800 more. Moving into investment banking is a sideways option for those with debt and capital markets experience, paying $24,900 more.
Related roles
- Chief Financial Officer
- Financial Controller
- Finance Manager
- Management Consultant
- Investment Banker
- Accountant
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