Beginning the study process

What I expect
I expect the CTP material to give me a broader understanding of the role of treasury in business. As most of my experience is with one company, I hope the CTP will fill in the areas I have not yet experienced, giving me the technical skills to fully develop my treasury abilities. I expect the CTP to be very universally applicable, especially because I know will be applying the knowledge in professional roles in Australia and Canada at least, but perhaps not in the US. Finally, I expect the actual exam to be somewhat formula/calculation driven, and less focused on the memorization of facts and details.

I’m actually looking forward to studying again because I finished my formal studying five years ago.

Getting started
I chose the AFP Learning System:  Treasury as my study material and ordered it using my Australian shipping address and my Canadian billing address. I was surprised to hear a few weeks later that the books had been delivered to my parents in Canada! There was apparently a mix-up with the addresses, so I contacted the CTP, and they had a set of books on my desk in Australia the next week. High marks to the CTP account reps for quickly remedying the problem! That was when I realised I only had 18 weeks before my chosen exam date.

Forming a study plan
It’s been seven years since the last major exam I wrote. Since then, my life has changed somewhat. One of the biggest changes has been my marriage, which has its pros and cons when it comes to studying. It means more commitment and responsibility, especially in terms of housework. My wife also studies full time and works part time, which can cause stress. However, she’s offered to help ensure I have sufficient time for studying, and when her own schedule permits, has suggested she could help me review.

I was optimistic after my first glance through the study material; I felt confident in my study abilities and my general familiarity with treasury. Realising there were 17 chapters, I considered the pace of one chapter per week, but realised this would leave me insufficient time for review. Instead, I planned to review roughly three chapters every two weeks; this would take me through all 17 chapters in 12 weeks, leaving just over a month for review.

The first thing I did was complete the Learning System online pre-test score: 44%, ouch. However, I felt as though I knew more than this score indicates, because each question I got wrong, I had narrowed down to two options, one of which was always the right one. This also gave me confidence that I would connect with and learn the material quickly. Now for the hard part, actually starting!