Could you (would you) be a corporate treasurer?

With liquidity set to remain tight in 2009, it seems reasonably certain that treasurers who help manage cashflow for corporates will find their skills highly sought after next year.

Fortuitously, there is also a possibility that debt capital markets bankers, for whom 2009 looks set to be quiet as the grave, could reinvent themselves in the corporate treasurers' mould.

"There's not much precedent for it, but moving into corporate treasury could definitely be a possibility if you've got a DCM background," says Ben Jones at headhunter Whitehead Mann. "Treasury is going to be a more critical skillset in 2009 and there will be hiring next year," he adds.

Bankers toying with a treasury move are advised to take the Association of Corporate Treasurers' qualifications. An ACA will help, but is not mandatory.

Matt Matteou, head of the treasury team at recruitment firm Robert Walters, says ex-bankers moving into a treasury function will need to brace themselves for lower pay. "Corporate treasury is not a profit centre, but most treasurers are on a six figure package," he says.