Paul Harrison

Corporate Treasury Advisory in a Private Equity environment is all about helping the PE investor and the management of the newly acquired business to understand how to manage the treasury issues that they face.

We often find that either there is no treasury function existing at all (because the new business is a carve-out from a larger parent entity) or if there is, it is not “fit-for-purpose” for the new cash focused, risk averse and highly leveraged world in which it now resides. Added to that, the new management team has a huge number of other problems that they are trying to deal with and simply needs support.

I act as an advisor to the existing treasury team in foreign exchange and interest rate risk management areas through to ensuring that the banking works or even acting as an interim treasurer if required.

In these circumstances, you have to establish credibility quickly with your client, to understand their business and risks and be able to “add value” to the process.

While the work can be demanding, it is often extremely satisfying both professionally and personally. When it all comes together, you have made a real difference.