CTP (ABC) study guide
CTP · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Certified Treasury Professional (CTP) is a credential administered by the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP). AFP describes the CTP designation as setting the standard in the treasury profession and as a global symbol of excellence. The CTP study guide has 5 sections and about 1,695 words.
01Treasury Management and Cash Positioning
Treasury management safeguards liquidity, ensures funding, and optimizes cash. A candidate must distinguish book, ledger, collected, and available balances; understand value dating, cut-off times, deposit float, disbursement float, and target or minimum balances; and know account structures such as concentration accounts, zero-balance accounts (ZBAs), notional pooling, in-house banking, and payment factories.
260 words, about 1 min02Cash Management and Payment Systems
Cash management and payment systems covers the instruments, channels, and controls used to move money and information. Know ACH (NACHA rules, batch and net settlement, same-day ACH, SEC codes such as CCD, CTX, PPD, and WEB), wire transfers (Fedwire and CHIPS in the U.S.; SWIFT as messaging, not settlement), checks, cards, RTP and FedNow instant payments, and ISO 20022 rich data.
285 words, about 1 min03Working Capital Management
Working capital management balances liquidity against profitability. The cash conversion cycle (CCC) equals days inventory outstanding (DIO) plus days sales outstanding (DSO) minus days payables outstanding (DPO).
303 words, about 2 min04Capital Markets
Capital markets provide long-term and short-term funding and investment outlets. Distinguish primary issuance from secondary trading; equity from debt; money market instruments of one year or less from capital market instruments; and exchange-traded from over-the-counter derivatives.
282 words, about 1 min05Funding and Investments
Funding management matches asset lives and cash needs with liabilities: internal cash, revolving credit, term loans, commercial paper, bonds, securitization, and equity. Maintain diversified committed facilities and a liquidity buffer; avoid funding long assets with short liabilities.
565 words, about 3 min