Who we are
A team of professionals with technical and on-the-ground experience to deliver risk-management solutions covering all aspects of financial market risk.
About us
Treasury Consultancy and Advisory Services for the African Continent.
With extensive experience in treasury management consulting, we provide specialist services in the building of treasury capacity for corporate clients and financial institutions across various sectors who have pan-African treasury operations.
Building Treasury Capacity for multinational Corporate Clients.
Mark Schwartz
Serving clients across various sectors, specialising in the building of treasury capacity.
Mark is a seasoned treasury practitioner and is a director of The Treasury Counsel (Pty) Ltd, serving clients across various sectors, specialising in the building of treasury capacity for multinational corporate clients who have pan-African treasury operations. This includes advisory on policy design, selection of treasury systems and implementation of centralised treasury operations (cash management, debt and foreign exchange management), covering both South Africa and the Rest of Africa.
Prior to the founding of the Treasury Counsel, Mark was the Treasurer of Naspers (MultiChoice) Video Entertainment segment for Africa for 2 years, and included the full setup of their centralised treasury operations covering South Africa and the rest of Africa. Before that, he spent 6 years setting up and heading the Treasury Operations for SABMiller Africa. For the first 15 years of his career, he headed up the foreign exchange trading desk at First National Bank, responsible for derivatives and Rest of Africa/Emerging Markets
Education & Professional Bodies
- The Institute of Financial Markets of South Africa
- South African Futures Industry Association registered person
- Business Techniques London Options and Futures certification
- Board Member of the Association of Corporate Treasurers of SA
- South African Reserve Bank Foreign Exchange markets committee member
Functional Expertise
- Treasury, Trading and team structuring
- Treasury systems (IT2, TMS, Integrity)
- Governance, control and policy frameworks
- Foreign exchange risk
- Interest rate risk
- Commodity risk
Industry Expertise
- Investment Banking – Market Risk Management
- Multi-currency Risk management and trading.
- Best-practice structures
- Corporate Treasury and Risk Management
- Sub-Saharan Africa Treasury management
Experience
Day-to-day Risk Management & Control
Market risk identification, measurement, control and monitoring processes across Treasury and Traded Market Risk.
Identification of risk and finding optimal structures to manage exposures without incremental risk increase.
Systems Implementation & Reporting Design
Systems implementation and reporting design for optimal treasury management including cash and debt management, in-house banking and sweeping mechanisms, multiple division foreign exchange centralisation. Having used 3 different systems, well-placed to advise on choice of treasury system to fulfil specific needs
Treasury, Financial Risk & Hedging Policies
Treasury, financial risk and hedging policies, as well as the design of risk appetite frameworks. Was part of the team that developed the SABMiller Africa Treasury policy, and designed the treasury policy for Massmart/Walmart, a Treasury Counsel client.
On-site Project Management & Ensuring Successful Roll-out
Performing on-site project management to ensure the successful roll-out of new centralised structures and systems.
Governance & Control Responsibilities
Formulating policies and controls that are fit for purpose and in line with regulatory and Board expectations.
Organisational Change & Training
On-site training of team members to transact, manage and report on treasury risks to create an environment of on-going success.
Multi-divisional FX & Cash Management
Multi-divisional FX and Cash management, to ensure that the maximum value can be extracted from natural off-sets.
Internal Audit Treasury Controls
Design of ongoing internal audit treasury controls and completeness review in terms of the daily risk measurement processes.
Pan-African Bank Account Rationalisation
Was involved in two completed RFP’s for cash management structures across the Rest of Africa, which includes regional interest optimisation structures.
Brad McCann
Considerable Financial Experience, as well as Expertise Implementing Treasury Management Systems Across South Africa and the Rest of Africa.
Brad has occupied senior financial positions in the beverage industry, mainly with the SABMiller group, and more recently with Coca-Cola Beverages.
He has held the position of Finance Director in various European and African operations, and more recently designed and implemented the centralisation of a Treasury Management System for 17 countries across Africa. The primary initiatives were cash visibility and reporting, cash sweeping, bank rationalisation, in-house banking, and foreign exchange centralisation. He also occupied the position of Group Treasurer for the SABMiller group in the early nineties.
His most recent project within the corporate environment was the complete restructuring of Coca-Cola Beverages across Southern and East Africa, following various mergers. He has since founded The Treasury Counsel with Mark Schwartz.
Education & Professional Bodies
- BComm
- Cost and Management Accountant
- Founding member of the Association of Corporate Treasurers of SA
- Management Development Programme, Wits Business School
- Financial Services Consulting, Isle of Man
Functional & Industry Expertise
- Finance Director of five SABMiller subsidiaries across Europe and Africa
- Group Treasurer of SABMiller
- Business Lead for the design and implementation of a centralised treasury system for SABMiller
- Project Manager for the restructuring of Coca-Cola Beverages in Southern and East Africa
Selected Relevant Corporate Experience
- Project Griffin was a SABMiller group initiative to establish Regional Treasury Centres around the globe. Griffin Africa included Africa and South Africa. The project focused on cash management, foreign exchange management, and bank rationalisation.
- The Group Treasury role of SA Breweries included the management of the treasury operations of the head office, Beer Division, Edgars and OK Bazaars.
- Established a Treasury Management System for SABMiller’s interests in Hungary. This was subsequently rolled out to their other European operations.
CLIENTS
Some of the companies we’ve had the privilege of working with over the years.
Massmart
Goldfields
SABMiller
Standard Bank
Puma Energy
PPC Ltd.
Telkom
Electricidade de Mocambique
The Omnia Group
Get in Touch
Bradley McCann
+27 83 632 1933
brad@thetreasurycounsel.com