This document is intended to respond to the need for clear governance rules to manage the increased activity and scope of ATEB.

Although several elements are already described and covered in the Articles of Association, it is the intention of this document to consolidate these elements into a single reference document, clarifying the main aspects and to ensure that items such as conflict of interest, integrity, evaluation processes and others are also covered.

  1. Mission

The ATEB mission is to:

  • Promote the sharing of information, business practices, and experiences among members, fostering trust and integrity in all interactions
  • Establish and promote Belgian Treasury standards for professional ethics and best practices among treasury professionals
  • Enhance the visibility of the treasury profession to foster its long-term growth and enable integration with other professional qualifications for career development.
  • Represent the Belgian treasury profession to both national and international authorities, ensuring the Treasurer’s voice is heard
  • ATEB strives to achieve its objectives through conferences, training, the dissemination of technical information, publications, and guides, as well as fostering constructive relationships with other financial associations, including those representing government, regulatory, and financial bodies.
  1. ATEB Principles

All Directors representing ATEB work on a voluntary basis (the duties performed by the Board Directors are therefore unpaid) and commit to regularly attend Board meetings, participate actively in the different working groups and organization of events and stay informed about the association’s matters.

  1. General Assembly (“Assemblee Generale”)
  • Is composed of the Treasury members (“membres associés”) and convenes at least once a year
  • Authority of the General Assembly covers amongst others but not limited
    • Modification of articles of association
    • Election of the Board of Directors (“Conseil d’administration”) Election of the Officers (“Administrateurs”) being President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer
    • Officers are selected from Treasury members (“membres associés”)
    • Approval of Budget and Annual accounts
    • Granting and withdrawal of member status (both corporate and non-corporate members)
    • ….
  • Any member can be represented at the General Assembly by a representative, which can be either a Treasury or Non treasury member
  1. Board of Directors (“Conseil d’administration”)
  • Manages the (day-to-day) business of the association and has the most extensive powers for the administration and management of the association, with exception of the powers granted to the General Assembly
  • There are a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 15 Board members
  • Directors are elected or appointed by the General Assembly for a period of two years, renewable:
    • Prior to confirmation as a Board member, an introduction letter should be submitted giving main bio details and rationale for requesting to becoming a Board member.
    • Each new Board Member will receive an induction process following his/her confirmation by the ATEB Board.
  • Board of Directors meets upon convocation by the President or 2 Officers:
  • Acts which commit the association are signed by 2 Officers
  1. Decision making
  • Board of Directors meeting is validly held if a minimum of 50% of the members are present or represented
  • Decisions are taken by simple majority
    • In case of parity the in the voting process de president’s vote predominates
  • Each Director will have 1 vote.
  • All decisions made by ATEB Board are valid and binding.
  1. Members appointment / election
  • There is no limitation on the number of members but there need to be a minimum of 4 members
  • Member applications are reviewed and acceptance is decided on by the Board of directors and validated by the General Assembly
  • Members are required to accept the referenced documents.

Treasury member (“membre associé”)

  • Anyone who supports the mission of ATEB and is employed or seeking employment in a Treasury department, or works as an independent Treasury consultant or interim personnel, can become a Treasury member (‘membre associé’) by paying the annual contribution.
    • Unemployed Treasury members actively looking for a new role are exempt from paying the annual contribution [1] (length of exemption is at the discretion of the association)
  • Has voting rights and is eligible to become a Board member
  • Can attend all type of events organized by ATEB
  • Has the choice to become a member through individual membership or corporate membership (standard or gold)

Non Treasury member (“membre symphatisant”)

  • Anyone who supports ATEB’s mission and is employed by a consulting or software company, or a bank in a role related to Treasury, can become a Non-Treasury member (‘membre sympathisant’) by paying the annual contribution.
  • Is not eligible to become an Officer
  • Votes separately to elect his/her representatives in the Board of Directors [2] 
  • Number of Non Treasury Board members is limited to a maximum of 1/3 of the total number of Board members
  • Can attend a select number of  events
  • Has the choice to become a member through individual membership or corporate membership (standard)
    • Corporate membership is restricted to 1 per company
    • A maximum of 3 individuals from the same organization are allowed to attend the same branded event or workgroup.
  1. Responsibilities

The formalization of the roles & responsibilities for the main ATEB bodies in the form of job descriptions clarifies a number of governance rules.

Each Board Member accepts these responsibilities by acknowledging the content of these responsibilities.

  • President and Vice President
    • The role of the President & Vice President is to provide strategic leadership to the association, working closely with all ATEB Board members.
    • Is responsible for implementing the strategy in line with the agreed vision and proposing further development as appropriate.
    • Is responsible for building strong and constructive relationships with members of the organization and with other associations representing government, regulatory and financial bodies and ensure clear communication of the ATEB’s vision and activities undertaken to support the vision.
    • Is responsible for ensuring that the voice and opinion of ATEB is heard and to publicly represent the association.
    • Is responsible for the support of the professional development of treasurers in the association through knowledge-sharing, access to training and encouragement of treasury qualifications.
    • The Vice President supports the President in all activities and replaces the President at times where he/she is incapacitated. In case the President is no longer capable to perform his/her duties the Vice President automatically replaces the President
  • Secretary, is responsible for
    • the governance of the association.
    • ensuring that accurate and sufficient documentation is available to meet legal requirements and for the efficient functioning of the organization.
    • preparing and signing off on the final accounts and filing them with the local regulatory authorities
    • preparation and management of the agenda and activities of the General Assembly.
  • Treasurer, is responsible for
    • annual budget and variance analysis.
    • Membership & partner billing (invoices)
    • Collection (tracking & reminders)
    • Managing bank accounts
    • Outgoing payments
  • Director / Board Member
    • The Directors are responsible for executing the policies of the association and monitoring its compliance with the Board of Directors guidelines and Chairman’s instructions.
    • Each Board Member:
      • Is responsible for performing all acts and activities to support ATEB’s mission
      • Is responsible for keeping the other Board members up to date and informed, in a timely manner, about any relevant issue, project or decision being reviewed or taken.
      • Should be able to discuss opinions and represent ATEB. Each Board Member should be clear about his / her delegated authority and local governance requirements.
      • Should make a serious commitment to participate actively in the different working groups
      • Each Board Member is expected to attend scheduled Board meetings
    • The Board of Directors is responsible for establishing the policies of the association and overseeing the challenges, opportunities and projects.
    • The Board of Directors approves the Board meetings minutes.
    • The Board members ensure sufficient funding of the association through actively identifying and exploring funding sources
  1. Working groups

To support the mission and effectively represent the Belgian treasury profession to both national and international authorities, ensuring the Treasurer’s voice is heard, Directors are encouraged to participate in or appoint additional representatives for ATEB working groups and to contribute expertise on technical topics.

  • A representative of the working group reports on the status and progress of the Working Group’s activities as required at Board meetings.
  • Each Working Group proposes to the ATEB Directors the most effective and efficient way to distribute their results: press release, technical document etc
  • The duties performed by the representatives are unpaid.
  1. Documents

Documents referenced are:

  • ATEB Code of Conduct
  • ATEB Articles of Association
  1. Induction process

The induction process of a newly confirmed Director will as a minimum consist of the putting at disposal of this Governance Document with all referenced documents.

  1. Approval of accounts
  • The Secretary works closely with the appointed accountant, sending all the relevant information to ensure correct completion of the annual accounts.
  • At least annually, and prior to the Annual General Meeting, the Secretary and the appointed accountant meet to validate and sign off the annual accounts. The annual accounts are then formally approved by the Board of Directors and General Assembly, according to the local legal requirements.
  • The accounts should be prepared taking into account local accounting standards.
  1. Sanctions
  • If a Board Member does not fulfill his/her duties as per the job description and / or does not abide by the Corporate Governance guidelines, the Board may suggest the suspension of their appointment at the next Board Meeting.
    • However before suspension, the President will reach out to the Board Member in question to take remediating actions.
    • In the event of a serious allegation of misdemeanor, the Board may provisionally suspend the Director, pending the next General Meeting.
    • The suspended Director retains the right to attend the meeting which will discuss the allegation.
  • If a Member does not abide by the Corporate Governance guidelines and Code of Conduct, the Board may suggest the cancellation of the membership at the next Board Meeting.
    • However before a cancellation, the President will reach out to the Member in question to take remediating actions.
    • In the event of a serious allegation of misdemeanor, the Board may provisionally cancel the membership of the Member, pending the next General Meeting.
    • The suspended Member retains the right to attend the meeting which will discuss the allegation.
    • In the event the membership of an individual is cancelled due to not abiding by the Corporate Governance guidelines and Code of Conduct any colleagues from the same organization will be informed and membership of all will be cancelled as well.
  1. Principles of public life

The ATEB Code of Conduct describes in more detail the framework of rules/references established to ensure corporate treasurers and treasury professionals engage in a trustful environment lead by highly recommendable professionals. In summary these can also be referred to as the 7 Principles of public life:

  • Selflessness – Holders of public office should act solely in terms of the public interest.
  • Integrity – Holders of public office must avoid placing themselves under any obligation to people or organizations that might try inappropriately to influence them in their work. They should not act or take decisions in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family or their friends. They must declare and resolve any interests and relationships.
  • Objectivity – Holders of public office must act and take decisions impartially, fairly and on merit, using the best evidence and without discrimination or bias.
  • Accountability – Holders of public office are accountable to the public for their decisions and actions and must submit themselves to the scrutiny necessary to ensure this.
  • Openness – Holders of public office should act and take decisions in an open and transparent manner. Information should not be withheld from the public unless there are clear and lawful reasons for so doing.
  • Honesty – Holders of public office should be truthful.
  • Leadership – Holders of public office should exhibit these principles in their own behavior. They should actively promote and robustly support the principles and be willing to challenge poor behavior whenever it occurs.
  1. Whistleblowing policy

The association has a responsibility to conduct its affairs ethically and in compliance with the law and its governance policy. A whistleblowing policy is in place to cover any complaints regarding behavior that is unethical or not in compliance with the law or the ATEB governance policy.

If anyone suspects that an ATEB Member or Director is engaged in improper activities please file a complaint with any member of the Board.

This policy will apply in cases where one or more of the following malpractices have occurred, is occurring, or is likely to occur:

  • Illegal or unethical conduct observed by Members or Directors of the association in the course of ATEB related activities.
  • Actions which are unprofessional, inappropriate or conflict with a general understanding of what is right and wrong.
  • Non-compliance with laws or supervisory regulations.
  • Non-compliance with or circumvention of internal regulations and control mechanisms.
  • Bribery, corruption or other forms of dishonesty.
  • Unauthorized use of funds.
  • Fraud or financial irregularities.
  • Any action undertaken by a Member or Director that could jeopardize ATEB’s reputation.

In order to file a whistleblowing complaint, the contacts are:

  • ATEB President
    • Karen Van den Driessche
    • + 32 498 12 24 90
  • ATEB Vice President
    • Michel Verholen
    • + 32 497 53 06 43
    • Michel.Verholen@atebforum.org
  • ATEB Treasurer
    • Patrick Verspecht
    • + 32 472 18 74 70
    • Patrick.Verspecht@atebforum.org

Of course, any other Board Member can also be contacted.

  1. Website

The website of ATEB www.atebforum.be should be maintained to reflect the mission and goals of the ATEB, be user friendly and provide easily available access to any supporting documentation.