As you read this issue of The Treasurer, the 18th ACT Annual Conference will be under way. The high-quality array of panellists, technical experts and speakers we’ve grown accustomed to will be sharing thoughts, knowledge and experience. And – as we’ve also grown used to over the past year – access to the conference is via an online portal, through which delegates will be able to access content for an additional month.
In this issue you’ll find an interview with keynote speaker Andy Ransom, Rentokil Initial’s CEO, who talks about the admirable qualities he found within his treasury team and in the wider workforce since the pandemic took hold. (See page 50.)
You will also find this year’s Association of Corporate Treasurers’ (ACT’s) Business of Treasury report – reproduced here in full. Don’t miss this year’s findings on the experience of treasurers and their burgeoning strategic role, beginning on page 13.
Our theme for this issue of The Treasurer is restart and recovery. Comparisons between our economic situation today and the experiences of 2008/9 are rife. Initial reactions last year – to shore up liquidity, tap or extend existing facilities and secure new lines of funding, however, quite quickly gave way as governments stepped in to calm markets and support commercial organisations. Find out how treasurers from a range of organisation types characterise today’s financing situation, from page 30.
A year down the line and the picture has changed quite considerably, and the challenges are evolving at a fearsome pace. Supply chains still have a precarious position. Ensuring they continue to thrive and service larger businesses means taking a longer view on cash flow. Starving SMEs of cash flow is a short-term plan, as is cost-cutting. We have learned, however, that the cash-flow forecast can be a strategic instrument, as Ben Walters, deputy treasurer at Compass Group, explains on page 38.
As we contemplate the shape of the economic pick-up, the future of office working remains an open question. Providing we can all become confident in mass vaccination, the collaboration and networking opportunities that office environments foster start to become attractive again, as Ian Chisholm, group treasurer at Grosvenor Group, notes on page 40.
As we seek to build back better, there is an environmental consideration to office working as well. Energy-efficient urban centres – even if we occupy them for only part of the week – still surely have a role to play.
I hope you enjoy this issue.
Stay safe.
Liz Loxton, Editor
thetreasurer@thinkpublishing.co.uk
Follow us on Twitter @thetreasurermag
PAUL BARAM is a director at Actualize Consulting’s UK capital markets office, where he helps clients with derivatives, valuations, solution architecture and business process design. Baram has spent 15 years in consultancy. Find his feature on how treasury can best integrate technology following M&As on page 42.
JONAS PERSSON is an active member of the ACT and newly appointed head of sustainability and ESG finance at Lloyds Bank, having previously led the energy and utilities business. He drives the ESG agenda for Lloyds Bank, helping corporates
become more sustainable. His article on supply chain sustainability is on page 54.
ANDREW WOOD is an experienced and accredited transformational coach, facilitator and organisational development specialist, and a director at leadership consultancy h³. His article on how we can refocus, reinvigorate teams and ensure recovery can be
found on page 66.
The copyright of all editorial in this magazine is reserved to the publishers. None of the articles published may be copied, duplicated or reproduced in any form without the prior consent of The Association of Corporate Treasurers. The Association of Corporate Treasurers, the publisher and editor cannot accept responsibility for any claim which may be made against a contributor arising out of the publication of any article or letter. The views and opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the Council of The Association of Corporate Treasurers.
