Here are just some of the highlights:
In a wide-ranging presentation, economic journalist and author Katrine Kielos Marçal outlined how the price of time, peace and energy was affecting the price of being human. Without making any firm predictions on the future of these prices, Kielos Marçal left the audience with a clear idea about who would be responsible for setting these prices. She reminded the audience of a story about an old blind woman who, when asked whether a bird that someone was holding was alive, replied: “I don’t know if the bird is dead or alive, but it is in your hands.”
Chris Southworth, the secretary general of the International Chamber of Commerce UK, was “massively optimistic” that the increasing digitisation of trade documentation, as embodied in the UK’s Electronic Trade Documents Act 2023, could be a game changer for those involved in the finance of international trade. “Trade is changing and it is changing fast, to become much cheaper, much faster and much simpler, and ultimately enabling us to be match-fit sustainable, too.”
He predicted that a trade transaction that can currently take between two to three months can now be squashed into one hour. “For corporate treasurers, that means that you can manage cash better, you can control cash better, you can get end-to-end data across your supply chain with improved audit control, and you get agility and liquidity in an uncertain world.”
Discussing recent moves by the ACT to establish its guiding principles for diversity and inclusion among the UK’s largest companies and their bankers, Patricia Roberts, UK managing director of corporate banking at SMBC, noted the need to challenge old ways of working. “Diversity doesn’t work unless we have inclusion,” she said. “We need to make sure that everyone can join the conversation so that they feel they are contributing. Listening, and consensus, is really important.”
Despite inevitable confusion with other forms of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, treasurers should not ignore stablecoins, which are cryptocurrencies tied to a fiat currency. A joint ACT/Zodia survey found there were some real-use cases, including help with trapped cash and cross-border payments, and that business trading around the world needed to be ready. “You can move from a banking world to a stablecoin world, and once you are there you can pay anyone,” said Shah Ramezani, CEO of Noah.com, a leading stablecoin payment provider. “As well as increasing speed, you reduce local currency exposure.”
Closing the conference, Lady Suzanne Heywood (pictured above), chief operating officer of Exor, spoke of growing up living on a boat sailing around the world with her family for 10 years, and the impact that had on her education as well as her relationships. “When I face a difficult position, I think back to being that seven-year-old living on a boat. That helps put things into proportion,” she said. “I became good at ignoring what people told me not to do.”
Philip Smith is editor of The Treasurer
The ACT Annual Conference 2025 will be held at ICC Wales 20-21 May. Register your interest