It is not every month that I get to listen to soldiers and spies, but then it is not every month that I get to go to the ACT Annual Conference. And while the conference is always an impressive occasion, last month’s event in Manchester undoubtedly scaled new heights. Top finance leaders, regulators and public servants all put in an appearance at the event, and the strong speaker line-up included Baroness Manningham-Buller, a previous head of intelligence agency MI5, and Sir Richard Shirreff, NATO’s former deputy supreme allied commander. The conference also attracted celebrities, with BBC business presenter Steph McGovern hosting Question Time, a perennial favourite among conference delegates, and England rugby legend Jason Leonard posing for photos in the exhibition hall. This year’s conference was entitled ‘The Age of Treasury’ and it was very thought-provoking. What consecutive speakers made clear is that our society is changing extremely quickly. “The world is a dangerous place,” was the chilling observation of Shirreff, who spoke at length on the topic of Russian aggression in Ukraine. Manningham-Buller also recounted tales about the plots she had encountered during her time at MI5. Matters are out of our hands not only politically, but also economically. Quantitative easing, low bond yields, currency volatility in the emerging markets and the strengthening of the US dollar were all recurrent themes of the conference because they all have significant implications for treasurers. The extreme market conditions in which we find ourselves do not seem likely to disappear any time soon and each year seems to bring another unexpected development. Last year, it was the fall in oil prices. This year, it is disflation. Given our collective impotence in the face of the major macroeconomic forces at work, it seems that all we can do is stay alert and plan as best we can with the information that we have available to us. On a positive note, however, we do have the potential to leave a lasting impact through what we do in our careers. This salient message came from Telefónica’s UK CEO, Ronan Dunne, an ACT member and former treasurer, who also emphasised the importance of businesses having purpose and being committed to earning the trust of their customers. If you were fortunate enough to attend the conference, then I hope that I have jogged your memory about the event. If you missed it, then I recommend turning to page 18 for the highlights.
