About the ACT

The Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT) is the international body for finance professionals working in treasury, risk and corporate finance. Through the ACT we come together as practitioners, technical experts and educators in a range of disciplines that underpin the financial security and prosperity of an organisation.

The ACT defines and promotes best practice in treasury and makes representations to government, regulators and standard setters.

We are also the world’s leading examining body for treasury, providing benchmark qualifications and continuing development through training, conferences and publications – including The Treasurer magazine.

Our activities

The Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT) is an energetic organisation, with an active membership and high degree of participation in events, regional groups and working groups on policy and standards.

Our activities are centred around six main areas:

  • Professional Qualifications
  • Conferences and Events
  • Training courses
  • Publications, including The Treasurer magazine
  • Regional Groups
  • Policy and Technical

We work closely with other professional associations, contributing to and commenting on major policy issues. These include:

  • Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA)
  • Investor Relations Society (IRS)
  • Quoted Companies Alliance (QCA)

We also work in partnership with the following leading accountancy bodies to offer fast-track programmes for qualified accountants who wish to gain the AMCT Diploma in Treasury:

  • Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
  • Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)
  • Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)
  • Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS)

Our structure

Council is the governing body of the ACT. It is ultimately responsible for the stewardship and management of the ACT’s affairs and accountable to the members. Day-to-day management is delegated to the Chief Executive and, through him to the Executive team.

Council consists of up to nine elected members who serve a three-year term, four Officers – President, Deputy President, Vice President and Immediate Past President – and the Chief Executive. The normal succession route for Officers is Vice President, Deputy President, President and finally, Immediate Past President with each post lasting one year.

For further information about Council and its committees see Guidelines for Council (PDF 84K)

Council members for the term commencing 1 May 2009

Officers and elected members cannot be contacted via the ACT. To speak to a member of the executive team please see the Contact Us page.

Officers

Gerry Bacon

Gerry Bacon
President
Senior Advisor
Anthem Corporate Finance

Matthew Hurn

Matthew Hurn
Executive Director
Group Treasury
Mubadala Development Company

James Douglas

James Douglas
Vice President
Partner
Deloitte

David Swann

David Swann
Immediate Past President
Head of Finance
BAT Nederland

Elected members

Graham Bond FCT, Managing Director, Treasury & Risk Management
Francis Burkitt FCT, Managing Director, Debt Advisory, NM Rothschild & Sons
Greg Croydon FCT, Group Treasurer, IMI
Lucy Fuller AMCT, Group Treasurer, Smith & Nephew
Stephen Pugh FCT, Finance Director, Adnams
Jonathan Slade MCT, Director, Capital Markets and Corporate Finance, Diageo
Martyn Smith FCT, Director of Tax & Treasury, Dyson
Yann Umbricht AMCT, Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers
Bob Williams FCT, Group Treasurer, Barratt Development

Co-opted Members

Richard Dakin AMCT, Managing Director, Major Corporates and International Corporate Banking, Lloyd Bank plc
Peter Goshawk FCT, Head of Global Markets – UK, Bank of Ireland

Chief Executive

Stuart Siddall

Committees

The Council is supported by a number of voluntary committees:

Each committee has a chairman who works closely with the appropriate department in the central office.

Advisory Board

The Advisory Board, currently chaired by Paul Spencer, a former President of the ACT, consists of at least six members drawn from senior positions in finance and commerce, including financial journalists and regulators. No serving member of Council may be a member of the Board. The Board meets at least once a year to discuss and advise on matters of importance to the ACT and its members, including commenting on the ACT's policies, governance and strategic plan. The chairman of the Board makes an annual presentation to Council.

The current members of the Advisory Board are:

Paul Spencer (Chairman)
Paul Boyle, Chief Executive, Financial Reporting Council
Alastair Clark, former Adviser to the Governor, Bank of England
John Coombe, Chairman, Hogg Robinson Group
Carolyn Eadie, Partner, Spencer Stuart
Chris Jones, Partner, Financial Services, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Mary Keegan, former Head of the Government Finance Profession, HM Treasury
Michael J Kirkwood, Non-executive Director, UK Financial Investments Ltd
Ian Plenderleith, Chairman, BH Macro, former Deputy Governor, South African Reserve Bank
John Plender, Leader & Feature Writer, Financial Times
Hector Sants, Chief Executive, Financial Services Authority
Andrew Shilston, Finance Director, Rolls-Royce plc
Jon Symonds, Managing Director & Partner, Goldman Sachs
Tony Watson, Non-executive Director, Vodafone Group, former Chief Executive Officer Hermes

Appointments, Remuneration and Audit Committee (ARAC)

ARAC is chaired by the Immediate Past President and consists of the President and up to three other non-Officer members of Council. In addition there may be up to three non-Council members. ARAC members are appointed by Council with at least one member being a qualified accountant. It meets four times a year and more frequently as required; at least once a year ARAC meets with the auditors without members of the executive team present.

The current members of ARAC are:

David Swann (Chairman), Head of Finance, BAT Nederland
Graham Bond, Managing Director, Treasury & Risk Management
Lucy Fuller, Group Treasurer, Smith & Nephew
Gerry Bacon, Senior Advisor, Anthem Corporate Finance
David Timson, Senior Partner, The Curzon Partnership
Yann Umbricht, Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers

The executive team

Stuart Siddall

Stuart Siddall
Chief Executive

Stuart is a Fellow of the ACT, having been in the very first group to take the ACT's professional qualifications when they were launched in the mid 1980s. For more details see Contact Us.

Kate Hoyle

Kate Hoyle
Director of Communications

Kate heads up the marketing function and is responsible for ensuring the ACT communicates effectively with its members, the wider financial community and the media. Kate also co-ordinates activities with overseas national treasury and other relevant associations. For more details see Contact Us.

James Lockyer

James Lockyer
Director of Education

James co-ordinates the ACT’s qualification and training programmes and works closely with Marketing to communicate their strengths and develop new initiatives, both in the UK and internationally. For more details see Contact Us.

Ria Robinson

Ria Robinson
Director of Membership and Administration

Ria has overall responsibility for member services, HR and office administration. As the ACT’s Company Secretary she is involved with all governance and constitutional matters and works closely with Council and the Appointments, Remuneration and Audit Committee (ARAC). She is also Secretary to the ACT Educational Trust. For more details see Contact Us.

Regional Groups

There are a number of regional groups in the UK and other countries. Through regular meetings, they provide support to members, students and other interested parties. Each group is run by one or more members - Regional Group Organisers (RGOs).

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