As part of the changes we have been making with The Treasurer I am starting to use the monthly email newsletter rather than the magazine as the main way in which I communicate regularly with members and others interested in the ACT.
I hope that the changes we are making to the content and style of The Treasurer are being well received by readers. The initial indications are very positive. We also know that the longer term planning of the content of the magazine is proving helpful not just for contributors but also for our advertisers. The editorial committee under Paul Spencer’s chairmanship has worked very closely with the in-house team and I am pleased with the results we have seen. As always feedback is encouraged, either to the editor, Liz Salecka on lsalecka@treasurers.co.uk or directly to me, on rraeburn@treasurers.co.uk.
It is my intention that you will hear from other members of the ACT team in addition to myself through this column. At the moment all are certainly very busy, with some of the work being very much “pipeline” in character.
In education we are going through a period where our international focus is particularly evident. For the Cert ICM qualification in international cash management, we are, during the period from the end of July to early September, running one week sessions (an integral part of the six month package) in Hong Kong, Belgium and the UK. The Hong Kong week has already taken place and we had an excellent group of students from a variety of Asian locations, including two bankers from Shanghai. This is the third successive year that we have had sufficient numbers enrolled in Asia to make a locally delivered programme viable. The students there were particularly fortunate to have presentations from four major corporates: BP, China Light & Power, AIG and Orient Overseas Container Line. These practitioner presentations are immensely valuable and interesting and we are very grateful for the support the speakers give us.
With the exception of Australia, where we deliver Cert ICM in cooperation with the local treasury association, tuition for the one week programme is the responsibility of Michele Allman-Ward, our lead tutor. The arrangement with Michele is intended to ensure that there is global consistency and of course a high standard in the way in which we deliver the programme. We are very pleased with how this is working and I would encourage readers to look at the qualification www.treasurers.org/qualifying/certicm.cfm and consider whether there are colleagues who would benefit from it.
In the pipeline at present are a significant number of events under the overall direction of our team led by Kate Hoyle and Jane Wicks. Work on The Treasurers’ Conference for May 2005 is progressing well and we know essentially what the content will be and who will be the main speakers. We do of course plan to retain at least flexibility to respond to developing events. A key part of the planning has been concerned with ensuring that the overall conference is even more rewarding both professionally and socially for all those who attend than it was in 2004. To keep abreast of the latest updates visit www.treasurersconference.com
We have had a good response to our evening symposium on Receptive Markets, Reluctant Borrowers – why this paradox? This is a free event (for members and students) and it is a good example of us seeking to target topical issues that can be presented in this way. We are actively working on other such free events for later in the year.
There continues to be a lot of work going on under our technical banner. Much of it is flagged in the body of this newsletter but I would particularly want to add an update on the work done to develop a code of practice for participants in the credit rating industry. As you may recall, we have jointly launched a draft code of practice in cooperation with the French and US treasury associations. We are now reviewing responses to the draft and waiting for IOSCO (the International Organisation of Securities Commissions) to produce their own proposals. In the meantime our work has attracted EU attention in that CESR (the Committee of European Securities Regulators) has launched its own consultation and referred very extensively to our work. Whatever we may think about processes in Brussels it is nonetheless encouraging that so much notice has been taken of our views on this particular issue.
Finally, I should just note that we are watching with interest the reports of discussions taking place between CIMA, CIPFA and ICAEW. We have good relationships with all three of these bodies and of course a fast track route to AMCT for CIMA members. Issues of size are not dominating strategic concern for us. We do however recognise the power of sheer numbers and whilst continuing to pursue our key strategic objectives will analyse the implications of the possible merger.
