I must start the newsletter with a thank you to all the speakers, delegates, exhibitors and sponsors who attended our annual conference in May and made it such a huge success. We are working through all the comments and remarks we have received from all parties and I am delighted that so many of you found the conference enjoyable, worthwhile and practical. In all our planning the ACT team and Programme Committee thought it was vital for the conference to bring tangible benefits when back in the office – your comments suggest we have achieved this.
The keynote sessions created a healthy level of discussion. Adair Turner was predictably challenging in his view of social and demographic implications for asset valuations and of course for the provision of pensions; Simon Robinson sharing his career-long experience of the changing nature of the bank/corporate relationships; and Paul Tucker provided an insight into the view from the bank of England on avoidable and unavoidable risks whilst also explaining the Bank’s new approach to stability in the sterling overnight money market. Most of the speaker presentations can be downloaded on the conference website which also includes a photo gallery from the event, and remember to bookmark this site for up-to-date information on next year’s conference.
The Treasurers’ Conference 2007 will be held at the EICC, Edinburgh on 2 – 4 May. This purpose built conference centre will provide dedicated facilities and an exceptional level of service and we are confident that TTC 2007 will once again be informative and stimulating. Planning is already well underway and we will be able to provide an outline programme in the next few months.
The interest in Adair Turner’s speech of course also reflected the overall awareness of pensions issues and the ongoing debate around his report for the Pensions Commission. The pension sessions at The Treasurers’ Conference were just one of a portfolio of activities the ACT has undertaken to help all those involved with company pensions – see www.treasurers.org/events/pensions.cfm for further information. Pensions continue to be high on the agenda for all working in treasury, corporate finance and risk management and we have more exciting initiatives in the coming months. The Treasurer magazine (June edition) has a special supplement on ‘21st Century Pensions’. On 28 June we host the Pensions Conference with James Purnell, Minister for Pensions Reform as our guest speaker, providing an update on the government’s policy. The response to the ACT’s new Certificate in Risk Management for Pensions (CertRMP) continues to exceed expectation, with the first intake of candidates starting the programme in June.
Finally, I must just mention that we have made some minor changes to our Ethical Code and Disciplinary Rules – please click here for further information.
