The beginning of May sees the start of our new financial year and our first Treasurers’ Conference in Edinburgh. 2006/07 has been a year of investment for the ACT and it is encouraging that we have the financial reserves and resilience to be able to follow through on our strategic commitments to continue to develop our qualifications and to ensure that the ACT team is properly equipped to deliver the strategy. Members will receive our Annual Review later in the year and within that we will show overall how the portfolio of qualifications and our people are central to the way we see the ACT developing; the strategy focuses on the accessibility, relevance and range of our qualifications, as well as on what we can offer to the broad range of backgrounds reflected in our membership and how we do this both domestically and internationally.
Many of us from the ACT team will of course be in Edinburgh later this week for The Treasurers’ Conference and I look forward to catching up with members and friends of the ACT whilst there. We have a record number of attendees and excellent support from our sponsors and exhibitors. There will be a full write up of TTC in the June edition of The Treasurer.
There are three items in this newsletter that I particularly want to highlight. Our Policy & Technical team have produced a practical guide to Letters of Comfort – this is intended to be the first of a series of briefing notes. We have been asked to help source participants for the new Payments Council’s establishment of user forums – a significant development in the UK payments arena – if you are interested please contact Martin O’Donovan. We have publicly launched the FastTrack arrangements for ICAEW members taking AMCT – this matches what we have already put in place with other major accountancy bodies.
John Tiner, Chief Executive Officer of the FSA, delivered our Spring Paper last week on “harnessing the market through principles and disclosure”. The full text of his challenging and thoughtful speech can be read on the FSA website. We are always looking ahead to future such Papers and I welcome any suggestions as to speakers and subjects that you would like to see us tackle.
The ACT’s Advisory Board also met last week and our guest was Sir Christopher Hogg, the Chairman of the Financial Reporting Council. The discussion led by Sir Christopher was around private equity, a topic which has clearly got potential to run and challenge us for some time. One of our keynote speakers at The Treasurers’ Conference is John Singer, a senior figure in the private equity industry, and we will be covering the topic both in the next talkingtreasury in Düsseldorf and at a UK conference later in the year. On at least two levels the attention to private equity seems to me to raise key issues: what does its growth suggest companies in the quoted sector can learn in terms of their approach to financing; and to what extent if at all does private equity change the expectations of and opportunities for treasury professionals? I have no doubt that these and other issues will continue to challenge us during 2007.
ACT members and Affiliates will shortly receive renewal letters. If you have any questions about your renewal please contact Zoe Norris. I am of course always interested to have direct feedback on membership (or any other issues) from you.
