The Treasurers’ Conference & ongoing technical work

2005 promises to be an interesting and challenging year for the ACT. We are starting off by launching the detailed programme for The Treasurers’ Conference at the Celtic Manor Resort in May – more on this below. We also plan to make major announcements in the first half of the year about the ACT’s professional qualifications and what we have been doing to increase the appeal and relevance of what we teach. All the work that we do in the area of technical advice and consultation is expected to continue at the hectic pace we saw in 2004. And of course we will be holding elections for new Council members to join in May – this is the first year in which the timing of the change in Council is aligned with the financial year of the ACT.

Whilst The Treasurers’ Conference is just one in the series of events that we develop, it is particularly significant for us because of the commitment we have made to provide an annual conference rooted in the interests and priorities of the practitioners that are central to what the ACT represents. To develop the programme for 2005 we have consulted widely and I hope you will agree that the programme is relevant, lively and challenging. I am delighted that we will have the Chairman of Tesco – David Reid, who is an ACT member – speaking on the opening evening and that he will be followed during the conference by outstanding speakers such as Sir David Tweedie, Chairman of the IASB, David Varney, Chairman of the Inland Revenue and HM Customs & Excise, and Rick Haythornthwaite, Chief Executive Officer of Invensys. I heard Sir David Tweedie speaking very recently and I know that he will be both hugely entertaining and provocative.

Lest our list of keynote speakers makes the conference sound somewhat serious we will also have Gareth Chilcott (Bath, England and British Lions rugby player) speaking at our gala dinner, and at the opening night cocktail party Barry Riley, who is always entertaining, will talk about ‘The Money Game Updated’. Our pricing for the conference follows what could loosely be described as the low-cost airline model – ie the earlier you book the cheaper it is. We have negotiated special accommodation rates at the Celtic Manor Resort and other nearby hotels (shuttles will be provided for those staying at the recommended hotels) but we would recommend you book early if you are keen to be staying within the Resort complex itself.

Our recent technical work has included important input into the implementation discussions around the EU Market Abuse Directive; we argued that an immediate relaxation of the UK’s current more rigorous approach to the definition of insider information – to align it with the EU approach – would be unfortunate. The Treasury has accepted the arguments we made and announced that the current approach will remain in force for three years during which a review will be conducted. As I write (before Christmas) we are finalising a submission to the Myners review on pre-emption rights – an issue on which the ACT played a key role in the past and where we are concerned to ensure that the established approach should be refreshed and sustained.

We are in dialogue with the IASB about further amendments to IAS 39. We have been slightly encouraged recently by indications that a more pragmatic and clearly principles-based approach is being seen as central to the standard. In January we are commenting on CESR’s latest consultation on credit rating agencies; in February we will be contributing to the ASB’s consultation on the OFR standard and on the FRC review of the Turnbull guidance on internal control.

In November we held a very successful joint event with the Loan Market Association to discuss the implications of IFRS adoption for loan documentation. Out of this meeting we have produced a short guidance note that is available on the website. I hope that you will find this of help in considering how your financing arrangements need to be reviewed to ensure that there are no ‘surprises’ as a result of the accounting change.

Finally, in addition to the flag made in the opening paragraph regarding exciting changes to our approach to professional qualifications, I would like to note that we were very pleased with the results of the October 2004 examinations. 121 students successfully completed the AMCT qualification. The pass rates for Money Management (61%) and Corporate Finance and Funding (58%) were the highest since 1988. The overall pass rate for MCT, at 56%, was an improvement on the previous seven sittings. This is all good news and I would like to offer my congratulations to all who have passed.

Although 2005 will be underway by the time you read this newsletter I will close by wishing all – members and non-members alike – the very best for a peaceful and rewarding new year.

By richard.j.raeburn@gmail.com