What’s your policy? (TT Nov04 p23-25)

Treasury policies should be approved at board level and give personnel the guidelines on their roles, what their boundaries are and how their performance will be measured. Treasury policies should not skim the key risks faced by a company’s treasury and should set out exactly what instruments are to be used and the exact purpose of transactions. A policy which focuses mainly on financial or accounting risk management could mean that other key risks are being overlooked. Treasurers should review their existing policies at least annually and make necessary changes when their companies undergo changes such as acquisition. Unless a treasury policy is regularly updated, clear, specific and comprehensive, it is only slightly more useful than no policy at all.