Last week we previewed day one of this year’s ACT Annual Conference in Manchester, 16-17 May, and I asked what treasurers need to know. With the onset of the UK’s negotiations to leave the European Union and President Trump meeting his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping, there is a prevailing undercurrent of uncertainty on the international stage. What does this mean for us as a treasury community?
As the Chartered professional body for treasury, it’s vital we ask treasurers what they want to get from an ACT event. It’s why we spend many weeks of research talking directly to treasurers and asking what they want to learn. The programme this year is absolutely jam-packed with knowledge and practical tools which corporate treasurers need to know. Join me as we have a look through day two of this year’s Annual Conference where we look forward to welcoming over 1,000 attendees and working with over 60 speakers to tackle the conference theme – opportunity from uncertainty.
Day 2
What keeps you awake at night? Exclusively for corporate treasurers, we have our talkingtreasury breakfast briefing to kick-start the day, an excellent opportunity to share expertise and promote treasury best practice over a delicious breakfast. Shortly after, we have a keynote from the Bank of England discussing how new UK Money Markets and Global FX Codes will affect behaviours. An essential session as the Bank of England will be explaining the relevance of these Codes to corporates and what is expected from all market participants. Following this keynote, it’s time for you to shape the rest of your day.
The first of Wednesday’s tracks is on leveraging the global interest rate landscape with Arup, Marks and Spencer, Pentland Group, Deutsche Bank and Hitachi Capital. They’ll be debating the global interest rate environment and what this means for multinational corporates. Concurrently, discussion on European Money Market Fund (MMF) reform with HSBC, Institutional Money Market Funds Association, Burberry and Pearson promises to be an equally important session focusing on the key changes to MMFs and the type of funds they apply to. The final track before morning refreshments is with Severn Trent, Fitch Ratings, GasLog and Liberty Global who will be discussing new alternatives to funding and the current risk attitude within corporate treasury.
After refreshments and vital networking with the exhibitors, the emphasis is still on choosing what you want to learn with tracks and workshops on engaging and topical issues. The first of these is Brexit. In what is promising to be an popular track, join S&P Global Ratings, Centrica and IG as they debate the ramifications of Brexit from a treasurer’s perspective. We’ve also launched an all-new track for 2017 on payments and fraud. Watch this space for more information on what is promising to be a thoughtful, practical discussion. Finally, we have a very long list of distinguished speakers covering diversity, trading internationally, pensions and cash management in our workshops: Barclays, British Council, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Capita, Lloyds Bank, Legal & General and HSBC. It’s a busy end to a busy morning!
After a hot lunch in the exhibition hall (with what is promised to be a British favourite), its back to our final set of tracks. Markets in Latin America, Asia and Africa present their own opportunities for treasurers – but how should you structure treasury in an emerging market? Join the discussion with Rio Tinto, fastjet, Atos IT Services UK and PZ Cussons. Blockchain – we’ve all heard about it, but what does it mean for treasury? Explore blockchain’s path to maturity and the need for standardisation with NatWest, IFDS and R3 Consortium. The final track of the day and conference is with Wolseley Group Services, ASOS.com, Deloitte and BELLIN Treasury Alliance on the importance of group-wide cash visibility and transparency in uncertain times.
With the close of tracks and refreshments in the exhibition hall, ensure you swap those business cards and finish that last bit of networking and take part in the ACT treasury hunt! Back by demand for 2017, our popular Question Time panel will be hosted by Huw Edwards, with speakers from International Alert, Chatham House and King’s College London. It’s an excellent opportunity to debate the financial, political and economic headlines of the day with esteemed leaders. Finally, Leo Johnson, broadcaster and megatrends expert, will take us through what the future holds and the next big disruptions coming down the track for business. It promises to be an exciting, provocative discussion to the end of two very dynamic days.
…and that’s it for our ACT Annual Conference previews! To find out the rest, you need to be there! If you would like to know more about the event or any of the speakers, please do get in touch with the team on the website link below. We look forward to welcoming you.
Look out for my interview coverage with featured speakers at ACT Annual Conference 2017 – coming next week!
We’re really looking forward to welcoming you to the ACT Annual Conference. If you would like to know more about the conference, check out the website or give us a call on +44 (0)20 7847 2589.
I've just joined the ACT team. If you have any questions, suggestions or ideas for interesting content or events you want to attend please get in touch with me on LinkedIn or Twitter, @jhbb
