This year’s annual ACT Cash Management Conference had a definite buzz about it. Indeed, the conference has grown exponentially in the five years we have been sponsors. The conference saw more delegates asking more questions, both during the presentations and afterwards, as treasurers congregated to discuss the issues raised. Everyone, it seemed, was on the lookout for best practice.
So why the change in tempo? As an industry group, treasurers have had to reassess their policies and practices in detail since the financial crisis. Whereas in previous years, treasurers have come to the conference with less certainty regarding their own practices, this year, the treasurers attending seemed to have established their own positions more clearly – whether they had updated their treasury policies, reviewed their bank relationships or updated their treasury systems.
With much more certainty in those key areas, there was a sense that in 2012, treasurers are looking to the future. While the topics relating to cash management remain broadly the same, what changes over time is the inflection of regulatory changes, external market conditions and how companies are positioning themselves against this backdrop.
Where company positioning is concerned, many treasurers are currently focusing on expanding their businesses outside the UK, and the associated challenges. For those planning international growth, opportunities within Emerging Markets is a recurring theme. While Asia continues to attract a lot of interest, regions like Africa and South America are increasingly coming to the fore. Indeed, in the past year, we have seen a number of corporate treasurers initiating the establishment of regional treasury centres in South Africa. However, one challenge that treasurers contemplating these regions face, is the relative shortage of banks that have full coverage in either region at present.
Where regulation is concerned, there is a sense that the industry is in a brief lull before the upcoming regulatory changes take full effect. Basel III is an important topic and, while not in place until 2015, there is an increasing amount of debate within the industry on how this will affect banks and corporations.
Overall, despite the current economic uncertainties in Europe, this year’s conference was an upbeat affair – and rightly so. Treasurers today have a more elevated position within their companies than in the past. ‘Cash is king’ – and the treasurer controlling the cash has greater influence at board level than ever before.
Maurice Cleaves,
MD and Global Head of Cash Management, Barclays
