In the West, it seems like an extraordinarily short period since our world flipped upside down. That is a perception, of course – and an illusory one at best. Bodies such as the World Health Organization have been warning of superbugs and pandemics for decades. In retrospect, it seems astonishingly myopic that governments in Europe or the US would fail to track progress of COVID-19 in Asia or begin work on a coordinated response in the face of the spread of the contagion.
We may never be able to quantify the impact of this period of denial and we are witnessing a wholesale overhaul of our ways of working and our relationship with our neighbours – a new social contract for pandemic conditions.
The great home-working experiment is in full operation and a COVID-19-induced recession has begun. How long will it last? It has been characterised as ‘deep and long’ and predictions vary as to its length or the shape of the recovery.
At this time of year, we would normally bring you a celebration of The Association of Corporate Treasurers’ (ACT’s) Deals of the Year Awards (see page 33 for details of rescheduled ACT events). Instead, in this edition, we ask: what are the tasks ahead of us now we’ve reached ‘the end of the beginning’? In our Black Swan edition we chart the immediate responses of treasuries to the need to abandon commuting and office working in favour of isolating as much of the population as possible. Our feature on the short-, medium- and longer-term responses is published on page 12, and practising treasurers share some interesting observations on the need to replicate controls and protocols as closely as is practical and to forward plan in terms of resources, the probability that multiple members of the team will go off sick at some point, for example. Maintaining compliance and measures such as segregation of duties will require some flexibility within new operational plans. And then there is the outside world – counterparty risk, supply chain risk and debt issuance in the face of potential delays will all be front of mind.
Organisations of all types will have a focus on access to finance, liquidity and covenant management as seen in an article from Slaughter and May on page 18. One of the messages here is the importance of personal contact with relationship banks.
Stamina and resilience in the face of turbulence of uncertain duration will be crucial, and on page 16 we offer our own survival guide. The need for clear communication and strong and consistent leadership as we adapt and begin to plan for recovery is explored along with some ideas for refining remote working and staying close to colleagues. Being human in your leadership and vigilant both personally and professionally is the principle to hold to.
I hope you find this issue useful and that you and yours stay healthy in these difficult times.
- Liz Loxton
This issue’s contributors
Rebecca Brace is an experienced freelance business and finance writer and editor with a long track record in treasury and banking. She writes regularly for The Treasurer and has covered blockchain, treasury technology and the role of treasury in M&A. Her feature tracking the early response of treasurers to COVID-19 appears on page 12
Kathrine Meloni is special adviser at law firm Slaughter and May with a focus on banking and finance transactions. She writes regularly on banking and related legal topics, and is the author of The ACT Borrower’s Guide to LMA Loan Documentation for Investment Grade Borrowers. Her article on finance during COVID-19 is on page 18
Amanda Bradley is MD of London-based coaching company Liberty EQ. Her coaching is grounded in more than 20 years’ experience in corporate treasury and risk management. She appears regularly in The Treasurer, writing on personal and professional development. Her feature on managing anxiety can be found on page 30
