It is an uneasy time for many, with war on Saddam Hussein in its initial phase as I write. The uncertainties of the war mean that many people and businesses have to put their plans on hold.
That is not to say that the planning has ground to a halt. The various teams at the ACT are working on their plans for the rest of the year and well into next – Events have the imminent UK Treasurers’ Conference in Brighton (see page 30) and the Annual Dinner in November high on the agenda. Education has the regular round of exams and revision courses to contend with.
On the editorial side, in September last year we set our spotlights until the end of 2003. In the light of developments since then, we are now revising our list for the rest of the year and early 2004.We shall be running with Risk Management in May, June’s issue will examine how the treasury function can be carried out in the most cost-effective way and in the July/August edition, we investigate how individual treasurers can best develop their expertise and their career.
In a new departure for The Treasurer, we shall also be running a special feature on Money Market Funds in all three of those issues. The features will cover all aspects of this major growth area, providing our usual technical and practical insight.
Our September issue will follow the lead of the new 2003 edition of The Treasurer’s Handbook (see below) and take a ‘pan-European’ stance – the idea being that no matter where you practice your treasury, the issues and practical advice are very similar. October and December will see our regular Deals of the Year features. As ever, we welcome your comments and feedback on these ideas – whether you are a corporate treasurer, a banker or a consultant, please let us have your thoughts and ideas. Our immediate planning concerns September’s European edition.
All members of the ACT should now have received the 2003 editions of The Treasurer’s Handbook and ACT Members’ Directory. I hope you will agree the Handbook now provides phenomenal value. We shall continue its development over the next couple of years, so it becomes the definitive ‘bible’ for treasurers practising in the UK and Europe, to add to our stable of publications. To this end, we are already planning for 2004. Again, please let us have your thoughts and ideas.
Appropriately enough for Oscars’ time, I would like to thank a number of people in particular for their hard work and dedication in putting together such an excellent product: Sheelagh Killen and Claire Wood for the editorial, Caroline Cowen for her persistence in getting the Treasury Services Directory together, Michael Watkins for sorting out the production process and finally, Sarah Duree for her excellent design work in making it a much more user-friendly publication.
Many of you will be receiving this issue in your delegate pack at the UK Treasurers’ conference in Brighton – I hope you enjoy the read and get the most out of the conference.
MIKE HENIGAN
Managing Editor
