Editor’s letter
As we continue to battle with lockdown, I can’t be alone in weighing the restrictions in our social lives against a surprising number of upsides. Please don’t misunderstand me. The hardships and losses we’re suffering are real. COVID-19 will throw a long shadow, and it will take time to assimilate the implications. But as weeks go by, and as earlier and more optimistic assessments around the resumption of our normal lives are toppled, it can only help to focus on what we’ve discovered about ourselves and each other, and the positive features of conducting our business and working lives this way.
I’m thinking primarily about the increased willingness to share experience – generously and to a heartening degree. This was certainly in evidence at The Association of Corporate Treasurers’ (ACT’s) International Treasury Week (ITW) in May, when an impressive line-up from our global community of treasury professionals spoke candidly on all aspects of business life under lockdown. We heard the decisions around cash and liquidity made on day one; the need to show understanding and flexibility in the face of colleagues’ varied home and working arrangements; and strengthened relationships with external stakeholders who appear newly willing to admitting to not always having all the answers.
ITW, featured on page 24, also included all the essentials, such as sessions on regulation, liquidity, ESG and – importantly – mental health. These can still be accessed in full via the ACT’s website (go to: treasurers.org/events/past).
And while our day-to-day challenges still loom large, the collective conversation has begun to turn to the future. Here again, change is in the air. Given the opportunity, do we want simply to return to the working methods and processes that we were used to and that we depended on? Or will we take the opportunity to change things for the better?
Other features in this issue of The Treasurer reflect the theme of the ACT’s next event: The Festival of Treasury Transformation. Nomad Foods and Al-Futtaim have treasury transformations under way, both of which began pre-lockdown. Richard Walker, group treasurer at Nomad Foods, talked to The Treasurer about the milestones reached so far – a rating from Fitch and a Bloomberg implementation – and the tasks ahead, including greater support for the company’s supplier base. Details can be found on page 14.
Al-Futtaim’s finance transformation was modelled on its treasury transformation, where automation and simplification of processes were key drivers. Over the course of the pandemic, Al-Futtaim has reaped the benefits of greater transparency and enhanced analytics. The full story starts on page 18.
I hope you enjoy this issue.
thetreasurer@thinkpublishing.co.uk
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This issue’s contributors
Kallum Pickering, senior economist at Berenberg Bank, is The Treasurer’s regular economic commentator and a recognised forecaster, regularly contributing to public debate through interviews on Bloomberg, CNBC, the BBC and CNN. This issue, he turns his lens towards government debt. You can find his article on page 11
Ben Poole is a long-standing contributor to The Treasurer as a freelance writer and editor. His portfolio reflects interests across corporate treasury and finance, transaction banking and fintech. He is also a former editor of GTNews. Turning his attention to treasury transformation for this issue, his feature is on page 18
Nichol Burgess, founder of Treasury Consultancy Services, has a track record in treasury transformation. She spent 11 years at British Airways, first as a finance manager, and then as a treasury risk specialist. Next, she moved to Travelport, where she worked on a TMS implementation. Her article can be found on page 34
