I hope I am not too late to wish all our readers a happy new year/century/millennium etc. I am pleased to confirm that ‘The Bug’ has been banished from these pages (until 29 February at least!). Oceanus has been running, or should I say swimming, since October addressing a variety of interesting issues, and creating some waves. I would emphasise that Oceanus does not represent the views of The Association of Corporate Treasurers but reflects some of the opinions encountered among members and readers. Oceanus is not restricted to treasury issues and is not going to be controversial for the sake of it. If you think any of the views expressed are unreasonable or untenable, or swim against a strong tide, there are plenty of opportunities to respond through our letters page or a Forum piece. If you want your response published swiftly, we need your copy by the 12th of the month. The Spotlight this month looks at how treasury departments are organised and structured, covering a range of topics from setting up a new treasury department from scratch to tax-efficient treasury locations to a case study from Diageo, which has initiated a process for pan-European cash management. Case studies are one of the best ways to learn how your fellow treasurers are doing things and I am pleased to say that we have two others in this edition: John Jones of Imperial Tobacco takes us through the changes in its funding base since its demerger and Gary Hulme of Victrex takes us through its refinancing. In anticipation of the conference on Treasury Technology and Cash Management in late March (see page 32), Brian Welch examines recent developments in information technology. South Africa is subject to scrutiny in the international section. Philip Clayton of Standard Equities looks at the potential for economic growth. There has been a lot of activity in terms of privatisations, relistings and restructurings and these are discussed by Tim Clarke and Charlie Jacobs of Linklaters & Alliance. Deloittes provides an update of tax changes. Finally, I would like to extend a warm welcome to Sue Ennis, production manager, and Jennie King, editorial assistant, who are joining The Treasurer team and who will also be working on The Treasurer’s Handbook and our other publications. Mike Henigan
