The initial flush of the UK’s first coalition government has passed and the hard facts of a financially austere budget are being played out in the media. Across the EU, regulators are in overdrive on ratings agencies, accounting changes, banking salaries, asset tests and the like. And in the US, sustainable forests are just a little less so following the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, a massive piece of legislation – 2,319 pages long and by dint of a strange typeface, each page with just 130 to 140 words on it! Thankfully, for OTC derivatives at least, the Act offers a sensible outcome for corporate end-users.
Where does all this leave the treasury profession? In our view, right where it should be: at the heart of financial management of the organisation. Treasury is all about planning, strategy and policy development sitting alongside operational efficiency. It’s a big job and in the last three years it has become a much higher profile one.
The ACT’s position is that treasurers should welcome this opportunity to get involved with the real workings of their organisations, to engage with their colleagues, identifying and managing risk, and creating value added solutions to business issues, and not solely those with an obvious financial dimension.
What finance professionals need, of course, is an educational framework that helps them launch their careers. This edition of The Treasurer includes the results of the April 2010 ACT examinations, and congratulations are due to all those candidates who completed an MCT, AMCT or Certificate qualification. This educational achievement lies at the heart of the ACT and is fully supported by our events, publishing, and policy and technical teams.
An exciting autumn lies ahead for the ACT. We have our first annual conference in the Middle East, several breakfast and half-day events covering ratings, risk management and funding (in Manchester in November), and regional group meetings across the UK. Last but not least will be the publication of the 2011 International Treasurer’s Handbook. Much to do indeed!
Peter Matza
Head of Publishing