ACT Conference highlights: Brexit Britain to 21st Century Treasury
by Bija Knowles
Today the UK's Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT) kicks off its two-day annual conference in Liverpool's King's Dock. CTMfile's pick of the highlights and sessions not to miss include the following:
Sir Ivan Rogers on Brexit Britain
Sir Ivan, former UK Permanent Representative to the EU, shares his unique perspective on Britain's future relations with the EU. An early poll from this morning's session showed that only 20 per cent of treasurers have firm plans in place for Brexit. The rest are still exploring options, analysing impacts or have not started planning at all.
Future-proofing your cash management
There are several interesting sessions with CFO or treasury speakers at the end of the morning on Day 1 but Track C promises to give some insights and tips into problems that affect everyone. Treasury professionals from Moneycorp, Vodafone and CBRE discuss their ideas on how to ensure you have a cash management structure that's fit for purpose.
Cybersecurity
After lunch on Day 1, Track D has a session on one of the biggest risks facing businesses today. Treasurers from Eurostar and Sky talk practical steps for improving cybersecurity in the treasury environment.
Managing financial risks across your supply chain
The day ends with a choice of 14 sessions, from career advice to treasury roundtables and a quick-fire presentations in the trendy Pechakucha session. Considering the morning's discussion on preparing for the financial and supply chain impacts of Brexit, one useful session is the 'Ask the experts' talk on supply chain risks, with experts from Lloyds Bank discussing how to identify hidden financial risks across the supply chain.
Talking treasury
Day 2 of the conference opens officially at 8am with one session for corporate treasurers only, providing another opportunity to discuss concerns and contingency plans for Brexit.
Green and sustainable finance
Before lunch on Day 2, in Track J, treasurers from Renewi and Tideway, along with a sustainable finance expert from S&P and chairman of the Green Finance Initiative, will be debating the benefits of issuing green bonds, asking whether the current boom in green finance will last and what are the real benefits for corporates?
Innovation in treasury
This is another session – Track M on the afternoon of Day 2 – with treasury speakers from Virgin Media and Network Rail, who will share their views on the digital, technology-enabled treasury of the future.
Treasury for the 21st century
The penultimate session of the day, with Microsoft's former 'chief envisioning officer' could be a conference highlight. Dave Coplin will speak about the importance of realising the full potential of today's disruptive technologies and how they could transform treasury.
For more details, see the full conference programme.
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