Nich Easen’s article in Raconteur April 28 highlighted how management teams, in the event of a crisis, need to “communicate effectively, with speed, honesty and compassion, in a bid to limit damage to their company.” The essential elements of his approach apply to corporate treasury departments too, for example, he recommends that corporate treasury departments need to:

• Give a rapid, and heartfelt responses immediately not wait a week like Boeing’s chief executive took to respond to the fatal Ethiopian Airlines crash
• Have an effective crisis response plan including the corporate treasury department which has already considered what to do if the worst happens
• Make sure that all executives understand the roles they need to play
• Understand how the role of the corporate treasurer as part of the senior executive team is crucial
• Accept and manage the fact that reputational damage is probably much more expensive than the actual cost of the fraud or dealing mistake.

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CTMfile take: Common sense and courage are what is needed, but this is very difficult in a crisis. The article is well worth a read.