Editorial

When preparation pays

“Our job, to put it narrowly, is to be prepared for either eventuality,” one treasurer at a US corporation told Treasury Today in response to our questions on the treasury implications of a Harris or Trump win in the election. Trump won a resounding victory and this edition’s Insight and Analysis explores some of his key election promises.

Trump’s pledge to roll out tariffs will have an impact on already strained trade and supply chains. Our Question Answered draws on the expertise of Thomas Mehlkopf, Gopul Shah and Mark van Ommen to explore how companies can navigate supply chain risk like shipping bottlenecks and payment complexities behind new D2C flows. Shah explains that ESG is one of the biggest risks at Golden Agri-Resources and shares the role of treasury integrating sustainability at the company.

From deepfake CFOs to large scale theft, cyberattacks are another risk treasury needs to ward against. We explore how the rise of AI is changing the arms race between threat actors and defenders and the benefits for treasury. Elsewhere we look at how the threat of severe weather-related shocks is moving up the risk agenda for corporates.

Our payments feature explores how account-to-account payment systems are gaining traction across many parts of the world although interoperability remains a long way off. We explore how regulatory divergence continues to stymie A2A growth and more consistency is required to drive consumer demand for account-to-account payments.

Alongside this kind of deep knowledge and technical expertise, soft skills are just as important when it comes to gaining influence and progressing our careers. Attributes such as stakeholder management, emotional intelligence and effective communication are becoming increasingly important alongside technical prowess for treasury professionals everywhere.

Skills encapsulated in the career of Interfood Group’s Vincent Almering who jumped into treasury at the deep end when he joined the Dutch dairy commodity group. His career is testimony to the importance of learning on the job and seizing opportunities when they appear in a fast-paced environment managing liquidity, derivatives and changing bank relationships.