Editorial

Strength; resilience and success

This edition comes to you following the celebratory dinner in the magnificent rooms of the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel in honour of all our Adam Smith Awards 2023 winners. These prestigious awards, scooped by top treasury talent from around the globe and now in their 16th year, are a thrilling affirmation of the vital role of treasury in corporate success and resilience. Essential in today’s challenging world where just in the last few months treasury has had to navigate another spike in instability in Russia, unrest in France and interest rates cranking higher.

The consequences of which are increasingly evident for corporates – like UK utility Thames Water, an infamous example of how the cost of servicing debt is now throwing a company into crisis. In this edition, we take a timely look at how corporate treasurers are effectively managing working capital and liquidity against the backdrop of higher interest rates and fragile supply chains and find that digital technology is a vital support. Strategies like introducing an automated liquidity structure, that ensures trapped cash is invested and doesn’t drag on a firm’s profitability, can really help.

We’ve been reporting about it for years but setting up an in-house bank (IHB) remains one of the most compelling topics for our readers. This edition’s Question Answered tracks the key, iterative processes behind establishing an IHB with corporates Solvay and AkzoNobel.

In our sustainability feature we explore how the maker of Malboro cigarettes, Philip Morris International, is putting sustainability at its heart by overhauling its value proposition and moving from cigarettes to nicotine alternatives. We speak to the company’s Chief Sustainability Officer Jennifer Motles who says sustainable transformation is impossible without C-suite backing in a process that has many comparisons to a treasury transformation.

Elsewhere, this edition explores how corporates have never had more choice when it comes to payment methods on offer from banks and fintechs, while our Regional Focus homes in on Europe’s offering as a treasury centre exploring different tax considerations and the availability of talent.

Lastly, we speak to Gilead Sciences’ Karina Inga-Kamienski, Senior Director of the company’s Capital Markets division. She explains why success hinges on doing a good job over and above any other factor. Only this way will colleagues truly “get to know you and your brand” allowing you to carve a reputation as someone who can be trusted to deliver and asked to work on the next project. Other advice? Echoing our mantra at Treasury Today she outlines the importance of always being kind – and understanding that you can never do it alone!