Over the past few months the phrase ‘new normal’ has surfaced as a way of describing how we now live. But does it really mean anything? We live in a dynamic world where events, and our perceptions of them, are constantly changing. We are in a permanent state of flux so surely a ‘new’ normal exists no more than an ‘old’ normal. As Heraclitus argued millennia ago, the only constant in life is change.

These times are challenging for everyone. But amongst the personal tragedy and heartache, the frustration and anger, every day we can see shining examples of humanity. Those that are on the frontline in the fight against COVID-19 – and there are many – reveal to us that, fundamentally, humans can and will pull together to do whatever is necessary, because of – and yes, also in spite of – each other.

Firstly, let’s tackle the Big One. Treasurers across the region will be keeping a close eye on the unfolding events following the outbreak of a novel coronavirus, Covid-19. Its economic impact is already being felt, with countries across the globe downgrading their economic growth forecasts. Supply chains are being disrupted, with factory closures in China affecting companies around the world, whilst diverse sectors are seeing a considerable impact, and many businesses take steps to minimise staff travel.

In 2019, political risk-watchers were spoilt for choice. But from the Brexit saga, to drone strikes in Saudi Arabia, the conflict in Syria, the US-China trade war, protests in Hong Kong, the threat of a global recession et al – it all added up to one big headache for treasurers.

Life has its risks, without which, arguably, we wouldn’t progress. Think how far we have come in the worlds of medicine and travel, for example, as previous generations have wrestled the odds and overcome life-threatening hurdles, just so we can have life a bit easier.

Treasury once resided in an ivory tower within its own organisation; an inscrutable technical wizard that somehow made sure the bills were paid. Often the only time people knew it was there was when something went wrong.

In a recent FT interview, Vladimir Putin said that “the liberal idea” has “outlived its purpose”. With the rise of anti-immigration sentiment, the will to shut down borders and end multiculturalism, it has certainly been tested.

At this point in 2019, those in the UK who voted to leave the EU should have been cheering as they finally threw off the shackles of EU membership, whilst those who voted remain would be ruing the day former Prime Minister Cameron decided to play political games with the country’s future. It has not happened yet. It might not. The truth is that nobody knows.

The whole Brexit experience for the business community has been characterised by an expanding series of unknowns (both known and unknown, as former US Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld would say), playing out at length. The uncertainty that this has foisted upon many sectors across the UK, Europe and beyond has been challenging, to say the least. It is one that many treasurers will have had to manage, despite the lack of hard facts.

Is the world speeding up? Here we are, in the last two months of a year that has seemingly passed by in a flash. We know the world is not spinning any faster, but the pace of life has increased exponentially over the past decade. As a result, we have all become time-poor, spending our days feeling rushed and, perhaps as a result, demanding instant gratification.

It’s been a decade since the financial crisis transformed the lives of all of us that work in financial markets. Looking back now, few could have imagined the sizeable impact the crisis had and still has on the world today.

Risk management is a strong theme throughout this edition of Treasury Today, and with good reason. Risk management is a key concern for treasurers around the world, with many struggling to understand the direction the world is heading and what this means for their operations.

The global financial crisis and its fallout are often cited as having enabled treasury departments around the world to become strategic partners to the business. And whilst this may be true to a certain extent – the crisis certainly provided treasury with a platform to shine – the department could have easily fallen out of the spotlight once the crisis abated.

We have certainly come a long way since our Adam Smith Awards for Best Practice and Innovation was launched in 2008. Not only is this awards programme acknowledged as the industry benchmark for corporate treasury achievement, it is also now synonymous with best practice and innovation.

As we reach the end of 2016 few would say that it has been a boring year. It may, in fact, go down as one of the most volatile years on record.

Treasurers have always played a valuable role in the corporate machine but, as most participants and observers now know, the role has taken on greater operational significance. What’s more, it now bears the kind of strategic importance that once was reserved for the C-suite. In essence, treasurers have far greater responsibility than ever before.

What many people, industry experts, politicians, the media and professional commentators thought would never happen, has. On 24th June we all awoke to the news that the British people had voted by a margin of 52% to 48% in favour of leaving the European Union and financial markets around the world went into meltdown. UK Prime Minister David Cameron resigned. There was a coup to oust the leader of the Labour Party and a meeting of the European Union in Brussels came to no real decision as to exactly when the UK will invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty which would start the divorce process.

Our Corporate Treasury Benchmarking Studies have been leading the industry since 2009. Thanks to the 3,500 of you who have taken part, we have built up a very clear picture of the key issues and challenges affecting corporate treasury and, importantly, provided some of the KPI metrics against which you have been able to benchmark yourselves.

Nominations close at midnight on 29th April

Treasury Today’s Adam Smith Awards is the largest corporate treasury awards programme and recognises the very best and brightest in the industry. For 2016, our panel of judges will again be looking for solutions that truly demonstrate exceptional best practice and innovation in the corporate treasury arena.

As we start a new year, the global financial crisis seems like a distant memory – or does it? At the beginning of January 2008, The World Bank predicted global economic growth would slow as the credit crunch hit the richest nations. By mid-January, global stock markets had suffered their biggest falls since the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Centre and the US Fed had slashed rates by three quarters of a percentage point to 3.5% – its biggest cut in 25 years. At the end of the month, major bond insurer, MBIA, announced losses of $2.3bn, blaming its exposure to the US subprime mortgage crisis.

October 21^st 2015 has just passed. Those of you who are familiar with the American science-fiction adventure movie ‘Back to the Future’ will appreciate the significance of this date. For those of you who aren’t, it is interesting to observe that some of the predictions in the film have actually come true. Personal drones, tablets and mobile payment technology, biometric devices, hands-free gaming consoles, smart clothing and wearable technology, video phones, waste-fuelled cars, hover-boards and video glasses are all a reality. Wal-Mart Stores is even applying to US regulators for permission to test drones for home delivery, curb-side pickup and checking warehouse inventories, as it goes head-to-head with Amazon in using these aerial devices to fulfil online orders.

Having just returned from the EuroFinance International Cash and Treasury Management conference in Copenhagen, it is perhaps worth reflecting on some of the key themes that emerged. The focus of this year’s event was fitness; keeping your treasury function fit for purpose, fit for growth and fit for the future. These themes were addressed on consecutive days under the banners of flexibility, strength and speed, and sustainability.

This issue of Treasury Today coincides with our attendance at EuroFinance’s International Cash and Treasury Management Conference 2015 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Indeed, we expect many of you may be attending the conference too. The theme this year is ‘keeping treasury fit for purpose, fit for growth and fit for the future’ – something that many treasurers will be thinking about as they take the time to step away from their desks and look towards 2016.

It’s a standing joke that the industry needs a ‘Women in Treasury’ initiative because every day at the office is just like a ‘Men in Treasury’ forum. And whilst one of the drivers behind Treasury Today’s pioneering Women in Treasury campaign – which began in 2013 – was, and still is, to give women in the (male-dominated) profession greater recognition and a platform for inspiration, as counterintuitive as it might seem, it’s not all aimed at the fairer sex.

It’s no secret that companies are firmly focusing on growth again. Yet, at a time when market volatility is high, geopolitical stability is being rocked, and international regulatory regimes are growing ever tighter, growth can be tricky to find.

You only have to talk to a banker these days and the increasing cost of regulation is the first or second topic of conversation. In fact, it is sometimes the first and the second topic of conversation.

Being good at your job isn’t the only prerequisite for getting ahead in your career. Today, it’s not just what you know that matters; it’s also who you know. Having a good profile at work is essential for your career. It means being trusted with the best projects and being first in line for promotion.

In recent weeks, regulatory talk has understandably turned to the European Parliament’s proposed money market reforms. And with ongoing concerns around the knock-on effect of Basel III, bank ring-fencing measures in the UK, and the US’s Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), for example, it is little surprise that the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) has fallen under the radar of late. Yet the next SEPA deadline is now less than 12 months away and some corporates have much to achieve in that time.

With the prospect of transformative regulation still hanging over the sector, Europe’s money market funds (MMFs) continue to operate against a backdrop of uncertainty. Recent moves by the European Central Bank (ECB) and Swiss National Bank (SNB) are only making matters more complex – for those in the industry, and for corporate treasurers who invest in the funds.

At the start of a New Year, it’s traditional to review our priorities and path for the future. We often think about what we’d like to achieve and what we can do better over the next 12 months – both in a personal and professional capacity. But to make this review a truly useful process, it’s important to take a ‘warts and all’ approach. Frequently, the biggest mistake people, and companies, make when looking to improve their situation is sugar-coating their current predicament or refusing to fully acknowledge their weaknesses.

It’s hard to believe that the end of the year is almost upon us. For those in the corporate treasury profession, 2014 has been another rollercoaster ride. There have been highs; there have been lows; and there has been an overwhelming amount of regulation. Indeed, the beginning of the year was dominated by regulatory change, not least EMIR and SEPA.

Despite growing investment in measures to counter cyber-attack, an increasing number of banks and corporations are being caught short by fraudsters online. Given the pervasive reach of the internet, no country is immune from the threat of cybercrime. Nigeria, our Country Focus in this edition of Treasury Today, is no exception. A cyber heist on the nation’s banks in September saw criminals get away with more than $35m. Since 2013, Nigeria is now thought to have lost almost $120m to internet-based fraud.

After much prevaricating and political posturing, and with new commissioners making the decisions, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the US has adopted new rules for regulating money market funds (MMFs) in a 3-2 vote.

It’s been a busy few months on the e-invoicing front, with a number of positive and noteworthy developments. In this issue, we’ll highlight some of the most recent statistics and interesting e-invoicing news, but we really would urge treasurers to keep e-invoicing firmly on their radar as 2014 progresses. After all, in an environment where businesses of all sizes continue to focus on finding efficiencies and getting smarter about the way they work, while adding strategic value and easing financial pressures, e-invoicing is a tried and tested solution.

In mid-May the European Payments Council (EPC) launched a three-month public consultation on possible changes to the SEPA Credit Transfer (SCT) and SEPA Direct Debit (SDD) Rulebooks. Treasurers, along with other industry stakeholders, now have until 15^th August 2014 to share their views on the Council’s potential modifications. This date is of course, just a few weeks out from the end of the ‘extended’ SEPA migration period – 1^st August 2014.

Without doubt, technology has revolutionised the way we work. But it has also altered the way we live. Mobile technology and remote access solutions allow us to work on the go, or work from home, yet in doing so, they have blurred the lines between our personal and professional lives.

Recognising the best in corporate treasury is a difficult business. But quality and integrity are vital to the success of the treasury profession. That’s why celebrating exemplary practice and showcasing innovative industry solutions is integral to Treasury Today’s annual Adam Smith Awards programme.

Genuine market intelligence on the performance of corporate treasury functions is hard to come by. It is also extremely hard to ignore. That’s why your peers are using the findings of Treasury Today’s Corporate Benchmarking Programme to report to the C-suite and to set their treasury agenda.

While the spectre of financial regulation still looms large, some noteworthy concessions have been announced in recent weeks by various rule makers. This is good news for both banks and corporate treasurers, and suggests that the regulators are perhaps more ‘in touch’ than many had previously thought.

For those operating in the treasury space in Europe SEPA (or the Single Euro Payments Area to give it is unabbreviated name) seems to have been around for years. As we start 2014, one of the finishing lines for this project is now firmly in sight. The SEPA Regulation (EU) No 260/2012 set the final end-date for ‘legacy’ national euro credit transfer and direct debit schemes as 1^st February 2014 in all Eurozone states. This can be deferred until 31^st October 2016 for non-Eurozone states like the UK. From these dates the existing national euro credit transfer and direct debit schemes will have to be replaced by the SEPA Credit Transfer (SCT) and SEPA Direct Debit (SDD) Schemes and the politicians’ goal of having ‘no frontier effect for cross-border payments’ will have been largely achieved.

The first Treasury Today Women in Treasury Lunch was held in London on Thursday 31^st October. Our pioneering Women in Treasury initiative was launched in January of this year and continues to grow in ambition. In the project’s first year we have profiled leading women in the industry, launched a study into the professional experiences of these women and now hosted our first Women in Treasury event.

The battle over new money market fund (MMF) regulations is coming to a head on both sides of the Atlantic. Early last month the European Commission (EC) put forward its proposals as to how to ensure the stability of the MMF industry and the money markets as a whole whilst, in the US, the three-month consultation regarding the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) proposals saw a flurry of comments before it closed for consultation on 17^th September.

Sibos is the annual banking conference organised by SWIFT, the bank owned provider of secure financial messaging services. Sibos has become the ‘must-attend’ conference for bankers, technology suppliers and consultants who are involved in all aspects of the transactional banking business. The conference is held in different parts of the world each year and there are 6,000+ attendees most years. What do they all do? Well, there are some serious debates at Sibos and informative conference sessions but it is also a big party as banking friends get together and the booze flows from the stands.

This may sound like a good start to a joke, but Mark Carney’s first week has shown that he is serious about shaking things up as Governor of the Bank of England (BoE). In an attempt to shed his ‘rock star’ celebrity status for a more ‘man of the people’ image, Carney joined other City commuters in taking the tube to work and agreed to meet a group of protestors to review female representation on bank notes.

Miami and Singapore: two very different cities in two very different regions. Yet there were a number of common themes running through the EuroFinance conferences held in these cities in May.

With nominations now closed, Treasury Today can announce that the 2013 Adam Smith Awards has once again attracted impressive entries from some of the world’s most innovative treasuries.

By the time this issue hits your desk, you will have just two weeks left to get your submission(s) in for the 2013 Adam Smith Awards. Our simple ambition is to continue to recognise and showcase the best in corporate treasury practices as demonstrated by you, our readers.

The race is on to beat the clock and migrate euro payments to Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) instruments by the deadline of 1^st February 2014. At long last, the Eurozone will give birth to a (relatively) harmonised payments landscape that should be easier and cheaper to navigate, both domestically and cross-border.

The Year of the Snake came in with more of a whimper than a hiss, with continuing concern over problems in the Eurozone and the US budget deficit. However, despite the International Monetary Fund (IMF) trimming its growth forecast for the world economy in 2013, after predicting a less vigorous recovery in the US, UK and the leading countries of the Eurozone, the general mood at the recent World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting was moderately buoyant.

As a new calendar year starts we all have plans for 2013. Treasury Today continues to expand and we are working on three new initiatives this year. We are launching Treasury Today Asia; thus responding to the many requests we have received to broaden the coverage of Treasury Today in China to include the rest of Asia. We are also developing our web content to provide more tools and practical information to corporate treasurers and CFOs/FDs. Finally, we are beginning to offer customised research to banks and other vendors by undertaking specific market surveys and using our extensive benchmarking survey data.