Editorial

Strength in adversity

Of all the myriad and complex challenges companies face in the current climate, crisis in their supply chains is up there. Companies have struggled to access the key components that go into their products ever since the pandemic closed borders, but the problem is now exacerbated by China locking down several cities to suppress outbreaks of the virus and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Such is the challenge of shortages, delays and surging costs, a clear split is emerging in corporates’ response that signposts winners and losers ahead.

Focusing on the impact of war in Ukraine on supply chains, our Insight and Analysis feature explores how treasury teams are responding. One solution is early payment and robust supply chain finance solutions while re-shoring – another potential trend – brings benefits and challenges. Perhaps our feature on the Circular Economy offers another solution to the supply chain crisis and rocketing commodity prices: companies prepared to invest in new models around reusing and repurposing the key components in their products could come out the winners.

Staying with the crisis in Ukraine, our Back to Basics feature explores the critical role of treasury around sanctions due diligence, especially when it comes to payments and tracking beneficial ownership given the reputational and financial cost of a breach.

In our Technology feature, we explore how fintechs’ explosion onto the banking scene has challenged incumbents, particularly in consumer banking. Could the same thing happen in transaction banking, where corporate treasurers pick and choose their own solutions without the need of going to a large one-stop-shop bank? Elsewhere this edition explores the pros and cons of MMFs and in our Question Answered we ask three experts what ISO 20022 means for the payments industry, and how treasury should prepare.

And finally, nominations for our Adam Smith Awards 2022 closed with over 230 submissions from 34 countries. Global corporate names populate every one of the 18 categories, with strong nominations across the board. Our expert panel have begun judging ahead of announcing the winners online at 3:30pm BST on 12^th May. Details on how to join the event are on our website.