Dear FTA members (and treasury-curious readers),
We promised we would be doing things differently this year.
As previously flagged the FTA Board has commissioned a customer-experience feedback from members about your expectations and our delivery of service.
You have all had the opportunity to fill in the short survey from consultancy firm Proto Partners, and to participate in an interview with them. (Please contact FTA if you didn’t see it.)
Last night the NSW Chapter drinks took place at BNP Paribas (with 50+ attendees), prior to that a smaller group of Sydney-based members met face-to-face with Proto for a detailed briefing.
Speaking of doing things differently, we are finding new ways to communicate with our members. Did you see my new video? It’s on our Congress home page HERE.
FTA members were sent via SMS a link to this video which is promoting the Congress social program. … It’s only 1 minute 48 seconds.
While you are there, do check out the great work on video from Antony Elliott FFTP of Linfox.
Congress delegates will see a lot more of Antony in his role as Congress Chairman.
Over time if you attend FTA Congress annually you will be exposed to most matters affecting the treasury and financial risk management profession cross-border and in Australia.
As always, in 2015 we have funding, cash management, regulatory and treasury risk management topics – all with corporate case studies.
While there are common elements each year across the three streams, the emphasis can be quite different.
Delegates in 2015 may attend sessions that follow the Congress thematic of “Progressive Treasury – Adding Value in the Business”.
For instance we have two working capital themed sessions. The first on Day 1 features Alice van der Geest CFTP, Treasurer of Australia Post, a guest procurement manager speaker and a great practical process from KPMG.
The next on Day 2 is case-study-laden with Lion Nathan, Pacific Brands and EAT Group all speaking and chaired by a man with oversight of how finance adds value to the whole business at Linfox, Antony Elliott.
Treasury is first and foremost a protector of economic value. For this it needs both experienced personnel and robust processes and systems.
Yet if treasury is not responsive to change, and willing to change those processes to add value, it risks being marginalised.
“New technologies, processes and markets” is a way to summarise treasuries opportunity to add value in 2016.
At our Congress this year each overlapping element is highlighted by three Stream 3 sessions “Disruptive Technologies and Payments”, “Treasury Transformation”, and “Engaging with Asia”.
Technology is a clear-enabler of productive innovation (i.e. value-add) but it is inevitably disruptive. And payments processes are core to a company receiving income and central to a treasurer’s role. Banks are in the process of being disrupted by new payments entrants such as Dilip Rao’s Ripple and are evolving. But are the opportunities for company’s well enough understood beyond the necessary focus on risk? Are treasurers talking to their banks about new functionality they would like? The Congress offers an opportunity to talk to Jonathan Davey EGM NAB Labs.
Are treasurers ready for real-time data rich payments information which the RBA-sponsored New Payments Platform (NPP) will offer from 2017? Hear from Paul Lahiff, Chairman of the NPP at the Congress.
What are other non-banks doing? Here from Cale Bennett CFTP, Group Treasurer Tatts Group, and Warren Murray of TCV.
Interested in other new technologies, shared service centres and project managing change in Asia? Then you should attend the Treasury Transformation session with case studies drawing on experiences with Lend Lease, TCV, Oracle, Huwei and Symantec.
… Enough already.
Cheers, David
David Michell CFTP (Snr)
CEO, The Finance and Treasury Association
