FTA The Exchange Magazine #2

FTA

EXCHANGE

FINANCE AND TREASURY ASSOCIATION // ISSUE 2 MARCH 2017

DIGITAL KNOWLEDGE LIBRARY Catch up on past presentations in your own time. www.financetreasury.com.au

CONTENTS 10

CORPORATE BORROWERS INTENTIONS 2017

15

AGM: 2016 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING RECAP

Australia is at an interesting inflection point as we head into 2017, with GDP growth expected to remain around 2.75% as significant volume expansions in resource production drive exportled growth.

A year of change and consolidation. 2017 promises to be just as interesting.

18

HOW ‘HEALTHY’ IS YOUR TREASURY?

22

CORPORATE TREASURER INSIGHT: LEE TREWARTHA

ETOS CEO, Lesley Mitchell outlines some common areas of concern when it comes to identifying inefficiencies, shutting down risks, strengthening controls and increasing treasury productivity.

The ratings of most non-financial corporates in Australia will be stable in 2017 because the majority of companies have solid earnings and balance sheets, as well as good liquidity.

26

AUSTRALIA CREDIT OUTLOOK 2017: SOVEREIGN PROSPECTS WEIGH ON RATINGS The net credit outlook for Australian debt issuers in 2017 has a high negative bias. S&P Global Ratings’ outlook revision on the sovereign on July 6, 2016, had triggered the majority of negative outlooks on financial institutions and insurance companies. We expect rating downgrades to outnumber upgrades over the year. earnings and balance sheets, as well as good liquidity.

4. A NOTE FROM OUR PRESIDENT 6. STATE OF PLAY 36. PARTNER DIRECTORY FTA Exchange Magazine is published by the Finance and Treasury Association. All material in FTA Exchange Magazine is copyright.

Reproduction in whole or part is not allowed without express permission from the publisher

ADVERTISING AND EDITORIAL Nadia Kentera nadia@ftasecretariat.com.au +613 9820 1113

4 // WELCOME

A MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT MIKE CHRISTENSEN FFTP - FTA PRESIDENT Welcome to another edition of The Exchange Magazine. At the FTA we’re slowly dusting off the December/January cobwebs and ramping up for another active 2017.

What this means for you as members, is an Association that understands member needs and can design content and services accordingly.

FTA Board Strategy Offsite

For this planning cycle, we aim to focus on discovering the best ways to harness these insights and the best tools to improve your member experience.

The board met face-to-face in early March to discuss the Association’s progress and begin the strategic and financial planning process (the board frequently discusses strategy but formally updates the Association’s strategic and financial plan annually).

We received an in-depth presentation from our customer experience consultants, Proto Partners. I believe I speak on behalf of all directors by mentioning how impressed we were with their work for the Association Thanks to our work with Proto Partners: • • • •

Our data integrity has skyrocketed We now have one source of information from members We have retired several non- integrated, legacy IT systems We have a quick, easy platform to collect data, which is then mapped to specific member profiles.

• We also have great data analytic tools and processes

PWC Global Treasury Benchmark Survey 2017 PWC recently released the latest edition of their global Treasury Benchmark survey. Based on responses from 220 respondents, the report gives good insight into key focuses, challenges and priorities within the treasury space.

THE KEY MESSAGES: Treasury operations are increasingly virtual, with only 33% of people involved in treasury processes reporting to the treasurer. This is due to the continual evolution of operations including shared services and payment factories Treasurers continue to be invited to play a broader, strategic role. The right operating model, automated processes, and an

What this means for you as members, is an Association that understands member needs and can design content and services accordingly.

WELCOME // 5

4th Annual Fundamentals of Treasury Operations CELEBRATING Conference YEARS

evolving suite of capabilities, including the ability to collaborate widely across the business is key to realising the potential value from treasury

Cash flow forecasting is the top of the treasury agenda for both CFO’s and treasurers. But basic issues such as data collection and mapping, data accuracy and methods of analysis/forecasting need resolution 19% of treasurers list cybersecurity as a critical concern and 45% of CFO’s name cybersecurity as a priority

To read an in-depth assessment of the report, turn to page 8 of the magazine, and head to financetreasury.com.au to download the report in it’s entity.

Its so good to be able to provide this rotation as it gives our highly valued and experienced volunteers a much needed break yet at the same time, provides opportunity for others to get involved. Gradual rotation ensures we get the right balance between continuity of service, experience and fresh thinking.

Congratulations to the new members of the FTA National Technical Committee. We look forward to your valuable contribution.

30

For those members stepping down, (many after a long period of service), I would like to thank you for the time and energy you’ve given to the FTA. I hope you’ve enjoyed the experience and continue to be engaged with the Association in other forums.

Pullman Hyde Park Sydney

A special mention and thanks goes to Ashley Rockman from PWC for providing the survey.

Friday 12th May 2017

FTA Technical Committee

Late last year the FTA called for applications for positions on the National Technical Committee. We received strong interest. Pleasingly, we have been able to accommodate that interest as the committee recently approved a number of new appointments. At the same time, a few long serving committee members have decided to step down.

We also thank all applicants for their interest in the committee positions. Even if you were not successful this time, we hope you continue to express your interest in the Association. There are many areas where we can benefit from member involvement and opportunities arise frequently.

Finally, I’d like to thank Steven Cunico, National Technical Committee Chair, and Peter Chapman, our CEO, for their hard work in updating the Committee Charter and running the application process.

AUCK | MELB | BRIS | SYD | PER | ADEL

ANNUAL CONFERENCE

2 THE 0 Essential EARLYBIRD REGISTRATIONS 1 OPENING SOON...

Treasurer 7 SHERATON GRAND MIRAGE - GOLD COAST 15 - 17 NOVEMBER 2017

ftaconference.com.au visit financetreasury.com.au for event dates in your state

STATE OF PLAY

TECHNICAL COMMITTEE WELCOMES NEW MEMBERS The Association has an extraordinary depth of talent across a diverse range of organisations, industries and roles. I am very humbled that such a talented group of finance and treasury professionals wanted to continue with the legacy that the Technical Committee has developed.

The FTA’s Technical Committee continues to move ahead in leaps and bounds and has started the new year with arguably the single biggest inflow of new committee members in the history of the Committee.

Firstly and as a reminder to all members, the purpose of the Technical Committee is three-fold: • Keep members informed in a timely manner of the status of relevant legislative and regulatory changes and developments in technology and practice affecting the treasury, finance and financial risk management profession; • Provide advice to the FTA and its committees in developing a professional development calendar and content, as well as providing advice to the FTA and its committees on the development of the annual conference program and its content; and • Engage with other external stakeholders such as policy-makers, regulators and employers to represent the interests of members and finance and treasury professionals.

STATE OF PLAY // 7

Secondly, with welcoming new members, comes the challenge of having other member’s step-down from the Committee.

I would like to recognise and farewell the following members who we thank for their enormous contribution to the Technical Committee and to the FTA over many years. These members have worked tirelessly on the issues that matter not only to members of the FTA, but to the broader finance and treasury profession.

Cale Bennett (QLD) – Tatts Group Martin McDonald (VIC) – Herbert Smith Freehills Dane Birdseye (NSW) – Cochlear Tim Steer (VIC) – Transurban Justin Chau (NSW) – Scentre Group Bijan Taghian (VIC) – Treasury Wine Estates John Clarson (NSW) – Visual Risk Andrew Palacios (VIC) – CBA

Asrar Rahmann (NSW) – Woolworths

David Rowe (NSW) – AMP

Laurence Zanella (NSW) – Sydney University

Ian Walford (WA) – South 32

Joanna Wakefield (NSW) – Asciano Darren Hooton (NSW) – NAB Jeff Clark (VIC) – KWM Further to this, I am absolutely delighted to announce and welcome the ten new Technical Committee members. The Association has an extraordinary depth of talent across a diverse range of organisations, industries and roles. I am humbled that such a talented group of finance and treasury professionals wanted to continue the legacy that the Technical Committee has developed.

Don’t forget that the monthly FTA Newsletter The Exchange provides details and updates on the Technical Committees monthly meeting, items that we discussed and are working on, as well as reports and technical papers that are available for further reading.

Steven Curnico Partner Treasury & Capital Markets Deloitte

4th Annual Fundamentals of Treasury Operations CELEBRATING Conference YEARS

30

Pullman Hyde Park Sydney

Friday 12th May 2017

8 // CORPORATE BORROWERS INTENTIONS 2017

CORPORATE BORROWERS INTENTIONS 2017 The outlook from Australia’s largest companies

Funding in 2017: Australian corporates ironing out their balance sheets

Australia is at an interesting inflection point as we head into 2017, with GDP growth expected to remain around 2.75% as significant volume expansions in resource production drive export-led growth. Domestic demand still looks uncertain as non-mining business investment and residential building approvals put a dint in the labour market.

The Reserve Bank of Australia is widely expected to leave rates on hold throughout next year, but a rising exchange rate remains a key risk for new governor Philip Lowe and he’ll be watching closely to make sure any appreciation in the $A is matched by a commensurate rise in commodity prices.

In line with this outlook for the Australian economy, this study reveals what’s keeping corporate Chief Financial Officers, Treasurers and other senior decision-makers awake when thinking about the outlook and their intentions regarding funding plans next year. With cash management slated as the main area for improvement in 2017, treasury teams seem to be preparing for liquidity shocks driven by significant market events.

Introduction by Peter Chapman Chief Executive Officer FTA

Cash flow forecasting is the top of the treasury agenda for both CFOs and treasurers. But basic issues such as data collection and mapping, data accuracy and methods of analysis/forecasting need resolution.

CORPORATE BORROWERS INTENTIONS 2017 // 9

Australia’s corporate treasurers see optimising balance sheets as the number one priority for 2017. This is followed by maximising returns on cash and improving accuracy of cash forecasting – along with general funding concerns.

A Summary of Key Findings • Maintaining an optimised balance sheet will be critical for corporate treasurers in 2017.

• More than half will increase reliance on capital markets for funding with just 8% considering bank funding.

• Most participants think borrowing costs will remain around the same, with a quarter tipping an increase and 17% expecting them to fall.

• Maximising returns on cash and improving accuracy of cash forecasting is where banks can provide real value.

• Almost half of those surveyed see optimising their borrowing costs as the biggest risk in the year ahead.

• Meeting compliance and regulatory requirements continues to occupy a lot of time for treasury teams.

• Apart from liquidity, concerns about economic and market shocks are also considered major risks.

• More treasurers are considering green finance options when looking to next year.

• The data challenges the commonly held notion that Australasian corporates are reliant on bank funding.

• The investment-grade sector is drawing more and more on debt capital markets.

• With growth expected to remain steady on 2016 trends, Australian corporates are predicting more of the same conditions in capital markets next year.

• Individual responses noted that green finance is a “useful additional source of capital” and “a true step towards fulfilling environment targets”.

Others noted it provided an “additional liquidity pool” and an “alternate investor base”.

EXECUTIVE OUTLOOK FOR 2017 DO YOU PREDICT MARKETS WILL BE… GREATEST CHALLENGES Australia’s corporate treasurers see optimising balance sheets as the number one priority for 2017.

This is followed by maximising returns on cash and improving accuracy of cash forecasting – along with general funding concerns.

BEARISH

BULLISH

And the greatest risk? The need to optimise borrowing costs to fortify against potential economic shocks worries almost half of the treasurers surveyed.

THE SAME

MORE OF THE SAME? Over half of respondents believe 2017 will be similar to the past year and don’t expect any major changes in market conditions. An even greater number (60%) expect borrowing conditions and loan pricing to also remain similar.

Of the remainder, almost 20% are more bullish, compared to 17% who expect the next 12 months to be more bearish.

UNCERTAIN

Source: FTA October 2016

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

Overall, treasurers are slightly more bullish than they were a year ago.

WHEN WILL RATES RISE? Just 11% of treasurers expect borrowing rates in Australia to rise in the first half of 2017. And 28% expect them to rise in the second half of the year. A third (35%) expect them to rise even later, in 2018 or beyond.

WHAT IS YOUR TOP CONCERN IN YOUR FINANCE AND/OR TREASURY DEPARTMENT TODAY? BALANCE SHEET OPTIMISATION RETURN ON CASHCASH FORECAST

In contrast, a quarter of respondents (26%) expect domestic rates to fall further before they rise.

CAPITAL MARKETS FUNDING A third (34%) of respondents expect to increase their proportional use of capital markets over the year.

Last year over half of respondents (52%) said they planned to increase their use of capital markets.

Over half of treasurers anticipate a similar amount of offshore raisings as last year, with just 13% expecting to increase their tapping of overseas capital markets.

FUNDING

ECONOMIC & MARKET RISK

RISKS (RATE / FX)

OPERATIONAL EFFECIENCY

REG CHARGES & REQUIREMENTS

IT MANAGEMENT AND SYSTEMS

GOING GREEN As sustainability and the energy transition grow in focus, one-in-six respondents expects to increase the amount of green finance that they use. Interestingly, not a single respondent expects their use of green finance to decline in 2017.

REPORTING

OTHER 0% Source: FTA October 2016

10%

20%

30%

40%

WHAT AREAS OF YOUR FINANCE OR TREASURY MANAGEMENT DO YOU WANT TO IMPROVE THE MOST NEXT YEAR?

CASH MANAGEMENT

BEARISH OR BULLISH? Most treasurers are expecting “more of the same”, with just over 50% expecting 2017 to be similar to this year.

17% expect the next 12 months to be more bearish, but they are slightly outnumbered by 19% who expect it to be better, more bullish, next year. Another 13% were uncertain and preferred to not to make a call on the outlook.

EFFICIENCY / REDUCE COSTS BETTER DATA REPORTING

DATA MANAGEMENT

TREASURERS’ GREATEST CONCERNS The greatest concern for Australia’s corporate treasurers right now, is optimising their business’ balance sheet. This concerns a quarter of respondents (26%).

TRANSPARENCY

TRADE FINANCE

OTHER

0%

Source: FTA October 2016

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

It was followed by maximising return on cash and improving accuracy of cash forecasting (20%) along with general funding concerns – these keep almost one-in-five awake at night Optimising borrowing costs was considered the biggest risk in the year ahead for almost half of treasurers (47%).

WHAT RISKS DO YOU EXPECT TO CONCERN YOU THE MOST IN 2017?

The was followed, equally, by liquidity risks and economic risk at 32% each. (More than one response was permitted).

OPTOMISING BORROWING COSTS

Then came more operational risks such as interest rate risk, counter-party risk and cyber risk as major concerns for respondents.

LIQUIDITY (ACCESS & RISK) ECONOMIC & MARKET RISKS

The area with most potential for improvement was cash management, according to almost half (47%) of respondents.

INTEREST RATE RISK

COUNTERPARTY RISK

This dropped to improving efficiency and reducing costs (26%), along with better data reporting (23%).

EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS

Individual responses included calls for easier automation, Australian sub-investment grade borrowing market and SWIFT connectivity in Asia Pacific.

FOREIGN EXCHANGE RISK

CREDIT RISK

Meeting compliance and regulatory requirements continues to take a fair amount of treasurers’ time.

Over half (53%) say it occupies 10-30% of their time.

COMMODITY RISK

OTHER 0% Source: FTA October 2016

10%

20%

30%

40%

One-in-six (15%) said they spent between a third and half of their time on compliance and regulatory requirements.

HOW MUCH OF YOUR TREASURY DEPARTMENT’S TIME IS DEDICATED TO COMPLIANCE AND REGULATION?

53+33+14 18+22+60 10-30%

LESS THAN 10%

30-50%

WHEN & WHERE WILL RATES MOVE? Most treasurers (almost 60%) also expect borrowing conditions and loan pricing to remain similar in 2017.

Almost a quarter, 23%, expect pricing to rise next year. 17% forecast a decrease, as shown below.

It’s a similar outlook with respect to yields, with 45% of respondents expecting them to remain similar.

Almost a third (30%) expect them to fall, while 23% expect them to rise.

Source: FTA October 2016

NEXT YEAR, DO YOU SEE BORROWING CONDITIONS AND LOAN PRICING COMMITMENTS IN AUSTRALIA? DECREASING

INCREASING

STAYING SIMILAR

Source: FTA October 2016

DO YOU EXPECT OUTRIGHT YIELDS IN AUSTRALIA OVER THE NEXT 12 MONTHS / IN 2017 TO

44+30+233 STAY SIMILAR

INCREASE SOMEWHAT

Source: FTA October 2016

FALL SOMEWHAT

FALL SIGNIFICANTLY

A third (35%) expect yields to rise after 2017. One-inten expect them to rise in the first half of 2017, and 28% expect it will be the second half of the year.

In contrast, a quarter (26%) expect them to fall before rising, as shown below.

FUNDING TRENDS Less than one-in-five corporate treasurers expect to reduce their gearing in 2017.

Almost a quarter (23%) expect their gearing to rise, while 57% expect it to remain the same.

Last year, an even greater 26% of respondents expected to increase their gearing, while a slightly higher 20% expected to reduce it.

Showing a clear preference for capital markets funding, a third (34%) of respondents expect an increase in their capital markets funding. In contrast, a minority, (15%) expect an increase in their bank funding. Half expect no change.

Last year, more than half of respondents (52%) expected to increase their proportional use of capital markets. Just 8% expect to increase their proportion of bank funding.

LOCAL OR GLOBAL? Of those seeking funding, twice as many expect to find it offshore (13%) compared to those seeking it onshore (6%), as shown below. One-in-five are still to make up their minds as to where their funding needs will be met.

Increases are expected in raisings from Australian domestic markets, Asian domestic markets and US private placements.

There has been a big drop in demand for domestic capital raisings compared to last year, when just over 70% of respondents preferred the Australian domestic market.

CORPORATE BORROWERS INTENTIONS 2017 // 13

OVER THE NEXT YEAR, HOW DO YOU EXPECT YOUR COMPANY’S ENGAGEMENT WITH THE FOLLOWING MARKETS TO CHANGE, IF AT ALL

THE RISE OF GREEN FINANCE The use of green finance is expected to increase, with 17% of respondents expecting to make greater use of it. Not one respondent expected it to decline in use.

Interestingly, almost half (48%) of respondents were uncertain, not knowing enough about it and a third expected it to remain similar to current levels. This was despite a third of those polled saying they had explicit ESG measurements and objectives in place in their organisation.

Individual responses noted that green finance is a “useful additional source of capital” and “a true step towards fulfiling environmental targets”. Others noted it provided an “additional liquidity pool” and an “alternate investor base”.

In contrast one said it had “no value whatsoever as it represents marketing over substance”. Others said there were no pricing benefits or secondary market liquidity, while there were compliance costs which deterred them.

Increase

Stay the same

Decrease

AUSTRALIAN DOMESTIC MARKET

26.83% 11

73.17% 30

0.00% 0

US BENCHMARK (144A)

0.00% 0

93.33% 28

6.67% 2

US PRIVATE PLACEMENT

13.89% 5

73.17% 27

11.11% 4

EURO DOMESTIC MARKET

6.45% 2

80.65% 25

12.90% 4

EMTN (ANY CURRENCY)

26.83% 11

73.17% 30

0.00% 0

STERLING DOMESTIC MARKET

3.13% 1

84.38% 27

12.50% 4

ASIAN DOMESTIC MARKETS

24.24% 8

72.73% 24

3.03% 1

NEW ZEALAND DOMESTIC MARKET

12.50% 4

81.25% 26

6.25% 2

OTHER

12.50% 4

84.38% 27

3.13% 1

Source: FTA October 2016

ABOUT THIS REPORT The Finance & Treasury Association (FTA) undertook the poll of Australian corporate treasurers in September 2016.

A total of 55 corporate CFOs, finance directors, treasurers and other treasury decision-makers responded with their borrowing intentions for next year. Over three-quarters (78%) were treasurers or finance directors.

Responses came from a representative sample of capital-markets-relevant corporates in Australia. Some 90% were investment grade with two thirds (65%) triple-B rated. Half of respondents were sized between A$1 billion to $10bn market capitalisation.

SIZE OF RESPONDENT ORGANISATIONS

DOUBLE-A OR ABOVE

SINGLE-A

TRIPLE-B

SUB-INVESTMENT-GRADE

0%

Source: FTA October 2016

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

CELEBRATING 30 YEARS

ANNUAL CONFERENCE

SHERATON GRAND MIRAGE - GOLD COAST 15 - 17 NOVEMBER 2017

EARLYBIRD REGISTRATIONS OPENING SOON... ftaconference.com.au

AGM

2016 Annual General Meeting Recap

The FTA AGM is held at the annual conference every year. Before the usual formalities of electing office holders and approval of minutes our President and CEO give attendees a detailed update of the year’s activities and plans. 2016 was a busy year. A year of change and consolidation. 2017 promises to be just as interesting.

Here we create a summary of the AGM and its main messages.

The board also undertook a strategic and operational review of strategic partners and the way the Association operates. The result will be a lean model and a smooth-running operation that allows more energy and funds to be directed towards members.

The FTA’s been busy this year, building on the solid foundation of community service, high professional standards and member development. This has occurred within a world environment facing increasing change and disruption.

These disruptions present opportunities and challenges for every FTA member, and the Association itself. And we’re not alone. Many professions and their Associations are grappling with the same issues.

The FTA board seeks to grow and maintain a strong, vibrant, transparent and relevant Association that’s ready for the challenges of the current dynamic environment. And we need to continue to evolve and improve into the future.

What happened in 2016: THE BOARD’S ACTIVITIES The board firstly looked at financial security. Particularly managing reserves at sufficient levels to withstand business disruption in the case of economic downturn.

The FTA now boasts a capital policy and newly approved risk appetite statement that will manage the Association’s equity capital at a level that safeguards the Associations financial health. The three year financial plan focuses on securing and strengthening the Associations long term financial health.

OUR COMMITMENT TO MEMBERS The FTA is all about its members. And in 2017 (and beyond) we want to make it easy for members to:

CONNECT We will facilitate easy connections between members and the Association through technology and targeted networking.

ENGAGE The board is focused on listening and understanding what you (our members) want so we can deliver you real value. We hope to have more members participate in committees and have a say in what goes on in their Association.

DEVELOP We’re focused on developing member skills and expertise through targeted professional development events, assisting members throughout their entire career.

FORM A COMMUNITY Developing a sense of community for all members will allow them to connect and engage easily.

Next, the focus moved to member investment. Attention was on maintaining the fine balance between increasing member reserves, and re- investing this retained capital to improve the member value proposition.

Late in 2015 the board engaged a customer experience consultancy to discover how the Association can become more member-centric. 2016 saw the implementation of many of these recommendations.

The FTA operating model has been reviewed. Being a small and relatively specialised Association, we must carefully consider our partnerships and the sustainability and flexibility of our operating model.

The board also undertook a strategic and operational review of strategic partners and the way the Association operates. The result will be a lean model and a smooth-running operation that allows more energy and funds to be directed towards members.

Governance was also considered. The board should be structured to add value, including having a strong focus on risk. Governance matters.

Guiding principles and frameworks as suggested by the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the ASX were used. There’s been investment in director education and continuous improvement practices like board performance evaluation. The board has found meeting face to face several times a year clarifies purpose and productivity.

HORIZON PLANNING MEMBERSHIP GROWTH AND ENGAGEMENT (YEAR 1: 2016 - 2017 Strengthening the Foundation Member Engagement Member Value National Focus Advocacy Operational Efficiencies Committees Technology

MEMBERSHIP GROWTH AND EREGIONAL EXPANSION (YEAR 2: 2017 - 2018 Going For Growth New Member Growth Strategic Partnerships National/International Focus Advocacy Operational Structure Technology Education

REGIONAL LEADERSHIP (YEAR 3: 2018+) Regional Expansion and Leadership Internation Focus Advocacy Education Strategic Partnerships

The 2016/17 plan centres around strengthening the FTA’s foundation via increasing member engagement and value.

HORIZON PLANNING

NET PROMOTER SCORE

The 2016/17 plan centres around strengthening the FTA’s foundation via increasing member engagement and value. National focus is increasing, with dedicated state representatives and active committees with Australian wide representation. In 2017 the board is dedicated to member advocacy, creating a lean operation and making use of the technology that’s available to us.

One of the most exciting results for the board in 2016 was watching as increasing engagement with members directly translated into a better and happier customer experience. The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a customer satisfaction result that gauges a customer’s willingness to promote an organisation to others.

Looking forward in 2017/18 the FTA will be going for growth by actively seeking new members and fostering strategic partnerships. The Association is consolidating its national focus and looking even further afield, to international possibilities.

Member advocacy will continue, as will the focus on creating a smooth operation, and the use of technology. The Association is looking towards member education, offering members increasing opportunities to educate themselves and their teams.

Further out, beyond 2018, regional expansion and leadership are on the cards. Advocacy for members and continuing education are still important goals, but the board is also looking overseas for possible expansion and seeking further strategic partnerships to help the FTA grow and scale as membership continues to increase.

OVERARCHING STRATEGY At the end of 2015, early 2016, the Board undertook a review of the Association’s strategy. As a result, the Association’s vision and mission were updated.

The FTA’s vision is to become the number one reference point for the finance and treasury community in Australia, South East Asia and the Pacific by 2020.

The FTA’s mission is to provide support and leadership for professionals in the finance and treasury community to enable success at all stages of their career.

Scores range from -100 to 100. Over 2016 the FTA’s NPS went from 5 in February, to 21 in November. This shows that the changes made to make members feel more satisfied and more engaged are working. Members are already more satisfied with the FTA experience than a year ago. The board would love nothing more than to see that number rise much further during 2017.

FTA FINANCIAL POSITION The financial result for 2016 reflected a period of transition and the start of an investment phase for the association.

Approximately $150k of one-off costs were incurred for the setup and transition to the new operating model. An additional $100k was spent on strategic initiatives, an investment in enhanced member experience and an investment in the future.

Further strategic investments will occur in 2016-17. They will be in line with the philosophy of respecting an appropriate level of reserve for financial buffer.

There’s still much work to do and plenty of challenges, but there are some exciting opportunities too. We look forward to them all.

HOW ‘HEALTHY’ IS YOUR TREASURY? When it comes to identifying operational risk, the team at ETOS has more experience than most. Working with some of Australia and New Zealand’s biggest corporates and high profile medium-sized businesses, ETOS personnel are used to running trouble-shooting treasury ‘health checks’.

These reviews help companies to identify inefficiencies, shut down risk, strengthen controls and increase treasury productivity. ETOS CEO, Lesley Mitchell outlines some common areas of concern.

Failure to segregate duties This is a common starting place for many auditors. Often the volume of treasury operations work does not justify the correct number of staff to ensure segregation of duties. Many businesses turn treasury roles into an additional part of the job description for accountancy staff. This can lead to underqualified personnel performing important, if non-core, treasury functions without fully understanding the implication of errors or delays.

One solution is to consider outsourcing the middle and back office treasury function rather than committing to an additional full- or part-time salary. This is a cost-effective way of gaining

sufficient segregation of duties as well as the depth of treasuryspecific expertise that your business needs.

A single knowledge holder Unsurprisingly, the retirement of long-serving staff members is often the catalyst for businesses to really focus their attention on key person risk. Alarm bells should ring loudly when only one person really knows the structure, functions and processes that support a treasury department. Don’t wait until that person gets sick, goes on extended leave or retires. Transitioning seamlessly from one knowledge-holder to several requires a sound plan and a reasonable timeline. The best time to start is now.

Lack of a procedures manual Does the left hand of your treasury department know what the right hand is doing? In smaller companies, the same function can be performed by several people across multiple divisions who each hold their own procedures. This often leads to inefficiencies and duplication - loading cost onto treasury operations. Capturing key treasury information and processes in a central procedure manual is a logical place to start. You should also consider moving away from a paper-based system to a more automated one. This will create better transparency around day-to-day systems and reporting.

RISK MANAGEMENT // 19

ETOS has worked with many large and small organisations to help them document and improve operational workflows by introducing concise, practical procedures. We have the experience to set up processes that are strong on control without allowing them to become over complicated or hamstrung by compliance.

Spreadsheets and paper-based systems The ‘owner’ of a spreadsheet is often the only person who really understands the structure and formulae to maintain it. We commonly find multiple errors on spreadsheets which often compound key person risk. Taking processes away from being manual and paper-based, introduces system integrity and strengthens controls.

Under-use of systems In our experience, most treasury teams simply don’t have the time to invest in learning to use their treasury systems to full capacity; including reporting, risk management and integration with other risk functions. Out-sourcing treasury operations can also help here. ETOS staff fully understand the leading TMS’s and can help to ensure systems and operations are working efficiently and to best practice.

No back-up This isn’t just something that kicks in when a civil defence emergency takes place. What happens when treasury people are away sick or on holiday? Does your treasury team stress when it comes to arranging leave? We often find that settlements

staff are reluctant to go away because it is so hard to catch up on their return. Many businesses use an out-sourced treasury service to provide holiday back-up; it is available all-year round and can efficiently step in to offer cover when staff are due their well-earned breaks.

Treasury controls that are out of step with your business environment The pace of change in most businesses is on the increase and many businesses find that their processes and systems fail to keep up. If you suspect this may be the case in your business, ask these key questions: • Is risk being actively monitored and recorded?

• Are paper-based or automated systems acting as the treasury ‘centre of truth’?

• Are you keeping up to date with innovations in payment processing like straight through processing?

• How often is your Treasury Policy reviewed? How are treasury personnel following policy and benchmarking against it?

Often having an external, expert review of treasury processes can highlight opportunities for strengthening processes and controls that are easy to miss when you are tied up in the dayto-day of treasury operations. This can be done at a cost that is repaid many times over by more accurate and compliant processes.

ENHANCE YOUR CAREER AND JOIN THE INDUSTRY EXPERTS www.financetreasury.com.au

Stefan Azzopardi, Head of finance, risk and compliance for New Zealand’s largest private healthcare organisation, Southern Cross, asked ETOS to help them transition to a more automated treasury system. He comments: “ETOS helped us transition the workload from Southern Cross to their own team and from a paper-based system to the automated asset and liability management system ‘Protecht’. This has created a more controlled environment, reducing opportunities for manual error, improving segregation of duties and producing an automated stream of reporting. ETOS are treasury specialists and have a level of expertise in day-to-day treasury operations that we could not replicate in-house.”

Don’t wait until Bob retires or heads off on holiday to review your treasury operations.

ETOS can provide a ‘health check’ service that will document observations of current workflows, recognise potentially simple system improvements, deliver greater efficiencies, analyse operational costs and provide treasury expertise gained across a wide range of businesses in New Zealand and Australia.

If you’re interested in finding out more about the health of your treasury operations, call ETOS on 02 9042 2686 (Aust) or 09 917 3476 (NZ)

SALLY O’KEEFE JOINS THE ETOS TEAM Highly regarded financial markets specialist, Sally O’Keefe has recently joined the ETOS team in a client relationship and business development role. Sally spent the first 10 years of her career working for ANZ Investment Bank where she initially provided risk management strategies to a portfolio of corporate clients facing exposure to foreign currency and offshore markets. She was ultimately responsible for the coordination and implementation of ANZ’s eCommerce global strategy before moving to take on more sales-focused roles outside the banking sector.

Sally established the Australian and New Zealand business for 360T, the German-based multi-bank, multi-asset class trading platform, before going on to work with FIS (formerly SunGard), selling treasury management systems as part of their Corporate Liquidity solutions.

Sally’s wide networks and strong relationships with banks, foreign exchange providers, third party vendors, ASX, NZX, large private and multi-national corporates, central banks, state treasuries, asset managers and hedge funds across Australasia will be a real asset to ETOS. Sally commented: “CEO, Lesley Mitchell and I have a long-standing professional relationship and we’ve worked closely together over the years. We share a common belief in the best way to support our clients’ growth so I am very excited to be starting this new role.”

JOIN LEADERS AT ALL LEVELS OF YOUR FINANCE AND TREASURY CAREER We’ve developed memberships options to kick start your career, get you ahead and be beneficial at all stages of your working life.

We even want you to keep engaged once your career is over and become a mentor and professional role model to this future profession.

www.financetreasury.com.au

22 // OUTLOOK

CORPORATE TREASURER INSIGHT

Lee Trewartha

FTA BOARD MEMBER AND TREASURER OF FORTESCUE METALS GROUP INTERVIEW BY PETER CHAPMAN Lee Trewartha has spent fifteen years treading the boards of corporate treasuries, mostly finance and mining related. He’s an experienced and talented treasurer, and dedicated too. He’s proved this by moving cities seven times to follow roles in treasury.

Lee’s position at Fortescue gives him a unique and interesting perspective on how widely a treasurer’s role can stretch these days. Beyond the day-to-day running of his treasury, he must also manage how it weathers the ups and downs of the volatile mining sector. He provides guidance and a level head as overseas demand waxes and wanes in response to market forces (and sometimes media sensationalism) completely beyond his control.

Read on and discover what Lee has to say about his role and challenges at Fortescue, his view of the treasurer role in 2017 and his advice for newcomers to treasury.

24 // CORPORATE TREASURER INSIGHT

Describe your role at Fortescue Metals Group. How has your previous experience culminated in your role there? What challenges have you faced?

I joined Fortescue’s Treasury in 2013 during the company’s transition from a project company to an operational focus. My role has focused on delivering operational efficiencies for the business. I’ve also been busy managing a changing financial risk profile driven by organisational change and market dynamics.

I work in a lean team of three and we each add something to the team dynamics from a professional and personal level. We’re all hands-on in the day-to-day operations of the business and our primary focus is core treasury activities. Over the past four years we have accumulated other responsibilities to support the business where required.

I aim to gain knowledge from each role I hold. This knowledge could be specific to the role itself, or due to other factors such as the industry, or region, or the organisational culture. In my previous roles I’ve developed treasury teams and implemented policy, systems and processes. This has given me the experience I need to build a foundation in my role at Fortescue.

Bringing a broader understanding from different industries, geographies and cultures has helped me apply the right solutions for the business and develop strong internal and external relationships.

The main challenge I’ve faced during my career in treasury is how to run a leaner treasury operation, freeing up resources to be proactive within the business, identifying risk, and reviewing and executing strategy.

I’ve relocated to new cities seven times in my career, and had the challenge of establishing new networks each time.

Membership of organisations such as the FTA have supported me in this area.

What do you see as the key emerging economic trends from a global perspective? What are the challenges they present to Corporate Treasurers and how are you preparing to meet those challenges?

While political risk is nothing new, the potential impact it can have on global trade and associated economic activity is going to be a key risk most treasury professionals are focusing on this year.

From a personal perspective, a key challenge is separating theory of market fundamentals from irrational market behaviour caused through interpretation of political commentary.

In my job, it’s crucial to filter out short-term volatility driven by speculation and focus on longer term trends driven by fundamentals. Or alternatively, using this short-term volatility for opportunistic risk management.

Treasurers should focus on European elections this year and US and China policies. Maintaining a political calendar as part of Treasury’s execution strategies is important to manage volatility and liquidity around these periods.

If someone was looking for a career in Finance and Treasury, what are some of the sage pieces of advice you could give?

The varying nature of Finance and Treasury roles means people can be recruited from various professional backgrounds.

CORPORATE TREASURER INSIGHT // 25

I like the people on my team to have always demonstrated a passion for Finance and Treasury, and not just seeking a career change. They should show understanding of the key financial risks facing the organisation to demonstrate their fundamental knowledge and its practical application.

Over my years in Finance and Treasury, I’ve seen our profession become more proactive within the business, engaging people for information and seeking solutions. Anyone new to this career should constantly challenge their role in the organisation and ask how they can support the business further. Treasury teams that sit mysteriously behind closed doors are a thing of the past.

Technical knowledge is important, but I also recommend developing soft skills. I’m constantly working on the ability to simultaneously manage many job responsibilities with a variety of internal and external stakeholders at an operational and strategic level. This combines operational tasks such as cash management, compliance and reporting, with developing and executing hedging strategies. Effective time management is key to this.

How have you managed your work/life balance in an everdemanding environment?

My current CEO encourages every employee to not only do their job, but do it better. This requires a commitment to getting the most out of each day and with a job in Treasury, with markets open all night and a business running around the clock, you can be devoted to work very easily.

To manage this, I like to work flexible hours to fit my work commitments into my life. I drop my son off at school each

morning on the way to work and like to get home for a family dinner and put the kids to bed. If the job requires it, I can work from home in the evenings to finish off a few things or block out some time to focus on something without the distractions from the office. This flexibility takes some of the time pressure off my day and may even allow for time to get out and have a run around the Swan river at lunch.

Has technology changed the way you and your team operate?

My team are operating in an environment with various integrated systems. These have been key to delivering operational efficiencies and adequate segregation of duty. The treasury systems remove manual intervention to save time, reduce error and mitigate fraud. This leaves the team free to focus on supporting the business and execution of strategy.

The challenge with any technology solution is that while it makes operational matters more efficient, it usually requires adequate resourcing to maintain the solution, manage upgrades, and conduct periodic reviews to ensure the technology is still adequate.

As a result, my role is now more focused on system configuration, vendor management and periodic reviews to keep systems delivering a return on the investment made.

Our team are comfortable with technology and have various skills associated with technology solutions. This has been recognised within the organisation. I’ve used this recognition to have the team lead other technology projects for the broader finance and corporate departments and provide further value to stakeholders.

Australia Credit Outlook 2017: SOVEREIGN PROSPECTS WEIGH ON RATINGS

The net credit outlook for Australian debt issuers in 2017 has a high negative bias. S&P Global Ratings’ outlook revision on the sovereign on July 6, 2016, had triggered the majority of negative outlooks on financial institutions and insurance companies. We expect rating downgrades to outnumber upgrades over the year.

On the national government front, prospects for improvements in budgetary performance have weakened following the election in July 2016. Meanwhile, Australian banks face an increased risk of strong growth in property prices and private sector debt, while arrears in residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) in 2017 are likely to be above those of 2016.

In the bellwether sector of metals and mining, rated companies are bottoming out. In contrast, investment business conditions are broadly stable for the highly topical infrastructure sector.

CHART 1 NET RATINGS BIAS AUSTRALIA, JANUARY 2017

65+27+125 Source: S&P Global Ratings

STABLE: 65% NEGATIVE: 27% WATCH NEG: 1% WATCH POS: 2%

Ratings Outlook Bias The net ratings outlook for Australian issuers had a high negative bias of 20% as of end-January 2017 (see chart 1). The potential for downgrades outweighs upgrades by about 3.5 to one. That said, the majority of issuer ratings in Australia remain investment grade (i.e., ‘BBB-’ or higher; see chart 2).

CHART 2 ISSUER RATINGS DISTRIBUTION AUSTRALIA, JANUARY 2017 0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

AAA AA+ AA AAA+ A ABBB+ BBB BBBBB+ BB BBB+ B BCCC+ CCC CCCCC

Source: S&P Global Ratings

POSITIVE: 6% We compute the net ratings outlook bias by deducting the total number of ratings on negative outlook and CreditWatch with negative implications against the total number of those on positive outlook or CreditWatch with positive implications, and expressing the outcome as a percentage of total issuers.

SECTOR

OVERVIEW

Sovereign

There is a one-in-three chance that we would lower the rating within the next two years if we believe that parliament is unlikely to legislate savings or revenue measures sufficient for the budget deficit of the general government sector to narrow materially and be in a balanced position by the early 2020s.

Financial Institutions

We expect increasing economic imbalances, pressures on sovereign credit quality, and potential weakening of sovereign sportiveness could further stress the ratings on Australian financial institutions in 2017.

Structured Finance

We expect RMBS arrears in 2017 to be above those in 2016. This is unlikely to create ratings pressure, though, for the majority of RMBS transactions, the dominant asset class in Australia, given the structural enhancement available in most transactions.

Mining and Metals

The worst is behind us and an improvement is likely in 2017 compared with last year. The metals and mining companies are bottoming out.

Infrastructure

We expect infrastructure investment business conditions to be broadly stable compared with that in 2016. Accordingly, rating stability will largely depend on companies' investment appetite.

Source: S&P Global Ratings

28 // AUSTRALIA CREDIT OUTLOOK 2017

Sovereign The negative outlook on Australia reflects our view that prospects for improvements in budgetary performance have weakened following the outcome in the July 2016 elections.

In addition, general government sector deficits may remain material over 2017-2018 with rising government debt, unless more budget savings measures are legislated or the revenue outlook improves.

There is a one-in-three chance that we would lower the rating within the next two years if we believe that parliament is unlikely to legislate savings or revenue measures sufficient for the general government sector budget deficit to narrow materially and be in a balanced position by the early 2020s.

We could also lower the rating with any further weakening of Australia’s external position. This could come from current account deficits remaining at the higher end of the historical range, from a further worsening of the terms of trade, or from an increase in the banking sector’s cost of external funding.

The ratings could stabilise if new budget savings or revenue measures were enacted that appeared sufficient to reduce fiscal deficits materially over the next few years. A sharp narrowing of current account deficits and external debt due to higher exports could also cause us to change the outlook to stable, although this appears unlikely over the next two years.

Financial Institutions We assess the economic risk trend for the Australian banking sector as negative. Economic risks that Australian banks face

would most likely increase if private-sector debt rises by more than five percentage points compared with GDP growth, or inflation-adjusted house prices trends toward more than 4%.

We consider that there is a significant risk of continued buildup of economic imbalances (see chart 3) - that is, property prices and private sector debt spiking again. This is because, in our view, several important drivers of these two factors are likely to persist, including low interest rates, a relatively benign economic outlook, and an imbalance between housing demand and supply.

A continued buildup of economic imbalances would heighten the risks of a sharp correction in property prices. If such a correction were to occur, credit losses incurred by all financial institutions operating in Australia are likely to be significantly greater. With about two-thirds of banks’ lending assets secured by residential home loans, the impact of such a scenario on financial institutions would be amplified by the Australian economy’s external weaknesses, in particular its persistent current account deficits and high level of external debt. Nevertheless, our base case expects loan losses will likely remain very low by international standards.

Given that we consider that the major Australian banks are highly likely to receive timely financial support from the government, if needed, the creditworthiness of these banks face further pressures in our opinion due to two additional factors: the negative outlook on the Commonwealth of Australia; and potential weakening of Australian government’s supportiveness toward the private sector banks.

CHART 3 BICRA COMPARISON : AUSTRALIA VERSUS PEERS* AUSTRALIA

PEER AVERAGE*

HIGHER RISK

5 4 3

LOWER RISK

2

1 0

Economic Resilience

Economic Imbalances ECONOMIC RISK

Credit Risk in the Economy

Institutional Framework

Competitive Dynamics INDUSTRY RISK

Source: S&P Global Ratings

*Peers are Belgium, Canada, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Leichtenstein, Luxembourgh, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, and Switzerland.

System-wide Funding

AUSTRALIA CREDIT OUTLOOK 2017 // 29

Structured Finance We expect stable ratings performance across the majority of structured finance asset classes because relatively benign economic conditions underpin low levels of losses and defaults in the underlying loan collateral portfolios.

For RMBS transactions, the dominant asset class in Australia, we expect arrears to rise in 2017 (albeit moderately) from the levels in 2016. An increase in interest rates would put further pressure on arrears given the majority of underlying loans are variable rate mortgages.

We expect a strengthening in credit metrics for the upstream sector in 2017, particularly if currently strong spot prices prevail.

Chinese demand continues to be our number one risk factor, given that it accounts for over half of global demand for most metals, followed by risks stemming from government policies and geopolitics. Conversely, stronger-than-expected demand from China, combined with limited greenfield supply additions, could sustain significant price rallies, notably for copper and zinc.

Infrastructure

While low interest rates are helping to keep mortgage arrears subdued, slower wage growth and high household indebtedness are exerting some mortgage stress particularly for certain segments of borrowers, such as those with higher loan-tovalue ratios. An uptick in arrears is unlikely to cause any direct rating pressure for the majority of RMBS transactions though, particularly the senior tranches, which continue to benefit from high levels of credit enhancement.

Across the states and territories, the ongoing transition away from mining to a more service-oriented economy is having a greater impact in the more resource-dependent states such as Western Australia, which has the highest arrears.

A downturn in property prices is less of a risk for the majority of Australian RMBS transactions, particularly the senior tranches, given the structural enhancements embedded in transactions. Furthermore, the majority of loans underlying RMBS transactions have relatively modest loan-to-value ratios of around 60%, providing a buffer to absorb a moderate decline in property prices.

The key rating risk for structured finance ratings is a lowering of the ratings on key counterparties to transaction structures, including lenders’ mortgage insurance providers and financial institutions.

Relatively stable employment conditions will continue to underpin the low levels of defaults and losses in RMBS transactions. This will support stable ratings performance in 2017.

Given the inherently high leverage of the sector compared with other industrial companies, one of the key risks is the potential for rising interest rates in the U.S., which could affect the debt costs of Australian infrastructure companies. We see the risk of reduced liquidity as materially lower in Australia compared with that for emerging markets. Nevertheless, the current low interest rate environment in Australia and high level of interest rate hedging in the sector (typically in excess of 70% on average) would reduce the immediate impact of rising base rates.

We expect overall business conditions to be broadly stable compared with that in 2016. Accordingly, rating stability will largely depend on companies’ investment appetite. Investment in the sector remains high, primarily for airports and roads, given current capacity constraints and continued strong demand.

This environment will support earnings growth over the next 12 months, which should then offset increasing debt levels given that the sector typically debt funds a significant part of its investment. We also expect stable performance in the rail and port sector where earnings have reduced recently. However, a lack of investment will support strong cash flow generation.

Across the sector, we expect airports to perform strongest as air travel becomes more affordable for an expanding potential passenger base. This should support passenger growth at levels in line with recent years’, even in most of Asia-Pacific’s developed markets.

Mining and Metals The worst is behind us and we expect an improvement in 2017 compared with last year. Cost reduction, sharply reduced capex, falling shareholder returns, deleveraging through equity issuances, sale of non-core assets, along with a recovery in base metals prices, have contributed to much improved cash generation for many rated upstream issuers.

By Terry Chan Managing Director Head of Analytics and Research S&P Global Ratings

30 // PARTNER DIRECTORY

CONFERENCE 2016 - PRINCIPAL PARTNERS

Building on a proud 180-year banking heritage, ANZ is an international bank with a unique footprint. With headquarters located in Melbourne, ANZ is a top 4 bank in Australia, the largest banking group in New Zealand and the Pacific, a leading bank globally on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), and among the top 25 banks in the world. We provide a range of banking and financial products and services to over 9 million institutional clients and retail customers. www.anz.com

We are committed to building lasting partnerships with our customers, shareholders and communities in 34 markets worldwide, with offices in Australia, New Zealand, throughout Asia and the Pacific, and in the Middle East, Europe and America. ANZ aims to be the best bank in the world for clients driven by regional trade and capital flows. We provide unique access and insights through on-the-ground presence in 15 Asian markets and 12 Pacific countries.

The Commonwealth Bank is Australia’s leading financial institution, with total assets of more than $A755 billion (as at 30 June 2015). The Group is ranked the 10th largest bank in the world by market capitalisation (Bloomberg, as at 12 February 2016) and is one of the largest companies on the Australian Securities Exchange.

Through a disciplined approach to credit and market risk management, the Bank maintains a AA- credit rating (Standard & Poor’s, as at 12 January 2016). Our Institutional Banking and Markets division provides capital raisings, risk management and transactional banking solutions to the Group’s institutional clients.

www.commbank.com.au/institutional

Capabilities in markets include foreign exchange, interest rate, commodity and fixed income products. The division’s approach is underpinned by rich analytics, insights from industry experts, innovative technology and a deep commitment to building long-lasting relationships.

For more than 150 years NAB has been helping customers with their money.

With more than 35,000 employees, serving 10 million customers at more than 800 locations across Australia, New Zealand and around the world, NAB aims to make a difference by being a responsible, inclusive and socially innovative bank.

www.nab.com.au

As Australia’s largest business bank, NAB works with small, medium and large businesses to help them start, run and grow. NAB also funds some of Australia’s most important infrastructure projects including schools, hospitals and roads.

Westpac Institutional Bank (WIB) delivers a broad range of financial services to Commercial, Corporate, Institutional and Public Sector customers with connections to the Australian, New Zealand, Asian, European and US markets.

WIB operates through dedicated industry relationship and specialist product teams, with expert knowledge in transactional banking, financial and debt capital markets, specialised capital, public private partnerships, broking and alternative investment solutions.

www.westpac.com.au/corporate-banking

We combine market and industry insights with a deep understanding of our customers to provide solutions that maximise efficiency, provide transparency and free up working capital whilst mitigating risk. Our experienced team take a supply chain perspective of our customer’s business, providing innovative risk and financing solutions designed to add value to our customers and their strategic trade counterparts business.

PARTNER DIRECTORY // 31

CONFERENCE 2016 - SUPPORTING PARTNERS

www.moodys.com

Moody’s Investors Service is a leading provider of credit ratings, research, and risk analysis. Moody’s commitment and expertise contributes to transparent and integrated financial markets, and the firm’s ratings and analysis track debt covering approximately 120 sovereign nations, 11,000 corporate issuers, 21,000 public finance issuers, and 72,000 structured finance obligations.

Bloomberg, the global business and financial information and news leader, gives influential decision makers a critical edge by connecting them to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas. www.bloomberg.com

www.thomsonreuters.com

The company’s strength – delivering data, news and analytics through innovative technology, quickly and accurately – is at the core of the Bloomberg Professional service. Bloomberg’s enterprise solutions build on the company’s core strength: leveraging technology to allow customers to access, integrate, distribute and manage data and information across organizations more efficiently and effectively.

Our unique combination of custom content, easy connectivity and robust community is why over 440,000 professionals in 150 countries do business with us every day.

Move from insight to action - Through our market-leading Thomson Reuters Eikon, Elektron and Risk Management solutions, we help our customers generate superior returns, improve risk and compliance management, increase access to liquidity, and create efficient, reliable infrastructure. Wiith our open and innovative platform, we support the world’s most complex financial services firms in dealing with their top business challenges.

Establishing trust. Delivering satisfaction.

Energy companies, investment firms, brokerage houses, industrial conglomerates, global corporations, and the largest global banks all trust us to support and enable their most crucial financial decisions. Our mission is to drive customer growth and innovation with our trusted unified platform – enabling the industry to discover, transact, and manage risk. We anticipate market shifts and evolve to meet them.

S&P Global Ratings, a division of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE: SPGI), is the world’s leading provider of independent credit risk research. We have more than 1 million credit ratings outstanding on government, corporate, financial sector and structured finance entities and securities.

www.spglobal.com

With approximately 1,400 credit analysts in 26 countries, and more than 150 years’ experience of assessing credit risk, we offer a unique combination of global coverage and local insight. Our research and opinions about relative credit risk provide market participants with information that helps to support the growth of transparent, liquid debt markets worldwide.

32 // PARTNER DIRECTORY

CONFERENCE 2016 - EXHIBITORS Visual Risk is a leading treasury and software vendor for corporates and financial institutions. Combining deep treasury expertise with innovative technology, we deliver a distinctive brand of forward-looking risk analytics, asset liability management, hedge accounting and treasury & cash management software. This enables treasuries and management to improve efficiencies and simplify their risk and compliance complexities. www.visualrisk.com

www.deloitte.com.au

The Visual Risk system is a unique suite of treasury modules which can be implemented individually and integrated with existing third-party systems, or as a fully integrated front-to-back office treasury system. Deployed via the Cloud or locally, we can deliver a system best suited to your organisation.

Deloitte is the brand under which thousands of professionals collaborate across a network of offices in Australia to provide audit, economics, financial advisory, human capital, tax and technology services. Deloitte Australia is committed to growth, client service and its people, and the company continues to invest in innovative new services, products and people, while expanding its business through acquisitions, alliances and organic growth.

Deloitte ranked number one employer for accounting and financial management graduates, and leads the Big Four, in Top 100 Graduate Employers 2016, a survey undertaken by The Australian and GradAustralia.

ETOS Limited provides middle and back office treasury support to a wide range of Australian and New Zealand organisations.

A team of experienced treasury professionals ensures ETOS clients maintain a best practice framework of controls and procedures to manage their treasury risk and compliance. ETOS’ strength comes from its flexibility to tailor services to meet the clients specific needs. No two ETOS clients are the same! ETOS addresses many challenges faced by Treasurers and Finance teams:

www.etos.co.nz

• Lack of in-house experience • Key person risk • Segregation of duties • Business continuity • Cost Efficiencies • Regulatory compliance Veda Credit Ratings is an Australian Credit Rating Agency that specialises in providing corporate credit ratings and counterparty risk intelligence. As a leading provider of credit ratings on mid-market corporates to support critical business decisions across the finance, insurance, corporate and public sectors (including project and infrastructure finance), corporates are increasingly using Veda’s issuer-based ratings to strengthen market perceptions and to support funding and finance activities.

www.veda.com.au

Whether you are looking for an issuer or counterparty rating, and/or a public or private assessment, Veda Credit Ratings provides highly credible, comprehensive and authoritative reports that stand up to public and political scrutiny.

SWIFT is a global member-owned co-operative and the world’s leading provider of secure financial messaging services. We provide our community with a platform for messaging and standards for communicating, and we offer products and services to facilitate access and integration, identification, analysis and financial crime compliance Our messaging platform, products and services connect more than 11,000 banking and securities organisations, market infrastructures and corporate customers in more than 200 countries and territories enabling them to communicate securely and exchange standardised messages in a reliable way.

www.swift.com

As their trusted provider, we facilitate global and local financial flows, support trade and commerce all around the world; we relentlessly pursue operational excellence and continually seek ways to lower costs, reduce risks and eliminate operational inefficiencies. Headquartered in Belgium, SWIFT’S international governance and oversight reinforces the neutral, global character of it’s cooperative structure.

SWIFT’S global office network ensures an active presence in all the major financial centres.

PARTNER DIRECTORY // 33

CONFERENCE 2016 - EXHIBITORS

www.fisglobal.com

FIS offers a leading liquidity and risk management solution for corporations, insurance companies and the public sector. The solution suite includes credit risk modeling, collections management, treasury risk analysis, cash management, payments system integration, and payments execution delivered directly to corporations or via banking partners. The solutions help consolidate data from multiple in-house systems, drive workflow and provide connectivity to a broad range of trading partners including banks, SWIFT, credit data providers, FX platforms, money markets, and market data. The technology is supported by a full range of services delivered by domain experts, including managed cloud services, treasury operations management, SWIFT administration, managed bank connectivity, bank onboarding, and vendor enrollment.

Marsh is a global leader in insurance broking and risk management. www.marsh.com.au

Marsh helps clients succeed by defining, designing, and delivering innovative industry-specific solutions that help them effectively manage risk.

Curve Securities currently assists over 400 institutions to place more than $5.5bn in funds. Our clients have access to rates from over 60 banking institutions and a wide range of fixed interest securities and benefit from the “specials” we negotiate on their behalf. www.curvesecurities.com.au

www.fitchratings.com

Thanks to our personalised service and cutting edge Portfolio Management Platform, we save our clients countless hours every year.

Fitch Ratings is a leading provider of credit ratings, commentary and research.

Dedicated to providing value beyond the rating through independent and prospective credit opinions, Fitch Ratings offers global perspectives shaped by strong local market experience and credit market expertise.

The additional context, perspective and insights we provide has helped investors fund a century of growth and make important credit judgments with confidence.

Reval is the leading, global provider of a scalable cloud platform for Treasury and Risk Management (TRM). Our cloud-based offerings enable enterprises to better manage cash, liquidity and financial risk, and to account for and report on complex financial instruments and hedging activities. www.reval.com

The scope and timeliness of the data and analytics we provide allow chief financial officers, treasurers and finance managers to operate more confidently in an increasingly complex and volatile global business environment. With offerings built on the Reval Cloud Platform companies can optimize treasury and risk management activities across the enterprise for greater operational efficiency, security, control and compliance. Founded in 1999, Reval is headquartered in New York with regional centres across North America, EMEA and Asia Pacific.

OpenLink is the global leader in Transaction Lifecycle Management software for the commodity, energy and financial services industries. OpenLink’s products address portfolio management, corporate treasury, trading, risk management, and operations processing for both financial and physical assets.

www.openlink.com

OpenLink is a global business that has grown both organically and through strategic acquisitions, to achieve revenues in excess of $300 million. It serves over 500 clients, including 12 of the world’s largest commodity and energy companies, 9 of the largest financial institutions, and 13 of the largest central banks. OpenLink has 1,200 employees in 14 global offices on five continents.