Silvia Pavoni quizzes chief financial officers and, on page 40, corporate treasurers about the most important financial issues that will shape strategies in the corporate sector.
The Banker’s corporate finance virtual round table brings together leading chief financial officers and treasurers to comment on current hot topics, main challenges and strategies that this group of senior corporate decision makers adopt in their work.
The virtual round table is an annual event, which gives an opportunity to connect non-banking corporate finance professionals with The Banker’s core readership of global banks and financial institutions.
The first set of questions is addressed to chief financial officers. Feedback reveals a mixed set of capital markets strategies for responding to higher interest rates, based on sector and individual outlook. Compliance remains a hot topic and, although there is a general optimism about the benefits that it will bring in terms of attracting investor interests, doubts are raised about analysts’ valuation criteria. Changes in reporting standards, volatile capital markets and changing demographics are also making corporations increasingly sensitive to the management of pension-related risks, both in terms of the efficient management of the funds and in terms of the management’s accountability.
The second set of questions reveals that the dollar decline has had a mixed effect on treasurers’ operations and that the common view on cash management favours keeping this function in-house. When quizzed about areas of improvement for banks, treasurers agree on the benefits for taking a longer view of the economics of a relationship with their financial partners, and on the need for pension services-related products.
Esko Mäkeläinen, Senior executive vice-president & CFO, STORA ENSO OYJ
Zeinal Bava, CEO & CFO, PORTUGAL TELECOM