Asia PacificRisk Management Limited provides tailored advice on financial risk, hedging solutions and corporate treasury management to the following organisations in New Zealand, Australia and Asia:

• Public-listed, state-owned and privately owned companies that have financial risk exposures arising from their business activities:-
  • Importers
    
  • Exporters
    
  • Borrowers
    
  • Commodity buyers/sellers
    
• Finance companies and building societies that have financial risk exposures on liquidity, funding and interest rate movements.
  
• Fixed Interest Investment funds/portfolios or organisations who themselves invest directly into approved debt securities.
  
• Government and Regional/Local Government bodies on debt raising/refinancing and interest rate risk management on debt and invested funds.
  

Asia-Pacific Risk Management Limited conducts its retained and one-off advisory assignment under formalised engagement/mandate letters with its clients that detail:-

• Scope, objectives and deliverables of the advisory project and retained relationship
• Timetable and assigned staff
  
• Advisory Fees - fixed amounts with agreed payment dates
  
• Confidentiality undertakings from both parties.
  
  

A recent article from US treasury consultancy, Treasury Strategies, highlights the need for corporate treasuries to always be able to manage their core functions no matter what is happening in the world. Event risks such as 9/11, Y2K, SOX and the recent global credit shock are all examples of unplanned material events that can disrupt and sometimes halt the treasury management function. Closer to home, the electricity outage in the Auckland CBD a few years ago found many firms wanting in respect to business continuity planning. The need to always have a back-up plan is pronounced in treasury management.

Many borrowers around the globe over the last nine months have discovered the hard way that their over-reliance on Commercial Paper markets for funding without sufficient standby lines caused liquidity and funding problems. Locally, banks are putting pressure on borrowers using standby facilities for permanent funding, as this was not what they were designed or priced for. According to Treasury Strategies “ Bulletproofing treasury requires a tightening of all treasury-related processes, practices, technology, staffing and policies to ensure that each element is operating at peak performance with maximum versatility ”. They emphasise the following points:-

• Establish 'best in class' treasury processes and procedure.
• Implement 'best of breed' treasury tools and technology and best practices.
• Ensure that the company's banking structure, services and support are of the highest quality.
• Develop optimal treasury organisation and staffing from the standpoint of structure and versatility.
• Put clear, effective policies in place.

A moderate investment in time and money to put these structures in place may save the company considerably more when the unexpected happens.