ACTS

Association of Corporate Treasurers Singapore (ACTS): AGM 2018

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April 15, 2018
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Association of Corporate Treasurers Singapore (ACTS): AGM 2018

All good things must come to an end.

On 10 April 2018, we held our Annual General Meeting (AGM) for the ACTS. It was a gathering of old friends and new faces where we shared our war stories and welcomed the new members to our family.

This year’s edition was particular poignant as the EXCO saw two members leaving, Mr Damian Glendinning who is retiring this June and Mr Tan Lee Thong who is leaving the industry and starting his own ventures. Also we elected Mr James Ho as our next Treasurer.

Our distinguished and long serving President, Damian passed the baton to Mr Goh Seng Ti,who might be the youngest President of our history.

Below is a writeup of his presentation during the ACTS AGM 2018, where Seng Ti shared with members his vision and ideas for taking ACTS forward.

ACTS: Past, Present and Future

The Association of Corporate Treasurers (Singapore) or better known as ACTS, was set up in 1991 as Treasurers Club and in 1997 it changed its name to the current ACTS. Interestingly, many of our new members are not aware of our history.

We had the fortune to be led by several charismatic and passionate Presidents. Notably, Damian Glendinning served as our President for the longest period from 2010 to 2018. Damian has indeed left big shoes for us to fill in.

His legacy and reputation in the industry is undeniable. Thankfully, we have an EXCO with outstanding members from different organisations and with various expertise. Together, the EXCO and our members will build on the good work that our previous Presidents have done and bring ACTS forward.

As the association for corporate treasurers in Singapore, ACTS served as the voice of our members in the industry. Regulators, Banks and service providers regularly sought valuable inputs from ACTS for the opinions of our members on a wide range of issues and matters.

ACTS participated in the FX Global Code, endorsed several Treasury seminars and Bank events, and co-hosted the annual ACTS/ATC which was graced by Piyush Gupta CEO of DBS. ACTS is also a proud supporter of promoting gender equality and we have been a longstanding partner of the very well received Women in Treasury event.

Arguably, ACTS is well regarded in the Corporate Treasury industry among professionals, banks, service providers and regulators, not only within the city state of Singapore, but also beyond the shores of the tiny red dot island nation.

ACTS Future

Members Outreach

As an Association, we had witnessed the change that Technology has brought about to our professional and personal lives. ACTS will not be left behind. We will adopt the technological advances in our members outreach activities. We have created our official Linkedin page and have partnered with TFA Geeks to further enhance our members experience and engagement.

Content, Content, Content

One of ACTS’s objectives is to raise the knowledge and skills of our members in the areas of corporate treasury, foreign exchange, cash management, risk management, financial planning, banking products and regulatory environment. ACTS looks forward to leveraging the partnership with TFA Geeks and creating an online knowledge database and common FAQ

We are going to set up a new members outreach team, whereby our younger members in our Corporate Treasury community will spearhead the team. They will have the platform and support of the EXCO, to generate new ideas, new outreach activities and create new exciting content for our fraternity.

Partnerships, Endorsements, Networks

The Corporate Treasury industry is an important part of the much bigger Treasury, Finance and Accounting Ecosystem, where other stakeholders and players like Banks, Financial Institutions, Asset Managers, Service Providers, Fintechs and Regulators co-mingle and co-exist. We will reach out to other Associations and Organisations in an attempt to create a well rounded network for the better of our members and the ecosystem.

ACTS is inclusive by nature, we want to work with anyone who is relevant to our cause, be they professionals, academics, or prospective students who are looking to join our industry. We will start exploring partnerships and reaching out to different associations and professional bodies in the broader eco-system. Together, we can seek synergies, leverage our resources and increase our value to our memberships.

Independent Flagship Event

Over the years, ACTS had co-hosted multiple events and seminars with many partners. And we have been endorsing a couple of webinars and podcasts with Banks and publishers. ACTS is indebted to our partners for all the success thus far. 

However, we have arrived at a juncture where ACTS needs to create a stronger identity and explore the possibility of hosting an ACTS event ourselves. As we are non-profit in nature, we will require support and sponsorship from like minded partners to join us in our journey in creating our independent ACTS flagship annual event.

ACTS - Synonymous with Corporate Treasury

At the end of the day, we hope that through all our efforts and energy, we can further develop our ACTS into a well known and well regarded professional body. When anyone think about Corporate Treasury, ACTS naturally comes into their minds. I cannot do it alone, I need your help to join me, join our EXCO, and join in our journey to bring ACTS to greater heights.

Thank you.

about author

ACT(S) is a non-profit organisation of individual memberships drawn from corporate treasurers and finance professionals involved in corporate treasury work. Members are typically in corporate organisations on the buy-side of the marketplace. Established in 1991 as the Treasurer's Club, the association has grown in numbers and spread. As Singapore increasingly become a treasury hub, membership now include group and regional corporate treasurers, treasury centre managers and other professional whose treasury activities cover a wide geographical spread.