13 December 2017 nina

René Boel Pedersen: Treasury risk management is becoming more complex and demanding

Corporate treasury functions are facing compliance demands of rapidly changing regulation, a constantly evolving technology landscape, and increasing pressure to take on a more strategic role in organizations.

At the conference Cash & Treasury Management 2018 on the 5th and 6th of March, René Boel Pedersen, Lead Risk Analyst at Ørsted, will be one of the keynotes. He will address Ørsted’s journey from an energy driven oil and gas company to a subsidy driven renewables company – all seen from a risk perspective.

What learnings or knowledge are you hoping the delegates will bring home from your keynote?
My keynote will be focusing on two questions. How has the strategic transformation changed Ørsted’s financial risk picture? And how have we as a Treasury function supported the transformation?

By introducing the delegates to the transformational story of Ørsted and the associated changes to the financial risk picture, I hope to stir up questions such as: How does the future of our company look like? And how do we as a Treasury function support that future? Questions which I’m sure the delegates already are asking themselves.

In the next couple of years, what are the biggest challenge for the Treasury function?
With a constantly changing business environment and increased focus on regulatory compliance, accounting transparency and economic protection, treasury risk management is becoming more complex and demanding. Technological investments and solutions are becoming pivotal in establishing a transparent and compliant financial risk picture. But with a world filled with technological opportunities and pitfalls, treasury functions will need to perform difficult cost/benefit analyses over the next couple of years to determine the true value and relevance of such technological investments.

What is the next step for you? If you come back in five years, what would your keynote be about?
How do we ensure a flexible financial risk management setup that matches the constantly changing environments that our businesses operate within while satisfying investors and managements risk preferences? This, I think, is one of the main challenges that we will face during the next couple of years.

Read more about the Cash & Treasury Management 2018 conference.