The treasury policy is a document, generally and
preferably approved at board level, that gives treasury staff
written guidelines on what they are responsible for, how they
should go about this, what their boundaries are and how
their performance will be measured. Most treasuries deal
with derivatives and so to must their policies. It may be
stating the obvious, but it needs to be said that derivatives
are complex instruments that, by their complex nature, make
them potentially dangerous to the finances of any business
that uses them. Properly understood and utilised, they are
invaluable for risk management but they have the potential
to destroy companies and the careers of those who use them.
The key to using them well is a high quality treasury policy
Our survey indicated that the main responsibilities
managed by treasury and hence covered by treasury policies
were: