Top 5 must-attend sessions at Copenhagen EuroFinance 2024

‍The EuroFinance conference in Copenhagen is one of the premier global events for finance professionals, offering deep insights into treasury, risk management, and emerging financial trends. With so many sessions to choose from, it can be hard to prioritize. Here’s our pick of five unmissable sessions that will help you stay ahead of the curve.

Higher for longer: interest rates and global growth, Wednesday 9.45am Main Stage

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‍Presenters: 

• Thomas Harr, Chief economist, head of economics and monetary policy, Danmarks Nationalbank
• Jeromin Zettelmeyer, Director, Bruegel AISBL

Session description: Global growth will continue to slow in 2024 at around 2.5 percent average, well below the historical levels that we have seen in the past two decades, due to high inflation and tightening monetary policy. Analysts predict interest rates will remain ‘higher for longer’, impacting market growth.

In terms of economic recovery the emerging markets, Asia and Africa, lead the way at 3-6 percent growth. Slightly down on previous forecasts, the world’s largest economy in the United States will see growth at around 1-2 percent according to the Economist Intelligence Unit. Europe will grow just slightly above 1.4 percent, with Germany in recession in 2024.

Behind the growth figures and predictions, inflation continues to slow the drag on growth and monetary policy easing slightly in 2025. In this session economists discuss the likely interventions of the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve as well as central bank actions in emerging markets in the coming year to deliver a global analysis on rates and growth.‍‍

‍Revolver roulette: risks in corporate loan refinancing: Wednesday 2.00pm, Liquidity and Financing

Presenters: 

• Ramón Tolk, Senior director treasury, Avery Dennison
• Joe Fonseca, VP, global treasurer, Crocs Inc.
• Alan Chitty, Group treasurer, Pepco

Session description: Some $11 trillion dollars of global corporate loan refinancing is due to come on stream in 2024/5 signalling the biggest refinancing exercise in corporate history, according to leading rating agencies. With many revolver loans taken out at lower rates in the covid period now reaching term maturity, a huge volume of debt will need to be financed at higher rates in the coming year.

In this session we look at the challenges in refinancing and restructuring corporate debt in current markets and how treasurers and CFOs are working together to manage refinancing risks. Strategies include modelling the impact of refinancing loans across the business and managing maturities and covenants in line with the overall capital structure and risk tolerance of the business.

Treasurers on the panel will speak from the perspectives of investment grade and non investment grade ratings status.

Forecasting: the real intelligence, Thursday 11:50am, Stream 1: Cash controls

Presenters:

• Jeppe Østergård Sørensen, Senior treasury manager, LEGO Group
• Iain Currie, Director treasury operations, Prologis
• Jörg Wiemer, Co-founder, chief evangelist & lead advisor, TIS

Session description: Cash forecasting has come under intense focus in the current rate environment with many treasurers citing the ability to accurately predict cash flows into the next business cycle as the most important priority that they currently face.

Interestingly companies are still working with many different forms of cash forecasting tools, from spreadsheets to sophisticated and AI assisted forecasting. Yet essentially the accuracy of forecasting reflects the quality of the data and the visibility of cash, to the treasurer.

Treasurers comment that ‘progress, not perfection’ is the key to process improvement to more accurate forecasting, by robust data sourcing to narrow the margin of error. In the session treasurers discuss the challenges in creating ever more accurate forecasts and the solutions that they have found, working with strategic partners to create forecasts that can quickly adapt to changing business environments.‍‍

AI-powered treasury management and cash flow forecasting, Thursday 2.20pm in the Innovation Hub

Session description: Panax CEO Noam Mills, a former CFO herself, will demo the Panax platform, designed for lean finance teams with complex treasury needs. Panax’s AI and Automation driven platform gives you full visibility and control over your global cash management, with no IT necessary to set up or run the platform. With proactive insights and alerts, the Panax platform helps you to keep your finger on the pulse, so you can reduce cash risks and optimize liquidity. 

Noam is giving away some great Lego prizes at the Panax booth. You can also pre-register here to be in with a chance to win. 

Tech trends for corporates and consumers, Friday 9.10am 

Session description: As corporations are increasingly defined by their technological competitiveness and technology is evolving exponentially in all spheres, this session will explore some of the key trends and developments, parallel with AI, that are shaping future tech for companies, markets and society.

Taking in great advances in the “internet of things” which is connecting billions of devices and wearable tech that keeps us connected anywhere and everywhere, whilst generating a massive amount of data, enabling companies to optimise operations and create new customer experiences. Whilst the metaverse has yet to materialise in any popular way and the immersive digital reality experience is attracting less investment than when Meta was created, many believe in the future for immersive technologies.

The rise in cloud computing and the sharing of information and resources across workplaces and communities through cloud platforms is enabling digital economies to flourish. Blockchain too is finding new and niche applications in business.

On the negative side, cybersecurity is a big concern for companies, creating challenges around the storing and sharing of information and data. Regulation also acts both as an enabler and a harness to data intensive technologies, with protections around data sharing. Here we ask the big questions of big tech and signpost future directions in digital trends for corporates and consumers alike.

Presenters

• Debbie Kaya, Senior director of treasury, Cisco Systems, Inc.
• Robert Torvelainen, Chair, European Tech Alliance
• James Kelly, Group treasurer, Pearson
• Simon Jones, Independent treasury expert

These sessions will equip you with the knowledge and tools to navigate the evolving financial landscape. Don't miss out on these opportunities to gain insights from industry leaders and network with peers from across the globe!

Looking forward to seeing you at EuroFinance 2024!