As I come to the end of my year as president of the Society of Municipal Treasurers, it is a time to reflect. Being president has been a privilege and, although it has been hugely enjoyable, it has also been a time of great uncertainty and unprecedented change.

In 1966, Robert F. Kennedy delivered a speech in which he said: ‘There is a Chinese curse which says: "May he live in interesting times". They are times of danger and uncertainty; but they are also the most creative of any time in the history of mankind.'