Editorial

As this month’s edition of the WAR was finalised, the former UK prime minister, David Cameron, was facing two UK parliamentary committees to discuss his lobbying activities on behalf of collapsed financial service company, Greenshill Capital. Greenshill specialised in supply chain financing in which, at its simplest, a bank takes on the responsibility for prompt payment of amounts owed to a company’s suppliers. While the bank pays less than the face value of the invoices, it is later reimbursed by the company for the full amount. The Public Accounts Committee – one of the committees that interviewed Cameron – has announced an inquiry into this practice. The matter of supply chain financing is of particular concern because it was much used by Carillion, and is still prevalent in the construction industry.