| 002 Breakfast Seminar presented by American Express — The Top Concerns of CFOs Right Now: A Global Business Outlook Survey Preview
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| What's weighing on CFO's minds today? It's the economy. . . (you know the rest). Results from the Duke University/CFO magazine Global Business Outlook survey, released in the February issue of CFO magazine, show that CFOs fear a drop in consumer demand for goods and services above all else. At this breakfast workshop, Senior Writer Kate O'Sullivan —who writes the Global Business Outlook Survey and regularly appears on CNBC to discuss the results — will give attendees an exclusive sneak peak at the results for the first quarter of 2008. She and CFO.com Editorial Director Tim Reason also will discuss the other issues that CFOs are focusing on, and how those have played out in the recent news coverage on CFO.com and in the magazine. In this interactive workshop, Reason and O'Sullivan will also invite the audience to help shape future coverage in CFO magazine and CFO.com by sharing their own issues and concerns. Earn 1 additional CPE credit by attending this breakfast seminar. There is no additional fee for attending but pre-registration is required. |
Hosted By:
American Express
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Speaker:
Kate O’Sullivan, Senior Writer, CFO Magazine
Tim Reason, Editorial Director, CFO.com
Eduardo Vergara, SVP, Global Product Management & Marketing, American Express
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| 101 Insulating Earnings From Pension Volatility ― Run Your Pension As A Business Unit! |
Hosted By:
PensionSpan from Barclays Global Investors
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Speaker:
Andy Hunt, Strategist, Barclays Global Investors
Eugene Podkaminer, Strategist, Barclays Global Investors
Stephen Bozeman, Head of Defined Benefit Outsourcing, Barclays Global Investors
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Focus:
It’s no secret that earnings, equity, income, and cash flow have been affected by recent pension legislation and accounting standard changes, compelling CFOs and Treasurers to view the pension as they would any other financial subsidiary of their firm. A new type of diligence and different skill set is required to ensure that your company is not financially or competitively disadvantaged by its obligation to its retirees. Part history lesson, part Case Study, part panel discussion, our workshop examines bringing your pension in line with your business, investing with a view towards the liabilities, and freeing you to re-focus on the Operating company that is the core of your job. Tomorrow’s pension plan will meld performance improvement with risk management, to the benefit of customers, shareholders and employees alike.
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Take Away:
When you leave our session you should have a better understanding of:
• What the impact of your defined benefit pension plan is to your shareholder’s equity, earnings, and cash flow.
• How pensions have been run historically in the US and why the old model doesn’t make sense going forward.
• What you can do to mitigate the impact of pension volatility on your balance sheet while improving the security of employee benefits.
• How costly plan terminations and buyouts can become in lieu of successful governance and management.
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| 103 Managing Performance — The Bridge Between your Current and Desired Results |
Hosted By:
George Group
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Speaker:
Bob Iversen, Vice President, George Group
Pete Winiarski, Principal , George Group
Larry Ogelsby, Principal, George Group - now a part of Accenture
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Focus:
This session will examine a proven process for maximizing performance. The presenters will cover the following points:
• You must first understand the drivers of performance;
• Targets should be set based on real opportunity;
• Accountability is created with Performance Dialogue (formal and informal);
• Yes, you do need a periodic diagnostic exercise;
• Reconciling Aspirational/Stretch Targets with Budget Commitments: They are different.
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Take Away:
After attending this session, you can expect to understand the process described to “Maximize Performance,” as well as know how to get started in your organization.
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| 104 Services Sector: Unleash the Value of Your Finance Operation |
Hosted By:
TATA
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Speaker:
Jim McKinley, Practice Lead, Business Transformation, TATA Consultancy Services
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Focus:
Overview of top challenges facing CFOs in the services sector today to include:
• Price increases are slowing while costs continue to rise; the need to do more with less
• Multi-vendor BPO management
• The difficulty of managing diverse work groups in multiple geographies fulfilling an end to end service
Doing more in the finance operation with less: Case studies and Examples
• Work categorization approach using a leading provider’s end to end service fulfillment process as the discussion point
• Managing multiple BPO vendors: practices currently in place in a leading retail company
• Establishing and managing high performing teams: work groups and teams, what are they, when you should use them based on recent success at a leading service provider
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Take Away:
After attending, delegates can expect to understand, at a tactical level, leading trends in unleashing value in service sector finance organizations. They will be equipped with tools and techniques that can and should be deployed as a part of their own finance transformation initiative.
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| 105 Health Care Consumerism — Is it Good Business? What is Right for Your Organization? |
Hosted By:
Mercer
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Speaker:
Jeff Farmer, Principal, Mercer
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Focus:
• What is consumerism? Consumerism is a wide-ranging topic, not limited to just Consumer Directed Health Plans (CDHP). The essence of consumerism is to promote more engaged and educated healthcare behavior to improve health outcomes and costs.
• Why should CFOs care about consumerism? Health care costs continue to rise at rates higher than inflation, and businesses continue to search for cost-reduction opportunities that also meet HR objectives. Data from Mercer’s employer-sponsored health plan survey will be shared.
• What can employers do about it and what are their responsibilities? What about employees, what is their role? Consumerism is based on a model of shared responsibility between employer and employee. Employers need to provide information, education, choice, tools and incentives to employees. Employees need to change behaviors and seek the highest quality health care.
• What are the potential and emerging financial and other results and benefits of consumerism? While consumerism shows great promise and rapidly growing popularity, is it delivering, and with what risks? How do you find the right “fit” or consumerism approach for your organization?
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Take Away:
When you leave this session you will have a better understanding of what consumerism is, the facts about how it can or cannot help bring down health care costs, and what your role is as a CFO in promoting it in your company. You will also come away with practical ideas that can be implemented, and very importantly, a better understanding of the investments, realistic benefits, and risks involved … so you can determine “how far — how fast” to pursue consumerism is right for your organization.
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| 106 Going Private: Kronos Incorporated’s Experience of Being Bought by a Private Equity Firm |
Hosted By:
Kronos
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Speaker:
Mark Julien, CFO, Kronos
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Focus:
Kronos CFO Mark Julien will discuss:
• Factors that led Kronos to decide to explore the option of going private.
• An overview of the process including steps taken to ensure shareholder value was optimized.
• Challenges faced including:
- Ensuring confidentiality of the process
- Managing resource demands
- Managing the effect of surprise twists during the process
- Dealing with employee and customer reactions post transaction
• Lessons learned: Who are Private Equity Groups (PEGs); what are they looking for and what can they provide to you.
• How it’s going so far: the key differences of private vs. public from an operating perspective.
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Take Away:
When you leave my session you will have a better understanding of the complexities of taking a company private.
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| 107 CFO Research Insights ― Paths to Improvement in Accounts Payable |
Hosted By:
Ariba
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Speaker:
Celina Rogers, Associate Director, CFO Research Services
Ashish Deshpande, Sr. Product Marketing Manager, Ariba
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Focus:
In this session, Celina Rogers, associate director of research at CFO Research Services, will present results from a recent study on improving accounts payable. In that study, CFO Research surveyed more than 180 senior finance executives to understand finance’s priorities and challenges in improving accounts payable, as well as their advice on the best way to improve AP performance. The study found that finance executives’ interest in AP management extends beyond process efficiencies to include broader issues, such as cash management, stopping savings leakages, and managing relationships with key suppliers. The approaches that companies take to pursue these broader objectives vary considerably, according to participants in the research program, and in many cases finance executives reported that their efforts have fallen short of the promised benefits. The finance executives who participated in the study were eager, however, to share the practices that have worked well for them in their AP improvement efforts, and Ms. Rogers will outline their key pieces of advice in this session. The presenters will also share insights, based on the research and on Ariba’s extensive experience in the field, into some of the methods companies have employed to overcome the hurdles that get in the way of AP improvement efforts.
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Take Away:
Attendees will leave this session with new insights into improvement efforts for accounts payable. Attendees will also gain valuable insights into some of the best practices on creating a sustained "path to progress" for improving and enhancing the strategic value of AP.
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| 108 The CFO’s Next Challenge: Applying Finance Talent to Create Enterprise Value |
Hosted By:
Deloitte
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Speaker:
Franco Girimonte, Senior Manager, Deloitte Consulting LLP
Rahul Gautam, Senior Manager, Deloitte Consulting
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Focus:
Today’s CFOs and finance organizations must execute on a broad range of responsibilities that go far beyond their traditional role as corporate accountants. Now with they are expected to serve in the catalyst and strategist roles, and to build a finance organization that is equipped to deliver in this capacity. Today we will focus on the people side of the equation — finance talent — an area of pressing concern, and one which has, in our experience, proved difficult for most companies. Specifically, we will explore:
1. Highlights from our recent global finance talent survey;
2. The supply and demand of finance talent, the changing workforce composition, including the aging population and generational gaps and considerations;
3. The talent-related challenges that the CFO and finance organization are facing;
4. Research-supported key insights on finance talent; and
5. Solutions to address the finance talent challenges.
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Take Away:
When you leave this session you will have a context for your own talent agenda and have “take-home” ideas on how to leverage finance talent, or the “people side” of the equation, to:
1. Build a finance organization that is equipped to deliver on the growing demand for value-creation via the catalyst and strategist roles.
2. Prepare your finance organization to evolve into a value-creating function.
3. Address key global finance talent issues.
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| 109 Apples to Oranges:
Practical Ways to Raise the Financial IQ of the Non-Financial Managers at Your Company |
Hosted By:
Stratactics
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Speaker:
Mats Bjoerkman, Business Controller, Service North America , ABB, Inc.
Darrell Mullis, CEO, Stratactics, Inc.
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Focus:
This fascinating case study from ABB Ltd. proves that when the Finance Department is able to successfully raise the “Finance IQ” of a company’s non-financial managers, the result can be an economic turnaround for the organization. Recognition of this need occurred for ABB financial leaders after a major financial crisis convinced company leaders to redefine its organizational structure and strategic objectives. A major challenge was getting sales people, managers and field engineers to think and act like business owners. This global electrical engineering company with over 100,000 employees in over 100 countries needed to make it easier for customers to do business with them and easier for internal business units to work together as one team. We will address the challenges ABB faced, its innovative solutions to these challenges, and ongoing obstacles to be overcome in this transformation.
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Take Away:
Attendees will leave this session with an understanding of how they can apply ABB’s use of an ‘out of the box’ activity-based learning approach to break down silos in the organization and connect financial IQ to relevant day-to-day decisions and behavior.
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| 110 Web 2.0 for the CFO: The Coming Revolution in ERP and Financial Software |
Hosted By:
Workday
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Speaker:
Mark Nittler, VP Strategy, Workday
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Focus:
ERP today is in the middle of almost all financial management processes helping, or hindering finance transformation across the board from GRC to performance management and everything in-between. And as evidenced by recent announcements by SAP, Oracle and others, ERP is on the verge of a dramatic evolution based on new ideas like in-memory databases, object management and software as a service. Do you understand the coming technologies? More important do you understand the business implications of the coming changes? This session provides a rapid fire, executive level, primer on the coming changes in ERP the key new technologies and the potential they offer for supporting the new office of the CFO.
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Take Away:
Attendees will leave the session with an understanding of the major areas of change in the new approach to ERP including business model and delivery; technology and business functionality. You will gain understanding of the key terms and claims and some ideas about how these modern systems can impact your personal, departmental, and organizational goals.
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| 201 Going Private: Kronos Incorporated’s Experience of Being Bought by a Private Equity Firm |
Hosted By:
Kronos
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Speaker:
Mark Julien, CFO, Kronos
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Focus:
Kronos CFO Mark Julien will discuss:
• Factors that led Kronos to decide to explore the option of going private.
• An overview of the process including steps taken to ensure shareholder value was optimized.
• Challenges faced including:
- Ensuring confidentiality of the process
- Managing resource demands
- Managing the effect of surprise twists during the process
- Dealing with employee and customer reactions post transaction
• Lessons learned: Who are Private Equity Groups (PEGs); what are they looking for and what can they provide to you.
• How it’s going so far: the key differences of private vs. public from an operating perspective.
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Take Away:
When you leave my session you will have a better understanding of the complexities of taking a company private.
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| 202 Lessons Learned — The Pains and Gains of AP Automation |
Hosted By:
Brainware
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Speaker:
Tim Phillips, Solutions Consultant, Brainware, Inc.
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Focus:
Finance executives are transforming their operations by reengineering their Accounts Payable processes and automating invoice handling. For those companies that do it right, the benefits are timely and substantial. In addition to reducing the direct labor expenses associated with data entry, these CFOs are unlocking new business value through vendor discounts and better vendor management. On the flip side, there are hidden costs associated with many of the “silver bullet” platforms and technologies that promise to reduce costs but end up addressing a mere fraction of the total invoice volume. In this workshop, you will learn how companies such as Alltel, JohnsonDiversey, Shell, Amgen and Halliburton have reduced invoice cycle times, improved process visibility, and enabled touchless payment processing. These companies have surveyed the landscape and found what works. Their case studies will help you realize the “gains” while minimizing the “pains” of accounts payable automation.
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Take Away:
By attending this workshop session, attendees will learn 7 ways in which your organization will benefit from AP automation, supported by specific case study examples of each. They will also learn how to evaluate vendors to ensure you can reap the “gains” while minimizing the “pains” of accounts payable automation.
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| 203 Strategic Cost Advantage — A Different Approach to Better Cost Position Through an Understanding of Structure And Process |
Hosted By:
George Group
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Speaker:
Stephen Wilson, Principal, George Group Consulting, L.P.
Andrei Perumal, Principal, George Group
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Focus:
By understanding how cost structure supports the operations of the business, and how the operations of the business impact cost structure, it is possible to quantify and drive transformational cost reduction. This is a differentiated approach because it addresses the interaction of structure and process, and the role each plays in driving balance sheet and income statement measurements of cost, as opposed to attacking the “usual suspects” of cost in isolation. The presentation lays out the keys to diagnosing Strategic Cost Advantage, including 1) Diagnosing which elements of your cost structure create industry-leading cost position (Structural Advantage); and 2) Assessing which elements of your operational costs and associated processes drive competitive advantage (Operating Advantage). By combining the two, you operate with Strategic Cost Advantage. This session will outline the approach to Strategic Cost Advantage, referencing theory, research and case studies.
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| 204 Business Value Realization |
Hosted By:
TATA
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Speaker:
Carlos Chu, Senior Manager, Finance Transformation, TATA Consultancy Services
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Focus:
Does your organization realize the full expected business value from Business Transformation Programs? Transformation programs often are conceived with the best of intentions. The case for action is laden with superlatives describing the business benefits, and the best and brightest resources are enlisted to ensure a successful delivery that is commonly defined through timely completion with no cost overruns.In this session, we will take a top-down look at where missteps commonly occur during the design, build and run phases of a transformation program. We will focus on how business value realization can be impeded by poor alignment and integration of business objectives with its underlying process delivery model. We will share operational examples to demonstrate techniques that will ensure the success of your ongoing and future programs through KPI and business benefits realization.
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Take Away:
By attending this session, delegates can expect to develop an appreciation for why greater business involvement is needed beyond the requirements definition stage of a business transformation program. They will also understand the role of the Finance Organization in driving business transformation to ensure KPI and benefits realization.
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| 205 Investor Considerations When Assessing Uses of Cash |
Hosted By:
Thomson
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Speaker:
Christine Berg, Vice President, Thomson Financial
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Focus:
This session will cover the following areas:
• An overview of trends in cash levels for S&P 500 companies over the past 10 years.
• Trends in uses of cash by S&P 500 companies, including sector -specific data, for 1) Capital expenditures, 2) M&A, 3) Share repurchases, and, 4) Dividends.
• Understanding investor preferences for growth/value/income through portfolio deconstruction analysis and analyst feedback.
• How to conduct proper due diligence with respect to investor preferences, and how their resulting activity, via buying and selling, may impact valuation.
• Examples/case studies of companies (XYZ’d for confidentiality purposes) that incorporated the needs of shareholders into their decision-making process.
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Take Away:
After attending, delegates can expect to have clarity on trends in uses of cash by S&P 500 companies and be armed with a better understanding of institutional preferences and see how sample companies utilized investor insight to make decisions about returning cash to shareholders and/or capital structure.
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| 206 Resolving the Shared Services vs. Outsourcing Conundrum |
Hosted By:
Booz Allen Hamilton
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Speaker:
Ashok Divakaran, Principal, Booz Allen Hamilton
Praful Mittal, Senior Associate, Booz Allen Hamilton
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Focus:
For many companies, it is becoming clear that to drive significant improvements in cost efficiency and service quality, significant restructuring is needed — through consolidation, standardization, and automation, among others. The two dominant approaches for enabling for this kind of large-scale change are clearly shared services and outsourcing / off shoring. But many companies continue to wrestle with basic questions around how to pursue them. Has shared services seen its day — or is there still life in the concept? When is it a better answer than outsourcing — and vice versa? Is it necessary to implement shared services as a stepping-stone to outsourcing? How much internal "cleanup" is needed before handing off work to an outsourcer? If shared services is the right answer, how best to implement it — in a global consolidated hub, or in dispersed regional service centers? And once the "right answer" has been picked, how best to structure and initiate the transformation effort? This session will address these and related key questions.
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| 207 Finding ADVANTAGE$ in Dealing with Costly Environmental Liabilities |
Hosted By:
ARCADIS
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Speaker:
Erhardt Werth, EVP Guaranteed Business Solutions, ARCADIS
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Focus:
The session will explore:
• The basis for environmental cleanup cost uncertainties.
• The runaway growth in cleanup-costs resulting from poor industry performance addressing uncertainties.
• Financial management challenges resulting from poor industry performance and intrinsic cleanup uncertainties.
• Utility of an alternative approach for dealing with environmental cleanup uncertainties.
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Take Away:
When you leave this session you will understand how to use a new tool to:
• Establish cleanup cost certainty,
• Remove management distractions not providing the highest ROI; and
• Save cleanup dollars for re-application to more productive investments.
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| 208 Improve Real Estate Performance to Achieve Financial Goals |
Hosted By:
TRIRIGA
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Speaker:
John Clark, Director, Product Marketing, TRIRIGA Inc.
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Focus:
Real estate assets are a cornerstone to organizational success, today. Recent research concludes that CFOs view improvement to the real estate function as a rising priority. Improved real estate performance drives greater financial performance. This session will present research findings from CFOs on:
• How Finance’s view of real estate has changed.
• The impact of the recent real estate boom on occupancy costs.
• The important role of real estate in achieving corporate strategic goals.
• Required improvements in CRE functions.
The presentation includes three clear steps CFOs have identified to improve real estate performance. These steps improve operational effectiveness, ensure alignment with business goals and improve operational efficiency. You’ll hear how Nokia, the world’s leader in mobile devices, aligned workplace and business strategy to drive greater shareholder value through real performance.
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Take Away:
Attendees will leave this session with three key steps to improve real estate performance. They will also understand how Nokia transformed its workplace organization to reduce costs and improve financial performance.
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| 209 Maximize Financial Value Across Your Supply Chain |
Hosted By:
BB&T
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Speaker:
Neal Harm, Commercial Finance Strategic Operations Manager, BB&T SupplyChain360
Steve Keifer, Vice President, Product and Industry Marketing, GXS
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Focus:
This session will:
• Define the Financial Supply Chain and how it mirrors the Physical Supply Chain
• Explore the landscape of the current Financial Supply Chain and look at what is on the horizon
• Discuss the value of visibility in the Financial Supply Chain
• Reveal the “Best of Class” Processes: Improved Decision Making, Reduced Costs, and Increased Productivity
• Present Case Studies of “Best of Class” companies with integrated solutions that have resulted in efficiency, visibility, and reduced costs within the Financial Supply Chain.
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Take Away:
After attending, delegates can expect to understand how to create visibility into the Financial Supply Chain and how to optimize your working capital position to allow for growth.
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| 301 Getting the Most from Every Dollar |
Hosted By:
American Express
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Speaker:
Celina Rogers, Associate Director, CFO Research Services
Eduardo Vergara, SVP, Global Product Management & Marketing, American Express
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Focus:
In March 2008, American Express commissioned a new mid-size company research study from CFO Research Services (a unit of CFO Publishing Corporation). The research study, Getting the Most for Every Dollar, with responses from 402 financial executives, recognizes that in today’s uncertain economic environment opportunities to drive greater savings with sufficient financial controls is top of mind. Key findings and best practices shared reveal that finance executives currently have a heightened desire to control costs including indirect expenses and are ultimately in search of striking the right balance in price, service and quality from their vendors while achieving sufficient flexibility and control for their employees. Join this workshop to learn:
1. The research results of the March 2008 CFO Research Services white paper, Getting the Most for Every Dollar.
2. Best practices that can be implemented at mid-size companies to create bottom-line dollar value through creation of preferred vendor relationships, negotiations and management.
3. How to achieve the appropriate balance of price, quality and service through vendors: flexibility and control for employees.
4. Indirect expense management strategies that have proven successful in American Express Corporate Services experience.
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Take Away:
Workshop attendees will be able to:
1. Gain a clear understanding of strategies and best practices to identify savings priorities and opportunities;
2. Gain strategies on how to meet company-specific needs to drive value through spend data access, analysis and vendor management;
3. Leave with an understanding of how to approach select appropriate strategies, programs and tools and leverage best
practices to optimize hard dollar savings given today’s economic environment.
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| 302 Driving Business Performance: Thinking Bigger about Business Intelligence |
Hosted By:
Microsoft
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Speaker:
Guy Weismantel, Director of Marketing , Microsoft Corporation
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Focus:
Survey after survey lists business intelligence (BI) at the top of software spending priorities for companies of all sizes. And yet, despite the time, money, and resources aligned against the goal of making better business decisions, finance departments do not yet have a solution that lets them address these issues in a strategic and integrated fashion. Attend this session to hear best practices and solution examples around how finance departments today are “thinking bigger” about business intelligence, moving beyond the rigid tools and applications they’ve had to use in the past and drive their organizations reach their full potential.
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Take Away:
After attending this session, delegates can expect to have an understanding of Microsoft’s approach to performance management. They will also learn best practices from organizations and the approach they are taking to performance management.
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| 303 Fraud, Policy and Prevention: Driving Down Expenses in an Unpredictable Economic Climate |
Hosted By:
Expedia Corporate Travel
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Speaker:
Rob Greyber, SVP, North America, Expedia Corporate Travel
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Focus:
Travel and entertainment (“T&E”) expenses are the third largest controllable expense for most corporations. In this session, we address two critical issues that impact T&E costs: Fraud and Travel Industry Consolidation. First, when fraud is committed by employees, it can have a serious impact on the bottom line. Through real-world examples, attendees to this session will learn best-practices for spotting and preventing fraud in their travel and expense budgets. Second, airline industry consolidation is widely expected to increase travel costs; consolidation in other areas of the travel industry is expected to have the same result. In this session, we will briefly review the drivers of industry consolidation in the airline, hotel and car rental industries, focusing on what you can do to maintain — or even improve — the cost and cost/value equation for your company.
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Take Away:
The average company in the US loses 5% of revenues each year to fraud. Attendees to this workshop will gain an understanding of how to find and minimize the impact of expense fraud to their bottom line. Through a discussion of the drivers of industry consolidation, attendees will gain an understanding for what will motivate airlines, hotels and car rental companies in this environment, and how companies can use that to gain better pricing — and service — for their business travel.
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| 304 Going Green- What Makes Sense in Real Estate? |
Hosted By:
CresaPartners
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Speaker:
Matt Feeney, Managing Principal, CresaPartners
Deborah Fuller, Sustainability Specialist, HOK
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Focus:
This session will address the Corporate Real Estate aspects of “Going Green,” including:
• Why would an organization choose to go Green?
• Cost/Benefit of going Green
• When does it make sense to go Green?
• What exactly is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certification?
• What is the process of getting office buildings LEED Certified?
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Take Away:
By attending this session, attendees can expect to understand the benefits and costs associated with going Green in real estate, as well as understand how to go Green.
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| 305 Insulating Earnings From Pension Volatility ― Run Your Pension As A Business Unit! |
Hosted By:
PensionSpan from Barclays Global Investors
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Speaker:
Eugene Podkaminer, Strategist, Barclays Global Investors
Andy Hunt, Strategist, Barclays Global Investors
Stephen Bozeman, Head of Defined Benefit Outsourcing, Barclays Global Investors
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Focus:
It’s no secret that earnings, equity, income, and cash flow have been affected by recent pension legislation and accounting standard changes, compelling CFOs and Treasurers to view the pension as they would any other financial subsidiary of their firm. A new type of diligence and different skill set is required to ensure that your company is not financially or competitively disadvantaged by its obligation to its retirees. Part history lesson, part Case Study, part panel discussion, our workshop examines bringing your pension in line with your business, investing with a view towards the liabilities, and freeing you to re-focus on the Operating company that is the core of your job. Tomorrow’s pension plan will meld performance improvement with risk management, to the benefit of customers, shareholders and employees alike.
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Take Away:
When you leave our session you should have a better understanding of:
• What the impact of your defined benefit pension plan is to your shareholder’s equity, earnings, and cash flow.
• How pensions have been run historically in the US and why the old model doesn’t make sense going forward.
• What you can do to mitigate the impact of pension volatility on your balance sheet while improving the security of employee benefits.
• How costly plan terminations and buyouts can become in lieu of successful governance and management.
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| 306 Key Challenges in Managing Shareholder Value |
Hosted By:
Booz Allen Hamilton
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Speaker:
Sam Knox, Director, CFO Research Services
Juan Carlos Webster, Principal, Booz Allen Hamilton
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Focus:
The institutionalization of investor capital, the increased accountability for shareholder value, and other stakeholder demands have increased the need for improvements in performance planning and management. In the past much of the value generation came from financial engineering while today, value is created largely through management-based improvements. This workshop will provide insights into the key challenges faced by corporate leaders and how success is achieved through a disciplined approach to strategy definition and execution.
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Take Away:
Through a combination of examples, research among senior finance executives, case studies and best practices, you will be provided with the ideas to generate shareholder value and address the big questions facing management today — e.g., what are the trends and forces affecting short- versus long-term decision making? How should performance be measured? How can portfolio management strategies optimize lines of business and shareholder value? How does management’s relation with the board of directors and other external stakeholders affect value creation?
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| 307 Successful BPO Planning and Implementation |
Hosted By:
Exterieur Resources Worldwide
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Speaker:
Charles Freiboth III JD, CPA, President and CEO, Exterieur Resources Worldwide Inc.
Keith Fiveson, Managing Consultant, ITESA, Diversified Technology Solutions International, Inc.
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Focus:
Key issues that will be discussed include:
• Overall rationale for outsourcing and offshoring,
• The financial and accounting sourcing framework — what functions to outsource/offshore and what functions to retain,
• Service levels methodologies — scoping and baseline costing,
• Proper transition planning vis-à-vis internal sensitivities,
• Risk management — shared services versus independent service providers,
• Collaborative governance processes and relationship management.
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Take Away:
Attendees will leave this session with a general understanding of how to successfully plan for and implement outsourcing and offshoring projects within their own organizations. They will gain insights on relevant strategies (the why) and tactics (the how), proper transition planning in relation to internal sensitivities, risk management issues, collaborative governance and relationship management.
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| 308 Improving EPS and Forecasting through Pricing Excellence |
Hosted By:
PROS
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Speaker:
Doug Fuehne, Senior Director of Science Solutions, PROS
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Focus:
This session will cover the following areas:
• Importance of pricing decisions to finance organizations,
• Pricing strategies that can result in higher EPS,
• Science-based forecasting to improve the budget process,
• Helping your sales teams work with your customers’ strategic sourcing groups.
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Take Away:
After attending this session, delegates can expect to understand the value of science in improving an organization’s bottom line. They will also have new ideas about how to manage the finance organization’s daily life.
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| 309 Addressing the Health Care Bottom Line: Improving Employee Health and Lowering Costs |
Hosted By:
Cigna
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Speaker:
Bill Reindl, Senior Vice President, Consumer Segment, CIGNA
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Focus:
In the past ten years, employer gross health care costs have increased to become one of the largest cost pressures on company income statements. And since the U.S. spends significantly more on health care than other similar countries, the cost increases are impacting U.S. global competitiveness. The solution is not in cost-shifting through plan design. An effective health benefits strategy focuses on financial ownership and health improvement to drive long-term health and productivity. A successful strategy will incent employees to become active participants in their health. This workshop will discuss how to get employees to treat their health care expenses differently and will look at the importance of getting employees to take responsibility for their health to avoid unnecessary health care costs.
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| 310 The Evolving Role of Tax |
Hosted By:
Ryan
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Speaker:
Jon Sweet, Chief Stategy Officer, Ryan
Chuck Carvell, Head of the U.S. Tax Group, Vestas-American Wind Technology, Inc.
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Focus:
For tax and finance executives, a new reality has emerged. Greater internal scrutiny and complexity have combined with an ever-changing and increasing level of external influences that are compelling organizations to reconsider their approach to tax planning and management. For those companies who choose to build a culture of best practices, the right alignment of people, processes, and technologies can lead to enhanced reliability, accuracy, and overall efficiency. In this session, we will discuss the emerging trends and pressing challenges facing today’s tax and finance executives as validated in a recent CFO Research Services study, and outline a series of best practices that will help tax departments deliver greater value to their organization.
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| 401 Getting the Most from Every Dollar |
Hosted By:
American Express
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Speaker:
Celina Rogers, Associate Director, CFO Research Services
Eduardo Vergara, SVP, Global Product Management & Marketing, American Express
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Focus:
In March 2008, American Express commissioned a new mid-size company research study from CFO Research Services (a unit of CFO Publishing Corporation). The research study, Getting the Most for Every Dollar, with responses from 402 financial executives, recognizes that in today’s uncertain economic environment opportunities to drive greater savings with sufficient financial controls is top of mind. Key findings and best practices shared reveal that finance executives currently have a heightened desire to control costs including indirect expenses and are ultimately in search of striking the right balance in price, service and quality from their vendors while achieving sufficient flexibility and control for their employees. Join this workshop to learn:
1. The research results of the March 2008 CFO Research Services white paper, Getting the Most for Every Dollar.
2. Best practices that can be implemented at mid-size companies to create bottom-line dollar value through creation of preferred vendor relationships, negotiations and management.
3. How to achieve the appropriate balance of price, quality and service through vendors: flexibility and control for employees.
4. Indirect expense management strategies that have proven successful in American Express Corporate Services experience.
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Take Away:
Workshop attendees will be able to:
1. Gain a clear understanding of strategies and best practices to identify savings priorities and opportunities;
2. Gain strategies on how to meet company-specific needs to drive value through spend data access, analysis and vendor management;
3. Leave with an understanding of how to approach select appropriate strategies, programs and tools and leverage best
practices to optimize hard dollar savings given today’s economic environment.
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| 402 Performance Management Case Study: Improving Organizational Insight at Oticon |
Hosted By:
Microsoft
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Speaker:
Guy Weismantel, Director of Marketing , Microsoft Corporation
Scott Stein , Chief Operating Officer , Solver
Johan Magnusson, Managing Director, Solver
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Focus:
Oticon is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of hearing aids, this session will provide insight into the organizations performance management solution and analysis of their business challenges. Learn how a high number of users where able to analyze their own business and benchmark towards other part of the corporation, how the office of the CFO was enabled to analyse the operation instead of maintaining application and creating reports, and gain insight into the strategy for how consolidated numbers reached the board, management and stock market weeks in advance.
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Take Away:
Attendees will gain an understanding of Microsoft’s vision for BI and they will learn about best practices from a performance management implementation, including planning and budgeting and consolidation.
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| 403 I Spy Fraud |
Hosted By:
Crowe Chizek
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Speaker:
Mari Reidy, Executive, Crowe
Jonathan Marks, Executive, Crowe
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Focus:
Recent reports of accounting scandals and corporate fraud have shaken investor confidence, weakened the economy, and distracted America's corporate leaders. To restore confidence, public and private companies alike are under enormous pressure to demonstrate reliable financial reporting, solid corporate governance, and a commitment to the highest ethical standards. As one of the top 10 public accounting and consulting firms, Crowe Chizek and Company LLC assists organizations in understanding and building an anti-fraud framework with the intent to reduce their fraud exposure. In this session, you will learn and hear specific cases describing the various types of fraudulent activities that may occur within the organization. We will share common myths about fraud and will present some of the leading practices on implementing anti-fraud programs.
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Take Away:
Attendees will leave this session with a better understanding of the various types of fraud; the financial impact fraud may have on an organization, and common perceptions and myths. You will understand and gain key insights into how best to develop a framework and implement an effective anti-fraud program within your organization.
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| 404 Finding Hidden Profits in Non-Core Spending |
Hosted By:
Expense Reduction Analysts
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Speaker:
Bradly L. Davidson, Managing Director, Expense Reduction Analysts
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Focus:
Looking for extra profit for your company? In this session, case studies and benchmarking data drawn from literally thousands of companies reveal ways to unleash the profits hidden in your non-core spending ― reducing costs by an average of 19.7%. We will explore:
• Benchmarking data on profit opportunities in non-core spending,
• Evolving supplier pricing strategies that require evolving buying strategies,
• Three fallacies of cost reduction,
• Top ten opportunities for non-core cost reduction,
• Practical strategies and tactics from our experts to reduce costs around Merchant Card Fees, Office Supplies, Courier, and P-Cards,
• The top and bottom line impact of acting on this knowledge.
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Take Away:
Attendees will leave this session with:
• Insights as to where to find hidden profits in non-core spending,
• Best opportunities for cost reduction based on extensive benchmarking data,
• Specialized guidance and practical tactics that can be immediately implemented to reduce spending in four cost areas,
• An understanding of the incredible impact these hidden profits can have on a business’s profitability, growth and survival.
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| 405 Turning Corporate Sustainability into Financial Advantage |
Hosted By:
Sebesta Blomberg
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Speaker:
Jerry Bauers, Senior Commissioning Director, Sebesta Blomberg
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Focus:
This session will address what it means to be sustainable, and what are U.S. companies are doing today to move toward sustainability, protect the environment, and still run a profitable and competitive operation. Attendees will learn about companies that have started their journey to sustainability, and understand the tools needed to begin their company’s own corporate sustainability program. Areas covered will include:
• Financial drivers of corporate sustainability,
• Sustainability metrics,
• Carbon footprint,
• The sustainability process,
• Sustainability action plan.
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Take Away:
After attending this session, attendees will learn what it means to be sustainable, and what are U.S. companies are doing today to move toward sustainability, protect the environment, and still run a profitable and competitive operation. Attendees will also learn about companies that have started their journey to sustainability, and understand the tools needed to begin their company’s own corporate sustainability program.
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| 406 A CFO’s Game Changer: Business Performance Management Lessons from the Real-World |
Hosted By:
SOLOMON
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Speaker:
Kurt Lueck, CEO, SOLOMON Technology Group
Terry Mance, President, SOLOMON Technology Group
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Focus:
Business Performance Management (BPM) can be a game changer for today’s CFO. What does it look like? How do you implement? And what are the technologies that enable its success? Referencing a real-world global BPM implementation, this presentation walks through the entire project process, from alignment to business objectives, to leading practices, to specific technologies including Oracle -Hyperion, IBM-Cognos and SAP-Business Objects. We will discuss several specific lessons-learned from this and other projects. Progressive CFOs understand they can impact results by focusing the organization on what’s most important. Simply put, BPM is the strategy of defining the right business metrics and enabling technology to automate the measurement. More and more of today’s best run organizations are using BPM to link business strategy to operational execution. The results have been significant. It’s putting the CFO in the driver’s seat for managing measurable results. But, where does a CFO start?
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Take Away:
Attendees will leave this session with insight into successfully creating and implementing a Business Performance Management solution. The session will include a number of specific tools, templates and lessons learned from strategy through technology. Additionally, an unbiased review of the technology landscape will be provided. You will find out how your organization can implement a game-changer for working smarter and achieving results.
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| 407 The First 100 Days |
Hosted By:
Tatum
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Speaker:
Rebecca Irish, Associate Managing Partner, Tatum LLC
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Focus:
Just as Presidents are judged on the leadership they demonstrate in the first 100 days, so are financial executives. In fact, “First 100 Days Syndrome” surfaces often in one’s career. Whether you are taking on a new role or the organization has experienced a significant change, thinking in terms of the first 100 days can help you avoid common pitfalls and ultimately thrive. Don’t miss the insights of a 25-year veteran, who has served as CFO of multiple companies, discussing how the first 100 days can be the crucial difference between success and failure. This session will offer practical advice and illustrations regarding how to:
• Manage the expectations of the CEO and the Board of Directors (and navigate differences between them)
• Identify and create internal and external relationships with key players, working around obstacles
• Deal with the most pressing issues while diagnosing the underlying problems
• Establish the framework for an “office of the CFO”
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| 408 Finance and TV Ad Spending and Control: A Case Study on Delivery Validation |
Hosted By:
Eloda
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Speaker:
Sam Knox, Director, CFO Research Services
François Rainville , President and CEO, Eloda Corporation
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Focus:
This session will discuss ways for finance to get a handle on television advertising, by determining real costs and actual delivery information. Topics discussed will include:
• How do the finance, procurement, and marketing groups get and use information on ad spending and delivery? What roles do ad agencies and TV stations/networks play? Is their information on ad delivery accurate, transparent, and timely? Are there other sources of information?
• Within the finance function, who is most concerned with/responsible for control over ad spending and delivery? What role does the internal audit group play?
• What processes, technology, and third-party arrangements have companies put into place to manage financial control over advertising? What steps have companies taken to comply with Section 404 of Sarbanes Oxley that are related to control over advertising spending and delivery? How did companies find weaknesses, remedy them, etc?
• How do finance executives aspire to change their control over ad spending and delivery and to work more effectively with their marketing functions?
• TV Advertising verification best practices. Case study: preliminary results of the innovative use of newly available tools to manage ad campaign spending and delivery.
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Take Away:
After attending this session, delegates can expect to better understand the issues surrounding the control of TV ad spending delivery and how it may be affecting their company’s financial results and strategic position. They will also know which tools, aligned with corporate governance requirements, can help them take action, manage and control their TV ad spending.
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| 410 Achieving SOX Compliance While Gaining Better Accounts Payable Processes and Reducing Costs via Outsourcing |
Hosted By:
The Bank of New York Mellon
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Speaker:
Rich Layman, VP of Finance, Conseco Insurance
Jim Crawford, Vice President, SourceNet Solutions, A Bank of New York Mellon Company
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Focus:
This session will provide an overview of the dynamics and market conditions driving Accounts Payable automation and outsourcing, and demonstrate how Conseco, Inc. was able to increase efficiency, reduce costs and decrease risk associated with accounts payable processing using an onshore, outsourced approach. Conseco’s project objectives, process obstacles, solution design and outcomes will be discussed in detail including:
• Market drivers to automate and outsource
• Industry segmentation — advantages and disadvantages
• Sarbanes-Oxley compliance — barriers and enablers
• Enterprise wide reporting and visibility to improve cash flow and decrease DPO
• Strategic impacts relative to M & A activities
• Future trends:
- Data Mining
- Getting access to captive cash flow — Accounts Payable financing/trade payables
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Take Away:
By attending this session, attendees will gain insight into the issues surrounding Accounts Payable automation and outsourcing and be able to better evaluate automation/outsourcing options for their organization, as well as the potential benefits to their Accounts Payable area.
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| 411 Lessons Learned — The Pains and Gains of AP Automation |
Speaker:
Tim Phillips, Solutions Consultant, Brainware, Inc.
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Focus:
Finance executives are transforming their operations by reengineering their Accounts Payable processes and automating invoice handling. For those companies that do it right, the benefits are timely and substantial. In addition to reducing the direct labor expenses associated with data entry, these CFOs are unlocking new business value through vendor discounts and better vendor management. On the flip side, there are hidden costs associated with many of the “silver bullet” platforms and technologies that promise to reduce costs but end up addressing a mere fraction of the total invoice volume. In this workshop, you will learn how companies such as Alltel, JohnsonDiversey, Shell, Amgen and Halliburton have reduced invoice cycle times, improved process visibility, and enabled touchless payment processing. These companies have surveyed the landscape and found what works. Their case studies will help you realize the “gains” while minimizing the “pains” of accounts payable automation.
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Take Away:
By attending this workshop session, attendees will learn 7 ways in which your organization will benefit from AP automation, supported by specific case study examples of each. They will also learn how to evaluate vendors to ensure you can reap the “gains” while minimizing the “pains” of accounts payable automation.
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