| 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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