| 001 Optional Full-Day Training Session: Improving Shareholder Value—Working Capital, Cash, and Risk Management |
This session is designed to guide the corporate finance executive in determining a strategy to maximize value creation. Presented from a CFO perspective, the focus is on showing the measurable value impact, based on a shareholder value model, of various financial activities. Participants will explore how the actions of a CFO, Treasury or Corporate Finance Department have an impact on cash flow and the balance sheet as well as the WACC. Lunch will be provided. Session presented by EuroFinance, thought leaders in cash, treasury and risk management. Both EuroFinance and CFO Conferences are Economist Group businesses.
Earn 8 additional CPE credits for this course. An additional fee applies.
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Speaker:
Sander van Tol , Partner, Zanders
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002 Optional Pre-conference Workshop:
Leadership Is Personal—Making the Most of Who You Are, What You See, and How You Show Up |
This exceptional new interactive workshop follows the Accompli Group’s highly acclaimed session at CFO Rising last March, “Hunting Elephants: Candor in the Executive Suite.” The format is a facilitated panel discussion combined with interactive group work at tables and facilitated audience discussion.
The higher one rises in corporate leadership, the less one can rely on power to produce results. At the CFO level, the ability to influence others often matters far more. What is it that enables some CFOs to become trusted advisors to the chief executive, sought-after sounding boards for executive colleagues, respected leaders of their own teams, and valued business partners to leaders across the organization? Obviously, skill and competence are essential—but are they enough?
Ultimately, leadership effectiveness depends in large degree on the ability of executives to tap their inner resources—to inspire others simply by being more fully and openly themselves. Great leaders practice candor, and promote it in service of great decisions. Great leaders may have all sorts of personal quirks and even significant failings—but they inspire trust and allegiance. Great leaders are comfortable in their own skins, and they understand other people. It boils down to making the most of who you are.
This highly interactive workshop session is focused on the most essential practice: the cultivation of awareness. At the most basic level, CFOs must not only face the facts of their business situation but ensure that other stakeholders do too. The most challenging business issues so often are relationship or political issues, in which success depends on managing the human dynamics. So the cultivation of awareness must expand, to include self-awareness and awareness of others. How do you affect others? How do they affect you? How can you be completely authentic and produce dramatically better results?
Professional training and prevailing business culture offer remarkably little support for leadership development of this kind. Indeed, the norms and pace of business can impede personal growth, particularly in companies where formality and pretense prevail. So most CFOs are on their own.
This three-and-a-half-hour workshop will begin with a panel of seasoned leaders sharing their experiences of the limits of positional power, and their private processes to gain awareness and bring out the best in themselves and others. Then, in structured working sessions, participants will reflect on their own situations, discuss practical approaches with others, and finally participate in a wide-ranging general discussion.
Participants can expect an energizing session that generates clear ideas about how to cultivate personal awareness and expand professional influence.
Earn four additional CPE credits by attending this pre-conference workshop. An additional fee applies and pre-registration is required. |
Speaker:
Stratford Sherman, Partner, Accompli
George Fotiades, CEO, Catalent Pharma Solutions; former President & COO, Cardinal Health
Hugh Coppen, Principal, Accompli
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| 003 Breakfast Seminar: Transformation in a Volatile Sector |
P&H Mining competes in the heavy industrial equipment sector. This sector, driven by the commodities market, is highly volatile, with demand and stock price swings being strong and not always directly connected to the underlying fundamentals of the business. Join CFO Wayne Feasby as he discusses the challenges he is facing and his creative approaches to transforming the top mining equipment manufacturer in the world.
• Discover the importance of knowing when it is time for an organizational change
• Learn key success factors involved in approaching transformation for a long-cycle company
• Discuss the importance of effective communications in aligning the organization for significant change
• Find out what critical flaws most companies make when embarking on significant operational changes
When you leave this session, you will understand how to drive change in a rapidly changing external environment and drive the long-term competitiveness of your business.
Earn 1 additional CPE credit by attending this breakfast seminar.There is no additional fee for attending but pre-registration is required. |
Hosted By:
Accenture
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Speaker:
Wayne Feasby, CFO, P&H Mining Equipment
Larry Oglebsy, Jr., Senior Executive, Accenture
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| 101 XBRL—The Next Regulatory Mandate or the Next Value Driver? |
Hosted By:
BearingPoint
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Speaker:
Reed Kingston, Managing Director, BearingPoint
Brian Hankin, XBRL Program Director, BearingPoint
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Focus:
• What is XBRL and how will it change your financial reporting cycle?
• The solution landscape—different approaches for complying, pros and cons, and implications for your financial-reporting cycle
• Beyond compliance: Value opportunities enabled by XBRL
• How to get started, and how to choose a path
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Take Away:
When you leave this session you will have an understanding of the different approaches for complying with the XBRL mandate as well as the value that your organization may be able to derive from different compliance approaches.
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| 102 IFRS Adoption in the U.S.—A Report Card from CFOs and the Market |
Hosted By:
ACCA
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Speaker:
Richard Martin, Head of Financial Reporting, ACCA
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Focus:
In August 2008, the SEC put forward proposals for the migration of U.S. companies to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). This “road map” would allow certain large and international U.S. filers to use IFRS from 2010 as a test bed with a final vote from the SEC in 2011 to require IFRS in a phased adoption from 2014. This session will look at the findings of a survey conducted by CFO Research Services for ACCA, the world’s largest and fastest growing international accountancy body, and discuss the promise and the pitfalls of IFRS adoption. This session will cover:
• How CFOs expect their companies to benefit from switching to IFRS
• Whether markets and investors like IFRS enough to make capital cheaper when companies switch methods
• What CFOs say are the key issues surrounding IFRS and what will be the most significant impacts of adoption
• How far along companies are with their preparations for IFRS adoption
• What knowledge can be gleaned from countries where adoption has already happened
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Take Away:
By attending this session, attendees will learn how CFOs regard the adoption of IFRS to better position your own views. They will also learn whether the adoption of IFRS is likely to benefit the cost of capital and stock prices in the U.S.
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| 103 Take the Leap of Faith—Budgeting Beyond Excel |
Hosted By:
Adaptive Planning
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Speaker:
Neil Thomas, VP Sales, Adaptive Planning
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Focus:
Learn how customers like Unitrin Direct, The Red Cross, UTi Worldwide, Vicor and many others have reached a pinnacle in their financial planning, budgeting, and forecasting process. Each of these organizations formerly relied on Excel to conduct critical strategic planning and budgeting. Now they rely on Adaptive Planning to improve collaboration across the organization, reduce errors prone to spreadsheets, enable what if analyses, and implement rolling forecasts for their organizations.
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Take Away:
Attendees will hear first hand-case studies and take away valuable practical advice on improving their organization’s strategic planning and annual budget process.
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| 104 Travel and Expense Process Transformation |
Hosted By:
Tata Consultancy Services
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Speaker:
Shawn Chambers, Manager - Business Process Transformation, Tata Consultancy Services
David B Taylor, Global Head - Program Management Practice - TCS, Tata Consultancy Services
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Focus:
Companies face significant increases in travel costs, a problem that is compounded by inefficient travel request and expense reporting processes and an inability to effectively enforce T&E policies, leading to added operating costs. T&E is second to payroll as the largest area of discretionary expense, yet is often ignored in Finance Transformation initiatives. This session will demonstrate an approach to transforming Travel & Expense Process that includes the following steps:
1. Perform a process centric analysis, then leverage Work Characterization methods to establish your ideal centralization vs. specialization vs. repetition vs. outsourced process mix.
2. Establish an evolution roadmap that aligns your process enablers to the maturity life cycle of your T&E function.
3. Develop an accompanying organizational change management plan that effectively integrates a re-oriented, retrained workforce under a new process and potentially new technology.
In addition, an actual case study will be reviewed.
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Take Away:
Attendees will understand the benefits of transforming the T&E process: reducing travel and operating costs, improving productivity, and increasing employee satisfaction. Attendees will be able to determine if their company stands to benefit from a T&E process transformation.
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| 201 Myths and Realities of Large Scale Lean Transformation |
Hosted By:
Accenture
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Speaker:
Dave Averett, Senior Manager, Accenture
Bob Iversen, Senior Executive, Accenture
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Focus:
Lean Transformations have been a frequent discussion point within most large businesses in the last decade. However, more companies than not are disappointed with their ability to capture the savings identified. Join Accenture’s Larry Oglesby as he separates myth from reality in the world of lean transformations.
• Learn the top 5 mistakes clients make when embarking on lean transformations
• Discover the secrets to getting the most out of key people in transformations
• Discover what it will really take from your leadership team to make the transformation successful
• Find out the 3 key attributes of successful plant managers in lean transformations
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Take Away:
When you leave this session, you will understand how to assess your organization’s ability to drive a successful lean transformation.
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| 202 Research Findings: The CFO’s Cheat Sheet: Top Procurement Strategies for Bottom-Line Results
and the Keys to Managing Costs, Compliance, and Performance |
Hosted By:
Ariba
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Speaker:
Paul Tong, Sr. Marketing Manager, Ariba
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Focus:
Procurement performance at mid-sized companies often falls short of expectations. But complacency with current approaches can no longer be tolerated by executives looking for procurement to defend or grow their company’s market position. Now is the time for mid-sized companies to become strategic about how they manage costs and compliance throughout their sourcing, procurement, and payment processes. In this session, we will present the results of Ariba’s recent survey of mid-sized companies about their most important and difficult procurement challenges. Hear about the challenges those executives face compared to those in larger companies: fewer resources, less funding for technology, adoption and endorsement challenges, less market leverage, and insufficient access to the business information they need to make critical decisions. And walk away with recommended actions to support procurement’s critical role in driving company results. Join us as we present the imperatives and challenges that procurement groups face and what executives are doing now to move forward.
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Take Away:
Attendees will get a detailed look at the critical procurement strategies needed to impact bottom-line results and will come away with immediately actionable information. We’ll share details on:
• The top measurements and metrics used for decisions involving cost-savings, employee productivity, internal compliance, and improving supplier relationships
• The operational areas to focus on when assessing the effectiveness of current approaches
• The top strategies for transitioning from functional silos to a holistic view of procurement
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| 203 BOS: Business Optimization Services—How to Make Finance a Value-Added Function in your Organization |
Hosted By:
Ajilon Finance Solutions
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Speaker:
Joyce Bastoli, SVP, Managing Director, Ajilon Finance Solutions
James McLachlan, CFO, Skyy Spirits, LLC
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Focus:
In this session, attendees will learn:
• What is BPM?
• How can you apply it to your organization in a modular approach?
• Overview of a three-step methodology approach
• Case Study: A deeper look at how Ajilon Finance Solutions helped Skyy Vodka optimize the finance function during periods of growth
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Take Away:
By attending this session, Attendees will have a better understanding of Business Optimization Services and how to integrate finance into the business by following a three-step approach. They will also take away tips on how to transform finance from a reporting function to a business partner within their organizations based on a case study with Skyy Vodka.
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| 204 The Agility Challenge: Insuring Your Critical Business Systems in an Uncertain World |
Hosted By:
Workday
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Speaker:
Mark Nittler, VP, Enterprise Application Strategy, Workday, Inc.
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Focus:
Surrounded by change and uncertainty, isn’t it good to know that your business systems are the one unchanging constant in your otherwise constantly changing world….or maybe that’s exactly the opposite. As we all know, it used to be that your software would outlive your business plans; today it's the opposite. So you have two choices, either perfectly predict the future or take advantage of system agility. The good news, system agility is not only possible but available; the bad news, your current systems don't have it—but modern systems do. Join us to learn how today's new generation of agile business management systems provide an alternative to rigid vintage ERP and insurance against business uncertainty.
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Take Away:
Attendees will learn about the agile options available today. They will also learn about what key new technologies will be introduced. Attendees will also receive a "back of a napkin" system agility test to use when considering the future fit of their business technology.
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| 205 Operations Transformation: A Case Study from a Services Giant |
Hosted By:
HCL Technologies
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Speaker:
Jim McKinley, Director, Client Solutions, HCL Technologies
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Focus:
Using a recent global initiative at a leading global services provider as a baseline, this workshop will demonstrate to finance executives how an operations transformational program can achieve success – and address risks and pitfalls along the way - across the multiple dimensions of enterprise applications management, infrastructure management, and process management, in a value- and employee-centric manner.
The CFO at this company deployed three sequential objectives of standardization, consolidation, and integration across the finance function by leveraging a detailed transformational roadmap produced by a two-week transformational assessment initiative. This roadmap and a diverse program team whose conduct was based on trust, transparency, and flexibility empowered transformational success across previously siloed lines of business and geographies.
The presenters will provide insight into how executives across industries and functional areas can achieve operations transformation success and avoid just another “business as usual” project.
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Take Away:
1. Understand how a leading services provider defined it’s transformational principles and objectives
2. Be able to employ a similar “transformational assessment” initiative to create a detailed and actionable roadmap based on those principles and objectives
3. Be aware of how trust, transparency, and flexibility is critical to operations transformation
4. See specifics around actual operations transformation results – and how those results impact the business
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| 301 The Role of the CFO in Information Management |
Hosted By:
BearingPoint
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Speaker:
Tony Klimas, Managing Director, BearingPoint
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Focus:
1. Definition and scope of information management
a. The sum of information available to an enterprise including items such as master data, financial data, operational data, and external data
2. Data as a source of competitive advantage
a. Data mining
b. Data integration
c. Risk management
d. Analytics and insights
3. The role of finance in information management
a. Analytic capability
b. Reporting and dissemination
c. Business insights
d. Compliance, control and risk management
4. The role of the CFO
a. Integration with IT and Operations
b. Analytical competency
c. Interpretation and insight
5. Enterprise Performance Management
a. Tactical execution of information management
b. Integrated links between operations, finance, and reward systems—the driver of strategy
c. How to get started and lessons learned
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Take Away:
Participants will better understand the value of information and how finance can harness the process and tools required to leverage this information to achieve business goals and improve performance. Participants will also leave with an understanding of immediate steps they can take to begin solidifying the role of Finance as an enterprise leader in information management by making information models actionable, pragmatic, and valuable.
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| 302 Closing with Confidence |
Hosted By:
BlackLine Systems
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Speaker:
Dominick DiPaolo, VP, Global Sales, BlackLine Systems
Jeff Adler, VP, Product Specialist, BlackLine Systems
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Focus:
The stakes surrounding the financial close are higher today than ever, forcing the CFO to search for ways to improve this critical process. BlackLine Systems, the pioneer of Balance Sheet Account Reconciliation software applications, provides quick-to-implement, scalable and easy-to-use applications that, for the first time, automate the entire financial close process and help improve financial controls for companies of all sizes. This session will focus on ways the CFO can improve the financial close process by increasing visibility and control over the process, while employing the underappreciated control of account reconciliations in a strategic fashion. We will walk through three case studies—AT&T, COX Communications, and MeadWestvaco Corporation—where a combination of technology and process improvements allowed companies to report faster with increased confidence in their numbers. We will also cover the ROI calculations for a select number of customers and share the key lessons that were learned.
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Take Away:
Attendees will leave this session with insight into how they can improve the financial close process by automating it end to end. Attendees will learn ways to increase their confidence in the numbers, how to get maximum visibility and control over financial statements; and how to capture a positive ROI from the related process improvement effort.
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| 303 Transformational Shared Services and BPO |
Hosted By:
Tata Consultancy Services
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Speaker:
Carlos Chu, Practice Lead, Finance & Performance Management, Tata Consultancy Services
Michael Bier, Practice Mgr, Organizational Change Management, Tata Consultancy Services
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Focus:
Most F&A Shared Services initiatives do not realize their full potential to bring value to the organization. They lack a strategy to elevate their role and ambitions above and beyond that of a mere centralized transaction processing center. In this session, you will learn how to:
1. Develop your Shared Services Strategy around a value proposition aligned to the strategic objectives of the enterprise. Decide “what you want to be when you grow up”. Shared Services and BPO (or Blended Services) should be an integral component of your Finance Transformation Roadmap.
2. Identify critical considerations in finding and implementing solutions: Leverage work characterization methods to establish your ideal centralization vs. specialization vs. repetition vs. outsourced process mix. Establish an evolution roadmap that aligns your process enablers to the maturity life cycle of your shared services program. Develop an accompanying organizational change management plan that effectively integrates a re-oriented, retrained, and restructured workforce under a new organizational architecture.
3. Establish operating and continuous improvement: Distinguish between performance management, transition management, and operations management skill sets in order to prevent a legacy mindset and establish a culture of innovation and business process excellence.
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Take Away:
Attendees will understand the role of shared services as a value-added organization that is integral to the enterprise’s ability to achieve its strategic objectives. Attendees will have the tools to decide the next stage in the maturity cycle of their shared services program.
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| 304 Tips for STREAMLINING the Planning Process |
Hosted By:
PROPHIX
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Speaker:
Nicole Diceman, Marketing Manager, PROPHIX
David Weston, Director , Impact Commercial Solutions
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Focus:
1.Learn from example—A real life case study illustrating how one organization—Impact Payments—dealt with the challenges they encountered when streamlining budgeting and planning.
2.Problem Identification—Understand what’s preventing streamlining and what is holding your company back?
3.Solution Discovery—Learn the enablers and solutions that are available to creating a streamlined planning process.
4.Best Practices—Learn the implementable best practices while defining and executing streamlined planning processes.
5. Realizable Benefits—Discover the benefits to streamlined planning processes.
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Take Away:
Attendees will be armed with tactics to encourage and implement a streamlined budgeting, planning and reporting process within their organizations. Attendees will be able to identify or recognize problems or challenges and suggest an appropriate solution.
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| 401 Controlling Transportation Expenses in Today’s Economy |
Hosted By:
BirdDog Solutions, Inc.
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Speaker:
Bill Schendt, Chief Financial Officer, Blain Supply
Todd Benge, Managing Partner, BirdDog Solutions, Inc.
Joel Sitak, President & CEO, BirdDog Solutions, Inc.
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Focus:
As a result of exorbitant fuel prices and steady increases in freight costs, transportation budgets are now under intense scrutiny in the boardroom. Therefore, as a CFO, the ability to effectively control these costs is critical to your company’s overall success. Join us in this informative session as we discuss the challenges that Blain’s Farm & Fleet faced in managing its transportation costs. Hear about the actions that CFO Bill Schendt took to reduce these expenses and put more money back into the company’s budget. In addition, we will examine the Transportation Spend Management model as defined by the Aberdeen Research Group, and the areas of this model that businesses can focus on to increase their bottom-line savings.
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Take Away:
Attendees will leave this session with a framework on how to reduce transportation costs. Strategies will be presented for organizations to regain control of transportation costs, improve operational efficiencies, and mitigate financial risk.
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| 402 Transformation Best Practices for F&A and HR: Molson-Coors’ Journey |
Hosted By:
Hewlett-Packard
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Speaker:
Philip Hall, Client Executive, Hewlett-Packard
Gary Walker, Director, Shared Services, Molson Coors
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Focus:
Over a year ago, Molson-Coors and HP embarked on a journey to use outsourcing as a means to transform specific Molson-Coors F&A and HR processes; all while Molson-Coors was going through merger activity. This session will provide an opportunity to hear about the experiences and lessons learned of both companies and recommended best practices for companies looking at outsourcing F&A processes.
1. Scope and nature of Molson-Coors and HP outsourcing relationship
2. Molson-Coors’ lessons from project conception through transition and steady state
3. HP’s lessons from first engagement through transition and steady state
4. Results and benefits to both Molson-Coors and HP of outsourcing relationship
5. Recommendations and best practices for companies exploring outsourcing F&A
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Take Away:
Attendees will leave this session with insights into the experiences and challenges both the client and provider faced in securing and launching a complex, global outsourcing relationship. You will leave with a set of recommendations on how to successfully outsource F&A.
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| 403 IFRS Readiness—Utilizing Corporate Performance Management for Faster Closes and Better Budgeting: A Series of Case Study Discussions |
Hosted By:
Tagetik
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Speaker:
Mark Corsetti, VP & General Manager, Tagetik North America, Tagetik
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Focus:
The introduction of International Accounting Standards in the U.S. offers the opportunity for finance transformation. Nowhere will this be more apparent than in the financial close and budgeting processes. In this session, you will hear:
• High-level tips for IFRS readiness planning
• More effective effective budgeting
• How CPM software/tools can shorten the closing cycle
• Review of 2-3 Tagetik customers who are using CPM for IFRS requirements
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Take Away:
Attendees will gain an understanding of how CPM can shorten the closing cycle and create more effective budgeting while supporting IFRS/GAAP requirements. Attendees will also gain an understanding of how other global organizations are using CPM for IFRS requirements.
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| 404 What You Need to Know in Order to Evaluate Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) |
Hosted By:
DataServ, LLC
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Speaker:
Jeffrey L. Haller, Managing Partner, DataServ, LLC
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Focus:
In this session, we will begin by assessing your current knowledge of this intriguing new way to acquire software capabilities and then offer some standard definitions and explanations of SaaS. We will explain how it differs from traditional software investments. In addition, the following will be discussed:
--Typical pricing models of SaaS providers;
--ROI modeling for SaaS (TCO analysis);
--Risk aspects of SaaS
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Take Away:
1. At the end of this session you will understand how to properly evaluate and compare a software-as-a-service to a traditional IT investment.
2. You will also gain a better understanding of the risks associated with software-as-a-Service.
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