SCAFP News April 2004

Believe it or not, the 24^th annual "EXPO L.A. Symposium 2004" is just around the corner, on Wednesday and Thursday, May 12 and 13.  We have a full program that provides you the opportunity to select from four different tracks, each with 7 different time slots, and a major closing session with a subject that is on everyone's mind today, Check 21.

Stay with us on Wednesday afternoon for our reception with the chance to network with all the attendees.

We have two luncheon Keynote Speakers: Martha Bryan is a leading authority on the development of human potential and personal excellence; and Gregory Freeman will be speaking on, "The 60 mile Circle; Reconnecting Our Neighborhoods to the Region."

If you hold the CCM, CTP, or AAP credential, you can earn up to 12 continuing education credits. Take a minute to review the preliminary program and all the details at our website, www.scafp.net, where you will also find an on-line registration form.

Remember last year? Once again, we will have our famous "Bingo Card" for you to use as you visit our sponsors' tables. Sponsors will insert their names on your card, and when your card is completely filled in, turn it in for the drawing at the end of the last day.  We will have a number of exciting and valuable prizes, but you must be present to win.

We all are excited about this year's program that Chuck Beckert (Bank of the West) and the EXPO team have put together for you. We hope to see you there!

From the Membership Cubicle

Have you ever wondered what the Membership Committee is doing to improve your SCAFP organization? Tiffany Lemieux (Fidelity Investments), Membership Chair, has been quite busy putting into place various programs that are designed to take SCAFP to new heights! She and her team are working hard to achieve 3 goals: 

1.        Increase SCAFP awareness,

2.        Retain current members and

3.        Increase the overall membership base. 

A variety of initiatives and programs have been put into place over the past year in an effort to achieve these goals including:

- Created a SCAFP brochure, business card, and flyer for marketing SCAFP

- Implemented a membership drive to increase new membership

- Developed a Bridge Program for our unemployed members

- Established a renewal challenge program for the SCAFP Board to retain existing members

- Piloted a "free guest pass" program for our April luncheon to increase awareness

- Compiled a list of key potential members to target via mailings and phone effort

- Implemented email as the main communication vehicle for meeting announcements and distribution of the membership directory (thus reducing printing and postage costs)

- Held annual dues at $250 for another year

In 2003, 18 new members joined the SCAFP. The Committee's goal is to double that number in 2004! So far, we have five new members, bringing SCAFP's membership total to 115. The main reasons why folks join SCAFP continue to be the opportunity to earn CTP or CCM credits, professional education, and the ever-so valuable peer networking. SCAFP meetings are a wonderful place to meet people and get to know them on a semi-personal level. 

Increasing our overall membership and improving the SCAFP organization takes the involvement of each of us. If you know of someone who could benefit from the SCAFP organization, invite them to attend a luncheon as a guest (for a guest fee of $40) and share our website with them. Thank you for your support!

And thank you Tiffany for bringing so much energy to SCAFP's Membership effort and being so successful at it!

 Nominations for Officers and Directors

Becoming a leader requires the opportunity to learn how, and takes practice. Becoming a leader is a critical ingredient in building a career as a financial professional. Where better to seize the opportunity and gain some leadership practice than to join the leadership team of SCAFP?

"There are many benefits from participating in SCAFP's leadership team," says Morgyn Taylor, CTP (Fremont General Corp.), who is SCAFP's incoming president. "It's most interesting and challenging to see how the organization works and to have a voice in guiding the direction the organization takes, what policies the group makes, and what activities the association offers to its members. It's fun to get to know the people one serves with on the Board, and, as a director and/or officer, having the opportunity to meet more members of SCAFP. As a result, the networking potential is even greater." 

The time commitment certainly varies with the particular leadership role and the size and participation level of the associated committee. Work of the Committee can be spread among the Chair and committee members to reduce the time required of all the volunteers to not more than a few hours a month.

SCAFP's standing committees are: Education, Membership, Major Events (EXPO), Meeting Programs, Communications (producer of this newsletter and overseer of SCAFP's website), and Government Relations.

Morgyn is assembling the slate of officers, directors, and committee chairs for the 2004-2005 program year, but nominations will close on May 7. So put your hat in the ring by contacting her today, by phone at (310) 315-5509 or by e-mail at mtaylor@fmt.com.

 Business Recovery Facility Tour

SCAFP members visited the SunGard business recovery facility in Cypress on March 18.There they learned the differences between business continuity and disaster recovery, and how the two have separate roles even in the Treasury environment.  We found it so informative that we thought we would share what we learned with those who were unable to attend. 

Business continuity is the process of planning to ensure that an organization can survive an event that causes interruption to normal business processes.  In coordination with your company's business continuity plan, disaster recovery is the process that takes place during and after an organizational crisis to minimize business interruption and return the organization as quickly as possible to a pre-crisis state.  In today's business world, a business must have access to its data 24 x 7 to ensure its viability, not just under normal operating conditions but also during catastrophes and disruptions to the normal business day. 

A well-crafted business continuity plan provides for minimal impact to your organization in the event of an emergency. SunGard's Availability services strive to connect people with critical systems to keep business processes operating and to help ensure 100% uptime of mission-critical data. 

There are four key components that drive information availability and your business continuity plan: Human and Physical Attributes, Internal and Business Processes, Technology and Information Architectures, and External and Market drivers.  In today's environment, it's especially important to provide employees with the proper infrastructure that allows them to access and distribute, yet also protect, the company's intellectual capital at all times. Processes must be put in place for all procedures to solidify workflows and their interdependencies on both internal and external sources. With the right hardware and software in place, information becomes accessible and secured, providing connectivity at all times.  Unforeseen events, whether caused by natural or manmade forces, can be handled with ease when all of the proper controls are in place.

Disaster recovery services include not only backing up data and applications, but provisioning entire ready-to-operate fully equipped data centers and even deploying mobile ready-to-use data centers to keep the IT functions running at all times. These services are required across all types of businesses and are especially viable for mission critical areas of an organization like Treasury.  Recovering data after a catastrophe is meaningless if employees have no means to access the business-critical information. Some disaster recovery options may provide adequate backup and restoration procedures, but what happens in the event your office location is no longer in useable condition? A business continuity plan not only helps ensure that Treasury has the data it needs to run a business, but also includes provisions for employees who may be displaced by a disaster.

Adding these features to your Treasury Department's business continuity plan can help ensure that your information is available and your infrastructure connected, while also protecting your ROI. 

Thanks to SunGard and Susan Bredbenner, CTP (SunGard Treasury Systems),  SCAFP's Education Committee Chair, for this wonderfully illuminating tour!