Speaking Opportunities

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• From the Corner Office…(Click here for full story)
  Well, I guess it is time for me to clean out the office, turn out the lights and turn the keys over to the new President. I look back at my year in office with a bit of nostalgia for the old ways and the old name, stagnant though they both were. There is a part of all of us that doesn’t like to see change, even though we know that it is best for us. During this past year, we realized that the old comfortable ways were no longer relevant or best for the association. . . .
  
  
• From the Other Corner Office… (Click here for full story)
  Managing change. That’s something we do as financial professionals, and it’s something we must do within our Association. The next 12 months will be filled with "change-management challenges" for our Association’s leadership team. The new Strategic Plan calls for broadening the membership base, changing our name to "Southern California Association for Financial Professionals," and creation of a new leadership structure to provide the resources and to focus responsibility. (Click here for the list of your new leadership team members.) . . .
   

• Legislative Update (Reprinted from www.afponline.org) (Click here for full stories)

  • Interest on Business Checking (Repeal of Regulation Q)
    The House approved on April 3 legislation (H.R. 974) that would permit banks to pay interest on business checking accounts two years after enactment . . .
    
    

  • Internet Tax Ban
    Senate negotiators appear close to a compromise on legislation that will determine the future taxation of remote sales, including Internet, catalog and telephone sales. .
    
  
  
  • Settlement-day Finality for ACH Credits
    On June 25, the Federal Reserve will implement settlement-day finality for ACH credits. ACH credits will be final when posted to depository financial institution accounts at 8:30 a.m. . .
    
  • Electronic Check Images
    AFP attended a meeting at the Federal Reserve on May 17 to discuss the Fed's draft legislation to replace paper checks with electronic or paper images. AFP -- the only corporate participant at the meeting attended by bankers and consumer groups . . .
    
  • Payments & Standards NACHA Update
    Corporate check conversion to ACH debits -- A NACHA Rules Work Group is requesting comment on proposed rule amendments that would permit conversion of corporate checks to ACH debits at point-of-purchase locations and lockboxes. This proposal is similar in intent to the U.S. Treasury Department's proposal on corporate check conversion debits. NACHA would also permit conversion of dishonored corporate checks to ACH. . . .
    
• Click here for the July 2001 Legislative Update
   

• Anderson Business School Econcomic Forcast (Click here for full story)

  UCLA Anderson Forecasters Predict 80% Chance of National Recession; California Faces Major Slowdown; Energy Crisis Puts State at Crossroads
   

  LOS ANGELES -- Economists with the UCLA Anderson Forecast predict an 80 percent chance that a recession will hit the U.S. economy by the first quarter of 2002 -- a slight improvement over last quarter's forecast due to the recent and unexpected aggressive rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. . .
   

• Tips for Preparing an RFP for Merchant Card Services  (Click here for full story)  An Introduction - by Celeste Caulfield, CCM, Treasury Manager, USA Petroleum
  
  There are several phases to obtaining information from providers for merchant services. In the RFP make sure to address all issues that might arise, no matter how obscure. Merchant service providers include depository banks as well as non-bank firms that specialize in credit card processing for merchants.
   

  Most prospective acquirers will want to quote only a discount rate. Ask for the cost to be unbundled. In this manner you will be able to see how much the interchange rate, assessment rate, tier rate, processing rate and any other charges that are to be included in the discount. An institution that will not unbundle the information may limit your options. . .
   

• AFP Survey: Derivatives Use Slows Due to Burden of Complying With FAS 133 (Click here for full story)

  More Than 200 Companies Respond; 25 Percent Opt Out of Special Hedge Accounting Treatment
  
  Complete survey results can be found on www.afponline.org
  
  BETHESDA, MD -- JUNE 12, 2001 -- Two-thirds of respondents to a survey designed to measure the impact of FAS 133 on risk management practices believe FAS 133 has imposed an excessive burden on reporting companies. This burden is indicated by reported reductions in usage of different types of derivatives ranging from eight to 17 percent. The survey of senior corporate financial executives was conducted by the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP). "Compliance with FAS 133 has been onerous and in some cases has slowed corporate use of derivatives," said James Haddad, AFP's vice chairman and leader of the AFP Financial Accounting and Investor Relations task force. "In the long run however, companies that currently are not using derivatives to manage risk indicate that they expect to employ these instruments at some point in the future." . . .