November 14, 2008: WEBINAR! PROGRAM: "The 3-Year Treasury Review: Consistent Implementation of Best Practices"
Synopsis: This presentation aims to assist treasury management professionals in improving their treasury operations by implementing proven and successful techniques for consistent best practice implementation. The “3-Year Treasury Review” is an ongoing initiative that requires successful treasury departments to regularly review their critical treasury operations, technologies, internal controls and bank architecture. During every 3-Year Treasury Review each process is reviewed and documented while simultaneously benchmarking all details against industry best practices. The ultimate goal of a 3-Year Treasury Review is to implement the most current industry best practices while documenting effective metrics and procedures.

During this presentation Dan Carmody will discuss the the tactics he uses when completing a 3-Year Treasury Review for TreaSolution's clients. This discussion will cover process review, process documentation, best practice benchmarking, metrics identification and analysis and best practice implementation. Upon the completion of this presentation, the audience will have a more detailed understanding of how a 3-Year Treasury Review can assist treasury department's in achieving greater efficiency and security by consistent best practice implementation.

Bio: Daniel J. Carmody, CTP is the managing director of TreaSolution, Inc., which is a full service treasury consulting and staffing company. Since obtaining his Certified Treasury Professional certification (formerly the Certified Cash Manager) in 1998, Dan has been dedicated to assisting companies with improving their treasury management functions. Dan current responsibilities are the daily operation of TreaSolution along with cash management and treasury technology consulting.

It is Dan's goal to stay abreast of current business trends by continuously networking with business professionals. To meet this goal, Dan is member of the Treasury Management Association of Chicago® (six years on the board of directors), Detroit Treasury Management Association, and the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP). Dan has also provided expert business opinions to national publications and has been quoted in the Chicago Tribune, Financial Executive Magazine, Financial Week, CFO Magazine, Treasury and Risk Management Magazine, AFP Exchange Magazine and Business Finance Magazine.

Dan is the author of several of the treasury management industry's most popular presentations including “The Selection and Implementation of a Treasury Workstation” and “The 3-Year Treasury Review: Consistent Best Practices Implementation.” Dan has been a featured speaker at the Association for Financial Professionals, Financial Management Association, First Midwest Bank, Northern Illinois University, ABN AMRO and the Chicago, Detroit, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, Northwest, Ohio, Portland, Tampa Bay and Wisconsin treasury management associations.

September 12, 2008: PROGRAM: "Case Studies: How the Current Environment Impacts the Corporate Treasury Risk Management Function"
Join us for a stimulating session as we trace down the journeys of several corporations amidst challenging times: from an airline to a manufacturer to a financial institution, giving you an insider-view of Corporate Treasury Management for several public companies.

Bio: Dr. S.L. (Sam) Srinivasulu, President of KESDEE Inc., is a specialist consultant and trainer in Asset Liability Management for leading financial institutions worldwide. For over 25 years, Dr. Sam has presented several in-house and public training programs to institutions around the world.

All of these instructor-led programs served as the catalyst for establishing KESDEE Inc (http://www.kesdee.com/) – provider of innovative and interactive e-learning solutions to the global financial services industry. KESDEE’s off-the-shelf catalog consists of 700 accredited e-learning courses on various topics in Banking, Finance, Accounting, Insurance and Risk Management; incidentally, KESDEE has also developed a customized e-learning portal for the Federal Reserve System, US.

August 15, 2008: PROGRAM: "New cross-border ACH formats"
As our business horizons expand, the financial community is coming closer together.  Payments methods that were impossible just a year ago are now commonplace.  This presentation will detail changes in the non-urgent payments arena, including new message formats and new processes for sending payments

Bios: Stephen Wojciechowicz is a Commercial Manager for SWIFT Americas responsible for the development of the Corporate Access program.

Mr. Wojciechowicz joined SWIFT in 2005 to manage the market development of the Bulk Payments service and treasury offerings in North America.

He has been engaged in the financial services industry for over 15 years, most recently as a Product Manager for the High Value Payments Cash Management division at Deutsche Bank. In this role he tailored their back-office systems to add revenue-generating services at minimal operating cost. Previously, he was a product manager for Fundtech, where he managed the reconciliation and wire transfer processing applications.

He earned a B.A. degree from Rutgers University in 1992 and an M.B.A. degree from Wake Forest in 1999.  He has been a Certified Treasury Professional and an Accredited ACH Professional since 1999.

SWIFT is the industry-owned co-operative supplying secure, standardized messaging services and interface software to over 8,100 financial institutions in 208 countries and territories. SWIFT members include banks, broker-dealers and investment managers. The broader SWIFT community also encompasses corporates as well as market infrastructures in payments, securities, treasury and trade. Over the past ten years, SWIFT message prices have been reduced over 80%, and system availability approaches 5x9 reliability — 99.999% of uptime.

June 13, 2008:
PROGRAM: "Accounts Receivable Check Conversion (ARC)"

For our June luncheon, Josh Wendroff and Jeff Klaasen of Regulus will be speaking on ARC.

Since the introduction of the Check Clearing Act for the 21st Century (Check 21) in 2004 allowed for paper checks to be converted to ACH payments, the volume of electronic transactions has grown dramatically year after year. Lower costs and improved fund availability has driven many organizations to aggressively pursue ARC implementations within their lockbox operations. This presentation will discuss the necessary steps to implement ARC at the lockbox level, the business and operational advantages, and important ARC procedures and regulations that can have a big impact on your transaction costs.

Bios:

Josh Wendroff, Product Marketing Manager

Josh Wendroff is Product Marketing Manager for the Regulus Group, where he heads up marketing and public relations efforts.  He plans and implements marketing programs for the company and its products, including analyzing market requirements, product pricing, and marketing to vertical industries such as the financial services, healthcare, telecom and utility sectors.

Prior to joining Regulus, Josh was a Senior Account Manager at database marketing firm SourceLink, working on accounts such BMW Financial Services, among others. Previously, he was President and Founder of eNVOLV Solutions, a marketing software company.

Josh received his bachelor’s degree at the University of California, Santa Barbara and his MBA at Pepperdine University. In his free time, Josh is an instructor and mentor with Boarding House Mentors, a program serving at-risk youth in Los Angeles.

Jeff Klaasen, Product Manager, Electronic and Business Intelligence Products

Jeff Klaasen is Electronic and Business Intelligence (BI) Product Line Manager with Regulus.  In this role, he is responsible for new product strategy and development of the company’s eProduct and BI lines of business. 

Previous professional roles include senior-level experience with over ten years in Marketing, Database Development and Software Application Development.  Most recently with SourceLink, the country’s fifth largest direct marketing firm, Jeff garnered award-winning acclaim for efforts with brands such as Universal Music Group, BMW, Toshiba, E*Trade, Hewlett-Packard and many others. 

Jeff holds a Bachelors Degree in Business with a focus in Operations Management and Marketing from Calvin College as well as numerous of technical certificates.

March 14, 2008:
PROGRAM: "Lease vs. Buy- The Ever-Changing World of Equipment Finance"

For our March l4th luncheon, Banc of America’s Bill Sellier, Bob Baker and Brian Wilson will be discussing Lease vs. Buy.

The equipment leasing and finance industry’s size is estimated at $600 billion in the U.S.  Over half of the investment in property, plant and equipment is financed with a wide variety of lease and loan-like products.  The equipment finance market is highly competitive and constantly evolving.  Potential changes in tax and accounting rules can create both uncertainty and opportunities for the Leasing Industry and financial decision-makers.  This presentation will discuss current and potential developments in the equipment finance industry and the effects these changes may have on the decision factors inherent in the financing of capital goods.

The session will focus on discussion topics that include: 

• The current state of the Equipment Finance Market
• Overview of tax and accounting aspects of leasing products and structures
• The Bonus Depreciation provision in the recently passed “Recovery Rebates and Economic Stimulus for the American People Act of 2008”
• The effect of energy tax credits on  pricing of tax-motivated leases for qualified energy-saving equipment and projects
• Discussion of the possible revision of FAS 13 to align with the IASB lease accounting rules for lessees and lessors

Bios:

Bill Sellier - Principal, Commercial Leasing, Banc of America Leasing & Capital, LLC

In his fourteenth year at BALC, Mr. Sellier is responsible for new business development in the Los Angeles and Inland Empire Region.

Mr. Sellier began his professional career as an Economist with the Economic Research Service, USDA.  He moved into the financial services industry in 1979.  With twenty-nine years of equipment finance experience, Mr. Sellier has originated, structured, negotiated and closed tax and accounting-driven transactions involving a wide range of financial instruments. 

Prior to joining BALC, he was with Tokai Bank, John Hancock Leasing Corporation and Wells Fargo Leasing Corporation.  Mr. Sellier received a B.S. in Business Administration and an M.S. in Economics from U.C. Berkeley.

Bob Baker-Vice President, Sr. Leasing Specialist, Banc of America Leasing & Capital

As a senior leasing specialist in the Southern California Commercial Banking market, Bob is responsible for delivering the capabilities and products of Banc of America Leasing & Capital, LLC, the #1 bank-owned leasing company in the U.S. ranked by both Net Assets and New Business Volume.  BALC utilizes a solutions-oriented approach to equipment leasing in assisting companies find the most attractive financing alternative available.  BAL’s extensive array of financing solutions can be individualized for all sizes and types of businesses.   

Bob has been in equipment sales and leasing since 1987.  His professional sales career began with a division of IBM in Southern California where he accumulated a vast knowledge base of the local markets and customers.  With over twelve years experience in the equipment leasing business, Bob has the expertise in equipment acquisition strategies to assist a wide range of companies in multiple industries. 

Bob earned a Bachelors of Arts Degree from University of California, Los Angeles in 1986.  He grew up in the San Fernando Valley and currently resides in Irvine, CA.

Brian Wilson-Senior Vice President, Capital Markets Accounting, Banc of America Leasing

Brian Wilson is a Senior Vice President providing accounting and finance support to the Banc of America Leasing Capital Markets and Large Ticket Marketing groups.  He joined Bank of America recently from Montrose & Company LLC where is was CFO for that lease portfolio management and consulting firm.  Prior to joining Montrose Brian spent several years with Porsche Cars NA as Tax and Accounting Manager and with Deloitte and Touche as Senior Manager serving numerous domestic and international clients.   

Brian is a CPA based out of Reno and is a member of the Nevada Society of CPAs and the Northern Nevada AFP.  He holds a Masters degree in accounting from Brigham Young University and an MBA in finance from University Nevada Reno. 

January 11, 2008:

PROGRAM: "The Great Unwinding, Consumers, Financial Markets, and the chance of Recession of 08" 

Prior to launching Beacon he worked with the UCLA Anderson Forecast where he regularly authored the outlooks for California, Los Angeles and the East Bay as well as performing a number of specialized forecasts for regions and industries. Dr. Thornberg lectures on a regular basis at a variety of public and private events, has appeared on CNN, Fox News and CNBC and is widely quoted in the press. He received his Ph.D in Business Economics from The Anderson School and his B.S. in Business Administration from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He specializes in International and Labor Economics. Dr. Thornberg continues to teach in the MBA program in the new Rady School of Business at UCSD and previously held a faculty position in the economics department at Clemson University.

December 14, 2007:

PROGRAM: "You Bet Your Cash-Trivia Game" 

October 12, 2007:
Program: "What Your Banker Won’t Tell You"

But Sverre Thomassen will… in his “tell all” 30 minute presentation that is guaranteed to unravel the mystery behind such bank guarded secrets including: How do banks segment the commercial marketplace? Where do you fit into a banks’ delivery channel? Are you getting the service that you deserve from your bank? He will reveal the mystery behind lending limits, house limits and knowing when it may be time to find another bank.  How does your loan request and available collateral fit into the bank’s sweet spot and risk profile?  Which basic rules of the road should you know concerning underwriting, loan structure, and pricing? Sverre will close his remarks with his list of “must know” best practices for CEOs, CPAs and Treasurers!

Sverre Thomassen- Executive Vice President and Management Committee Member, Manufacturers Bank.

Sverre Thomassen is Executive Vice President at Manufacturers Bank in Los Angeles. He holds BA and MBA degrees in Finance from California University, East Bay. He has college level teaching credentials in business, management sciences, investments, and industrial relations.  Sverre is an Executive Member of the American Resort Development Association, and serves as a Director of the Marriott Desert Springs Villas Association, Palm Desert. He is a Mentor for the Executive MBA Program at the University of California, Irvine, and contributes his time and talents as a volunteer for the City of Hope and the Financial Industries Group. Sverre is a veteran of the United States Navy.

Sverre is widely recognized as a top banking professional in the Southern California marketplace. Sverre joined Manufacturers Bank in 1992 and currently holds the position of Division Manager in charge of Real Estate Services, and Commercial Banking Head for the Inland Empire, and Orange County regions. Sverre previously served as Deputy Regional Manager at Union Bank California, where he managed a portfolio of $300 MM and headed the Priority Banking Group. He has more than 35 years experience in banking and finance.

August 10, 2007
Program: "Understanding, Interpreting and Anticipating China"

China is careening down the path toward a more market-oriented economy with a long way to go although with no turning back.  The economy China is building looks very different – rules, regulations, structure -- from our own.  The most important bilateral relationship in the world now is China and America.  Can China’s economic ascent continue?  What comes next?  How do US firms’ best position themselves for the future?  What happens in energy, commodities, the environment, banking and equities?  How about China’s big state-owned enterprises?  What of China’s 300+ million middle class and above consumers?  Can America and China avoid a real fight on trade and the currency that rocks the world?  What does China mean to India, Japan, Europe and the world?  What are the key strategies for global investors and multinational firms in order to capitalize on the China opportunity?

Donald Straszheim, Vice Chairman - Roth Capital Partners

Donald H. Straszheim is Vice Chairman of Roth Capital Partners in Los Angeles, a contributing columnist for Forbes.com, Visiting Scholar at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, former global Chief Economist for Merrill Lynch and a long-time China specialist.

Straszheim, long recognized as a top economic and financial markets expert on Wall Street, joined Roth Capital Partners in 2006 to spearhead the firm’s growing efforts in China as well as to work with the domestic team.  Since the mid 1990s, he has focused on understanding how China and the evolving global economy and markets affect investments, companies, industries and sectors in America and elsewhere.

From 1985 to 1997, Straszheim was the global Chief Economist for Merrill Lynch and Co. in New York City, where he was voted ten consecutive years to Institutional Investor’s ‘All-Star Team.’  As Merrill’s chief economic spokesperson, he traveled globally representing the firm and led its worldwide research effort.

From 1997 to 2002, he served as President of the Milken Institute, a not-for-profit economic think tank in Santa Monica, CA, continuing as Vice Chairman to 2004.

From 2002 to 2005, Straszheim was principal of Straszheim Global Advisors, an economic and financial markets advisory firm with offices in Los Angeles and Beijing.

Currently Straszheim is also serving as President of the Chartered Financial Analysts Society of Los Angeles.  He earned B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Purdue University, and is a regular speaker and media commentator on China and the global economy and markets.

June 8, 2007
Program: "Retirement Issues"

Program Summary: Our June 8th meeting will be a  panel discussion to examine recent legislative actions (Pension Protection Act) and it's impact on qualified retirement plans, pending retirement plan litigation (to include Congressional and regulatory scrutiny of 401(k) plan fees), and what this all really means in the grand scheme of an individual's retirement security.

Our speakers include:

Craig Duglin
Craig is a retirement plan counselor for American Funds Distributors, Inc.,

(AFD) covering southern and central California, southern Nevada and Hawaii. He is also a Regional Vice President of AFD. Prior to joining the company in 2006, Craig was a Divisional Vice President for Transamerica Retirement Services managing business development efforts for the western half of the U.S.

Craig has over nine years of retirement plan experience.

He received a bachelor's degree in Speech with a concentration in Business Institutions from Northwestern University. He has been a certified continuing education (CE) instructor in all 50 states and has conducted dozens of CE seminars during the past seven years. He holds NASD 6, 63 and 26 licenses.

Cathy Heron
Cathy is Senior Vice President, Senior Counsel, Fund Business Management Group, for Capital Research and Management Company, the investment adviser to the American Funds.  She has been with Capital Research 1998.

Cathy has over 30 years of experience in the area of retirement plan regulation.  She formerly headed the Tax, Pension and International Department at the Investment Company Institute (“ICI”), the primary trade association for the mutual fund industry and has worked in the Plan Benefits Security Division of the Solicitor’s Office within the Department of Labor (“DOL”).  She recently completed a three term on the DOL’s ERISA Advisory Council.

Cathy holds an LLM in Taxation from Georgetown University School of Law, a J.D. from Boston University Law School and a B.A. from Wellesley College.

Roger Stephens
Roger serves as senior vice president and financial advisor at Morgan Stanley and Company and has been a speaker in the industry and various client events for over 10 years. Stephens specializes in retirement, 401k plans, corporate and pension plans, and endowments. As a graduate of University of California, Berkeley, he has been in the investment business for 12 years and currently manages approximately 1.5 billion dollars in assets.

April 13, 2007

PROGRAM: "Currency Risk Management Best Practices"  

Program Summary

Even though foreign exchange risk has become increasingly difficult to manage over the past few decades, many corporate treasury and finance departments face the daunting challenge of managing foreign exchange using decades old processes and technologies.  This presentation will provide guidance and advice on how to upgrade or establish currency risk management policies and processes that minimize the impact of currency volatility on corporate earnings, while lowering costs and improving productivity.  The audience will leave with a game plan to examine their foreign exchange operations and set policies and processes to mitigate risks in today's volatile global market.

Topics

·   Setting and maintaining a corporate currency risk management policy

·   Creating a snapshot of foreign exchange exposures and potential impact of banking actions or currency changes

·   Making timely optimal decisions based on established policies and current market conditions

·   Establishing achievable performance benchmarks to ensure measurability and accountability

Take-Aways

·   Understand best practices for FX exposure management, compliance and economic risk management

·   Reduce the operational inefficiencies of tracking and analyzing foreign exchange exposures and transactions

·   Evaluate currency risks and optimize internal banking and/or hedging decisions

·   Reduce the impact of volatility on the corporate earnings

November 10th: 

PROGRAM: "Check 21 Update"

Speaker:   Steven Jung - Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Los Angeles Branch

Steven currently oversees the Twelfth District’s Business Development function which is responsible for selling payment services to the banking industry across the nine western states.  Over his 12 year career with Fed, Steven has managed in Check Processing, Electronic Product Support, and the Cash Product Office. 

Steven has also worked as a financial services consultant where he worked with West Coast banking institutions to improve in areas such as operational efficiency and controls and vault cash management.  Steven graduated from the University of Nebraska with a major in Finance.

September 15th: 

PROGRAM: "Tap Into The Power

                       Of China And India"

This presentation will cover:

• China's and India's place in the Global Economy
• Market Updates
• Economic Updates
• Treasury Management Perspectives
• The Dynamic Regulatory Environment
• Growth Inhibitors

Speaker:   Robert Kelver, Senior Vice President, Global Treasury Services, Bank of America
 

July 14th: 

PROGRAM: Best Practices for Treasury Department's Utilization of Market Information and Tools

This program will feature the how's and why's of using tools such as Bloomberg to:

1) Monitor fixed income markets (e.g. market movements, credit spreads, swap curve, etc)

2) Monitor foreign exchange markets (e.g. market movements, calculation of forwards, market volatilities, etc.)

3) Monitor news and economic information (e.g. government releases, predicting market impacts, charting historical trends, etc.)

A demonstration of Bloomberg will be included in the program.

Speaker:   Raymond Johnson, Bloomberg LP
Raymond (Ray) Johnson is a Fixed Income Applications Specialist with Bloomberg LP in San Francisco. Prior to joining Bloomberg in 1998, Ray was Vice President, Institutional Sales for Bank of America Securities where he specialized in selling and trading money market, government, corporate, municipal and mortgage backed securities. Ray has also foreign exchange trading experience through his prior employment at Citicorp. Ray has his MBA in Finance from the University of San Francisco and a BA in Economics from the University of California at Santa Barbara. 

June 9th: 

PROGRAM: Corporate Social Responsibility: Trends, Challenges and Opportunities

Canyon Snow Consulting principals have extensive experience and proven success in working with clients to develop and implement corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies.  In this presentation, they will discuss the emerging trends, expectations, and practices related to CSR.  Through the use of multiple examples taken from various industries, they will explore the risks of inattention to this important topic.  They will also take the audience through a more detailed example of code of conduct development and implementation in the electronics industry.  Finally, they will examine the various functional roles related to CSR and the program elements that may already be in place in your company.  Particular focus will be paid to the financial and business implications of CSR expectations, implementation, reporting, and marketing.

Leslee Guardino and Jennifer Shepherd are co-founders and principals of Canyon Snow Consulting.  Canyon Snow provides expert support to companies affected by externally driven demands on essential, yet non-core, areas of their businesses.  Leslee leads the government affairs practice while Jennifer leads the environmental practice and they both collaborates in leading the CSR practice. 

Leslee is widely recognized as an authority on the effect of governmental activities on the business environment, and is a registered federal lobbyist.  Before creating Canyon Snow, she led government and corporate affairs for Solectron Corporation.  She is co-founder of the Silicon Valley Housing Trust and co-chair of the West Coast Chapter of the Women’s High Tech Coalition. 

Jennifer is a recognized authority on business implications of complex environmental legislative initiatives.  Before creating Canyon Snow, she was responsible for corporate environmental affairs and asset recovery account management at Solectron.  She has been co-chair of the environmental committee of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, and a founding member of the Sustainable Silicon Valley initiative.  

March 10, 2006: 

PROGRAM: "Disaster Recovery Prepardness: How Prepared Is Your Treasury Department"

Speakers: A panel discussion featuring:
Bill Luehrmann
Director, Treasury Services
Occidental Petroleum Corporation

Clariza Lomotan-Mullins
Treasurer
Pepperdine University

Bob Nickel
Manager, Treasury Operations
Northrop Grumman Corporation

Summary: In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, September 11th, and other events, how prepared is your treasury department for the next disaster? The disaster could be in many forms from the next "big" earthquake to a power outage, a pandemic flu that leaves you without staff, or simply that you are unable to enter your office building. This program will feature three of SCAFP's own corporate members sharing their plans, ideas and experiences on disaster recovery preparedness for corporate treasury departments. The format will be a panel discussion with questions from the moderator and the audience.

February 10, 2006: 

PROGRAM: Foreign Exchange Markets Update

SPEAKER: Vicky Shields from JPMorgan Chase. 

January 13, 2006: 

Erin McCune, founder of Forte Financial, will discuss common process improvement pitfalls and how you can avoid them.
Attendees will acquire actionable advice on:

• Aligning cross functional teams for success;

• Building a collaborative partnership with your IT department;

• Managing the expectations of project sponsors;

• Promoting the finance organization as a process improvement resource company-wide.

November 4, 2006

"Identity Theft - Protecting Your Good Name" 

September 16, 2005: 

August 12, 2005:

Robert J. Baldoni is a Partner at Ernst & Young LLP and leads its Global Treasury Advisory Services Group. This Group is responsible for providing a broad range of treasury and risk management services to the firm’s clients. These services include programs covering currency, interest rate, credit, energy and other commodity risk management, enterprise-wide risk management, funding and investing alternatives, policy and control procedures, selection and implementation of treasury and risk assessment systems, cash and bank relationship management, working capital management, treasury centralization programs, as well as financial governance, capital structure and treasury operation concerns.  In addition, Mr. Baldoni’s group provides a full range of risk measurement and derivative valuation services and has pioneered the applications of Value-at-Risk (VaR) technology to the end-user community.

Prior to joining E&Y, Mr. Baldoni was Managing Director of Emcor Risk Management Consulting and headed its global consulting group.  At Emcor, Mr. Baldoni provided treasury and risk management services to a wide range of corporations, government agencies and financial institutions.  Under Mr. Baldoni’s direction, Emcor gained the reputation of being the industry’s most innovative provider of treasury and risk management services.  He is also credited with being one of the original drivers moving the end-user community towards looking at their risks on a comprehensive or enterprise basis.

Mr. Baldoni holds an MBA in Finance from Fordham University and with over twenty-five years of experience in the industry, he is considered one of the leading authorities in the field of treasury and risk management.  He has written many articles and is a frequent lecturer on these subjects at both domestic and international conferences.  He is also the founder of the New York Corporate Treasury Association, a member of the Advisory Board of International Finance and Treasury Magazine, a member of the Advisory Board at the University of Georgia Terry College School of Business, a member of the Advisory Council of the Financial Engineering Institute at Polytechnic University in New York and on the Board of Advisors of Fordham University.