Credit & Accounts Receivable Open Forum

In celebration of our 60th Anniversary, join us Monday evening, 5:30 to 9:00 pm for a fun-filled evening of entertainment aboard the Spirit of Chicago for a DINNER cruise and CASINO night.

Click to see pictures of the Spirit of Chicago.  

Forum Date:
August 10h (1/2 day) 11th & 12th (1/2 day) 2009

Click here to view & print the Brochure and Agenda

Our August Forum is sold out, please join us in October.

Location:

Embassy Suites, Lakefront
511 North Columbus Drive, Chicago, Illinois
Visit the Hotel

For Reservations, call: 312-836-5900
Tell them you are registering for the Credit Research Foundation meeting and use Group Code CRF to get the Group Rate of $199.00 single or double (+ Tax).
The CRF room block ends July 24, 2009 - so book NOW!

The Embassy Suites Chicago Lakefront is an all-suite Chicago hotel near Navy Pier. The furnishings include a King-size bed or two double beds in the bedroom area, a sofa bed sleeper, a comfortable easy chair and a work table and chairs. There are also Flat Screen televisions in the living rooms. Enjoy Suite Service from the comfort of your two room suite. Other amenities included with your two-room suite at our Chicago hotel near Magnificent Mile are:

Complimentary Cooked-to-order Breakfast every morning

Complimentary Manager’s Reception every evening

Complimentary Business Center

Complimentary Fitness Center and Gym

and much more.

Session outlines:

1.3 Continuing Education Units (CEU's) will be granted for this Forum.

Monday morning before the Forum - Registered SAP or Oracle users can attend the SAP or Oracle User Groups. Details below.

Monday, August 10th 1:00 - 4:30

Featured Presentation:

Diane Swonk - Chief Economist & Senior Managing Director Mesirow Financial (see biography)
Chief Economist Diane Swonk is one of the most quoted economists in the financial press. She is seen regularly on national and international television and her commentary can be read in top financial news publications throughout the world. With more than 20 years experience in financial services, Diane has proved to be an invaluable resource for policymakers and business leaders from Washington to Tokyo.

Diane will kick-off our 60th Anniversary Forum at 1:00 PM Monday.

The Deterioration of the Credit Markets - The Current Economic Crisis and the Impact on Trade Creditors: Scott Friedman, Friedman Consulting
This presentation will first take a look back at some of the corporate and financial developments that led to the current economic crisis. This includes the exponential growth of the leveraged loan and high yield market, the development of second-lien and covenant-lite loans, and the ensuing leveraging of corporate balance sheets. We will then look at what this means for today’s credit manager given the credit crunch, the 2005 change to the Bankruptcy Code and general state of retail today.

An analysis of current bank lending practices as they relate to Working Capital Lines of Credit.
Janice Kriwanek, Vice President of Commercial Banking, Fifth Third Bank

Tuesday, August 11th 8:30 - 4:30

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Recovery (How the current economy affects personnel marketing & retention) Rick Tiemann, The Executive Group
It wasn't so long ago that the major concern of business was how to attract and retain high quality employees. The more things change, the more they remain the same. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Recovery explores the notion that the very things that attract employees to your organization are the same things that will keep them with your organization.
The cost of laying off employees is a fraction of the cost of finding and/or rehiring employees once the economy starts the recovery phase. Attendees will gain a better understanding of how current economic conditions can affect an organization's marketing efforts and how training can assist with employee retention after the recovery begins.

Why training remains the key to development and retention

How to select and implement an effective training program

How to measure the effectiveness of a training program

Managing a Customer in Bankruptcy: How to Defend Your Company Against a Preference Richard S. Kulik, CCE, Division Credit Manager, Consumer Division / Sherwin-Williams Co.
This presentation will focus on managing a customer's bankruptcy to minimize loss due to preference while keeping management of your company involved. Rich will offer pointers on pre bankruptcy actions that affect preferences along with actions suggested during the time immediately following a customers filing bankruptcy.

Strategies for dealing with the various phases of working with your customer in Chapter 11 Jason Pomerantz and others with the firm Pachulski, Stang, Ziehl & Jones
This case study will show the interaction between a Debtor, Creditors' Committee and Secured Creditor in the context of a chapter 11. We will address each parties' powers and remedies at different stages of the chapter 11 case from commencement through confirmation of a chapter 11 plan. The program will include a user-friendly hypothetical that will facilitate discussion by a panel and interaction with the audience. The issues for discussion will include:

• Pre-bankruptcy strategies: negotiation of DIP financing/use of cash collateral; interactions with the trade, including COD, pre-payment and security deposits; formation of ad-hoc committee; inventory hoarding; human resource issues.
• First day motions and their impact on the case: formation of committee; impact of 503(b)(9), PACA and PASA on Debtor's viability.
• Operations during chapter 11: assumption/rejection of executory contracts/leases; payments on real estate and personal property leases committee monitoring role
• Adequate protection obligations: financial DIP covenants; real property lenders; identification and valuation of unencumbered assets.
• Conversion or confirmation: identification and quantification of administrative claims; confirmation standards; exit financing treatment of unsecured creditors from a trade creditor perspective: post-confirmation operations.

Fraud in Transactions Dr. Benjamin Wilner Director in the Dispute Advisory and Forensic Services Group of Stout Risius Ross.
A discussion on the impact that fraudulent activities and other errors sellers and purchasers perform, can have on a company’s ability to fully collect on their receivables.

A Member Case Study: Wolverine's eCommerce - Online Account System - and its impact on their global business. Presented by Dorothy Morris, Director of Credit Services for Wolverine World Wide.
Dot will discuss this sophisticated system used to enhance customer service and create great efficiency for Wolverine. We will see how the system:

• Allows dealers to review their account status
• Place orders and check availability
• Accept credit card payments
• Communicate with their Credit Rep
• Reduce the time to set up accounts
• Reduce the data entry errors
• Reduction of paper
• 24/7 Account access

Portfolio Analysis Rob Olsen, CCE, VP / Chief Risk Officer, Wright Express Financial Services
How predictive credit tools can identify, analyze and treat entire and subsets of a portfolio to safely grow sales while minimizing losses in a bear economy.

3M’s Telecommuting Program Chris Mullins, Credit and Receivables Manager, 3M Corporation
Telecommuting will become a mainstay in Corporate America. Today, upwards of 12 million employees telecommute more than 8 hours per week, up from about 6 million in 2000 and it is predicted that the number will hit nearly 14 million this year. Hear a presentation by 3M on their telecommuting initiative.

Wednesday, August 12th 9:00 AM till Noon

Be part of the ORIGINAL (often copied/never duplicated) CRF Open Forum You set the agenda and ask everyone for assistance with any operational, logistical or best practice questions or concerns you have. Take advantage of this opportunity to get help from a cross section of America's leading credit professionals representing a variety of industries. We'll all help to find a solution.

  

Running concurrent with the CRF Forum

Tuesday, August 11 from 9:00 to 4:00 PM
Managing Customer Deductions - Take Control of Deductions
Designed for deduction managers/supervisors/specialists CRF is offering a 1-day program

This interactive program, led by: Jessica Butler of Attain Consulting Group and Ken Green and Kathy Rotondo of IAB Solutions, is designed to provide attendees with tips, strategies, insights and best practices in many areas of deduction management so that they can raise the level of deduction management within their company, and improve trading partner relationships. There is a separate registration and fee for this workshop. Workshop attendees are invited to attend the Monday afternoon Forum sessions and Monday evening Celebration Event and the Wednesday morning Open Forum. For more information, and Workshop registration click here.

Oracle and SAP Users - Don't miss these sessions on Monday morning

Oracle Users Group

• As always, in conjunction with our Forum, CRF will host an Oracle User Group session facilitated by Robin Walker, principal of Caliber Application Services, LLC and Carol King, Principal Product Strategy Manager of Oracle on Monday morning from 8:00am to 12pm immediately prior to the start of the CRF Forum. The agenda and meeting location will be forthcoming. This session is not on the agenda brochure.
  Click here to see the Oracle meeting agenda.
  To find out more or to sign-up for this session: email session host
  Robin Walker at: rwalker@caliber-services.com

SAP Users Group

• SAP User are invited to attend the CRF SAP Users Group meeting ...SAP Users, don't miss this opportunity to get in on the ground floor of this valuable resource. The SAP meeting will take place on Monday morning from 8am to 12pm immediately prior to the start of the CRF Forum. This session is not on the agenda brochure.
  Click here to see the SAP meeting agenda.
  To find out more or to sign-up for this session: email session host
  Sashi Narahari at: sashi.narahari@highradius.com

This group is targeted towards CRF members and others who are SAP users and are involved in Order-to-Cash and/or Account Receivables business processes such as Credit Management, Cash Application, Collections and Deductions. The group will meet for half-a-day, Monday morning prior to the start of CRF Open Forum events.

The primary objectives for the CRF SAP User Group are:

• SAP Product Functionality
  CRF SAP users will be updated on the latest functionality from SAP for existing and new products. This will primarily cover the current SAP modules such as SAP Accounts Receivables, Sales & Distribution, BW Reporting as well as the new modules within SAP Financial Supply Chain management (FSCM) suite namely Dispute Management, Collections Management, Credit management & Biller Direct.
  
• Best practice sharing, discussion & brainstorming
  In these sessions, CRF SAP users will have the opportunity to share their experiences, issues and recommendations with each other at a very detail level. There could be an opportunity to discuss Industry vertical specific business processes such as Deductions & Collections challenges in dealing with retailers.
  
• User feedback to SAP
  User requirements can be matched-up to SAP functionality to identify gaps. Those functionality gaps that most users unanimously agree that they would desire to have can be channeled back to SAP via the “ASUG Influence Sessions”. “ASUG Influence Sessions” is a formal charter that is recognized by SAP for users in North America to give feedback to their Product Managers on the desired functionality of SAP. A small committee of CRF members who are also members of ASUG can take up the responsibility to attend the ASUG Influence Session to facilitate this.

Our Platinum Sponsors will again provide an evening reception.

Please support our sponsors!

Join us for another fantastic CRF Forum.
Discounts will be available for more than one person from your company.

Please help us control our meeting costs. Food and beverage commitments are confirmed well in advance and we must guarantee payment. Therefore, if you say you are coming, we are guaranteeing that to the hotel and event venue.



Take advantage of this opportunity to visit this beautiful hotel.
Get rid of those winter blues and bring the family.
Discounts are available for more than one person from your company; and special pricing for Monday afternoon. Bring your boss to hear Diane Swonk.