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Financial Executives International
Committee on Finance and Information Technology
Committee Meeting
AOL
Dulles, Virginia
December 8 and 9, 2009
MINUTES
ATTENDEES
Members |
|
Arthur Alderson |
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. |
Margaret Boissoneau |
United Technologies Corporation |
Michael Cangemi |
Cangemi Company LLC |
Ann Flatz (conference call) |
Intel Corp. |
Gregory Grocholski |
The Dow Chemical Company |
Steve Hosley |
AOL |
Arun Kumar |
KPMG |
Garry Lowenthal |
Pranah Storage Technologies |
William Overell |
Overell Solutions |
Leslie Porter |
University of Southern California |
Robert Shultz |
Hewlett Packard |
David Taylor |
Trintech |
|
|
Technical Advisors |
|
John Van Decker |
Gartner |
Mike Willis |
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP |
|
|
Guest Presenters |
|
Cindy Gallagher |
AOL |
Michelle Savage |
XBRL US |
Brian Suckow |
Cisco Systems |
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FEI Staff |
|
Marie Hollein |
|
Cady North |
|
William Sinnett |
|
Maria Zadravac |
|
I. Call to Order
Chairman Bob Shultz called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. ET on Tuesday, December 8, 2009. Bob thanked Steve Hosley for hosting the meeting at the AOL headquarters. He welcomed the CFIT members and guests present, and asked them to introduce themselves.
II. Committee Business – Retrospective of Past Year
Bob Shultz asked the committee members present to reflect on the past year and consider if CFIT is making progress or whether there is anything that should be changed.
Garry Lowenthal noted that CFIT had added six new members this calendar year. Bob said that this was impressive, given today’s economy.
Bob said that during this year, his focus has been on CFIT’s subcommittees. He said that the subcommittee chairs should drive CFIT membership and get their support from technical advisors.
Peggy Boissoneau said that she would like her subcommittee (Governance, Risk and Compliance) to develop more of a global perspective. Greg Grocholski indicated that Dow Chemical is constantly challenged with complying with new global/area/country specific regulations, including those of the European Union (EMCS issue), Germany, Brazil (electronic invoicing) and Argentina. Art Alderson said that each of CFIT’s subcommittees should address global issues.
Art Alderson said that CFIT has become more important as an FEI technical committee. He asked how CFIT could become more of a resource to other companies (such as those represented on FEI’s Committee on Corporate Reporting) and the public sector on the use of technology. He added that CFIT should align its activities with FEI’s Strategic Plan. Bob Shultz said that CFIT should become more engaged in policy issues.
Michael Cangemi said that CFIT has had big wins this year with its leadership on XBRL and Business Process Outsourcing. He said that other important issues next year will be global compliance and regulation, Continuous Controls Monitoring and Green IT. He added that 1,000 people belong to a Green IT LinkedIn group, and that he publicized Wal-Mart’s green initiatives to that group.
Les Porter said that Green IT is an important initiative, and CFIT should address this topic soon, because individual states, such as California, are developing their own individual regulations.
Other topics identified as being important for financial executives include:
- Continuous Control Monitoring (CCM);
- Business Technology Optimization (BTO); and
- Corporate Performance Management (CPM) and Forecasting.
Bob Shultz said that the best CFIT meeting agendas are developed by a CFIT member sponsor. He suggested that each subcommittee build a meeting agenda around topics that they are working on. He listed future meetings, meeting hosts and their subcommittees:
- March 2010 – Taylor Hawes, Microsoft – Technology and Reporting Subcommittee
- June 2010 – Ann Flatz, Intel – Business Technology Optimization Subcommittee
- September 2010 – Gary Petrangelo – Japs-Olson Company – Small and Medium Business Subcommittee
Bob Shultz said that he had attended the last two FEI Summit IT Tracks, and that last year’s IT Track was better than that of the year before. Bill Overell said that the FEI Summit should have more than four IT sessions to attract FEI members interested in IT topics.
Bob Shultz asked whether CFIT should have a conferences subcommittee. Bill Overell noted that of the 8,000 active U.S. members of FEI, less than 400 attend the annual FEI Summit. He suggested a Communications Subcommittee instead. Bob suggested that CFIT line up more speakers for FEI TV.
Art Alderson suggested that CFIT make Mark Steele, FEI’s Vice President, IT and Web Technology, an Ad Hoc member of CFIT, so that CFIT could provide direct input to FEI’s IT infrastructure.
Arun Kumar said that he planned to attend NASSCOM’s “India Leadership Forum 2010” in Mumbai in February.
[Per the NASSCOM Web site:
“NASSCOM® is the premier trade body and the chamber of commerce of the IT-BPO industries in India. NASSCOM is a global trade body with more than 1200 members, which include both Indian and multinational companies that have a presence in India. NASSCOM's member and associate member companies are broadly in the business of software development, software services, software products, consulting services, BPO services, e-commerce & web services, engineering services offshoring and animation and gaming. NASSCOM’s membership base constitutes over 95% of the industry revenues in India and employs over 2.24 million professionals.”]
ACTION: The members agreed that the existing subcommittee structure is fine, but that it should boost its communications and advocacy efforts. CFIT would like to include a policy discussion at every meeting.
III. Committee Business – September CFIT Meeting Minutes
Bob Shultz asked for comments on the minutes from the September 2009 CFIT meeting. There were no suggested changes. Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the CFIT Committee accepted the minutes of the September 10, 2009, CFIT meeting.
IV. Technology Issues Survey
Bob Shultz asked John Van Decker, Vice President for Research for Gartner to provide an update on the 2010 Technology Issues Survey.
John said that 319 respondents started the Technology Issues survey this year, compared with 270 who started the survey last year, but there were only 268 completed responses. John asked for suggestions on how to increase the number of responses to the survey.
Art Alderson asked what would be a good response. Bill Overell said that prior to last year, FERF used to receive over 600 responses. He explained that the survey sponsor had paid for the printing and mailing of hard copy surveys to all active members of FEI, and that this mailing had yielded over 200 hard copy responses.
John Van Decker said that he had not yet forwarded the survey to the Gartner team. However, he said that he would need to get at least 500 completed responses to make this a viable annual survey.
ACTION: The members provided several suggestions:
- Put a link to the survey on the FEI Web site: Garry Lowenthal
- Send the e-mail invitation from bsinnett@financialexecutives.org : Bill Overell
- Ask FEI’s Strategic Partners (such as PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte, and KPMG) and XBRL US to provide links to the survey: Mike Willis
[Note: As of December 21, 2009, 430 respondents had started the survey, and 284 had completed it.]
V. Technology and Reporting Subcommittee Report
In the absence of Taylor Hawes, Bob Shultz asked Bill Sinnett to present the report of the CFIT Technology and Reporting Subcommittee, which Taylor chairs.
Bill described what the subcommittee had accomplished over the past three months:
- Mike Willis authored a FERF Issue Alert on “Year 2 of the SEC’s XBRL Mandate,” which was distributed in November.
- Mike Willis and Bill Sinnett co-authored an article, “The Time is Right for Standard Business Reporting,” which appeared in the November 2009 issue of Financial Executive magazine.
- Taylor Hawes and Mike Willis authored a position paper on transparency, which was used for CFIT’s DC Fly In, December 7, 2009.
Bill said that the subcommittee has three other initiatives:
- Design a roundtable format to discuss technology topics, similar to that used by the Corporate Executive Board. This initiative will be led by Ann Flatz.
- Support FEI conferences. This initiative will be led by David Taylor.
- Work with FERF to develop a research project on Enhanced Business Reporting, tentatively titled “The Next Wave of Reporting.”
VI. Business Technology Optimization Subcommittee Report
Bob Shultz asked Art Alderson to present the report of the CFIT Business Technology Optimization Subcommittee, which Art chairs. Art said that the subcommittee is focused on three areas:
- Corporate Performance Management (CPM): How finance can help the business improve results;
- Collaborative Tools: How to use teleconferencing solutions to improve results; and
- Investment Management: How finance can lower the cost of technology.
Art said that subcommittee would also adopt Business Process Optimization (BPO) as a topic. He added that the subcommittee would participate in FEI conferences and develop magazine articles and white papers.
VII. Small and Medium Business Subcommittee Report
In the absence of Mahesh Shetty, Bob Shultz asked Bill Sinnett to present the report of the Small and Medium Business Subcommittee.
Bill described what the subcommittee had accomplished over the past three months:
- “Consider HR Outsourcing? Consider SaaS” by Fidel Baca appeared in the October 2009 issue of Financial Executive magazine.
- The subcommittee confirmed panelists for a session on Software as a Service in the 2010 FEI Summit IT Track.
- The subcommittee introduced OpSource.net, an SaaS infrastructure outsourcing company, to FEI as a potential FEI Strategic Partner.
VIII. Emerging Technologies Subcommittee Report
Bob Shultz asked Bill Overell to present the report of the CFIT Emerging Technologies Subcommittee, which Bill chairs.
Bill Overell described his “Compilation of Leading and Emerging Technologies” matrix, which includes topics from:
- FERF/CFIT/Gartner’s 2009 Technology Issues for Financial Executives,
- AICPA’s Top 10 Technology Initiatives for 2009,
- Gartner’s Top 10 Strategic IT Initiatives,
- IDC’s 2010 Predictions,
- Saugatuck Technology’s 2009 Top 10,
- Other potential topics from CFIT members, and
- CFIT’s efforts tied to these areas.
Bill said that the Emerging Technologies subcommittee is a resource within CFIT that identifies, tracks and provides information about new and emerging technologies that impact the finance function.
Bill said that the subcommittee would serve as the incubator for key technologies that are not being followed by other CFIT subcommittees, and would track all current CFIT initiatives and map them against new and emerging technologies.
Bill said that the members of the subcommittee include him and Les Porter, and that John Van Decker of Gartner has agreed to join the subcommittee. He said that he welcomed liaison members from other CFIT subcommittees.
Bill said that his subcommittee’s current programs include the annual Technology Issues for Financial Executives survey and the emerging technology issues matrix.
Bill said that the subcommittee was currently monitoring Web-oriented technologies and cloud computing, including Software as a Service, and social computing, including LinkedIn. He said that other possible technologies to follow could include virtualization, Green IT, and unified communications.
IX. CFIT Fly In Recap
Bob Shultz asked Cady North of FEI’s DC office to recap Monday’s Fly In by CFIT members.
Cady said that CFIT’s Fly In was the third organized by FEI’s DC office this year, following Fly Ins by FEI’s Committee on Private Companies (CPC) and Committee on Corporate Treasury (CCT).
Cady said that CFIT’s Fly In on Monday included five meetings at the House, Senate, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). (See Appendix) She said that the discussions revolved around how technology can improve business practices, enable transparency and provide cost savings.
Cady said that some of the Congressional staffers were excited about transparency, and planned to invite members of CFIT to a special forum on transparency in early 2010. She said that the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform had passed H.R. 2392, the Government Information Transparency Act, and the bill was now waiting to go to the floor of the House. She said that Congressional staffers would like information on the benefits of Standard Business Reporting, and asked Peggy Boissoneau for the details of the study done by United Technologies. Mike Willis said that the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) had issued a report on Standard Business Reporting in July 2009, and included information on benefits expected by OECD member countries.
Cady explained that transparency was a “feel good” issue, and provided a good opener for FEI to develop relationships on Capitol Hill. Arun Kumar said that his contacts in the White House, Aneesh Chopra (Chief Technology Officer) and Vivek Kundra (Chief Information Officer) think that information on any projects funded by the government should be available online. He added that health records should also be accessible online.
Mike Willis said that the CFIT members discussed XBRL extensions with David Blaszkowsky, Director of the SEC’s Office of Interactive Disclosure, and Matthew Reed, Chief Counsel. Mike added that XBRL extensions might be a good subject for a third FERF Issue Alert. He said that he could collaborate with someone from the CFA Institute on this Issue Alert.
Art Alderson asked Cady how FEI’s DC office communicates with FEI members. Cady says that the DC office staff includes articles in the weekly FEI Express, “Insights, Observations and Updates” (IOU, their own newsletter), and magazine articles in Financial Executive magazine.
ACTION: CFIT plans to invite FEI’s DC staff to provide updates at future CFIT meetings rather than schedule an annual CFIT meeting in Washington, DC.
X. Use of XBRL for Corporate Actions
Bob Shultz asked Michelle Savage, Vice President Communication for XBRL US, to discuss the use of XBRL for corporate actions.
Michelle first discussed the SEC’s XBRL mandate. She said that the largest 500 companies were required to furnish an XBRL exhibit this year, and an additional 1,200 companies would furnish one next year. She said that for the average company, 7% of the elements are extensions, and extensions for all companies range from 0% to 52%.
Michelle discussed some of the reasons why companies used extensions:
- Aggregate elements are not available in the current taxonomy, so companies create new elements that capture several elements added together;
- Companies develop new elements that were more specific than what was available;
- The 2008 XBRL taxonomy did not include new FASB pronouncements; and
- Companies use extensions to reflect industry specific extensions not yet covered in the current taxonomy.
Michelle said that companies’ experiences so far have been good, and all companies required to comply are complying.
Michelle then described different types of corporate actions:
- A mandatory corporate action is an event initiated by the board of directors of a corporation that affects all shareholders. Participation of shareholders is mandatory for these corporate actions. Examples include cash dividends, stock splits, mergers and spinoffs.
- A voluntary corporate action occurs when shareholders elect to participate in the action. A response is required by the corporation to process the action. Examples include tender offers, rights issues and share buybacks.
- Mandatory with choice is a mandatory corporate action in which shareholders may choose among several options. An example is a cash/stock dividend option with one of the options as default. Shareholders may or may not submit their elections.
Michelle said that corporate action information flows between many parties can be complicated. She said that issuer-driven corporate action information is passed between many parties in the flow, and often results in changes to the corporation structure or entitlements to the investor which need to be correctly communicated and accounted for.
Michelle said that XBRL US has two partners in its corporate actions initiative:
- The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC)
- The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT)
Michelle said that there were at least four reasons why XBRL US is taking on this initiative now:
- Financial market turmoil: With the economic downturn, there is an increased focus to reduce the risks and improve transparency.
- Customer pressure: With the need to do more with less, there is customer demand for solutions that offer high Straight Through Processing (STP), that align with standards and that use a universal unique ID.
- Industry initiatives: SWIFT is driving the next generation standard, ISO 20022, building on the success of ISO 15022.
- XBRL maturity: XBRL has been institutionalized with the SEC mandate.
Michelle said that XBRL US wants to get more issuers involved in corporate actions discussions
XI. The AOL Spinoff
Bob Shultz asked CFIT member Steve Hosley, Senior VP and General Manager of Ad Operations and Self Service at AOL, and Cindy Gallagher, Vice President of Shared Services at AOL, to discuss the AOL spinoff.
Steve said that on August 5, 2006, AOL announced that it was free. He said that on-line advertising has been a tough business, and that AOL has transformed itself from a member-based business to an advertising-supported business focused on delivering great content. He said that its infrastructure has undergone a transformation to support the new business, and the challenge is to dial up on-line advertising at the same rate as membership declines.
Steve said that today, AOL is a leading global Web services company with an extensive suite of brands and offerings and worldwide audience. He said that AOL’s business strategy is based on content, ads and communications:
- Content: Producing high quality, premium digital content on a massive scale.
- Advertising: Re-defining branded advertising with innovations in planning, buying, targeting and reporting.
- Communications: Re-inventing AOL communications platforms, such as e-mail and AIM, as content and advertising communication and distribution tools.
Steve said that AOL is committed to creating the world’s most simple and stimulating content and on-line experiences.
Steve said that Time Warner bought AOL in 2000 for $160 billion, and it would sell (spin off) AOL tomorrow for about $2 billion.
Cindy said that the AOL spin off process started in late May, and AOL would go public tomorrow after about 6 months. In comparison, she said that the Time Warner Cable spinoff took about two years.
Cindy said that Time Warner’s board approved the complete legal and structural separation of AOL form Time Warner in late May. She said that the benefits identified to spinning off AOL included:
- Focused business strategy for TW and AOL
- Ability for investors to make independent investment decisions.
Cindy said that Time Warner will effect the spin-off by distributing a dividend to its shareholders shares of AOL common stock. She said that the AOL spinoff would involve about 100 million shares, which would trade at about 23 tomorrow. She said that Time Warner shareholders would get one AOL share for every 11 Time Warner shares that they owned. The new stock will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange with the ticker symbol “AOL.”
XII. Economics of Collaboration and Green
Bob Shultz asked Brian Suckow, Director of the Internet Business Solutions Group at Cisco Systems, Inc., to discuss the economics of collaboration and green. Brian said that the Group has 200 people globally.
Brian defined Web 1.0 as connecting people to computers, and Web 2.0 as connecting people to people.
Brian quantified the benefits to Cisco from Web 1.0 as $3.7 billion:
- HR & Finance: $1.228 billion
- Service & Support: $1.176 billion
- Manufacturing: $533 million
- Sales & Marketing: $493 million
- E-Learning: $232 million
Brian then quantified the benefits to Cisco from Web 2.0 as $691 million:
- Remote collaboration: $303 million
- Telecommuting: $277 million
- Virtual expert: $75 million
- Sales & Marketing: $25 million
- Connected workplace: $11 million
Brian discussed key green trends impacting business:
- Energy prices are driving need for improved efficiency;
- Regulations are compelling businesses to change practices;
- Shareholders are increasing pressure for accountability;
- Competitors are establishing leadership positions; and
- Customer attitudes, behaviors and preferences are shifting.
Brian then discussed four green strategies that could increase profitability and shareholder value:
- Mitigate Risks
- Regulatory
- Competitive
- Physical
- Reputation
- Reduce Operating Costs
- Energy efficiency
- Asset utilization
- Efficient communications
- Networked solutions
- Differentiate Existing Businesses
- Expanded green offerings
- Initiatives to help customers become green
- Green brand building
- Enter New Businesses
- Vertical integration
- Renewable energy
- Carbon credits
- Technology-enabled business models
Brian said that Cisco has developed Green Business Value Calculators that help customers quickly quantify economic and green benefits. He said that the investment payback period for most customers is very rapid (many are less than two years), making these solutions highly attractive, even where green considerations are not paramount.
XIII. FEI’s Strategic Plan
FEI President Marie Hollein discussed FEI’s new strategic plan.
Marie said that this was the first time that FEI had developed a three to five year strategic plan. She said that a number of constituents, including members and staff, were involved in the planning process.
Marie said that there were three keys to sustaining success:
- A reputation for value;
- An enjoyable culture; and
- A nimble infrastructure.
Marie said that an organization’s core ideology describes an organization’s consistent identity that transcends all changes related to the relevant environment. It consists of two elements:
Core purpose, which is the organization’s reason for being:
- To advance the success of senior-level financial executives, their organizations and the profession.
Core values, which are the essential and enduring principles that guide the organization and shape its culture:
- Integrity and ethical behavior
- Knowledge sharing and networking
- Leadership and professionalism
- Inclusiveness
- Influence
- Relevance, peer focused
Marie said that FEI’s Vision (with a 7 to 10 year time horizon) was to be recognized globally as the leading organization for senior-level financial executives.
Marie described FEI’s goals, which have a three to five year time horizon:
- Positioning and promotion of the FEI brand;
- Global presence and thought leadership;
- Becoming a leading electronically linked community;
- Delivering superior value through a unique and rewarding experience; and
- Alignment of structures, processes and culture with purpose and vision.
Art Alderson said that the time was right for FEI to have a greater impact in emerging countries. Marie agreed, noting that growth at other associations is international.
Art suggested getting members from global companies such as Proctor and Gamble and Coca-Cola involved. For example, he suggested a survey of members who have issues in an emerging country such as Brazil. He said that FEI could then bring the Brazilian financial leaders of these companies together.
XIV. Self Service Advertising
CFIT member Steve Hosley, Senior VP and General Manager of Ad Operations and Self Service at AOL, discussed self service advertising at AOL.
Steve said that AOL would provide three primary services:
- Search: AOL leases search capability from Google;
- Display advertising: Rich media ads, powered by self service; and
- Sponsored listings.
Steve explained that self service is the ability for all advertisers and publishers, large and small, to leverage the power of AOL’s suite of on-line advertising products through a self-directed portal.
Steve said that over the past five years, AOL has acquired and built tools to meet the market demands for self service online advertising, including:
- BidPlace
- Quigo
- LeadBack.com
- Patch
- Buy.At
- going
Steve said that AOL’s goal is to deliver to the market one scalable portal and platform that provides a suite of on-line advertising services. He said that AOL was the pioneer in bringing Main Street on-line, and will now bring all Main Street advertisers on-line.
Steve said that Advertising.com, powered by the #1 network and proprietary technologies and tools, is the most effective way to reach desired, quality audiences at scale.
XV. Committee Business
Future Meetings
March 4 and 5, 2010
Taylor Hawes of Microsoft will host the March 2010 CFIT meeting at Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington, on March 4 and 5 (Thursday and Friday).
Available Microsoft presentations, depending on committee interest, include:
- Governance, Risk and Compliance
- Decision Support
- Corporate Finance
- Next Generation Data Warehousing
- Future Thinking on Cloud Computing
CFIT meetings usually end with the Friday lunch, but Taylor could schedule additional presentations for Friday afternoon.
June 17 and 18, 2010
Ann Flatz of Intel will host the June 2010 CFIT meeting at Intel’s headquarters in Hillsboro, Oregon (near the Portland Airport), on June 17 and 18, 2010 (Thursday and Friday).
September 16 and 17, 2010
Gary Petrangelo of Japs-Olson Company will host the September 2010 meeting in Minneapolis.
XVI. Adjournment
The CFIT meeting was adjourned at 11:00 a.m. ET on Wednesday, December 9, for a guided tour of AOL’s Data Center.
APPENDIX
CFIT Congressional Fly In
Monday, December 7, 2009
9:00 a.m.
Terry Haines
Senior Vice President, Federal Public Affairs Group
McGuire Woods Consulting, LLC
Terry Haines said that Congressional debate about financial services regulation revolves around four key questions:
- Should the government determine the size and shape of financial services firms?
- Should the government decide what financial products and services should be offered to the public?
- Should the Federal Reserve remain independent, or should the government be allowed direct intrusion into monetary policy and accounting standard setting?
- Should the government shield investors, and step in every time that there is a problem in the financial markets?
10:30 a.m.
Hudson Hollister, Counsel
Mark Marin, Professional Staff Member
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
Darrell Issa (R-CA), Ranking Member
One of the topics for discussion was H.R. 2392: Government Information Transparency Act, co-sponsored by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA). Hudson Hollister said that he was planning a “Transparency Summit” in early 2010, and would invite members of CFIT.
[The following week, Hudson reported that “the House passed S.303, the Senate’s reauthorization of the Federal Financial Assistance Management Improvement Act of 1999. Mr. Issa and Chairman Towns added amendments in committee that incorporated essentially all of the language from H.R. 2392.]
11:30 a.m.
Amy Miller, Special Assistant
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
Office of Congressman Edolphus Towns (D-NY)
The topics for discussion were H.R. 2392 and S.303.
12:00 Noon
Lunch
1:00 p.m.
David Blaszkowsky, Director
Matthew Reed, Chief Counsel
Office of Interactive Disclosure
United States Securities and Exchange Commission
David Blaszkowsky said that, when furnishing their XBRL exhibits, companies should only use extensions if there is not already a specific tag to describe the item. He said that various industry groups, such as Life Insurance and Oil & Gas, were forming practice groups to review the use of extensions.
2:15 p.m.
Adam Sedgewick, Professional Staff Member
Elyse Greenwald, Professional Staff Member
Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee
Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), Chairman
3:00 p.m.
Mike McBride, Staff Director for Senator Ensign (R-NV)
Justin Stevens, Professional Staff Member for Senator McCain (R-AZ)
Otto Mucklo, Legislative Assistant for Senator Ensign (R-NV)
Eric Hopkins, Professional Staff Member for Senator Carper (D-DE)
Senate Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management
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