FEI, ANDAF: bilateral conference on the CFO's changing role.

U.S.-based Financial Executives International (FEI) and the Associazione Nazionale Direttori Amministrativi e Finanziari (ANDAF) held a bilateral conference on November 8-9 at the historic Milan Stock Exchange, the Borsa Italiana, Palazzo Mezzanotte in Milan, Italy.

The program, "The Changing Role of Today's CFO: New Rules and Strategies," featured sessions on Sarbanes-Oxley and its impact on Italy; accessing the credit and equity markets; trends in outsourcing; internal controls; convergence of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP); and the recent Basel II rating requirements.

Speakers from the U.S. included: Mark Browning of General Electric Co., David Morris of Morris Consulting, Arthur Neis of LCS Holdings Inc. and Michael Roberts of Connelly Roberts & McGiveny.

Michael Kidwell of the U.S. Consulate in Milan gave opening remarks about the importance of the conference and how it strengthens the financial relationship with Italy and the U.S. He also explained that the U.S. Consulate hopes to set up an internship program with Italy to give students an opportunity to learn about small and medium-sized companies in Italy.

For the Sarbanes-Oxley panel, Browning provided a candid overview of the problems General Electric has experienced in complying with the Act. The Italian version of the Act, referred to as Italian Law 262, is a more complete overhaul of Italian securities regulations, and includes provisions similar to Sarbanes-Oxley. Paolo Bertoli, Franco Fianni and Alberto De Vecchi each discussed their concerns with Law 262, which includes experiencing similar pressures that U.S. CFOs are experiencing in complying with Sarbanes-Oxley.

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The credit market panel featured Davis Morris, Bridget Gandy, Renato Maino, Fiorenzo Bellelli and Luca Lombardo, discussing equity trends that are showing public companies beginning to go private. The panelists noted that financial markets are evolving with increasing complexity and that venture capitalists are becoming more and more important to the credit markets.

Michael Roberts and Martino Ricotti covered outsourcing and discussed its value as a tool for companies. Roberts noted that India, Hungary and the Philippines are all important counties for outsourcing.

Armando Boffi and Massimo D'Ambrosio discussed internal controls and the essential role of the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO). This panel also discussed the importance of companies monitoring themselves through the use of internal controls.

The final panel featured Tom Jones, Arthur Neis and Angelo Caso providing a knowledgeable discussion of convergence of IFRS and GAAP. They also discussed the importance of the IASB's project on small and medium-sized entities (SME) on harmonization of accounting standards.

In sum, the bilateral conference was a success and the participants received much positive feedback. FEI will continue to work with ANDAF on financial matters of common interest to each organization.