Meet the staff conferences.

Every association has an annual meeting, but what's been different at FEI in recent years is that it's no longer labeled as such--a change that encapsulates a new approach.

Prior to Conference Director Bill McGrath joining FEI in 2000, the annual meeting was geared primarily to FEI leadership and drew a few hundred people. But McGrath, a veteran conference director who came from Advanstar Communications, a major content developer (where he managed six to eight major trade shows and conferences globally, with a $15 million budget and staff of six), has helped drive a "rebuilding effort" to change the nature of the program--starting with its title--and, subsequently, increase attendance.

The buzz created for FEI's Annual Summit (as it has been renamed) has been aimed at making it a must-attend event. The new model began with the 2001 Scottsdale, Ariz., program and each year since, the attendee count has been increasing; that was true even for the 2002 event at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, held in the shadow of 9/11 and the resulting dropoff in corporate travel. Those obstacles were overcome, in part, McGrath notes, by featuring former General Electric Co. CEO Jack Welch as the top keynoter.

Thinking ahead to the upcoming April 2004 program in San Diego, McGrath has cooked up something new: no breakout sessions. The Summit will feature only high-level keynoters, or, as he puts it, "a who's who of keynotes." This decision was driven by feedback from attendees.

FEI's Conference Department comprises three other individuals. Tracy Santella, meeting manager, has been with FEI for three years and handles the operations of the events, making sure all the functions, dining and activities happen as planned, and that everyone's high standards are met. She started as registrar and was promoted last year to fill an opening. Lisa Korzeniowski, who joined FEI last May, is registrar, or customer service representative, handling the registration process.

Brenda Newkirk, manager of sales and events, joined FEI seven years ago in career services, then helped manage the Strategic Partners program. Now, she's managing sales for FEI events (booths and exhibits), as well as Financial Executive magazine advertising. She also works with Strategic Partners as it relates to events.

"This [sales] function has become an important part in our mix," says McGrath. The role of sponsors and exhibits is not only to bring members information about new products and services, but also to keep conference costs down even as prices go up. "We've been able to keep registration fees down, as we've been able to increase vendor support."

FEI's philosophy for vendors is "well-considered," he adds: Sponsors are incorporated as part of the function, rather than attached to it--a philosophic differentiator of FEI from other groups. For example, explains McGrath, "at conferences, we try to eliminate the 'sponsor isolation' factor by having food functions and certain social and networking events built around the exhibits and sponsors."

McGrath works with FEI volunteer committees to transform their content requirements into live programs; this includes identifying and booking speakers, venues and other aspects of the programming, with the aim of "getting the knowledge they want to convey properly positioned and developed into the conference." Also, the department has P&L responsibilities for managing costs related to producing and promoting events to both members and non-members, with the expectation that non-member attendance may be a stepping-stone to membership.

Additionally, since FEI issues Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits, the department also manages the relationship with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), the professional organization that awards the CPE credits, to ensure that attendees receive their appropriate credits.

The department is involved with four types of conferences. Those in the first group, which are nationally managed, include: Forum on Finance and Technology, in conjunction with the Committee on Finance and Information Technology (CFIT), in September; Current Financial Reporting Issues, with the Committee on Corporate Reporting (CCR), in November; the Annual Summit, with a volunteer committee, in April or May each year; and the FEI Canada Annual Conference each June.

In a second category, FEI has an equity position that is spelled out (say, 50/50 or 60/40). A third category is to endorse a conference, with no financial investment or risk to FEI, such as working with Forbes for its CFO conference, and receiving a percentage of income for delivering attendees. The fourth category is one where FEI will mention conferences on its Web site and in other FEI communications. FEI may get some complimentary registrations, but generally does not expect payment.

For companies wrestling with tightened travel and conference budgets, McGrath notes that the goal is to ensure the highest quality for the money: the location, site, travel packages, content, food and surrounding functions, including vendors and exhibitors.

Looking ahead, McGrath notes, "FEI is cognizant of finance executives' needs for information, combined with limitations on both their time and budgets." So, watch for new announcements. For one, the department is seeing itself with new eyes--as a resource center. "One of our goals is to manage the resources in FEI and FERF and package [these] in such a way so that, for example, we will offer [additional] online learning capabilities for members to gain knowledge or CPE credits at their own pace, in addition to webcasts, teleconferences, publications and more," he says. In essence, the plan is to make knowledge available 24/7 via FEI's Web site.

McGrath says his vision for CFOs and the finance function is that "FEI's Web site is the ultimate contact, from which individuals can get what is best for them." The conference department doesn't create knowledge, he adds. "All we do is identify it, package it and get it back to members in a useful form."

So does he expect the live conference to go the way of the dinosaur? "It never will. With human nature what it is, the peer-to-peer networking [and] need for human contact will always be there."