new name, new logo, GLOBAL REACH.

Phil Llvingston

The response to our move to rename FEI as Financial Executives International has been terrific. It's a move that positions us front and center as the voice of finance executives worldwide, a role that we will embrace and that will ultimately make us an even stronger organization. Many of you know that creating a dynamic and contemporary FEI has been my mantra: an organization in touch with today's financial officers, relevant to their needs and understanding of their situations.

Our leadership's decision to change our name and logo corresponds to this theme and brings on other changes. The most significant, of course, is that we will for the first time accept for membership qualified finance officers from outside the U.S. and Canada. If, as we have estimated, the potential pool of qualified members in the U.S. alone is at least 250,000, imagine the power FEI might one day wield as an organization with global influence and the ability to reach into business centers like London, Paris, Hong Kong and more.

Widely accepted international accounting standards are on the horizon, and the globalization of stock markets is also at hand. Both demand that FEI enhance its efforts to represent finance officers internationally. We welcomed some of our first international members recently, including the CFO of Siemens AG from Germany, who joined via our Web site!

I always like to talk about the power of the FEI network, and much of that power lies in the Internet. Using technology to our advantage, we have literally brought our confederation closer together and increased the value of FEI membership exponentially. Now we can leverage the FEI Internet community to reach desktops anywhere and anytime with valuable information, alerts and best practices for busy financial executives.

Along with overwhelmingly positive feedback about our new name, I've received a number of common questions from members, such as how the name change affects our relationship with IAFEI and what the ultimate vision is for the new FEI. I can tell you that member institutes of IAFEI are supportive of our move, and we are in agreement that finance executives from around the world can potentially find value in both their home country institute and by joining the new FEI. They recognize the power of www.fei.org to help their local members, too -- especially if the Web site takes on added international content.

We also believe that executives whose companies have significant U.S. business interests and need to be up to date on the U.S. capital markets will be ideal candidates to join the new FEI. Our growth internationally is likely to be modest at first, gaining momentum over time.

Over the next two years, FEI will look to provide forums for greater discussion of global financial issues. Our technical committees will be challenged to add international members and to enhance their debate and discussion of issues; that challenge will be particularly daunting for our Committees on Corporate Reporting, Corporate Finance and Taxation. FEI will also host an overseas conference, the first of what should be a series to be held in international finance centers.

The barriers to international business and capital flow have been falling rapidly over the past 10 years. Today's CFOs, controllers and treasurers think and act globally. Our new name affirms our commitment to remaining relevant to our members, and it's imperative for FEI to reflect a global perspective in all the products and services we deliver.

Going forward, there will be many new opportunities and challenges. I encourage all of you to consider what role FEI can play on a world stage and to share your thoughts with me at [e-mail]