May 17-19, 2009 • Princesa Sofia Hotel • Barcelona, Spain






Programme

Sunday, May 17th
10.00 – 17.00 FCIB Europe Golf Tournament
 
Sponsored by: Rattner Mackenzie Ltd.

19.00 – 20.00
Welcome Reception
Sponsored by: AON Trade Credit
AON
   
Monday, May 18th
8.00 – 8.30 Networking Breakfast
8.30 – 8.45 Conference Welcome
8.45 – 10.00
Keynote Presentation:
The New Global Marketplace – a World of Change
Speaker: Dr. Hans Belcsák, President - S. J. Rundt & Associates, USA

   
10.00 – 10.30 Coffee and Exhibition
10.30 – 12.00 European Insolvency Law – a Practical Approach
A key session in understanding the salient points of insolvency law in Europe and what credit managers need to know when faced with companies in trouble. How does a bankruptcy, liquidation or receivership differ from country to country? What are the rules on preferences? What can a credit manager do to protect the interests of his/her company and prepare for unforeseen failures? All this and more! A panel of experts will take questions from the floor.
 
Moderator: Amadeu Blasco, Partner - Eversheds Lupicinio, Spain
 
Panelists: Larry Coltman, Solicitor - Coltman Warner Cranston, UK
Marc Lempérière, Partner - Eversheds, France
Rosemary Taft Milby, Esq., Managing Partner - Weltman, Weinberg & Reis Co., L.P.A., US
Kyriacos Theodorides, Partner - George Y Yiangou & Co, Cyprus
Thomas Voller, Partner - EuroCollectNet, Germany
   
12.00 – 14.00 Networking Lunch and Exhibition
Coffee and dessert will be served in the exhibition hall
14.00 – 15.30 Concurrent Interactive Streams
  1. Warning Signs of a Troubled Company
Being able to accurately assess the creditworthiness of a company, the trends and spot financial difficulties has a profound effect on the company’s bottom line. Is there a magic way of reading financial statements, assessing risk and ‘sizing’ customers without missing any critical aspect of their financial health? Yes, there is… find out how. Learn how to track payment performance, what to look for in financial statements from multiple angles to better evaluate and forecast a company’s financial performance and gauge its ability to pay you. A valuable workshop for even the most experienced credit manager.
 
Speaker: Neil Ross, Senior Vice President - AIG Europe (UK) Ltd., UK
   
  2. The Organisational Structure of a Credit Department - an Interactive Sharing of Best Practices
Where does the credit department fit in to a company’s structural organization? Well, you will be surprised to know just how many departments are affected by this all important role! Listen in and find out how this department interacts and affects other departments within the company.

Also, as more decentralization has taken place over the years, a credit person may find his/herself reporting to a product manager, division or regional VP, or president of a subsidiary, not to finance. Sometimes a "dotted line" relationship to the regional VP and the treasurer may be in place. Good discussion on the topic is always appropriate but the conclusion normally resides in how a company is currently structured and the people available to perform, manage and lead the task.
 
Speaker: Aart Bos, The Netherlands
   
15.30 – 16.00 Coffee and Exhibition
16.00 – 17.30 Open Forum (Q&A)
The Open Forum will combine the salient points from both concurrent interactive stream sessions (10 mins only) followed by a lively discussion on the key issues of the day, an exchange of ideas and a real opportunity to share best practices and experiences. Don’t miss it!

Designed to fuel the highest level of professional debate, the Open Forum content evolves out of export credit and country specific questions submitted in advance, by conference participants. This is your opportunity to get your particular challenges discussed and your questions answered, so please do submit questions, participate and add to your knowledge base.
 
Moderator: Nick King, Finance and Credit Manager - NACCO Materials Handling Ltd., UK
 
Panelists: Regine Hilgers, Credit Controller EMEA Region - ISP Switzerland
AG, Switzerland
Ashok Kampani, Credit Manager - ABB Switzerland Ltd., Switzerland
Lydia Marshall, European Credit Manager - ITT Corp, UK
Heleen Rijkens, Business Development Manager - Omni Bridgeway Holding BV, The Netherlands
   
19.30 – 22.30 Networking Dinner at El Cangrejo Loco
   
Tuesday, May 19th
8.00 – 8.30 Networking Breakfast
8.30 – 10.00 Credit Management and Sales – Can Perfect Harmony ever be Achieved?
In this highly interactive session the speaker will provide us with ways to build a bridge between the Credit Management and Sales Department. The way we think about the Sales Department is probably equally as bad as the way they think about us. The strange matter is we work for the same company, and at the end of the day we have the same goals! Shouldn’t we put our energy into helping and serving our customers instead of irritating each other? The most important key for building a great relationship between these two departments is awareness. Awareness of our work field, our competence, our procedures etc. During this session you will work on your awareness and find solutions for working together in perfect harmony.
 
Speaker: Raimond Honig, Managing Director - Credit Management Institute, The Netherlands
   
10.00 – 10.30 Coffee Break
10.30 – 12.00 Key Performance Indicators and Management Information – Measuring, Reporting and Analysing
Key Performance Indicators are specific performance measures of and individual, team or department. For credit and collections, the list of KPIs includes standards in financial analysis, such as Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) and Receivables Turnover, Delinquency Percentages and Average Days Delinquent, Cash Application rates, etc. But what other measures are being put forth to assist managers in measuring and reporting collection effectiveness?

This interactive session will present alternative measures to discuss and consider, such as Best Possible DSO and Days Receivables Outstanding (DRO), as well as talk through reporting methods that will provide higher level visibility to the work performed by credit and collections staff, such as a Receivables Dashboard.
 
Speakers:

Jacques Vincken, Global Credit Manager - Shell Chemicals Europe BV,
The Netherlands
David Weidinger, Senior Director, Credit and Accounts Receivable - The McGraw Hill Companies, USA
Martine Zimmermann, CICP, Credit Risk Insurer - F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Switzerland
   
12.00 Conference closure
12.00 – 13.00 Networking Lunch
13.00 – 15.00 FCIB Industry Group Meetings

Pharmaceuticals Industry Group
Chemicals Industry Group