Excellence in Finance Phoenix

Excellence in Finance Phoenix

Summary of Attendee Evaluations

PART ONE: QUANTITATIVE DATA

General Session Speakers

Forty-five (45) attendees out of 120 turned in conference evaluations. This is a very low response for us. Attendees were asked to rate the overall quality of the program segments, the effectiveness of the speaker, and the relevance of the topics, using the following scale:

Speaker Name	Topic	Content Quality	Speaker Effectiveness	Topic Relevance	Ranking
Joe Lane, SVP & Group Executive, IBM Global Financing Author of Creative Destruction	Managing the Information Technology Cost Curve to Create Value	4.0	4.2	4.0	7 (tied)
Jeff Henley, CFO, Oracle	Driving Efficiencies in a Down Economy	4.5	4.8	4.6	2
Andy Bryant, CFO, Intel	Finance Transformation in the Internet Era	4.4	4.3	4.5	5
Anita Tilley, Managing Director, KPMG Consulting, Inc.	Performance Commitment – Converting Strategies Into Action	4.5	4.6	4.5	3
Jonathan Schiff, Executive Director, Finance Development & Training Institute	Enron Fall-Out: Implications for Finance Leaders	4.5	4.8	4.7	1
Michael Mankins, Managing Partner, Marakon Associates	Using Shareholder Value to Raise Management Performance	4.2	4.2	4.2	6
Rob Friel, CFO, Perkin Elmer	Reinventing the Business While Building World-Class Operations	4.1	4.1	4.0	7 (tied)
Robert Switz, CFO, ADC	Managing and Planning at Warp Speed	4.5	4.5	4.5	4
Julia Homer, Editor-in-Chief, CFO Magazine Reese Nank, VP Communications & Marketing, AFP Brian Lowenthal, Director, Hackett Benchmarking & Research Galen Johnson, VP & Controller, Cargill	Best Workplaces for Finance Professionals: Results of a Survey Conducted by AFP, Answerthink, and CFO Magazine	3.5	3.5	3.8	8

Overall Program
Based on the scale below, people were asked to rate the overall program

(5) Excellent (4) Very Good (3) Satisfactory (2) Fair (1) Poor

Program average rating: 4.0
Based on the scale below, people were asked to rate the overall effectiveness of the Conference Chairperson:
(5) Excellent (4) Very Good (3) Satisfactory (2) Fair (1) Poor
Chairperson average rating: 4.0
Based on the scale below, people were asked to rate the event on the following specific attributes:
(5) Excellent (4) Very Good (3) Satisfactory (2) Fair (1) Poor
Average Total

Relevance of content in General Sessions 4.4

Relevance of content in workshops 3.6

Adequate opportunity for networking 4.0

Quality of audiovisual 4.3

Quality of facility (hotel) 4.1

Quality of Food and Beverage 4.1

Efficiency in using available time 4.1

Program met your expectations 4.2

PART TWO: QUALITATIVE DATA

General Session Speakers – Attendee Comments

Managing the Information Technology Cost Curve to Create Value Joe Lane, SVP & Group Executive, IBM Global Financing

Positive Comments:

Not a standout, but relevant information that can be used

Well done

Good presentation (4)

Well focused and on target

Liked point on financial/financing aspects

Very helpful insight into the general issues we face in our daily decision making

Great speaker

Provided good thought process
Negative Comments:

Too technical, needs to explain

A real snooze

Sales pitch (2)

Driving Efficiencies in a Down Economy Jeff Henley, CFO, Oracle

Positive Comments:

On target

Good sense of humor (2)

Good speaker (5)

Very open with how his company deals with the very real implications of making changes (3)

Great presentation (5)

Super content (3)

Very motivating presentation

Came away with some applicable ideas

Thank you for your candid comments

Great presentation skills; energetic and poised

Enjoyed his blunt honesty (3)

Negative Comments:

Needs to elaborate more on why standardized makes sense (slow it down)

Finance Transformation in the Internet Era Andy Bryant, CFO, Intel

Positive Comments:

Valuable information

Great speaker

Great content (4)

Appreciated the “down to earth” style

Great approach

Good vision/forward looking comments

Excellent overview and past experience in their strategic planning/results

Negative Comments:

Hard to understand/hear (5)

Performance Commitment – Converting Strategies into Action Anita Tilley, Managing Director, KPMG Consulting, Inc.

Positive Comments:

Best one yet, lots of tangible ideas to talk home and implement quickly (2)

Very good – could apply to anyone (2)

Great energy, relevant, insightful (3)

Superior

Refreshing to hear consultants with good practical experience

Good mix of real life examples

Very good speaker

Interesting presentation
Negative Comments:

Somewhat disjointed examples

Regulatory Update Jonathan Schiff, Executive Director, Finance Development & Training

Positive Comments:

Dynamic, energized

Excellent (3)

Informative and interesting

Good subject and presentation for late afternoon (3)

Solid advice on a tough topic, very well presented

Very effective speaker (2)

Best presentation of the day; very refreshing and honest

Negative Comments:
Basic

Using Shareholder Value to Raise Management Performance Michael Mankins, Managing Partner, Marakon Associates

Positive Comments:

Good speaker

Some great ideas to take back (2)

Very informative

Essential –time management is critical

Excellent presentation (4)

Another eye opening presentation

Mr. Markins spoke of the one area we fail to recognize as an issue

Negative Comments:

Too textbook – could tell speaker did not have real world experience

Too detailed and customer specific length of presentation for topic was too long

Reinventing the Business While Building World-Class Operations Rob Friel, CFO, Perkin Elmer

Positive Comments:

Excellent (2)

Great practical insight (2)

Good “Real World” overview

Valuable information

Outstanding example on how to transform a company

Provided interesting and innovative unique, processes
Negative Comments:

Pertinent- but not clear how tools are utilized

Too much about Perkin Elmer (2)

Managing and Planning at Warp Speed Robert Switz, CFO, ADC

Positive Comments:

Great ideas for the current economic situation we all face

Excellent presentation (5)

Told us what they did but would have liked to hear about the struggle and how their strategy was evaluated when compared to alternatives

Excellent sharing of key issue – managing in tough times (3)

Best Workplaces for Finance Professionals: Results of a Survey Conducted by AFP, Answerthink, and CFO Magazine Panel Members: Julia Homer, Editor-in-Chief, CFO Magazine; Reese Nank, VP Communications & Marketing, AFP; Brian Lowenthal, Director, Hackett Benchmarking & Research; Galen Johnson, VP & Controller, Cargill

Positive Comments:

Good

Interesting (2)
General Questions – Attendee Comments

1. 
   Additional Comments on the overall program:
   

Positive Comments:

• 
  My first one – would definitely come back
  
• 
  Anita was excellent
  
• 
  Well planned
  
• 
  Jeff Henley & Andy Bryant stimulated my thinking in several areas
  
• 
  It was my fourth program and the strongest so far
  
• 
  Some of the presentations were excellent – most very good (2)
  
• 
  Many solid take-aways
  

Negative Comments:

• 
  Targeted at very large public companies – thought it would be more for any size
  
• 
  Overall disappointed by this conference and felt it lacked substance
  
• 
  Paid to attend a meeting at which I was primarily seen as a sales target by the sponsors or partners
  
• 
  From this experience I would not attend a CFO sponsored conference again
  
• 
  Workshops were weak
  

2. 
   Additional Comments on the overall effectiveness of the Conference Chairperson
   

Positive Comments:

• 
  Created good forum for discussion/debate
  

3. 
   In the form of open-ended questions, people were asked what they liked most about the program:
   

• 
  The variety of speakers and the quality of companies they represented
  
• 
  Relevant topics (7)
  
• 
  Good speakers (8)
  
• 
  Location (4)
  
• 
  The fact that it reaffirmed that our work is hard
  
• 
  Discussions on real life situations that can be applied (7)
  
• 
  Critical business forums
  
• 
  There were no sales pitches, just solid discussions
  
• 
  General session (4)
  
• 
  Focus on performance measures
  
• 
  The structure and CFO presentations
  
• 
  Insight of industry professionals
  
• 
  Workshops
  
• 
  Varied perspectives from business – hands on
  
• 
  The opening speakers were excellent and very informative
  

4. 
   What would you like to see changed in future programs:
   

• 
  More diversity in workshops offered (7)
  
• 
  More focus on small/midsize companies
  
• 
  More time
  
• 
  Focus on specific business types. Public vs. private, technology vs. retail, large vs. midsize
  
• 
  Conference should stay on point to agenda – planning and risk mgmt.
  
• 
  This was not supposed to be an e-business conference
  
• 
  Lots of information but little guidance on how to implement
  
• 
  This would be a great start to a series based course – planning, finance, CFO, interaction, etc.
  
• 
  More advance notice of specific topics and presenters
  
• 
  Enron topic (what happened and why?) could have been a larger topic for discussion
  
• 
  Bigger room, more space – better stage/set (3)
  
• 
  Better access to tax/rental cars etc.
  
• 
  Less selling
  
• 
  Expand the size of the breakout rooms
  
• 
  More interactive workshops
  
• 
  Perhaps add an academic perspective
  
• 
  Location specifically the hotel
  
• 
  Rooms were very crowded and cramped
  
• 
  Less consultants selling services
  

5. 
   Please indicate any other conference or seminar topics that would be of interest to you:
   

• 
  More small-med. Size company issues, tools, appreciations
  
• 
  Budgeting, forecasting, strategic planning
  
• 
  International business
  
• 
  Cost saving ideas
  
• 
  Merger and acquisitions
  
• 
  Participants name and addresses would be useful
  

6. What influenced you to register for this conference?
Speakers 21

Theme & Topic 27

Networking opportunities 8

Promotional materials 3

Availability of Golf 2

Timing 13

Location 20

CPE credits 14

CFO.com website 3