Opening Address: Where is the world economy going?

World economic prospects are not particularly encouraging. Growth in China and in the other BRIC economies has slowed down in the recent past and this deceleration may well reflect, in part at least, structural factors (e.g. demography or reform fatigue). In the United States unnecessarily restrictive fiscal policies are dampening activity; over the medium term, however, the country’s prospects remain favourable. One possible source of buoyancy may come from Japan which is experimenting with a set of radical, if risky, new policies.

By far the greatest sluggishness is to be found in the Europe. Widespread austerity is clearly having a negative impact on growth, particularly in the Southern countries of the Eurozone. Some recovery is expected over 2014-15, but similarly optimistic forecasts have, in the recent past, been regularly belied by events. Despite all this, financial markets have remained relatively buoyant. Share prices are high in many countries; bond yields are at record low levels. This may reflect a more optimistic outlook than the one here suggested. Equally, it may reflect myopia

Prof. Andrea Boltho is Emeritus Fellow of Magdelen College, Oxford. He was educated in Italy and at the Universities of London (LSE), Paris and Oxford. From 1966 to 1977 he was at the OECD's Department of Economics and Statistics and for one year (1973-74) was Japan Foundation Fellow at the Economic Planning Agency in Tokyo. From 1977 he was Fellow and Tutor in Economics in Magdalen College, Oxford, where he specialised in international and applied macroeconomic issues.

His publications include Foreign Trade Criteria in Socialist Economies, Cambridge 1971; Japan, An Economic Survey, Oxford 1975; The European Economy: Growth and Crisis (ed), Oxford 1982, as well as numerous academic articles. At various stages he has acted as a consultant to the World Bank, the Bank of Italy and is a past member of the Academic Council of the IFO Institute in Munich.

Closing Address: An audience with Phil Tufnell hosted by Alison Mitchell

Former England cricketer, now television personality and after-dinner speaker Phil Tufnell, is affectionately known throughout the cricketing world as ‘The Cat’. Phil has entertained many television and sporting crowds over the years. During recent times, Phil has been able to combine his cricketing expertise with his mischievous and laddish reputation with a position as a much loved television and radio presenter and participant. He regularly enjoys the banter referring to his alleged misdemeanours.

Phil is a team captain on the BBC panel show A Question of Sport. He makes regular appearances as a reporter on BBCs The One Show.  He appeared in one of the teams on BBCs Sport Relief Does The Apprentice. Through the huge following from I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here, when over 13 million people watched Phil crowned as King of the Jungle, his popularity is undoubted.

The closing address will be hosted by Alison Mitchell, a sports presenter, reporter and commentator. She is Britain's only female cricket commentator and was co-presenter of the Phil Tufnell Cricket Show on Radio Five Live last summer. She has toured to every major test playing nation with the England team

 

The FD's role: plate spinner, acrobat, juggler or ring master - definitely not clown!

This session will look at the strategy of managing cash flow and cutting costs while driving revenue and growth. Dave Wilson's experiences of several organisations and environments will be shared with the aim of providing you with practical tips from his tool kit of learnings. For example:

• Linking targets, strategy, and business/financial performance.
• Cost leadership using  activity based management, performance measurement, and internal expertise to innovate.
• Managing the people/cultural elements to drive change using metrics, personnel bests, incentives, and recognition schemes.
• The commercial use of IT to deliver performance improvement.

Finance’s role in supporting innovation

Nick Beighton, CFO of Asos is in control of the world’s biggest wardrobe which, since  its launch in 2000,  has grown to be the UK’s second most popular online fashion retailer.
 
In this session Nick will share with the audience some of the key factors which can drive and maintain growth in competitive markets, the role of the finance function within this and how to stay on the leader board within your industry.  This will include focusing upon:

• Growing and maintaining a company - creating a culture of continuous innovation.
• Knowing your customer base inside-out - invest resources where they count in competitive markets.
• Inspiring a can-do culture – personal reflections.
• The CFO/FD as the driver of strategy – don’t just be a passenger.

The next managerial frontier is here

Within the last 2 decades the daily running of firms has been largely taken over by ERP systems, but this has done relatively little to change managerial decision-making. This presentation will explore how the current explosion of structured (databases), and unstructured information (text based information) is highly likely to transform how information flows through firms, it’s underlying business processes, how people collaborate, innovate and make decisions.

The session will highlight case-study examples from BMW, including examples of how exploiting these new data sources can not only help to make a supply chain more resilient to risks and shocks, but also opens new opportunities.
 

Managing change in times of continuing turbulence (case-study presentation)

• The FDs challenge to manage the sales process from government to private ownership of its 10+ businesses.
• Managing the whole commercial and change process, whilst minimising the risks to the organisation, and creating  a “liability” organisation to manage the end of the business.

Mission impossible – engaging, retaining and motivating employees in difficult times

The need to engage, retain and motivate employees is nothing new but has become all the more important due to the current economic climate. In order to run a successful business it is necessary for its people to feel highly motivated and that they can progress within an organisation, especially if these are your rising stars.

This might be seen as solely under the realm of the HR function but the finance department has an important role to play. In this session, Richard Close, a business transformation and turnaround specialist with 15 years experience in the field, will share his learnings on:

• How to develop leadership skills sufficient to attract and inspire followers.
• How to drive home the values of your organisation and not just a set of rules.
• How to communicate a clear vision of where the organisation is going, and how the finance function fits into it.

Building personal and professional resilience

Emotions become much more evident during times when our values and beliefs are compromised by either ourselves or others. However, in order to function professionally, we often have to find ways to temporarily manage our emotions in order to encourage smooth communication or avoid conflict in the moment. Long term mismanagement of these situations can cause emotional labour which further contributes to such harmful physiological effects such as stress hormones being released into the bloodstream putting a huge strain on the body and mind.

This highly interactive session will explore some emotionally intelligent strategies to help build personal and professional resilience and allow participants to get on with the job of managing the demands of a market which has become filled with uncertainty and pressures to perform.  
 

Beyond the numbers: The FD as a strategic change partner

Pass the popcorn: The CFO’s front row seat at Odeon and UCI Cinemas Group (interview session)

Jonny Mason has been CFO at Odeon and UCI Cinemas Group for the past seven years, during which time the business, backed by Terra Firma, has grown revenues to more than £700m and guest visits to 90 million a year. The group is by far the largest operator of cinemas in Europe, having built market leading positions in 4 of the 7 countries of operation, and is the world's largest cinema group outside America. Organic growth and acquisitions have featured, but so, too, have the challenges of recession, dramatic technological change, shifting consumer preferences, bad weather, and competition from events such as the 2012 Olympics. And yet, at the end of last year, Odeon reported its best quarterly results ever.
 
In this session, Mason tells financial journalist Andrew Sawers about the CFO’s role in managing an ambitious, private equity-backed company – one where some of the most important variables (not least the roster of films released by the studios) are completely outside of management’s control.
 
Delegates will have plenty of opportunity to put their own questions to Jonny Mason, who has also held senior finance roles at J Sainsbury, Fitness Holdings, and Hanson.

The strategy of internationalising yourself and your business

This interactive, peer-to-peer discussion group will provide delegates with the opportunity to explore, with a subject matter expert, the FD’s role in the strategy of internationalising yourself and your business. It will focus upon:

• Effectively participating in the strategic debate over international growth in your business.
• Locating sources of information available about markets and routes to markets, and who can help you.
• Understanding the various banking and credit insurance products available to support your international growth.
• Internationalising into emerging markets  - is this the next step for your company?

Is the CFO the biggest barrier to driving value in your business?

The stakeholder management piece in large businesses today can inhibit businesses from being nimble, flexible to their customers, and driving value fast. This is a real problem when coupled with the current harsh economic climate.

This interactive, peer-to-peer discussion group will provide delegates with the chance to share information, ideas and experiences on the following areas:

• How to remain nimble, flexible to customers, and drive value fast in the current economic climate.
• New world vs. old world thinking : are you up to date on the possibilities that exist to drive value in your organisation, from technology, methodology, processes to perceptions.
• Don’t just phone a friend! Are you aware of available options as a CFO to reach out for expert 3rd party advice to help drive your business forward.

The future belongs to those best able to adapt to change

Charles Darwin stated that the future does not belong to the strongest it belongs to those best able to adapt to change. With high levels of M&A activity, streamlining of business functions, outsourcing and expanding into new markets and the like, managing change is high on the agenda of many organisations. Although often seen coming under the remit of the HR function, the finance department still has an important role to play.

To reflect this being such a wide area for discussion, as delegates enter the room they will be asked to write one key area they would like to discuss. The session moderator will then use this to kick-start the debate.
 

The FDs role in prospering in the face of adversity

Whether a company has an in-built time limit to its business model or not, it is essential not to become complacent and think that what you have always done will always work.

The FD / finance department has an essential role to play in creating a sustainable and competitive business model which has regular injections of innovation and is adaptable to change.

The aim of this discussion group is to allow delegates a chance to debate the following areas:

• The ways in which the FD is equipped to drive change and innovation in the evolution of the business model.
• Economic turbulence – a time of challenge but opportunity? (company’s often destroy their value not though activity like fraud but a failure to re-evaluate and  rejuvenate a previously successful business model!)
• Short-term vs. long-term planning, getting the balance right.
• The importance of innovation/diversification/expansion into new areas to stay ahead of the competition and attract/retain business.

The role of the FD in terms of cost reduction strategies

Reducing or streamlining costs  is an essential part of a business’s on-going strategy. This session will invite delegates to discuss, share views and lessons learned on areas ranging from, how FDs can drive cost reduction, the role to be played by non-finance employees, outsourcing, lean office techniques, the pros and cons of reduced people based costs, to whether businesses can cut costs and still deliver the same level of service without damaging customer relationships.
 
As delegates enter the room they will be asked to write down one key area they would like to discuss around the role of the FD in cost reduction strategies. The session moderator will then use this to kick-start the discussion.