Don't Let the Recession Bite You in Your Assets

In this session, we’ll cover the techniques used to properly and consistently assess the financial and business benefits of a technology investment. We’ll review the tools used to build a financial business case and examine the strengths and weaknesses of metrics such as ROI, TCO, NPV, and Payback. We’ll look at the challenges of credibly estimating direct and indirect benefits, and outline a straight-forward process for estimating indirect benefits.

Most people in IT entered the profession due to their interest and proficiency in technology. Not yet many IT practitioners set out to be accountants or marketers – although we constantly send out messages that state the need for skills in these areas.

There are more and more examples of accountants (or people from an accountancy, financial and other backgrounds) working in IT and there is a real need for commercial and financial skills and experience in this area.

The changing role and position of technology, the growth of managed services and the emergence of SIAM (Service Integration and Management) are driving the need for a new set of capabilities and competencies in IT and the management of technology. Clearly this presents a number of challenges for IT organisations and professionals alike – many of whom do not see themselves as being ‘bean counters’ or accountants…

This session examines the following:

What are the new challenges for IT?
What skills are needed?
What roles and responsibilities are required?
How can ‘traditional’ IT people and enterprise IT organisations adapt to meet these challenges?
What does the IT industry and e.g. enterprise of the future look like?

One of the significant changes resulting from the current economic climate has been the level of external scrutiny applied to IT initiatives. CFOs are demanding comprehensive business cases that can both articulate the value that IT brings to a business and withstand vetting by financial analysts. This session will integrate traditional financial models with business value metrics in order to provide an understandable vehicle for obtaining approval for IT Initiatives. Learn how to quantify financial costs and benefits in order to bridge the gap between what a CIO wants and what a CFO needs to justify the IT investment.

The demands from our business partners for business technology, business services and IT services are continuously expanding! This is nothing new as there always was an appetite for new technology and services; however in the age of the customer where customer loyalty and empowered customers have lots of choices, IT organizations need (and some are) rethinking on how to better partner with the business teams. The challenges for IT are how to continue managing the existing environment and balance this with investments and innovations given that the IT budgets between now and 2016 stay relatively flat. IT organizations have always “done finance” in some shape or form. So the question to IT organizations and executives is not “Are you doing IT financial management?” but rather “How mature is your IT financial management?”

In this session Eveline Oehrlich, Forrester’s Research Director and VP, IT Operations is sharing some of Forrester’s thinking relative to the topic of IT Financial management. Additionally, she has invited two panel members with whom she will explore their maturity relative to their IT financial management initiatives.

Knowledge and Understanding of Your Place in the Economy

Register and watch this webcast to learn the details of filing a Chapter 11 case; when and what to expect.

Leading expert Gerald Munitz will explain when to file Chapter 11, i.e.
what bankruptcy powers need to be invoked, and discuss the 5 stages of a Chapter 11 case:

Initial Proceedings
Fixing the Business -- Restoring Profitability
Valuing the Reorganized Debtor -- Who is in the money?
Plan Negotiation, Filing, and Acceptance
Confirmation -- Consensual and Cram Down

Every day, more and more businesses are facing financial crisis or adverse business conditions such as a partner disagreement. A few of these businesses will recover and ultimately regain their footing, but many won’t. While a lot of struggling businesses have fundamentally strong business plans, skilled leadership and have been successful in the past, these factors alone may not be enough to counteract an environment of declining sales, losses from investments, rising costs and outstanding receivables. This presentation is designed to show creditors, entrepreneurs, franchisee, franchisors and lawyers how to use bankruptcy as a management tool

Sidney Turner LLC offers Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Business Restructuring, and Debt Workouts to corporations, small businesses and startups across South Florida including the Boca Raton, Coral Springs, Deerfield Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, Margate, Tamarac, Davie, Hollywood, Palm Beach County and Broward County.

Sinking economy? Troubled customers? Will you soon be a creditor in bankruptcy? Perhaps the only thing worse than losing money due to the bankruptcy filing of your customer is having the Trustee turn around and sue your company for a preferential transfer or fraudulent conveyance. But the pain of these avoidance actions doesn’t have to be so bad! Be proactive. This presentation will discuss basic steps that you can take now to minimize or eliminate the risk of your company being sued for a preferential transfer or fraudulent conveyance.



For years, Michael D. Fielding has successfully defended creditors against avoidance actions. He understands the challenges these lawsuits pose to companies. He knows and understands the defenses that can be raised and the steps that should be taken before a bankruptcy is filed to minimize ultimate exposure. Mr. Fielding is an attorney in the Insolvency and Commercial Bankruptcy practice group of Husch Blackwell Sanders LLP in Kansas City, Missouri. He is certified as a Business Bankruptcy Specialist by the American Board of Certification.

In the current economic slowdown, many national and regional retail chains have resorted to the bankruptcy courts. Recent examples within the past several months include Circuit City, Ritz Camera Centers, S&K Famous Brands, Mervyn's, Linens 'n Things, Goody's Family Clothing, National Dry Cleaners, Shoe Pavilion, Sharper Image and Whitehall Jewelers. In the current cycle, very few retailers have successfully reorganized in Chapter 11; liquidations seem to have become the norm. This presentation will survey the current landscape of retail Chapter 11 cases and discuss strategies for landlords, vendors, banks and others to protect their rights and maximize outcomes in a difficult environment. We will also review and discuss the ongoing debate over the impact of the 2005 Bankruptcy Code amendments on the ability of retailers to reorganize, and possible legislative responses.

One of the most frustrating aspects of bankruptcy proceedings are preference lawsuits filed by bankruptcy trustees or creditor committee/liquidating trust in Chapter 7 and 11 cases. It is bad enough that the creditor does not get paid for its goods or services rendered, the debtor may retain property without paying for it, the debtor can reject contracts and compel the creditor to comply with the contract while the debtor does not need to comply but it is adding insult to injury to be told by the trustee or liquidating trust that not only are you not being paid in the bankruptcy case (or being paid pennies on the dollar) but that you actually need to give money back because you received a "preference." The underlying policy behind a preference is to hypothetically equalize treatment between creditors.