Attending FAO Summit Europe 2009 in London on May 19th will put some new weapons in your arsenal to save money, increase productivity, and improve processes.
 
by Peggy Cope
 
We are all operating in a whole new sourcing environment that offers a wealth of challenges and opportunities for businesses. The economic downturn mandates that we scrutinize every cost and every operation, as well as every source of revenue. In addition, corporate frauds and attendant scandals create new demand for transparency and good governance.

With a global economy in turmoil, and shocking revelations of lack of governance and corporate responsibility, it is no surprise that we are seeing caution across all areas of business. However, the outlook for the sourcing industry is far from gloomy. All signs point to renewed growth in FAO and BPO in 2009, and organizations are likely to enter new engagements sooner than they had originally planned, as a need for speed to realize immediate cost savings kicks in. The big differences will come in the size and make-up of deals.

Doing more with less has never been more important than it is now. This year is a time to consolidate and act in what will undoubtedly be a challenging environment—not least for the F&A part of the organization. F&A Outsourcing (FAO) is one good option, but being armed with the right information is paramount.

FAO Summit Europe will bring together a qualified group of around 70 senior executives transforming their finance operations. The conference will cover the FAO topics of the day, including reducing costs, navigating the recession, enterprise-level FAO, understanding offshoring skills, and the impact of finance to the organization. In attendance will be a host of your peers, including CFOs, financial directors, financial controllers, heads of finance improvement/transformation, heads of process improvement, and directors of shared services centers. Networking opportunities will abound.

The venue is the Commonwealth Club in central London, which was founded in 1868 as an international meeting place for the exchange of ideas. The Club is within easy reach of the main Eurostar station at St. Pancras, via a short transfer on the underground/ taxi.

On the Agenda
The theme of creative sourcing for a challenging economy addresses the key issues and options to help you put new business process ideas into action and give your company a crucial advantage in this changing global business environment. The condensed program minimizes your time away from your office, but that doesn’t mean we are compromising on the quality or detail of the content.

Those who attend a networking dinner the evening before the event will benefit from the insights and perspective of our guest speaker while networking with likeminded individuals. An industry expert will share thoughts on recent events and provide a unique viewpoint of the direction the market will take over the next 18 months.

Keynote addresses will tackle such timely issues as how the finance department manages tactical gains while keeping an eye on strategy, choosing between offshore and nearshore facilities, and when it is time to make a move to outsourcing. Sessions will discuss the do’s and don’ts of outsourcing, including how to choose a model (shared services, offshore vs. nearshore, lift and shift, etc.); the implications of geography on your outsourcing decisions; multisourcing vs. single provider; what functions to outsource; how to time your implementation; and how to identify and mitigate risk while maximizing value.

A panel discussion will bring together industry experts to discuss why smart buyers should redefine the traditional approach to sourcing, examining the flaws in the old approach to sourcing and looking beyond it to drive multi-faceted sourcing delivery models that achieve strategic savings and value. Panelists will talk about how to get the balance right, looking at the role of finance in integrating and managing the sourcing strategy.

In closing, our final speaker will help you take your FAO sourcing strategy to the next level and put it into action, looking at the future of outsourcing and how to make the most of it. You will hear about which processes and activities are prime candidates for outsourcing or retention, and identify common organizational structures that are used to support outsourcing.

A fee of €150 is all it takes to get your ticket to this must-attend event. The registration fee includes conference documentation, lunch, refreshments, participation in the evening event and administrative expenses. FAO Summit Europe 2009 is a buyer-only event. Conference organizer and sponsor SharedXpertise has made a block booking of 50 rooms at Club Quarters, which is opposite the Commonwealth Club. For more information and to register, visit www.faosummit.com/eu.

Sponsorship packages are available. Providers who are interested in sponsoring the event should contact Faye Holland at faye.holland@sharedxpertise.org +44 1638 742355 or Adam Bleifeld at adam.bleifeld@sharedxpertise.org +1 202-905-0351 x19 for details.