Fall 2004 CFO Forum Meeting

This year's first CFO Forum meeting will be on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 from 7:30-10 a.m. Mark you calendar, because this is going to be a good one.

The title is "Disclosure – What, When, and How? CFOs In Their Own Words." Our session will begin with a brief summary by UW Professor Shiva Rajgopal of a nationwide survey of CFOs he conducted with two colleagues at Duke University. The CFO Forum sponsored this survey, and some members participated in it. Shiva will summarize several striking findings, including the results to such questions as:

* What metrics matter most? Earnings? EVA? Cash flow?
* How far would you go to meet earnings expectations?
* How important is it to smooth earnings?
* Who is your investing audience? Institutions? Analysts? Rating agencies?

Not surprisingly, this study has attracted a lot of attention, including recent articles in Fortune, The New York Times, The Financial Times, and USA Today. For an article that appeared in The Wall Street Journal, visit here. To download the research paper click here.

Shiva's presentation, however, will merely kick off the discussion. We will hear from the analysts' side and also invite reactions from members of the CFO. In particular:

* Does it make sense to trade off long-term earnings to meet an earnings number? * Are CFOs trapped into the earnings game by an over-sensitive investing community?
* Is it worth going private, or staying private, to avoid reporting problems?

We invite you to participate in the CFO Forum. Use it to learn and share your insights with other financial executives.