2023 August Forum & EXPO Agenda
Monday, August 7, 2023
8:30am – 9:30am
Deduction Management Best Practices Discussion Session
Presented by CRF
Join this lively and detailed roundtable conversation with your peers experiencing similar deductions, short payments and chargeback issues in Accounts Receivable Management.
Topics we will address include but are not limited to:
- Deduction identification
- Deduction resolution process
- Best practices in interacting with portals
- Organizational structure, areas of responsibility
- Communicating with Cross Functional teams
- Systems used, ERP, third-party bolt-on solutions or internal resources
Monday, August 7, 2023
9:30am – 11:30am
Cash Conversion Cycle and Cash Flow Forecasting Course
Presented by Steven c. Isberg, Ph.D., Senior Research Fellow, Credit Research Foundation
This course will cover the following:
- What is cash conversion cycle?
- How to create a model to forecast cashflow from AR using DSO
- The use of variances, how to identify and integrate into the forecasting process
- An illustrative example (case study) of how to create the framework and continuously refine the forecasting accuracy
Monday, August 7, 2023
10:00am – 11:30am
SAP Best Practices Discussion Session
Presented by CRF
This is an interactive peer-to-peer informal discussion session that encourages participants to ask questions, share lessons learned, discuss internal and external resources and address process wins and issues remaining. Find out what your colleagues are experiencing.
The following topics will be discussed:
- Implementation & Migration to S4/Hana
- Bolt-on solutions that are working or NOT working
- What SAP modules participants are currently using
- IT resource concerns
- External consultants
- And more!
Monday, August 7, 2023
12:00pm – 2:00pm
EXPO & Lunch
The exhibit hall will officially open at noon. Join us to network with some of the top service providers in the industry, as well as your peers, and fuel up with lunch before the Forum sessions begin!
Monday, August 7, 2023
2:00pm – 2:15pm
Welcome/Opening Comments
Monday, August 7, 2023
2:15pm – 3:00pm
Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence: Separating the Hype from Reality in A/R
Presented by Greg Hanson, Chief Product Officer, Billtrust
Machine learning and AI have been in the A/R toolbox for some time, but with advances coming rapidly and dire predictions being made for a dystopian future, it’s time to step back and evaluate how and to what extent AI will transform A/R teams. In this session, you’ll discover:
- What AI is and what it’s not.
- How AR automation providers are deploying AI.
- What to look for in the next 3-5 years.
Monday, August 7, 2023
3:00pm – 3:45pm
New Methods for Proactive High-Risk Account Monitoring
Presented by Taylor Ricketts, RetailStat (previously F&D Reports/Creditntell/ARMS)
This session will take you through NEW thoughts and ideas on how to enhance your proactive risk assessment strategy. It will include the following:
- Quantitative and qualitative evaluation/correlation of fuzzy data
- Creative ways to assess current quarter business activities
- Define new ways to gauge risk prior to financial report availability
- Illustration of a high-risk account
Monday, August 7, 2023
4:00pm – 6:00pm
EXPO & Reception
Join us for a reception in the exhibit hall – grab a drink and some appetizers as you take another spin around the EXPO and discuss your needs with the industry’s top service providers!
Tuesday, August 8, 2023
7:00am – 8:30am
Breakfast
Fuel up with coffee and breakfast before heading into the morning sessions! This is also a great opportunity to chat and network with other attendees.
Tuesday, August 8, 2023
8:30am – 8:45am
Opening Comments
Opening comments and reminders from the Board Chairperson and CRF team.
Tuesday, August 8, 2023
8:45am – 9:30am
How Technology is Changing the Way We Manage Deductions
Presented by Shyarsh Desai, Chief Executive Officer, Carixa
Overcoming the challenges in automating invoice disputes, claims and deductions processes, is driving organizations to evaluate the best approaches to executing this transition on their ERPs or with other software partners. Critical to the success of these programs is knowing what your options are with technology and instituting well tested project design and implementation methods. In this session, we will spotlight case studies of how our clients set goals and executed this transformation with some key lessons along the way.
Tuesday, August 8, 2023
9:30am – 10:15am
Strategic Transition to “The New Age of the 5 Cs”
Presented by Chris Rios, Dun & Bradstreet
History repeats itself but needs to be modified for the current economic landscape.
This session identifies the modifications needed to effectively identify risk in today’s environment including:
- Incorporating new data sources
- Identifying digital risk trends
- Implementing updated risk tools
Tuesday, August 8, 2023
10:15am – 10:30am
Break
Tuesday, August 8, 2023
10:30am – 11:15am
Review of International Credit Risk Assessment
Presented by Kyle Matthies, Director of Product Management, Experian
In this session we will explore the differences between assessing international vs. domestic customers. We will share some factors that need to be assessed to appropriately identify high risk customers. This session will cover:
- How to calibrate and readdress international responsibilities, as more businesses consolidate domestic and international responsibilities
- Industry best practices – International comes with new rules and regulations country by country
- Data matters – how to verify international customers through the legal landscape
Tuesday, August 8, 2023
11:15am – 12:00pm
How Innovation Drives Productivity
Presented by Elaine Nowak, Senior Director of Product Marketing, and Nick Ezzo, VP Strategic Accounts & Market Development, Auditoria.AI
In this session, we will discuss
- Why AR represents one of the highest value functions for automation
- How enabling tools can augment driving efficiency within the AR space
- The future of finance and what transformational initiatives will drive innovation
Tuesday, August 8, 2023
12:00pm – 1:00pm
Lunch
Join us for a delicious lunch! A well-deserved break and an opportunity to network with attendees while you fuel up for the afternoon sessions!
Tuesday, August 8, 2023
1:00pm – 1:45pm
Delivering Cash Flow in a Struggling Economy
Presented by Keith Cowart, Global Market Owner – Receivables, FIS
During weak or struggling economic times, the inadequacies of poor processes are laid to bare. To make matters worse, we are asked to deliver more with less resources when revenue begins to decline. There are ways to proactively setup your team to thrive during good and bad economic times. During this session, we will review best practices including leveraging automation, tips for risk mitigation, cash flow forecasting, and offering self-service options to your clients. Implementing these best practices now will help you weather the current storm and protect you from any future storm.
Tuesday, August 8, 2023
1:45pm – 2:45pm
Best Practices Managing Third-Party Relationships
Panel Discussion Moderated by Annette Waggoner, Commercial Collection Agencies of America, and Mike Bevilacqua, Credit Research Foundation
This session will feature a panel comprised of Subject Matter Experts in Third-Party Agencies who will share their experience on:
- Maximizing results working with a third-party partner
- Best practices on when and how best to engage with a partner
- Assessing results
The panel will consist of representatives from the following organizations:
Tuesday, August 8, 2023
2:45pm – 3:00pm
Break
Grab some coffee, tea, water or soda and a TREAT…chat with attendees…then return refreshed for the final sessions!
Tuesday, August 8, 2023
3:00pm – 3:45pm
Journey Toward an Electronic Credit Application
Presented by Chris Arrington, SVP/Chief Credit Officer, SRS Distribution; Dominic Biegel, Director of Sales, Bectran; Ali Kidwai, Enterprise Solutions, Bectran
In this session, you will learn how to fully automate your customer onboarding process. Get ready to discuss:
- How to adopt a fully automated online credit applications system
- How instant credit approvals can be triggered using robotic process automation with a suite of fraud prevention techniques
- A real-life example of a multi-billion dollar company’s journey to instantly approving 50%+ of their new credit requests
Tuesday, August 8, 2023
3:45pm – 5:00pm
Sharpening Influence and Leadership Skills to Deliver a High Impact
Executive Leadership Roundtable (Interactive Workshop)
Presented by CRF
This is an interactive workshop where you will participate in small group discussions with your peers to share insights, experiences and learnings with each other.
This session will explore how to become an influential leader, not only in your department, but throughout your entire organization. We will explore:
- Communicating successfully to influence sales and senior management
- How to become a champion for technology enhancements and for your team members
- Working with a strategic customer that has changed payment behavior to arrive at the best outcome for both parties
Wednesday, August 9, 2023
7:00am – 8:30am
Breakfast
Join us for coffee/tea and breakfast to fuel up for the final day of the Forum!
Wednesday, August 9, 2023
8:45am – 9:45am
Economic Update
Presented by Steve Isberg, Ph.D., Senior Research Fellow, Credit Research Foundation
Where are we now after Q2- 2023?
Renowned professor Steve Isberg, PhD. will share his insights and observations including potential impact of the Reserve Currency as well as an analysis of other economic indicators.
Wednesday, August 9, 2023
9:45am – 12:00pm
Open Forum
The Open Forum is often one of the most highly rated sessions at our live events. This is an open discussion session giving all attendees a chance to participate – ask questions and/or provide answers to others. As always, this Open Forum session allows for immediate feedback from your peers on the questions/topics that are important to YOU!
Please be sure to submit any questions or topics you would like to discuss on the registration form.
Wednesday, August 9, 2023
1:15pm – 5:00pm
National Building Materials Wholesale Best Practices Group Meeting
This is an independent, members-only group for senior level Credit & A/R professionals to engage in best practice processes and benchmarking conversations in an anti-trust compliant environment. The meeting includes an Economic overview presentation focused on the Construction and Building industries delivered by Macro-Economist, Richard Hastings.
For information about this group, to become a member or join this meeting as a first-time guest, please contact Yesinne Alvarez.