MICHIGAN COUNCIL

Fall 2004 Fall Conference Report

Post-Conference Report
by James Horsch

Over a 100 IMA participants and guests were in attendance at the 3rd annual IMA Michigan Fall Conference at the Kellogg Center at Michigan State University in East Lansing on Tuesday, October 26, 2004. The conference is hosted each year by the IMA Michigan Council and Lansing-Jackson Chapter.

An outstanding cadre of conference speakers kept the participants' interest with a wide range of topics including: an update on the economy, the finances of the State of Michigan, doing business in China, avoiding conflicts of interest, best practices in business sourcing, linking strategy to performance, and Sarbanes-Oxley implementation.

IMA National Chair Larry White was our featured luncheon keynote speaker and he assisted Council President Sue Crane in presenting achievement awards to the Detroit and Kalamazoo chapters, and to the Michigan Council. Representatives from Robert Half International presented Mr. Paul MacDonald, VP of Finance with the Detroit Red Wings with the Financial Executive of the Year Award.

Planning for next year's conference (October 27, 2005) is currently underway.

• Reception & continental breakfast / Participant welcome
• "Update on the Economy" - David G. Sowerby, CFA, Vice President - Loomis Sayles & Company, L.P.
• "Sarbanes-Oxley Implementation & Key Controls" - Kirk Balcom, CIA, CISA, Principal - Internal Audit and Sarbanes-Oxley Consulting - The Rehmann Group
• "Performance Architecture - Linking Strategy to Performance" - Paul Sharman, ACMA, IMA Interim Executive Director & President - Focused Management, Inc.
• "Best Practices in Business Process Sourcing" - Penny Weller, PhD, CMA, The Hackett Group
• Lunch, Awards, and Keynote Speaker
  Special awards and recognition - Michigan Council leaders, Financial Executive of the Year, chapter awards, and student awards - Susan Crane, Michigan Council President
  Financial Executive of the Year Award - presented by Christine Lucy of Robert Half to Paul MacDonald, VP of Finance, Detroit Red Wings
  Keynote luncheon speaker - Captain Larry White, CMA, CFM, CPA - IMA National Chair, and Deputy Chief Financial Officer, U.S. Coast Guard -
  "Management Accounting: Path to Strategic Business Leadership"
• "State of Michigan Budget and Financial Outlook" - Mary Lannoye, State of Michigan Budget Director
• "Ethics in Action - Is it a Conflict of Interest?" - Panel discussion - Moderators:
  Janet G. Seefried, President, Seefried & Associates - IMA Ethics Committee Chair;
  Susan E. Bos, CMA, Tax & Accounting Manager, Washtenaw County Treasurer's Office - Former IMA Ethics Committee Chair & IMA Finance Committee Chair;
  Nancy J. Garibay, Senior Vice President & Controller, Toledo Area Chamber of Commerce - IMA Ethics Committee; and,
  Dr. D. Robert Okopny, CMA, CIA, CFE, Professor of Accounting, Eastern Michigan University - IMA Ethics Committee
• "The Cultural Impacts of Doing Business in China" - Dr. Jerome D. Hill, Of Counsel to Butzel Long, and Visiting Professor in the Department of International Programs at Oakland University

• Jim Horsch, Conference Co-Chair, IMA Michigan Council, Lansing-Jackson Chapter
• Lynn Margulies, Conference Co-Chair - Sponsorships, Lansing-Jackson Chapter
• Susan Crane, IMA Michigan Council President, Saginaw Valley Chapter
• Bob Maddox, Website, IMA Michigan Council, Ann Arbor Chapter
• Teresa DeBaeke, Lansing-Jackson Chapter
• Kristine Volk, Detro Metro Chapter
• Harvey Kragt, Kalamazoo Chapter

During the Fall Conference, the Michigan Regional Council presented Paul MacDonald, CPA, the 2004 Financial Executive of the Year award for the Michigan Region.

Mr. MacDonald is the Vice President of Finance for the Detroit Red Wings. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Michigan Association of CPAs and has been involved in several of the association's initiatives to help attract young people to the accounting and finance profession. He is the only CPA who has his name on the Stanley Cup.

The Financial Executive of the Year Award presented by the Institute of Management Accountants is sponsored by Robert Half International (RHI). Winners are chosen for their exceptional achievements in the finance and accounting fields. These executives represent strong leadership, serve as ethical role models for the profession, and are ambassadors of continuing porfessional education, student involvement and commitment to their financial communities.

Congratulations to Paul MacDonald!