Building a World-Class AP Department Using Disney Magic

Andre Hale – Director, Accounts Payable 
Disney Worldwide Shared Services, The Walt Disney Company
Business Management and Organization – 1.0 Credit
TL1 – New Session

In more than 18 years of management and executive-level experience ranging from small, privately owned companies to multi-billion-dollar Fortune 100 corporations, Hale has held a wide variety of finance, accounting, and operations management positions.  With 12-plus years in a shared services environment, he currently oversees The Walt Disney Co.'s accounts payable division, processing invoices for the United States, Canada, and the Europe-Middle East-Africa region, representing more than $17 billion in annual payables disbursements and approximately 5.9 million in annual invoices.  Before taking the helm of Disney's AP division, Hale held director-level positions in the areas of travel and entertainment (T&E) accounting, overseeing the T&E audit and processing division, representing more than 400,000 expense reports annually, 30,000 commercial cards (T&E and p-cards), equivalent to $380 million in annual travel reimbursements.

Prior to joining Disney, Andre spent seven years with GE in various leadership roles within its corporate and GE supply divisions, most notable of which was his participation in one of GE's leadership programs at its shared services operations in Fort Myers, Fla., where he also led GE's freight payables center.  He is Six Sigma green belt certified and Six Sigma black belt trained.

Hale has a master's of business administration from Stetson University and bachelor's of business administration in finance with a concentration in mathematical and technical analysis from Prairie View A&M University, has been a certified purchasing card professional (CPCP), was recognized by the Aberdeen Group for developing industry best practices in the areas of T&E policy and regulatory compliance, and serves on various local boards. 

Four Giant Steps to Leadership

Ed Robinson – Business Adviser, Author
Robinson Performance Group
Personal Development – 1.0 Credit
TL2 – New Session

Ed Robinson transforms individuals into professionals, managers into leaders, and leaders into rainmakers.  A certified speaking professional and former CPA, Robinson is the author of four books and an expert in practice growth.  His energetic, engaging, and entertaining style is only one reason why Robinson's strategies improve performance, helping individuals manage change and increase revenue regardless of economic times and challenges.

Whether the task is leadership, sales training, or dealing with change — and beginning with the particular challenges of an audience, Robinson underscores basics such as the attributes of professionalism and taking personal responsibility for one's circumstances, career path, and life.  Change management and business growth are key to each of Robinson's keynote presentations.  By not being a victim of life's storms and by reinvigorating passion in one's purpose, Robinson teaches individuals how to dance in the rain through all challenges.

Rethinking Best Practices in a Changing Payments Landscape

John Lucas – Global Product and Strategy Business Manager
The Bank of New York Mellon Treasury Services
Additional Panelists TBA
Business Management and Organization – 1.0 Credit
TL3 – New Session

Mr. Lucas is the director of Product Management for The Bank of New York Mellon's Cash Management Solutions business. In this position, he is responsible for overseeing the design, development, pricing and profitability of all domestic cash management services and associated working capital management solutions.

Mr. Lucas' primary responsibilities include setting strategic direction for the business and building comprehensive solutions by integrating our numerous offerings, including nationwide lockbox, electronic services, disbursements, information reporting, and investment/liquidity management options. He also manages the product management functions associated with BNY Mellon's private label outsourcing businesses.

Joining the organization in 1982, Mr. Lucas spent 14 years gaining a breadth of experience in all aspects of the design and delivery of treasury management services, working in various positions within remittance Processing, Operations, Process Engineering and Product Management. Additionally, he spent three years in Check Float Management. In recognition of his broad knowledge and mastery of the various key components of business, he was recognized with a promotion to Electronic Services product line manager in August of 1999.

As a result of his 26 years of wide ranging cash management experience, Mr. Lucas brings a tremendous understanding of the payments system from both paper and electronic product offerings, as well as a view of the industry from the banking perspective and also from a corporate perspective.

He has been an active participant in the NACHA Electronic Check Council since 1998 and has held key leadership positions with the council. He has also served as a member of the NACHA Board of Directors.

Mr. Lucas has a Bachelor's degree in business administration from Robert Morris University. He is a permanently Certified Cash Manager. 

AP/AR/ERP Implementation Lessons Learned

Lyn Lewars – Senior Manager
Deloitte Consulting
Additional Panelists TBA
Business Management and Organization – 1.0 CreditTL4 – New Session

Lewars is a senior manager with Deloitte Consulting and has more than 20 years of experience in the retail industry. Lewars has been with Deloitte Consulting since 2007 and is a member of the strategy and operations service line, focused on supporting consumer and industrial product clients that want to implement and optimize their back-office transaction processing operations in a shared services environment. Before moving into consulting, Lewars held a variety of corporate roles with the JCPenney Co. (catalog division, corporate real estate department, as well as corporate finance and shared services internal audit) and with the Gap Inc. (director of shared services internal audit). Lewars is a certified internal auditor and an instructor for the IIA, and has a bachelor's degree from Texas A&M University.

Juggling Balls on a Balance Beam: Planning for Future Payments Environment

Richard Oliver – Executive Vice President, Retail Payments Risk Forum
Federal Reserve Bank
Business Management and Organization – 1.0 Credit
TL6 – New Session

Richard R. Oliver is an executive vice president with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and has been with the bank since 1973. Since 1998, he has served as retail payments product manager for the Federal Reserve System. In this capacity, he has responsibility for managing the Fed's check and Automated Clearing House businesses nationwide.

Earlier in his career, Oliver served as planning analyst, administrator of the Automated Clearing House, chairman of the Federal Reserve's Electronic Payments Implementation Task Force, manager and officer in charge of software development, vice president in charge of automation services, the Federal Reserve System's product manager for electronic payments services, officer in charge of business development and check software, and staff director for the Federal Reserve System's Policy Committee for Financial Services. He also serves on the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's Management Committee.

Oliver received a bachelor's degree in math from the University of Nevada, a master's degree in information and computer sciences from Georgia Institute of Technology, and master's of business administration in management from Georgia State University. He has also completed executive development programs at Harvard University and the University of Tennessee.

Collaborative Solutions to Collective Problems

Joseph Collins, Senior Director of Client Value
Apex Analytix 
Field of Study – Business Management & Organization
Overview # TL7 – New Session

Based on the popularity of last year's session (over 400 in attendance), we will once again host the largest interactive brainstorming session in AP. As attendees you will not only gain valuable insight and ideas, but will also create new relationships and contacts. This session will examine some of the newest and toughest challenges facing AP organizations in the categories of the UnMeasured, the UnValidated and the UnKnown. You will not want to miss thislandmark opportunity to develop creative solutions with fellow AP experts in a fun, working, interactive environment. This session will be led by one of IAPP's top-rated speakers, Joseph Collins. As senior director of client value at Apex Analytix, Collins leads the team that ensures international shared service customers are receiving the maximum financial value through APEX's services and technology. Prior to APEX, Collins worked for six years at Alcatel-Lucent as the global process owner of AP, payroll, Sarbanes-Oxley controls and global metrics. Collins is a seasoned IAPP presenter who creates a unique environment of entertainment, engagement and learning by incorporating multiple elements from his background in AP, global training, internal audit, payroll, IT, sales, marketing, customer service, team building, employee relations and psychology.

How to Succeed in a Bad Economy

Michael Solomon – Former NYPD Special Investigator and Acclaimed Author
Business Management and Organization – 1.0 Credit
TL8 – New Session

Michael Solomon is a former New York Police Department special investigator, the recipient of 19 awards for excellent and meritorious police work, and the survivor of a bizarre double assassination attempt. As an intelligence officer with the U.S. State Department, he participated in treaty negations between the United States and Turkey and was assigned to protect the Shah of Iran and Madame Chang of Taiwan. He has met four U.S. presidents.

In 1981, Solomon proposed a change to New York City payroll procedures, which saved more than $120 million, reduced taxes, and balanced the city's budget.

After retiring from the Police Department, he joined the corporate sector in finance and management. After losing three corporate positions, he embarked on his own. He was nominated as having the best company in America in his field by a national magazine.

He is the bestselling author of two books, Success By Default — The Depersonalization of Corporate America and Where Did My America Go? Solomon has appeared as a guest on more than 250 radio and television shows, and as a Fox News guest analyst. He is an active member of The World Affairs Council, The Economic Forum, and the Palm Beach Forum Club.

He has a bachelor's degree in behavioral sciences from the New York Institute of Technology and a master's degree in public administration from Long Island University.

TAX REPORTING BEST PRACTICES

Cyrus Daftary – Partner 
Burt, Staples & Maner, LLP 
Mary Schaeffer – Publisher and Editorial Director
Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow
Steven Mercatante – Principal
TIR Consulting, LLC 
Deborah Pflieger - Principal, National Tax
Enrst & Young, LLP
Taxes – 1.0 Credit
TL9 – New Session

Cyrus Daftary is a partner at Burt, Staples and Maner, LLP specializing in international taxation and regulatory compliance.  Daftary has extensive experience with the U.S. withholding and reporting rules for U.S. and non-U.S. persons, as well as the U.S. Patriot Act and various anti-money-laundering regimes, the European Savings Directive, and e-commerce issues.   Daftary has worked with a large number of major financial institutions and multi-national corporations, and continues to do so as an executive director of Compliance Technologies International, LLP. In this capacity, he addresses the problems associated with compliance obligations and implements operational, systemic process, outsourcing, and IT solutions to ensure prospective compliance with these rules.

Mary S. Schaeffer is editorial director and publisher at Crystallus Inc., which publishes Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow, available monthly in print or electronically in a PDF format. It contains the most current advice from the trenches based on reader surveys, interviews with some of the best practitioners, and the latest changes in all related specialty areas such as T&E, 1099s, sales and use tax, OFAC, VAT, electronic payment alternatives, etc. In addition to commentary from Schaeffer, a nationally recognized accounts payable expert and author of more than 15 business books, AP Now & Tomorrow features a changing lineup of guest columnists, short book reviews, and the latest industry updates.

Mercatante is the owner and founder of TaxInformationReporting.com.  He is a nationally recognized leader in tax reporting education and consulting on specialized compliance issues.  He has conducted on-site consultation for corporate clients and has led countless seminars and webinars for Balance Consulting, The Accounts Payable Network, and Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow. He has spoken at events such as the 2008 Tax Information Reporting & AP Leadership Conference. Mercatante is also a published author, with numerous articles on tax law including The Deregulation of Usury Ceilings, Rise of Easy Credit, and Increasing Consumer Debt, published in March 2008 in the South Dakota Law Review.

Prior to specializing in regulatory law, Mercatante's legal experience concentrated on corporate and transactional matters, civil litigation, and probate and estate matters. He received his law degree from the Michigan State University College of Law, graduating with a certificate in international law and earning the experience to match during an internship at Allen & Overy's Rome office. Before law school he was a high school social science teacher and graduated with a bachelor of arts in political science from the University of Michigan as well as a teaching certificate from Eastern Michigan University. He is an active member of the State Bar of Michigan.