Program | Speakers | Registration

CFO China, now in its fourth year of publication, has dedicated its coverage to providing the Chinese CFO with a map on the journey towards financial excellence. During that time, we have watched, recorded, and participated in the evolution of the CFO's role in China, from number-crunching to crucial strategy creation.

Two important developments have altered the role of the Chinese CFO in the last twelve months. A new breed of global companies has taken the lead in the nation’s overseas expansion. Meanwhile, in the home markets, China’s companies are becoming increasingly competitive as they face tighter margins. The best are improving productivity rapidly. Both trends have effectively strengthened the CFO’s role in the organization, enhancing their clout as decision-makers in strategy and internal controls.

The CFOs who succeed will be those with the practical knowledge to bring their financial visions to life. At this year's Fourth Annual CFO Rising Conference, we chart the next steps in the paths of China's top CFOs. In a full-day program, CFO China’s editorial team provides professional commentary while China’s leaders in finance address the rising influence of the CFO in strategy, internal controls, governance and productivity, sharing their own corporate achievements and challenges. Future leaders will be seated in every row of the audience. The synergy will be exciting and inspiring –and this is the main goal of CFO Rising.

Provisional program

8:00am	Registration
8:45am	Welcome and introduction from the chairman
	Chen Wu, Editorial Director, CFO China
9:00am	Keynote Address: Building investor relations
	Wang Guoliang, Chief Financial Officer, PetroChina
9:30am	Preparing for Global Investors: How to reorganize for a listing
	Most companies are aware that stronger financial regulation, mimicking the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the US and a global drive for more stringent accounting standards, is an inevitable future prospect in China. And regardless of emerging regulations in China the move toward greater transparency on a global scale is a powerful trend. The best companies are adopting practices to enhance transparency for investors in preparation for a listing, whether they plan to come to market this year or in the future. In this session, CFOs discuss the process of preparing to go public in global markets and share their perspective on the need for transparency and reform in high-growth companies still under private ownership.
	Gordon Lau, Chief Financial Officer, Xinhua Finance Wang Guoliang, Chief Financial Officer, PetroChina
10:15am	Consolidating operations in China
	After two decades in China, many multinational firms have sped up the pace of M&As on top of rapid organic growth. How to manage an extensive network of joint ventures and wholly-owned enterprises, especially in the field of accounting and compliance, becomes a priority for China CFOs. “One country, one legal entity, and one administration center” is the ideal goal and there are many ways to achieve such a goal. With consolidation, China CFOs will be able to spend more time on business development. This session will illustrate how one company has consolidated various operations under one holding company following its acquisitions.
	Michelle Cheung, Vice President of Regional Finance and Controlling, Henkel
10:45am	Morning refreshments
11:15am	The CFO as rising strategist
	Despite the advent of greater regulation, the role of the CFO has become one of increased strategic focus. To understand the current trends, best practices and issues affecting CFOs of large national and multinational companies, IBM undertook a global CFO Study in 2005. In this session, we examine the results of the study and discuss how the role and development of chief financial officers is evolving. In addition, we address how the CFO can balance controls and risks, performance management and business insight, comparing global best practice to local practice.
	Moderator: Yang Jian, Managing Editor, CFO China Morris R. Treadway, Partner, Financial Management Services, IBM Business Consulting Services - Asia Pacific IBM Client speaker
12:00pm	The China 2005 working capital challenge
	Managing in a growth economy has always been difficult, and perhaps the greatest indicator that companies are managing well is firm control over working capital management. CFO China and CFO Asia have been tracking working capital via a ranking with REL Consultancy for many years. This session addresses how the best companies in China are ensuring that revenue growth is not being accompanied by a surge in working capital. In addition, it highlights the techniques companies have deployed in order to reduce days working capital, days inventory, and days sales outstanding.
	Wayne Zhong, Head of Finance and Accounting, Volvo Constructions Equipment Xue Jianmin, Chief Financial Officer, Shanghai Tyre & Rubber Arthur Wang, Country Manager and Chief Financial Officer, Morgan China
1:00pm	Luncheon
2:30pm	Understanding competition in China
	Multinational firms and local companies are competing fiercely for market share. Consumer tastes often shift unexpectedly. To survive and grow requires effort to build trust with partners. A cordial working relationship with a joint venture partner will soothe obstacles ahead on the road. Trust with local suppliers and clients will help deal with unexpected downturns.
	Paul Zhang, Chief Financial Officer, McDonald's (China) Corp Ltd David Feng, Finance Manager, Pioneer China Holding Co Ltd
3:15pm	Afternoon refreshment
3:30pm	Preparing for the Future: Chinese banks
	China’s banks are undergoing major reform in preparation for global listings and open competition on the schedule set by the nation’s accession to the World Trade Organization. The implications for China – and Chinese-company CFOs — are major. The government considers the clean-up and reform of the banking system to be the top priority in its plan for economic development. For CFOs, the more open competition can only be good news, because it will provide more efficient banks, the prospect of easier access to capital, based on risk-based pricing, and better service management all around.
	Simon Wood, Managing Director, Corporate Finance, Macquarie (Hong Kong)
4:00pm	Seeking financing for SMEs
	Chinese small and medium enterprises, particularly privately-owned ones, have long complained that a lack of financing resources have strained their growth. Because the government has yet to relax its control of interest rates, Chinese banks are risk averse in lending to SMEs. Now, this is changing. The government may gradually phase out its control over interest rates. It has also proposed several initiatives to push more lending to SMEs. Banks, after undergoing some painful structural reforms, are desperate to differentiate from one another, partly propelled by their foreign strategic partners. Cash-poor SMEs are ideal clients.
	Wei Meizhong, Chief Financial Officer, Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co
5:00pm	Concluding remarks from the chairman
5:15pm	Champagne draw
	Feedback from our attendees is very important to us, and all delegates are invited to complete a short evaluation form. All completed evaluations will be entered into the champagne draw at the end of the conference for a chance to win a bottle of champagne.
5:30pm	Conference adjourns

Confirmed speakers include:

Yang Jian, Managing Editor, CFO China
Chen Wu, Editorial Director, CFO China (event chairman)
Michelle Cheung, Regional Vice President of Finance and Controlling, Henkel
Morris R. Treadway, Partner, Financial Management Services, IBM Business Consulting Services – Asia Pacific
Simon Wood, Managing Director, Corporate Finance, Macquarie (Hong Kong) Ltd
Paul Zhang, Chief Financial Officer, McDonald’s (China) Corp Ltd
Arthur Wang, Country Manager and Chief Financial Officer, Morgan China
Wang Guoliang, Chief Financial Officer, PetroChina
Xue Jianmin, Chief Financial Officer, Shanghai Tyre & Rubber
Dr. Tan Weimin, Vice General Manager, Shanghai Xingi Investments Co. Ltd
Wayne Zhong, Head of Finance and Accounting, Volvo Constructions Equipment
Gordon Lau, Chief Financial Officer, Xinhua Finance
Wei Meizhong, Chief Financial Officer, Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co