ABOUT THE CONFERENCE
One year after we met in New Orleans for the first in-person meeting in three years, the velocity and intensity of disruption in our markets seems to have increased exponentially. The legacy of the pandemic, climate disasters, economic uncertainty, rising operating and construction costs, and the deepest changes in the workforce we have ever experienced – just to name a few - have created a perfect storm of volatility and uncertainty.
Strength Matters’ 16th Annual Financial Management Conference will bring together more than 200 CFOs and other senior financial management professionals from the nation’s leading nonprofit housing and community development organizations, along with investment, accounting, and other industry partners. While we’re facing serious challenges to organizational sustainability and to managing our portfolios, our approach is to learn from one another to tackle them head on. Our conversations will be solutions based, not an admiration of the challenges at hand!
Register for Conference
AGENDA
DRAFT AGENDA
All times are Central Time
Information about CPE credits here.
Tuesday, Oct. 24
5:30-7:00PM | Welcome Reception at the Royal Sonesta Denmark Commons
Wednesday, Oct. 25
7:30-8:30AM | Breakfast
8:30-11:45AM | Opening Plenary – Challenges to Organizational Sustainability
The current macroeconomic environment has been defined by rising interest rates, supply chain shortages, a banking crisis and the end to COVID moratoria. The impact on our organizations has been ongoing rent arrearages, increased operating costs, delays in executing closings, COVID funding ending, staffing shortages, stress and uncertainty. Where are we in the current business cycle? Are we at a point that either a major change to the business model is needed or, at the very least, are we facing a severe though temporary challenge?
Join us for what promises to be an insightful plenary offering important external perspectives on the critical issues impacting our businesses – what every CFO should know about the current market climate and its effect on key partners that impact our organizations.
11:45-12:00PM | Break
12:00-1:00PM | Lunch
1:15-2:45PM | Concurrent Sessions
See below for topic areas to be covered. Session lineup and descriptions will be shared in September.
2:45-3:00PM | Break
3:00-4:30PM | Concurrent Sessions
See below for topic areas to be covered. Session lineup and descriptions will be shared in September.
Thursday, Oct. 26
7:30-9:00AM | Breakfast
9:00-10:15AM | Plenary – Resetting and Right Sizing: Do You Need To Shrink To Grow and Prosper?
Collection issues are persisting, evictions are increasing with moratoria having been lifted, inflation and expense pressures (security, insurance, repair and maintenance) are all combining to squeeze property cash flow. The implications corporately include loss of distributions from properties in the waterfall, to having to feed and support properties through cash advances. This session will cover how the CFO develops a strategic plan around solving for property and portfolio issues - from the existential (can we survive this?) to simple belt tightening. The panel will outline a practitioner's guide to developing a comprehensive portfolio and organizational approach and implementing strategy and solutions to effect change. Subtopics will include property disposition policies, workout approaches and engagement with third parties and operational tweaks and enhancements.
Join us for a learning session oriented towards implementable approaches for your organization.
10:15-10:30AM | Break
10:30-12:00PM | Concurrent Sessions
See below for topic areas to be covered. Session lineup and descriptions will be shared in September.
12:00-1:00PM | Lunch
1:15-2:45PM | Concurrent Sessions
See below for topic areas to be covered. Session lineup and descriptions will be shared in September.
2:45-3:00PM | Break
3:00-4:30PM | Concurrent Sessions
See below for topic areas to be covered. Session lineup and descriptions will be shared in September.
5:30-7:00PM | Special Pre-Dinner Event – Improv Cafe performance
Friday, Oct. 27
7:30-8:30AM | Breakfast
8:45-10:15AM | Concurrent Sessions
See below for topic areas to be covered. Session lineup and descriptions will be shared in September.
10:15-10:30AM | Break
10:30-11:30AM |The Road Ahead
Concurrent Sessions
The concurrent sessions will be split across five functional topics:
1. Business Continuity & Agility – Content designed to address standard and emerging business practices to support and help the nonprofit affordable housing and community development organization adapt to changing business climate. Includes portfolio solutions, such as P&C and cyber insurance and operational expense management approaches; CDFI/investment solutions; infrastructure solutions; modular housing; enterprise risk management; etc.
2. Financial Talent and Teams – The focus here is on acquiring and retaining diverse financial management talent. This includes recruitment and compensation strategies, novel approaches to bringing in a diverse pool of graduates into the affordable housing sector, creative solutions to health insurance, inter-company relationships, AI innovations, and racial equity efforts.
3. Partnerships (external relationships) – Key external relationships across the affordable housing industry to help the organization meet its mission with a focus on capital, political and subsidy relationships. This includes partnerships with healthcare, education, and other sectors; accessing funding from the newly created Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which is bringing billions of federal dollars into the battle to reduce carbon emissions; foundation partnerships; etc.
4. Financial Performance – This is a classic Strength Matters tract focused on financial best practices that support overall financial standing and tools to support current challenges facing affordable housing and community development organizations. Among the offerings will be sessions on accounting updates, dashboards and board reporting, and the changing permanent mortgage markets.
5. Peer Consultation Sessions – This will be a new feature in the conference which will provide opportunities for hands on consultation with your peers on key topics of interest generated by participants.
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