2005
Leasing Industry Executive Summit Examines Compliance,
Next Generation of Technology Solutions
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (October 3, 2005) – Last week marked the 2005 Leasing Industry Executive Summit, presented by International Decision Systems (IDS) in San Diego, Calif. Industry executives from high volume equipment lessors including banks, captives and independents convened to have a dialogue with industry thought leaders and colleagues concerning compliance, partnering and next generation technology solutions.
In its second year, the Summit was an information rich gathering, featuring a keynote presentation by Alenka Grealish, manager of the banking group at Celent, a financial services technology research and consulting firm. Grealish delivered a broad outlook on the state of the leasing industry, and issues impacting it. In particular, the presentation focused on how to make strategic sense of compliance and create growth opportunities by investing in your busness’s most valuable areas. One of the keys finding was that as lessors adapt their business models to be Sarbanes Oxley and Basel II compliant, there is an opportunity to implement more sophisticated risk management procedures. By managing the flow of information with a data centric approach, companies can tap into the operational intelligence needed to more effectively run their business.
In addition to this industry outlook, leasing executives Mike Romanowski and Joel Rutledge addressed executive attendees regarding their recent experiences with IDSs Rapport and ProFinia™ products.
Mike Romanowski is Vice President for Strategic Relationships for CoBank, ACB, one of the banks in the Farm Credit System, which implemented Rapport at its wholly owned subsidiary, Farm Credit Leasing (FCL). With more than $1 billion in leases outstanding, FCL serves 7,000 customers across the nation providing lease financing for all types of vehicles, equipment, machinery, implements and buildings. Its decision to use Rapport was a critical step in unifying disparate systems and leveraging efficiencies across the Farm Credit Leasing enterprise.
In his presentation, Romanowski discussed how effectively configuring the solution and re engineering business processes was a key aspect to becoming a better partner to Farm Credit System associations. In successfully launching Rapport as its front end origination system, Farm Credit Leasing was able to establish the FCL LeasePartner Program, with a goal to become the preferred provider of leasing services for the Farm Credit System.
Now that Rapport has proven itself in the marketplace as the leading choice for origination through booking technology, the industry is watching for the highly anticipated “go live” of IDS’s ProFinia. Joel Rutledge, President of BB&T Leasing, joined the Executive Summit live from the hub of ProFinia implementation in Charlotte, North Carolina. He briefed the group on his expectations and goals, and assured them that he would have news of “live” status in the near future.
“It was a privilege to be the conduit through which these commercial finance leaders gathered, networked and championed their businesses and the industry as a whole,” said Todd Davis, Chief Operating Officer of International Decision Systems. “The industry is at a crossroads as never before, a time that requires attentive leaders and strong partnerships to collectively manage the impacts of regulation, tax implications and the biases associated with leasing.”
Rounding out the industry and executive dialogue, Srikanth Sundararajan, IDS’s Executive Vice President of Product Development, discussed the technology roadmap the company has in place to build and support the leasing industry well into the future. He also announced the opening of the IDS Global Product Development Center in Bangalore, India. This opening represents a step forward in IDS’s strategy to unify its global product development team, and the company’s continued commitment to support its InfoLease, Rapport and ProFinia solutions.
About International Decision Systems
International Decision Systems (IDS) is the global leader
in developing lease/loan accounting and portfolio management
software and services. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota,
IDS also has offices in London, Sydney, and Singapore. IDS offers
the largest and most experienced global consulting, implementation,
and technical support teams in the equipment financing industry. For
additional information about International Decision Systems, visit
www.idsgrp.com.
Media Contacts:
Jody Hinkle, Public Relations Manager, 612-851-3436, jhinkle@idsgrp.com
Konajilo Luseni, Makovsky & Co., Inc., 212-508-9684, kluseni@makovsky.com
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