Finance Director Europe

M&A – its all about the timing. In an exclusive interview, we speak to Steve Lucas, Finance Director of National Grid, who presided over two acquisitions within a single month last year - snapping up Rhode Island Gas for almost $600m and KeySpan for $12bn.

In the first interview outside of his native Germany, we also learn how Lothar Steinebach, CFO of Henkel KgaA, kept his nerve during the recent €4bn acquisition of ICI subsidiary National Starch. Steinebach is quick to point out that post-merger integration is where the really hard work starts.

We also interview John Hele, CFO, ING Group, on how the bank has re-ordered its management structure in order to better address the new risk climate. Suresh C. Senapaty, EVP, Finance and CFO of Wipro Limited discusses the changing role of the CFO and the finance function, and Roy Waight, EVP for the Finance Functional Plan, Shell, explains the benefits in regional shared service centres.

This special anniversary edition contains the usual array of expertise and insight from Europe’s leading CFOs and finance experts as well as an in-depth feature casting an affectionate look back at the last fifteen years in the ever-evolving role of the modern finance director. Elsewhere we have exclusive interviews with thought leaders including Jérôme Contamine, SEVP, Deputy Managing Director, and CFO, Veolia Environnement SA, John Allkins, former Group Finance Director, MyTravel and Robert MacLeod, Group Finance Director, Atkins

Welcome to the latest edition of Finance Director Europe.

Our cover story interview with Nick Luff, the new CFO at utility giant Centrica, reveals a fascinating insight into the sheer energy that he is bringing to the role. It also discloses just how quickly the modern finance director is expected to get up to speed in a new role. By Luff’s own admission his 'feet have hardly touched the ground' since joining Centrica from cruise and ferry line Peninsular P&O in March of this year.

Elsewhere in this edition we hear from Pitney Bowes’ CFO, Bruce Nolop, on the development of a post-SOX risk governance system. A fascinating account of a programme that actually goes far beyond SOX’s mandate. Amongst others, we also hear how Starwood’s CFO for EMEA, Bill Showalter, addresses the various ownership, management and property structures that underpin the effective running of a hotel chain.

Following the publication of Sir David Varney's "2006 Review of Links with Large Business" report, UK Chancellor Gordon Brown embraced HM Revenue & Customs plans to improve its links with large businesses. One of the key contributors to Varney’s review committee was Jonathan Symonds, CFO of AstraZeneca. Our interview with Symonds on this topic highlights the challenges that the European Commission now faces in persuading the member states to agree on a common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB).

Elsewhere in this edition we hear from Gerard Hartsink, Chairman of the European Payments Council, on the challenges European corporates face to realise the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA). We learn from Zarin Patel, Group Finance Director, BBC, about an exciting new outsourcing agenda at the BBC and, amongst others we also hear from Eldar Sætre, CFO of Statoil on a new approach to budgeting that re-assesses 'what drives good performance'.

For Jean-Michel Etienne, finance director of marketing conglomerate Publicis Groupe, which acquired ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi in 2000 followed by the purchase of US comms major Bcom3 in 2003, the challenges of integrating two of the world's best-known ad agencies into its network has been a tough task.

We also hear how Guy Elliot, finance director of Rio Tinto, faced the enviable task of deciding what to do with net earnings of $5.2bn for 2005. Elsewhere we return to the familiar topic of pensions and corporate liability with Philip Broadley, group financial director at the Prudential and also hear how Ericsson have managed to transform finance and accounting through shared service centres.

Fortis CFO Gilbert Mittler discusses the recent acquisitions of Turkish bank Disbank, Dryden Wealth Management and Von Essen Bank in Germany as well as a more generic growth which Fortis employs with a strong emphasis on cost cutting and cost management. We also return to the familiar topic of private equity investment.

Elsewhere, amongst many others, we hear from David Blackwood, Group Treasurer, ICI plc, on risk and its management from a financial perspective and Prof. Henri Olivier, Secretary General of the European Federation of Accountants (FEE) who discusses new regulation for statutory auditors in the European Union.

We look to the banking industry to assess the prospects for greater deal-making in a period in which there is plenty of cash to do deals, a closer corporate culture among European economies and a will to achieve cross-border deals. We assess two major mould-breaking deals - Spain's Santander acquiring the UK's Abbey in 2004 and Italy's UniCredito buying HVB in 2005 - and discover that there are still plenty of road blocks in place.

Elsewhere we hear from Sir David Tweedie, Chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board on the latest developments in the effort to implement international financial reporting standards and Kate Sharp, CEO of the Factors and Discounters Association on the subject of invoice finance.

Lawrence White, Arthur E Imperatore Professor of Economics at New York University's Stern School of Business explores the what, why and how of gaining a foothold in the US. Professor White outlines some of the obstacles and opportunities that companies keen to establish a presence on US soil should look out for.

Janelle Hill, Vice President of application development and architecture at Gartner sheds some light on the strategic value of BPM while Michael Thrower, Head of European Business Development at Wall Street Systems takes us through the rough terrain that is treasury and payments infrastructure.

In this edition we ask how a finance director should return cash to shareholders - through the dividend or a share buyback programme? We take a careful look at the pros and cons of each method.

Elsewhere, Piers Lightfoot, President of REL Europe addresses how by reducing working capital requirements companies can discover an attractive source of cash at a time when funding from traditional channels, such as banks and the equity markets, is tougher to come by.

Plus, we take an overview of the successes and challenges of Business Process Management and the advantages of Enterprise resource Planning.

FDE takes an overview of three ways to improve the finance director's lot: the use of off-balance-sheet techniques, better tax planning and going private - the ultimate move to avoid problems associated with increased scrutiny.

We also hear from Reuters Finance Director David Grigson on how his company has streamlined its processes and look at how finance directors should work with pay consultants.

Sir David Tweedie, Chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board, discusses how Finance Directors across Europe are preparing for a change that may be the most important step towards the creation of a common financial market for the EU.

We also hear from Mario Monti, EU Competition Commissioner on the significance of the new merger regulation and how it will improve competitiveness for European business by streamlining the decision-making procedure. Elsewhere David Devlin, President, FEE outlines some concerns about the proposed changes to the Company Law Directive.