The Stony Hill Inn in Hackensack was the venue for the May Meeting of the New York/New Jersey Chapter of the Financial Managers Society held on May 16, 2007. The dinner meeting and mini-session each featured expert presentations on very timely topics. Members were treated to a presentation on executive compensation while enjoying a finely prepared filet mignon dinner. Security threats and computer fraud prevention were presented at the mini-session preceding the cocktail hour.

Dinner speaker John Gorman begins an Executive Compensation presentation at the May Dinner Meeting.

John Gorman, Partner, Luse Gorman Pomerenk & Schick, PC was the featured speaker at the evening Dinner Session. His presentation was entitled Recent Developments in Executive and Director Compensation.

John noted that issues regarding compensation and benefits for publicly traded companies have received increasing scrutiny from shareholders and regulators. He explained that the scrutiny has been fueled by corporate scandals and the resulting unfavorable publicity has triggered adverse regulatory legislation. "Pay for performance" has become the mantra!

John enumerated the key legislative developments affecting executive compensation. He then fully explained each of these primary regulatory areas, which included the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, expensing of stock options under SFAS 123R, SEC disclosure rules, regulator's policies regarding benefits and stock plans and Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code. John concluded his presentation by giving expert advice for formulating an executive compensation plan to comply with the new disclosure regulations.

John Gorman gives expert advice
on the new compensation rules.

Chapter President Robert Rey announced the new slate of Chapter Officers that have been nominated for induction at the Chapter's Annual Installation Dinner Dance. The event will be held at The Manor in West Orange on June 15.

The officer slate for 2007-2008 is:

Cyber Threats ... and What You Can Do About It was the featured topic at the Technology Mini-Session. The presentation was given by Intelligence Analyst Michael Grossano and Special Agent Philip Frigm from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Intelligence Analyst Michael Grossano of the FBI gives an overview of security threats at the Technology Mini-Session.

Michael Grossano began by identifying today's major threats to computer security such as trojans, worms, phishing and cyber terrorism. He also explained the role the FBI currently plays in the analysis and evaluation of security threats.

Michael emphasized that financial gain has emerged as the primary motivation for hackers and that accounts at financial institutions have become the primary target of trojan attacks, the most prevalent security threat. He also noted that phishing involves the creation of fraudulent e-mail messages with links to Web sites that appear legitimate with the purpose of revealing confidential information. He concluded by identifying important steps to defend against cyber attacks, including firewall and anti virus software implementation and avoiding suspicious e-mail attachments.

Philip Frigm gave insightful security guidance before both presenters answered questions from the Membership.

Chapter Vice-President Robert Currie
introduces the Mini-Session speaker.