TAG Finance

 

TAG-Finance will provide
Educational, knowledge-transfer, networking,
and mentoring opportunities
…In the fields of finance, accounting, tax and financial technology
…To the owners and decision makers
…Of Georgia's technology firms.  

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               Join us for discussions at the following locations

       

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Our Gold Sponsors:

 Our sincere thanks to our Gold Sponsors who provide the financial underpinnings to develop and deliver the Finance content portfolio. Please click on the logos to learn more about each organization. 

To become a Sponsor, please contact Dave Chambless, Chair of the Finance Society at +1.404.627.4454 dchambless@abraxas.biz

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Calendar of Events:

Upcoming Events

When	Topic
03/01/2012	TAG Finance - M&A Experts Panel: The Value Equation, Making Your Company More Valuable in the Eyes of a Buyer

Past Events 

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   Silver Sponsors:

TFS appreciates the financial and content support provided by our Silver Sponsors.  Please click on the logos to learn more about each organization.

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Society News

TAG Finance Society Explores How BI Systems Can Help High-Tech Organizations Weather The Recession

Business Intelligence (BI) and analytics tools can and should have a positive impact on an organization’s ability to weather the economic downturn and help the
organization exit the downturn in a stronger market position. 

This is one of the key findings of a panel of industry executives at the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) Finance Society in Atlanta recently.   The presentation was titled: “The Analytics of Business in a Down Economy – Can Business Intelligence Make a Difference?”

“Too many high-tech executives view the cost of Business Intelligence as an expensive luxury that they cannot afford,” said Don Campbell, President and CEO of Virtual Management Technologies, moderator of the panel. “A consensus of the panel was that small and midsize organizations need to take advantage of BI/Analytics technology to help themselves understand the strengths and weaknesses of their business and, most importantly, to leverage this information to implement changes that will have a positive impact on the future of the company.”
Click here for full press release>>

Click here for seminar presentation>> 

Transforming Caterpillars in Butterflies: A Study of Emergent Organizations

The manner in which managers define the values of an emerging organization and how they put these values into practice have a measurable impact on an organization’s performance.  This is one of the key findings of nationwide market research conducted by Jake Messersmith, PhD, Assistant Professor of Management at George Washington University and recently presented to The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) Finance Society.  

“My research analyzed the key factors that contribute to the success or failure of developing organizations,” said Dr. Messersmith. “We examined three key influences that impact the performance of an emerging firm: human resource policies and practices, the philosophy of partnership with employees and the entrepreneurial drive and orientation that are embedded in the organization’s makeup.”

“This research is particularly relevant to the many emerging high-tech companies throughout Georgia,” said Don Campbell, President and CEO of Virtual Management Technologies and moderator of the seminar.  “Dr. Messersmith’s research validates that value-based management systems can yield measurable improvements in operations ranging from increases in sales and lower turnover to improvements in innovation.”

TAG Finance IFRS - Much More than a Technical Accounting Exercise 

Getting the debits and credits right is certainly important. But the impact of a move to IFRS will be felt far beyond the Accounting department. This was the topic of a seminar hosted by the Technology Association of Georgia’s (TAG) Finance Society.

Todd Markus, The VP of Accounting & Finance and Enterprise Governance at Accretive Solutions & Mike Beaty, Managing Director, Advisory Services, KPMG LLP hosted an exciting program that focused on the IFRS Roadmap and the impact that the conversion to IFRS would have on the following areas:
 
• Accounting policies & investor relations
• SOX compliance, internal audit and enterprise risk management
• ERP systems and the overall IT environment

This seminar highlighted that the adoption of IFRS still remains several years away but the time to assess the impact of IFRS is now.  Today, tomorrow and in the very near future, every company will make investments in process, controls and information systems that will ultimately be impacted by the conversion to IFRS. Understanding how the conversion to IFRS will specifically affect your company is critical to ensuring that decisions being made today incorporate the requirements that will be needed to effect the most efficient conversion to IFRS. For a copy of the TAG Finance presentation

TAG Finance Legal Priorities Seminar

Strict data protection and data privacy regulations, intellectual property protection and human resource practices are some of the key priorities today’s high-tech executives must balance in managing their organization’s legal priorities.  These were among the key discussion points at a management seminar held November 11, 2008 by the Technology Association of Georgia’s (TAG) Finance Society.  The seminar was titled: “Defining your High-Tech Organization’s Legal Priorities.” The seminar was geared to executives facing the challenge of balancing the many legal priorities they face.   

“Whether you’re an early stage company or a mature organization, high tech executives need to understand the changing playing field of legal standards,” noted Don Campbell, President and CEO of Virtual Management Technologies, and Moderator of the Seminar. “The legal standards for data protection and privacy, for example, have evolved rapidly over the past year and executives need to understand how these changes will impact their business.” 
 
Click here to read press release

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 TAG Finance Evaluates the Economics and Strategy behind Software as a Service

 

TAG Finance sponsored a seminar on one of the newest, yet oldest, technologies available to organizations today – Software as a Service (SaaS). Why the oldest?  SaaS has similar underpinnings to the 1960’s and 1970’s when application time-sharing was the least expensive way to gain access to administrative applications such as payroll and accounting for many organizations.   SaaS delivers as similar model wherein mid-sized organizations can get the power of sophisticated and feature-rich applications delivered via the web.  Key panelists such as Jeff Pyden, Managing Director of OmniVue Business Solutions and Alan MacLamroc, Chief Product and Technology Officer at CDC Software discussed the state of the industry in delivering viable SaaS solutions.  To review the TAG Finance presentation please click here.
 

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Is your organization secure – enterprise wide?

“39 percent of executive decision makers at Fortune 100 companies labeled IT Security a significant concern and Enterprise Risk Management as their number one concern over the coming 12 months,” according to Rodney Deli-Gatti, Accretive Solutions, a national professional services firm with over 1,100 professionals.  Building a security model that supports the organizations entire footprint is critical in managing today’s multi-location and international businesses.  TAG Finance sponsored a seminar that highlighted many of the issues executives believe today are impacting their success and ability to grow profitably.  The seminar presented a security model that is business focused, in which business is driving and IT is supporting. “The key is taking a long term strategic approach that carefully aligns Information Security,” says Mr. Delli-Gatti.  “The governance, risk and optimization model must encompass a holistic approach.” For a copy of the TAG Finance presentation, please click here.

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TAG Finance Library of Whitepapers & Presentations

TAG Finance Society Discusses 3 Hot Legal and Finance Topics:  Restrictive Covenants/HB 173, W-2 vs. 1099 Employee Classifications and Health Care Reform Impact on Technology Companies	Click here for Whitepaper Click here for Presentation
Homrich Berg Monthly Market Monitor	Click here for Presentation
Planning do's and don'ts to position your business to optimize 'take out value' in today's business environment	Click here for Presentation
If only I'd known:10 top gotchas from experienced (read: bruised) high tech executives	Click here for Whitepaper
The Economics of Business Process Outsourcing	Click here for Whitepaper
"Streamlined Sale Tax Almost Here! Is it a Curse or a Blessing	Click here for Whitepaper

 

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                                       Our Board Members:

 

Dave Chambless, Chair	Abraxas Business Services	dchambless(at)abraxas.biz
Dan Branch	Taylor Consulting	DBranch(at)taylorconsultinggroup.com
Eric Carlton, Co-Vice Chair, Social Media	Joel & Granot	eric(at)joelandgranotcom
John Carpentier	Tarpley & Underwood	jcarpentier(at)t-u.com
Patrick Catton	Dixon Hughes Goodman	pcatton(at)dixon-hughes.com
Justin Daniels, Vice Chair, Marketing	Wagner, Johnston & Rosenthal	jsd(at)wjrlaw.co
Reid Eastburn, Co-Vice Chair, Programs	Eastburn Associates	reid.eastburn(at)eastburnassociates,com
Maria Handwork, Vice Chair, Administration	Pinnacle Business Advisors	mhandwork(at)pinnacle-atl.com
Steve Hassett	Sage	Steve.Hassett(at)Sage.com
Derek Howard	Technology Association of Georgia	Derek(at)tagonline.org
Hunt Jackson	Equifax	Hunt.Jackson(at)Equifax.com
Carter Johnson, Co-Vice Chair, Programs
Dan Smith, Vice Chair, Finance	Ronald Blue & Co.	dan.smit(at) ronblue.com
Mike Stanford	Homrich Berg	stanford(at)homrichberg.com
Dick Walleshauser, Co-Vice Chair, Social Media	Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Martin	Richard.Walleshauser(at)chamberlainlaw.com