EVENTS T Overheard at the Executive Roundtable OP EQUIPMENT FINANCE EXECUTIVES gathered at the Executive Roundtable in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., in mid-March to discuss the latest trends impacting the industry, to strategize about the future and to create lasting business relationships. Th e event, sponsored exclusively by International Decision Systems, was content-rich and highly interactive. Takeaways from the event included: REGULATION REMAINS A TOP CONCERN —At the opening forum hosted by ELFA Chairman Bob Rinaldi, participants agreed that regulatory is-sues and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s incursion into the commercial space are primary concerns. Th e good news? At a reception following the forum, Florida Rep. Patrick Murphy addressed attendees, calling for regulatory process improvements, as well as improvements to aspects of Dodd Frank, indicating that our message is being heard. BREAKTHROUGH CHANGE IS POSSIBLE —David Pottruck, former CEO Bob Rinaldi and David Pottruck of Charles Schwab, engaged attendees with a presentation and question-and-answer session about what it takes to be an eff ective leader during a time of rapid change. He argued that for breakthrough change, it’s important to have the right team, good leadership and an established process. He added that a good leader has purpose and character, estab-lishes a positive culture and knows how to eff ectively communicate. Leasing & Finance Foundation’s study "Leadership: Th e Next Produc-tivity Frontier," consultant Lani Van Dusen said the most eff ective way to develop a positive culture is to invest in people through training and mentoring with a team approach. INVESTING IN PEOPLE IS KEY —At a session showcasing the Equipment Sessions tackled hot topics. LEASING IS AN ECONOMIC DRIVER —Robert Wescott, Ph.D., Presi-dent of Keybridge Research, shared the Foundation’s 2015 forecast for equipment investment and key drivers of growth. He reported that equipment leasing has a 2.56 economic impact factor ($1 of equipment leasing results in $2.56 additional activity). ALTERNATIVE FINANCE IS A GROWING TREND —At a session about the Robert Wescott, Ph.D., shared economic insights. Foundation study “Th e Impact of Alternative Finance on the Equip-ment Leasing and Finance Industry,” moderated by Scott Th acker of Ivory Consulting Corp., panelists noted that customer service result-ing from speed, convenience, fl exibility and agility make alternative fi nancing attractive to its market. USE OF ELECTRONIC DOCUMENTS IS GROWING —A session about the Foundation study “Digital Documents: Financing Paperless Transac-tions” revealed that about 33% of the ELFA membership use electronic chattel paper and total electronic leasing. Although processes and support for electronic documents are readily available, lender acceptability, the lack of a recognized and accepted legal compliance certifi cation process, and lack of understanding are the biggest drawbacks to its adoption. n (L-R) Andy Fishburn, Bob Rinaldi, Rep. Patrick Murphy, Bill Verhelle and Woody Sutton Watch a video of the Executive Roundtable session “ Strategies for Success in the New Lease Accounting World ” at www.elfaonline.org/Issues/Accounting/EC/ . 10 MAY/JUNE 2015 EQUIPMENT LEASING & FINANCE MAGAZINE