FROM THE PUBLISHER By Ralph Petta Embracing Change C HANGE IS A CONSTANT IN THE EQUIPMENT FINANCE INDUSTRY . From evolving markets to shift ing customer needs, you are continually challenged to innovate your business operations. Th at’s where the 55th ELFA Annual Convention comes in. Our theme this year is “Financing Solutions for a Changing World” and the agenda is designed to help you get ahead of change. tistical information about our $1 trillion industry. Read the highlights on p. 36 and learn more about the report at www. elfaonline.org/SEFA . How will the new lease accounting standard impact loan covenants? Find out in the Financial Watch column on p. 40. For guidance from leading experts on how to prepare for the new standard, we encourage you to attend the Lease and Finance Accountants Conference, Sept. 12–14 in Baltimore. It’s been a busy year for state and fed-eral advocacy . In a powerful display of “democracy in action” a record 125 mem-bers participated in Capitol Connections this year. Check out photos from this very successful event on p. 42. Th ank you as always for your continued support and participation. Please don’t hesitate to contact us at ELFA headquarters if you have any questions or you’d like to get more involved. ■ Position your business for success by joining us in Palm Desert, Oct. 23–25, for the largest annual gathering of industry leaders. You’ll enjoy high-quality educa-tional sessions and unparalleled network-ing opportunities and hear from a great lineup of keynote speakers: ● ● Political commentator Joe Scarborough of TV’s “Morning Joe” will provide timely analysis and insight into the up-coming presidential and congressional elections; ● ● Renowned business strategist Jay Baer will off er guidance for getting and keep-ing more good customers; and ● ● “Dean of Innovation” Jeff DeGraff will share strategies for achieving cultural change that leads to sustainable innovation and growth. Turn the page for more about the 2016 ELFA Annual Convention. We hope to see you there. Speaking of change, this issue of Equipment Leasing & Finance magazine tackles several hot topics that are having a transformational eff ect on our industry: Our cover story on p. 24, “Go With the Flow,” examines best practices for implementing new technology systems, with insights from members of ELFA’s Operations & Technology Committee. As Committee Chair Deb Reuben notes, “Inno-vation used to be cutting-edge; now it’s a requirement.” For more on this topic, we invite you to attend the Operations & Technology Conference, Sept. 12–14 in Baltimore. Th e feature story “Securitization: Stoney Crossing” on p. 28 looks at the current environment and asks, “Is securiti-zation here to stay, or will this funding method be choked off by outside forces?” Learn more in the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation’s study on this subject available at www. LeaseFoundation.org . What’s ahead for the rest of this year? Our “Mid-Year Update” on p. 32 reports that economic headwinds are in the forecast, but ELFA members are weathering the storm. For more on the 2016 outlook, see the Foundation’s Q3 Economic Outlook report on p. 22. We’re very pleased to present the 2016 Survey of Equip-ment Finance Activity , the most important source of sta-Turn the page for Annual Convention details. Ralph Petta is the President and CEO of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association and the publishing director of Equipment Leasing & Finance . To submit letters to the editor, email EL&F@elfaonline.org. ELECTION SEASON It’s time to vote for ELFA’s offi cers and directors for 2017. To participate in this important process, please see the instructions on page 14. We also encourage you to participate in the Business Council Steering Committee (BCSC) elections. See page 19 for details. EQUIPMENT LEASING & FINANCE MAGAZINE JULY/AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2016 3