Submit Half-Day Conference Proposals

How to Submit Half-Day Conference Proposals

Half-Day Conferences are held three times a year on a Wednesday starting at noon in the Rochester, NY area. Please refer to the dates listed on the Calendar under the Events tab. Our audience is comprised of mid- to top-level financial professionals who are looking beyond an introductory presentation. Therefore, we are looking for speakers who:

Tackle important current topics that have an impact on the industry.
Offer a new approach or another way of thinking about current topics.
Present fresh and inspiring ideas on treasury and finance operations as well as financial planning and analysis.

All submissions must be educational in nature and not feature overt marketing or direct selling for a single company or product, although mentions of products and services are acceptable to illustrate learning points. In short, sales pitches are not permitted.

The Half-Day Conference Format is as Follows:

Program Registration & Lunch	12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
(Lunch will be provided during registration.)
Educational Session 1	1:00 p.m. – 2:10 p.m.
Session Break	2:10 p.m. – 2:25 p.m.
Educational Session 2	2:25 p.m. – 3:35 p.m.
Session Break	3:35 p.m. – 3:50 p.m.
Educational Session 3	3:50 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Reception	5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
(Raffle prizes will be awarded during the reception.)

The Three Educational Sessions – Sessions allow speakers to present information on a wide variety of topics. Proposals should offer tangible, meaningful take-away value to the audience, including customer perspectives, lessons learned, best practices and performance metrics. It is preferred if financial institution/vendor/service provider submissions include a user/customer co-presenter, if possible.

Level of Presentations

The level of presentation is identified by the submitter(s) and is based on expected audience experience and knowledge. Session attendees may evaluate the presentation by the appropriateness of the level and the ability of the speakers to meet the described objectives. It is very important to accurately identify the level of your session. The Board of Directors reserves the right to modify the level and will instruct submitters accordingly so that they may meet audience expectations.

Intermediate sessions require a basic knowledge and some experience in the topic area by the attendees. Brief emphasis on terms is recommended. The focus should be on "How does it work?" and the user benefits, and should include detailed examples. Some evaluation of alternative methods would be appropriate. Key words could include execute, perform, apply, accomplish and measure.

Advanced sessions require a working knowledge and considerable experience in the topic area by attendees and may further require basic or working knowledge in one or more related areas outside the specific topic area. The focus should be on "Can I apply this to my organization?", "How do I implement it?", "How to evaluate it?". Key words could include: integrate, conceptualize, analyze, evaluate and implement. Examples and calculations may be fairly complex and only new technical terminology should be specifically defined. Also included in sessions of this level are in-depth evaluations of alternatives.

Submissions

Please have the following information available before you start.

Your full contact details – name, telephone number, email.
Short speaker biographies (max 500 characters allowed)
Speaker photos (headshot preferred in jpg/gif/png format)
A Company / Organization Logo (in jpg/gif/png format)
Titles of the proposed sessions (try to make this interesting, if not quite intriguing)
Description of the proposed session/s including three learner outcomes or takeaway points

Include all in a Word document and send by E-mail to conferencechair@afpwny.org.

Review Procedures

Meeting Proposals are reviewed by the AFPWNY Board of Directors. The Board Members review and critique session proposals according to specific evaluative criteria, including:

Relevance to the industry.
Originality of material.
Overall perceived quality of session content.
Timeliness of topic.
A well-defined focus.
Completeness of presentation proposal.
Appropriate inclusion of customer/end-user co-presenters.
Perceived take-away value for attendees.
Speaking experience of presenters.
Participant evaluations of presenter at previous AFPWNY events, if applicable.
Uniqueness of approach to the topic or of presenter perspective.

Notification to Presenters

All those submitting proposals will be notified of acceptance 60 days prior to the Half-day Conference date.

Speakers are expected to provide their own laptops loaded with their presentations at the Half-day Conferences. The presentation room contains a LCD Projector and Screen. Internet connectivity will be available for use in showing your presentation. Should you require anything additional, please contact the Conference Chairperson at conferencechair@afpwny.org.

The AFPWNY does not typically compensate speakers for travel or accommodation expenses. We view speaking opportunities as mutually beneficial – an opportunity to present yourself and your ideas to an influential and engaged audience together with a chance to leverage free PR opportunities including the potential for coverage in our website, social media, press releases and features. We are always interested in developing interesting stories about educational content for press coverage.

Final presentation handouts are due one month prior to the Half-day Conference date and will be reviewed by the Conference Committee, and or the Board of Directors. PDFs of slides/handouts will be loaded on a password-protected website for AFPWNY Members to view/print after the event.

Questions?

Please contact Ross Graney and Andrew Zemrac at conferencechair@afpwny.org.