General Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret.) to Address Treasury and Finance Professionals at 2005 AFP Annual Conference

Bethesda, MD –August 31, 2005 – General Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret.), will head the list of featured speakers at the Association for Financial Professionals'(AFP)Annual Conference October 9-12 in San Antonio, TX. General Powell will share his unique perspective on leadership and diplomacy during his speech at the Opening General Session of the AFP Conference on Sunday, October 9.

Considered the most important forum in the finance industry, the AFP Annual Conference is attended by thousands of treasury and financial professionals from across the world. The conference will provide original, essential, and unbiased information addressing the emerging issues affecting the profession. The proprietary content addresses crucial issues impacting the roles of treasury professionals, including Sarbanes-Oxley compliance; mergers and acquisitions challenges; managing health care costs; and reducing payments fraud.

“We are proud that our 2005 Conference will showcase important advancements in treasury and finance and provide a critical forum to address the issues impacting business performance,” said Jim Kaitz President and CEO of the AFP. “The conference provides an unmatched forum for access to up-to-date industry information and best practices. The caliber of our speakers and programming represents the best of our profession and will provide valuable information and educational opportunities for all who attend.”

Nearly 6, 000 treasury and finance professionals from around the world are expected to attend the 2005 AFP Annual Conference, which will feature 150 professional development opportunities, including workshops, seminars, and hot topic breakfast roundtables. Among the key issues that will be addressed at the 2005 AFP Conference are: driving business performance; payment systems; treasury operations; working capital management; finance organization and performance; corporate finance and capital structure; global financial management; and risk management.

In addition to General Powell, other feature sessions will include a discussion on women in finance, the legal aspects of crisis management and the economics of professional sports. The AFP Exhibit Hall will showcase the emerging technologies, cutting-edge new products, and services and solutions offered by nearly 300 service providers for the treasury and finance industry. There will also be networking opportunities, exhibits and many other activities designed to inform and educate the treasury and finance professionals attending the premier treasury and finance event of the year.

Deadline for registration is September 9. Registration costs for the 2005 AFP Annual Conference are $1,099 for members and $1,394 for nonmembers. For more information or to register for the conference, visit http://www.afponline.org/pub/conf/annual_conference.html

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The Association for Financial Professionals, headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, supports more than 14,000 individual members from a wide range of industries throughout all stages of their careers in various aspects of treasury and financial management. AFP is the preferred resource for financial professionals for continuing education, career development, certifications, research, representation to legislators and regulators, and the development of industry standards. Sponsored by the Association for Financial Professionals, the CTP designation is the globally recognized industry standard for treasury and a requirement for a changing profession. More than 16,000 professionals have earned AFP’s certification since 1986. For more information about AFP, visit http://www.AFPonline.org