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Mark Twain once said, "The human being always looks down when he is
examining another person's standard; he never finds one that he has
to examine by looking up."
At AFP, we aim to do just the opposite.
In the last few weeks, your association has led a global standard-setting
initiative by proposing principles that encourage financial professionals
to look upward. In April, we partnered with financial associations in
France and the United Kingdom to propose that ratings agencies and issuers
adhere to certain standard practices. By recommending that ratings agencies
and debt issuers improve communications with each other, we aim to minimize
the chance that a company might receive a favorable rating while teetering
on the brink of scandal, or receive a lower rating than its circumstances
dictate.
You may have seen articles in The Wall Street Journal, heard headlines
on NPR, or read any of the dozens of other news articles reporting on
our proposal. The Code
of Standard Practices for Participants in the Credit Rating Process
is now accessible from our home page. We invite all AFP member companies
to comment on the draft. Let us know what you think.
Speaking of standards, a humorist once said, "The nice thing about
standards is that there are so many of them." In sheer volume, the AFP
service codes have grown dramatically as the standard by which treasury
managers track bank services. In fact, the 2004 AFP Service Codes provide
uniform references for more than 2,400 bank services, including more
than 350 new codes and 200 modified codes. Developed with input from
bank customers and Wachovia, Key Bank, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo,
the program benefits both the corporate treasury department and the
bank. See www.AFPonline.org/servicecodes.
Further, to increase standardization in reporting bank compensation,
AFP has created The AFP Service Codes Accredited Provider Program. Look
for our accredited provider logo when awarding bank services.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, AFP continues to set the global
standard for treasury and financial professionals with the Certified
Treasury Professional designation. This month's AFP Exchange
magazine profiles the career trajectory of Robert J. Simmons, CTP, who
is now CFO of E*Trade. And congratulations to the many hundreds globally
who earned the CTP credential in the December testing window. Look for
your names on our Web site and your success stories in the AFP Exchange
magazine.
--Jim Kaitz
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