The Forum on Corporate Finance (FCF) was established in 2000 to facilitate a dialogue between and among senior corporate executives and nationally recognized scholars on cutting edge issues in corporate finance. This dialogue is encouraged through periodic conferences which bring together financial executives and scholars for in-depth discussions of selected topics and through ongoing follow-up discussions between past conference participants.
Since its founding, FCF has hosted conferences in Austin, Chapel Hill, Chicago, Evanston, Houston, and New York that have addressed topics such as share repurchases, dividend policy, cost of capital, international capital budgeting, real options, corporate governance, compensation, fixed income, credit ratings and access to capital, pensions and investing, risk management, behavioral finance, and disclosure policies. Each of these conferences is kept relatively small, typical attendance has included approximately 30 to 40 senior financial executives and 20 academics, to allow for active participation by all attendees.
Companies represented at past conferences include ADM, Barnes & Noble, Cisco, Conoco, Dell, EDS, Eli Lilly, General Motors, Genentech, Home Depot, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel, Johnson Controls, Microsoft, Pacificare, Pfizer, Pitney Bowes, TDS, Texas Instruments and Wal-Mart, among many others.
Universities represented have included, Babson College, University of Chicago, Duke University, Harvard University, University of Illinois, University of Maryland, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York University, University of North Carolina, Northwestern University (Kellogg), University of Pennsylvania (Wharton), and University of Texas.
The seventh FCF conference for will be held at the University of Texas at Austin from 10:00 am on Thursday, February 20, 2020 through 2:40 p.m. on Friday, February 21, 2020:
- The Thursday morning and afternoon sessions will be dedicated to presentation and discussion of six research papers by leading corporate finance scholars. These sessions will have more of an academic focus.
- Dinner on Thursday will feature a keynote speaker from industry who will discuss current corporate finance challenges faced by practitioners and will encourage conversations on related issues among the practitioners and academics in attendance.
- Friday will feature three sessions and a luncheon talk with a practitioner focus, which will address current issues associated with asset prices, corporate financial policies, and managing risk.
Conference Details:
February 20-21, 2020
AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center
The University of Texas at Austin
1900 University Avenue
Austin, TX 78705
About
The world of finance today is far more complex than it was even 20 years ago. Global financial integration, the explosive growth in the use of complex financial instruments, the development of and widespread adoption of advanced analytical techniques, and changes in the composition of firms’ investor bases have made the seemingly timeless paradigms introduced in the 1960s and 1970s inadequate. Financial research is providing us with substantial insights into the ways that financial managers can be more effective.
This premise led to the development of the FCF as a platform through which senior financial executives and leading academicians from top business schools can share and debate their insights regarding the current environment faced by corporate financial managers. This platform allows participants to integrate insights from leading-edge research with real-world experiences of key decision-makers. Moreover, the non-sales oriented atmosphere of these meetings provides participants an unusual opportunity to reflect on the major corporate decisions they face, a task that is often difficult to do given the pressing demands that often dominate their attention.
The format of the meetings is designed to be rich enough to go into depth in a given topic area, yet also loose enough to allow a genuine interchange between and among executives and researchers with a high level of objectivity and balance. Both executives and academics come away with new economic insights into corporate finance issues.
Contact information:
Please contact any of the following individuals for additional information or to get involved with the Forum on Corporate Finance:
Prof. Sheridan Titman
McCombs School of Business University of Texas at Austin
(512) 232-2787
Sheridan.Titman@McCombs.utexas.edu
Mr. Paul Kinscherff
McCombs School of Business University of Texas at Austin
(224) 727-7203
Paul.Kinscherff@McCombs.utexas.edu
Prof. Robert Parrino
McCombs School of Business University of Texas at Austin
(512) 471- 5788
Robert.Parrino@McCombs.utexas.edu
Prof. Jonathan Cohn
McCombs School of Business University of Texas at Austin
(512) 232-6827
Jonathan.Cohn@McCombs.utexas.edu
Papers
Morning Academic Sessions:
Paper 1: Build or Buy? Human capital and corporate diversification
Authors: Paul Beaumont (Dauphine), Camille Hebert (Dauphine and Tilburg), and Victor Lyonnet (Ohio State)
Paper 2: Geographic clustering: Does local M&A activity affect the firm’s acquisitiveness?
Authors: Anjana Rajamani (Erasmus) and Frederik Schlingemann (Pittsburgh)
Afternoon Academic Sessions:
Paper 3: Common ownership, competition, and top management incentives
Authors: Miguel Antón (IESE), Florian Ederer (Yale), Mireia Giné (IESE), and Martin Schmalz (Michigan)
Paper 4: Does borrowing from banks cost more than borrowing from the market?
Author: Michael Schwert (Wharton)
Paper 5: Foreign investment of US multinationals: the effect of tax policy and agency conflicts
Authors: James Albertus (Carnegie Mellon), Brent Glover (Carnegie Mellon), and Oliver Levine (Wisconsin-Madison)
Paper 6: Learning and the improving relationship between investment and q
Authors: Daniel Andrei (UCLA), William Mann (UCLA), and Nathalie Moyen (Colorado)
Accommodations
AT&T Executive Education & Conference Center
1900 University Avenue
Austin, TX 78705
512-404-1900
Website
We have negotiated a room block with a special rate of $189 per night at the AT&T Center.
Cut-off Date: Thursday, September 20, 2018. This date is firm and there will be no exceptions. Go to the following link to make a reservation:
Or by phone (512) 404-3600; please reference the group name, Forum on Corporate Finance in order to receive the group rate over the contracted dates.
Logistics
On-site registration begin at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, October 18. The conference begins promptly at 10:00 a.m. The key dates, times, and other pertinent information that you should keep in mind are summarized below.
Thursday, October 18, 2018
9:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. Registration (Foyer outside Classroom 301)
10:00 a.m. – 11:50 a.m. Morning academic sessions (Classroom 301)
11:50 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Lunch (Salons DE)
1:00 p.m. – 4:50 p.m. Afternoon academic sessions (Classroom 301)
6:00 pm. – 8:30 p.m. Reception and Dinner (Rowling Hall – Guadalupe Room)
Friday, October 19, 2018
8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Registration and continental breakfast (Foyer outside Classroom 301)
9:00 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. Morning sessions (Classroom 301)
11:45 a.m. – 1:15 p.m. Lunch (Salons DE)
1:15 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Afternoon session (Classroom 301)
Meeting Location:
AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center
1900 University Avenue
Austin, Texas 78705
Conference Attire: Business casual
Last minute questions:
You can reach Bob Parrino at (512) 471-5788 (office), (512) 569-0120 (cell), or by e-mail at robert.parrino@mccombs.utexas.edu or Juana Hardwick at (512) 471-6511 (office), (512) 497-2738 (cell), or by e-mail at Juana.Hardwick@mccombs.utexas.edu.