MFM – the Media Financial Management Association (MFM) announced today that Robert Damon, President of Damon Strategic Consulting and Vice Chairman of its Board of Directors, will serve as Chair of Media Finance Focus 2017, the 57thAnnual Conference for MFM and its BCCA subsidiary. MFM Board Secretary Cindy Pekrul, Senior Vice President and Deputy Controller for Turner Broadcasting System, will Co-Chair the Conference.
Scheduled for May 22-24 at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress in Orlando, FL, the annual conference for MFM and its BCCA subsidiary, the media industry’s credit association, serves as the primary source of professional education for business and credit management executives in the media industry, including its newspaper, television, radio, cable, online, mobile and other digital media enterprises. A welcoming reception is planned for Sunday evening, the 21st.
“The theme for this year’s Media Finance Focus event, ‘Magic of Media’ is a tribute to the role played by the media industry in not only creating the magical theme parks located in our host city of Orlando but also its broader role in inspiring innovations that can also seem magical, transporting consumers to new heights of imagination, knowledge and understanding,” said Mary M. Collins, President and CEO of MFM and BCCA. “Thanks to the leadership of Robert Damon, Cindy Pekrul and our Conference Steering Committee, we will offer an agenda that can assist the industry in identifying the best strategies for bringing the next wave of industry magic to the marketplace.”
Robert Damon brings over 30 years of media industry and finance experience to his current role as President of Damon Strategic Consulting. Prior to founding the company earlier this year, Damon spent three years serving as Chief Accounting Officer and Senior Vice President of SFX Entertainment. Beforehand, he served as the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Katz Media Group, Inc. and previously, from 1995 to 2012, as the rep firm’s Vice President and Corporate Controller. Earlier in his career, Damon served as Corporate Controller at Liberty Fabrics, Inc., from 1991 to 1995, and as a Senior Manager at the Ernst & Young accounting firm from 1983 to 1991.
Cindy Pekrul is Senior Vice President and Deputy Controller for Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., where she responsible for the Accounting Business Services (ABS) organization, an integral component of Turner's Global Financial Business Service ("FBS") organization. FBS is a full-scope financial shared service organization that supports Turner’s Procure to Pay, Payroll, Credit and Collections and Travel Services functions, among others.ABS team members are focused on accurate and effective end to end financial service operations, accuracy and consistency in accounting treatment across Turner’s global businesses as well as the creation of opportunities to achieve efficiencies through standardization and automation. Prior to her current role and after joining Turner Broadcasting in 2005, Pekrul was the Vice president and Deputy Controller of Turner’s Accounting Center of Excellence and held Controller positions at CNN Worldwide and Cartoon Network. Immediately before joining Turner Broadcasting she was Vice President and Controller at Allied Holdings Inc., a $900 million public international transportation company. Pekrul began her professional career in 1990 at Ernst & Young in Atlanta.
Media Finance Focus 2017 will feature presentations from over 150 industry experts, who will provide the latest information on accounting, economic projections, valuations, M&A, taxes, human resources, regulatory, and technological developments affecting the media industry. BCCA, the media industry’s credit association, will provide a full track of sessions designed to meet the needs of today’s credit and collections professionals.
In addition, the New Media Internal Auditors (NMIA) association is co-locating its 2017 meeting with Media Finance Focus 2017, providing its members an opportunity to participate in sessions offered by both events. Media Finance Focus 2017 is also collaborating with the Media Industry Tax Group on offering a full track of tax-related topics of interest to the media industry’s tax professionals.
Media Finance Focus 2017 will also offer a number of formal and informal networking activities that are designed to foster idea-sharing and will host an exhibit hall featuring the latest in products and services for addressing the industry’s financial management and credit and collections requirements.
MFM is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. Registered participants can earn 20 or more CPE credits.
Additional information about Media Finance Focus 2017 and an online registration form may be found on the conference website: www.mediafinancefocus.org.
About MFM and BCCA:
Media Financial Management Association (MFM) is the premiere resource for financial professionals for media industry education, networking, and information sharing throughout the U.S. and Canada. More information about MFM is available on its Web site: http://www.mediafinance.org and via its updates on Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter. Its BCCA subsidiary serves as the media industry’s credit association. BCCA’s revenue management services encompass a variety of credit reports on national and local media advertisers, including Media Whys, a credit report for media businesses which offers a credit score based on industry-specific aging combined with trade data from Experian or D+B. More information about BCCA is available at http://www.bccacredit.com as well as its updates on Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter.
