What issues related to economics, reserving, analytics,regulatory concerns and healthcare should CFOs be paying particularattention to and why? Experts identified and discussed thehottest industry issues and how they might impact your job and yourorganization at Tuesday's Chief Financial OfficerRoundtable.

The roundtable gives CFOs plenty of “food for thought,”says Celeska Fredianelli, who chairs the IASA committee that isproducing the session. By session's end, CFOs should have a muchbetter handle on where their organization stands. They also shouldleave with at least several actionable ideas to apply within theirown organizations, says Fredianelli, vice president, financialplanning and analysis, at QBE North America in Southfield,Mich.

During the session's first segment, James E. Glassman, managingdirector of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and head economist at ChaseCommercial Banking, provided an in-depth economic outlook.“That's a pretty heavy hitter in the industry,” Fredianelli notes.“We're excited about having him. He's a dynamic speaker, veryknowledgeable and highly recommended.”

Glassman touched on consumer spending, energy technologyand healthcare, among other factors that likely will shape theeconomy in the years ahead.

Joining Glassman at the table as moderator was Brent Jones, CFOof the Texas Property & Casualty Insurance GuarantyAssociation.

The program's hour-long second segment, “The Art of Reserve RiskManagement,” examined that topic — including what to look forduring a merger or acquisition — from the perspectives of anactuary, a claims consultant and a CFO. The scheduled panelists areBlake Berman, an assistant vice President at Guy Carpenter &Co. LLC; Mike Murdock, a senior insurance consultant with the NolanCo.; and Harold Meloche, CFO and treasurer at Conifer Holdings Inc.Brian Fisher, a managing director at Guy Carpenter, is set tomoderate the discussion.

During the luncheon segment, Craig Bedell from the BusinessAnalytics Software Group at IBM Corp. discussed how someinsurers are wisely using analytics.

After lunch, the next roundtable segment examined theregulatory environment. Fredianelli says panelists are likely todiscuss, among other things, the new Federal Insurance Office andthe International Financial Reporting Standards that have beenadopted elsewhere in the world and are pending adoption in theUnited States.

At press time, the confirmed panelists were Scott Kipper,Nevada's insurance commissioner; William P. White, the District ofColumbia's insurance commissioner; and insurer executive JohnSvoboda, chief compliance officer at QBE North America. Jean Adams,a principal in Johnson Lambert LLP's regulatory practice, isscheduled to moderate that segment of the roundtable.

After their discussion, the roundtable wraps with atown-hall-type discussion devoted to healthcare. “There are just somany issues out there that people need to be aware of, with all ofthe pending changes in healthcare” set to take effect in 2014,Fredianelli notes, explaining the focus of this segment of theroundtable. “We're anticipating a lively discussion and a lot ofquestions.”

Scheduled panelists include Thomas Hampton, a senior advisor atSNR Denton U.S. LLP, and Kay R. Curling, a senior vice presidentand chief human resources officer at Salient Commercial Solutions.David B. Atkinson, an executive vice president at Reinsurance Groupof America Inc., is set to moderate.