MFM – the Media Financial Management Association announced today that Ralph Bender, CFO of Manship Media and the Vice Chairman of its Board of Directors, will serve as Chair of Media Finance Focus 2015, the 55th Annual Conference for the Assciation and its BCCA subsidiary. Timothy Mulvaney, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer (CAO) for Media General, and MFM Board Secretary, will Co-Chair the Conference.
Themed “Blazing a New Frontier,” the conference will be held at The Arizona Grand Hotel & Spa in Phoenix, Arizona, starting at 8:30 a.m. local time on Monday, May 18 and concluding on Wednesday, May 20 at 5:00 p.m. A welcoming reception s is planned for Sunday evening.
MFM/BCCA’s annual conference serves as the industry’s primary source of professional education for the media industry’s business and credit management executives, including its newspaper, television, radio, cable, online, mobile and other digital media enterprises.
“Ralph and Tim are excellent leaders for a conference which will explore strategies for blazing new frontiers in the media industry; their financial management experiences span virtually every facet do traditional and new media enterprises," said Mary M. Collins, President and CEO of MFM and BCCA. “We can also count on Ralph to infuse this year’s event with the same warmth and friendliness that made our recent conferences in New Orleans and Miami memorable opportunities for benefitting from the wisdom of industry peers and building lifelong friendships.”
Ralph Bender is Chief Financial Officer at Manship Media, a family-owned media business that had operated newspaper interests for many years and currently owns and operates broadcast television stations and related digital media businesses in Louisiana and Texas. A Past President of the Board of Directors for INFE, the Interactive and Newsmedia Financial Executive Association, Bender was instrumental in the organization’s merger with MFM in 2009 and since then has served on the MFM Board and a number of the Association’s committees. Prior to becoming Manship’s CFO in 1991, Bender served as the company’s Internal Auditor and Tax Manager. Beforehand, he worked in public accounting at Ernst & Young and Postlethwaite & Netterville. In addition to his roles as Secretary of MFM’s Board of Directors and Co-Chair of the 2015 Conference,
Timothy Mulvaney serves on the Association’s Television Committee. He was also instrumental in developing the Chairman’s Award in Memory of Edward H. Deichman, a former Media General executive who chaired MFM’s Board of Directors and played an instrumental role in the association’s expansion into supporting financial and credit management professional across all aspects of the media industry. Mulvaney has served as Media General’s Chief Accounting Officer since January 1, 2012 and as its Controller since 2009. Beforehand, he served as the company’s Assistant Controller, from 2005-2009 and as Director of Accounting and Financial Reporting from 1999-2005. Prior to joining Media General in 1997, he worked in public accounting with Ernst & Young LLP.
Media Finance Focus 2015 will feature presentations from more than 175 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, including the latest trends in credit policies, initiatives for streamlining the financial management of integrated advertising campaigns, and tips for improving the collections process.
In addition, the Institute of Internal Auditors is co-locating its 2015 meeting with Media Finance Focus 2015, providing its members an opportunity to participate in sessions offered by both events. Media Finance Focus 2015 will also offer a full track of tax-related topics of interest to the media industry’s tax professionals.
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.
Media Finance Focus also offers a number of formal and informal networking activities that are designed to foster idea-sharing and an exhibit hall featuring the latest in products and services for addressing the industry’s financial management and credit and collections requirements.
Additional information about Media Finance Focus 2015 and an online registration form may be found on the conference Web site: 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. Its BCCA subsidiary serves as the media industry’s credit association. BCCA’s revenue management services include a variety of credit reports on national and local media advertisers and EMCAPP - the Electronic Media Credit Application. More information about BCCA and EMCAPP is available at http://www.bccacredit.com and www.emcapp.com.
