History

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1999: German Financial Executives Institute Celebrates Its 30th Anniversary

On 31 March 1969, a meeting was held in a Frankfurt hotel which was attended by a small group of German chief financial officers who came to the conclusion that an institution similar to the Financial Executives Institute in the USA should also be established in Germany. The Gesellschaft für Finanzwirtschaft in der Unternehmensführung e.V. (GEFIU) was conceived on that day. On 22 July 1969, the association was officially founded and its  first general meeting was held in October the same year.

The vision for the German Financial Executives Institute was given in the opening speech:

"... the CFO of a company usually belongs to the group of persons who are overburdened with work. In general, the area of his responsibilities seems more to be too comprehensive than too small. On his desk are the problems of his enterprise in principal as well as in detail. People of that type cannot be attracted by glamorous meetings, cocktail parties or time-consuming articles on topics which are covered in the professional press anyway.   

Therefore GEFIU does not intend to become a large association arranging glamorous events but a selected company of persons who are interested in concrete work, who are ready to contribute to solutions of current problems and who are willing to share their experiences."

Over the last 40 years this vision has successfully guided the institute's activities. The institute in average has some 180 members each of whom sits on the board of management of his company.
Experiences and information are shared and proposals are drawn up which are often passed on to the competent authorities as well as politicians, scientists and other influential professionals. The institute has also issued publications on a variety of selected topics and problems. (continued)

One-day seminars have been regularly held on the following current issues:

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• European monetary union

• The euro's impact on European capital markets

• International accounting standards

• Controlling requirements and transparency in corporations

• Financial derivatives

• The law regarding insider trading

• European bond rating

• Electronic banking

• Investor relations

• Earnings per share (DVFA)

• Raising of equity

• Problems of international liquidity

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GEFIU was one of the co-founders of  International Association of Financial Executives Institutes (IAFEI) and hosted the 4th World Congress in 1972 and the 6th European Day in 1987. GEFIU currently chairs the IAFEI Planning Committee.