On a special Wednesday edition of Current Topics, first- and second-year CFIB students convened for a presentation by Anita Pramoda the CFO of Epic Systems on Dodd-Frank: What it means to non-finance companies. Epic Systems is a Madison area, private company and is the US's largest Electronic Medical Record software provider. Anita Pramoda admitted that the presentation topic was one her team spent researching out of academic interest and not out of current impact to Epic. The presentation was a practice run through the material that the Epic group is planning on giving to the NYSE. The presentation was interactive, and even featured dueling professors - Jim Seward and Joan Schmit.
The presentation started with a look at the Republic of Congo and the legislations' impact on the country's tantalum production used primarily in electronics. In 2012, the US government mandates that tantalum sourced from Republic of Congo be disclosed which disincentives US listed companies from using the metal. The regulations introduced volatility due to supply restrictions - Congo sources 15-20% of the world's supply. The group was challenged to discuss and understand the impacts of the legislation to businesses.
The presentation continued with the second topic of the new regulations on the derivatives market - a 600 trillion dollar market. The Dodd-Frank act introduces new regulations and requires a clearing house and the group looked at the financial impact of the required margin deposits. The group left after a "write a letter to Congress" plea from Anita - a good reminder to stay involved, educated, and active in academic and political topics.