Proformative Interview with Scott Lane

Winner of the inaugural Proformative Resource Award

Proformative is pleased to announce the winner of the inaugural Proformative Resource Award, Scott Lane. Proformative Resource Awards recognize outstanding contributions made by Proformative community members for fellow members which are judged to be most valuable to finance, accounting and treasury professionals.

Scott submitted a comprehensive Investment Due Diligence Template which is a tremendously valuable resource for Proformative community members to utilize in performing the critical function of due diligence, whether it be in choosing an investment manager or identifying acquisition candidates. Proformative community members have already viewed this valuable free resource well over 500 times. The Investment Due Diligence Template offers a benchmark for the type of resources Proformative strives to provide; those that allow our members to learn and drive results within their organizations.

Proformative recently had the opportunity to interview Scott Lane to learn the story behind his winning submission and gain some insight into the motivation for his involvement in the Proformative Community.

Proformative: What motivated you to register for Proformative and subsequently submit this tremendously valuable resource for financial professionals to Proformative?

Scott Lane: I was motivated to register for Proformative for a few reasons. First, I enjoy sharing my knowledge with other professionals. I also enjoy the intersection of academia and reality and this forum seems to be at that place. Second, I view this platform as offering a valuable networking opportunity with others in the finance and accounting profession.

Proformative: It is obvious that you are very well versed in the arena of risk management, how did someone with such a strong accounting background become such an expert in the arena of risk management? Can you give us a sense of the path you have taken to acquire such tremendous risk management acumen?

Scott Lane: I was able to get into risk management by (a) completing an MBA from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business (Cross Continent program '03) and (b) by landing a risk management role while I was at a large finance company subsequent to completing the MBA.

Proformative: How do you plan to stay on top of your 'risk management' game going forward?

Scott Lane: For me risk management is about best practices and being pragmatic. I have seen two types of risk managers in my career: those that are almost 100% academic and those that blend academia with pragmatic business needs. I prefer to be in the latter camp. Ultimately I think I will stay on top of the evolution of risk management by staying within the credit investment industry , continuing to remain versed in new developments, and networking with my peers through vehicles such as Proformative. As an aside, I read The Economist every week and believe that it is a key way for professionals to keep in touch with the world.

Proformative: What would you say are the most challenging aspects of the due diligence process and the three most important lessons you have learned in going through this process many times?

Scott Lane: The most challenging aspects are to (a) coordinating and facilitating the necessary input from several parties, (b) discussing operations risk as it is largely unquantifiable, and (c) brokering consensus when each constituent is married to his view of what is important (particularly investment professionals).

Proformative: What do you see as the most important role that Proformative can play in serving Corporate Finance, Treasury, and Accounting professionals?

Scott Lane: I see it as being a beneficial resource for professionals to share tools, questions & knowledge. I also see it as a good networking platform and an opportunity for professionals to build their on-line brands.

Proformative would like to once again congratulate Scott Lane and express our sincere gratitude to all those who have submitted Resources to the Proformative community.