Western Winter Workshop
Focuses on Financial Literacy

Jan. 20 event takes place in San Francisco;
includes critique of published trade magazine financial articles.

Portfolio manager James L. Keene and Brian Berberet will colead this year’s workshop on financial literacy.

Nov. 26, 2003 — Accounting scandals and errors didn’t stop with Enron, Tyco, and WorldCom. Federal officials are now looking at problems with certain mutual funds and mortgage entities.

Recent events make clear how important it is for all journalists who cover business to maintain strong working knowledge of financial concepts and accounting techniques.

Wall Street Journal reporter Rebecca Smith will give the luncheon address.

ASBPE’s third annual Western Winter Workshop, an intensive one-day seminar in San Francisco on Jan. 20, 2004, will help editors improve their financial reporting and editing. Cost for the workshop is $60 for members and $75 for nonmembers.

The workshop will be held at The City Club of San Francisco and will be led by James Keene, portfolio manager with Bingham, Osborn & Scarborough, and Brian Berberet, a principal of Union Financial Partners Inc.

Wall Street Journal reporter Rebecca Smith will be the luncheon speaker. Smith, along with Journal colleague John Emshwiller, helped break much of the Enron case. The two reporters wrote about their coverage in their book 24 Days, published by HarperCollins.

We'll be giving away free copies of 24 Days to the first 30 workshop registrants.

What You’ll Learn:

• Financial concepts and recent financial historical trends.

• Corporate accounting principles.

• How to read an annual report, financial statement, and other documents.

In a special session, we’ll look at financial articles from trade publications and
suggest what they do right and what they do wrong.

The City Club of San Francisco is located at The Stock Exchange Tower, 155 Sansome St.

More About the Speakers

James L. Keene has been with Bingham, Osborn & Scarborough for four years. He provides investment advice, portfolio design, and financial planning for the firm’s clients.

Keene got a B.S., magna cum laude, in business administration from Syracuse University. He holds both the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designations, and is a licensed real estate broker.

Keene is also a faculty practitioner at the University of San Francisco and teaches CFA prep classes He was the technical editor of a book, Comfort Zone Investing.

Keene is a member of the Board of Directors of the Security Analysts of San
Francisco (SASF), and chairs the organization’s continuing education committee.

Brian Berberet is a principal of Union Financial Partners. He has more than 12 years of investment-industry experience. His eight years of securities research and portfolio-management experience include the management of a small-cap mutual fund.

Berberet’s experience as a securities analyst includes banking; telecommunications services; entertainment; utilities; gaming and leisure; and REIT industries. Berberet has held the Chartered Financial Analyst designation since 1996 and is a member of the Securities Analysts of San Francisco. He served as a CFA exam grader and standard setter from 1997–2000. He has a B.B.A. in Finance from the University of Texas at Austin.

Rebecca Smith won the 2002 Gerald Loeb Award with John R. Emshwiller for their coverage of the Enron story, and the 2001 Loeb Award for her energy coverage in 2000. In 1996, she shared a Gerald Loeb Award for distinguished financial and economics reporting, and received a California Award for Excellence in economic writing. She won a John Hancock Award for distinguished financial writing in 1990.

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