TORRANCE, Calif. -- The latest developments in e-contracting and other automated technologies will be explored at the F&I Conference & Expo in Las Vegas. While e-contracting is already available for dealerships and some finance companies, it is not yet in wide use. The technology is expected to speed up the vehicle payment contracting process, lessen or eliminate a host of expenses and costly transaction errors and take dealers one step closer to a paperless environment.

However, are there enough safeguards to prevent manipulation of the data by third parties? Can the contracts be as readily amended when customers are beset with payment problems due to personal problems?

Moderator Becky Chernek of Chernek Consulting and panelists: Michael Jurecki, president & CEO of RouteOne; Brian Roscoe of Ultimate Warranty; Marguerite Watanabe of Benchmark Intl.; Paul Rindone, vice president of Financial Services for ADP; and a representative of DealerTrack will discuss where the technology is currently and where it is going.

The session, "Automated Application Technology & E-contracting," will be held from 9:15 a.m. – 10 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 10.

The F&I Conference & Expo will be held at the Mirage Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas Nov. 9-11, 2005. Last year’s attendance totaled more than 700, including dealers, general managers, F&I managers, agents, exhibitors, lenders and other auto industry members. For conference attendee information, contact Leslie Lower at leslie.lower@bobit.com. For information on exhibiting at the conference, contact David Gesualdo at (727) 947-4027 or dgesualdo@mgigusa.com.

For general information, visit www.fi-conference.com.