Impress the board: What any top CFO or finance leader needs to know

​Modern boards expect more than accurate numbers; they want finance leaders who communicate with clarity, challenge constructively, and steer strategic decisions. In this interactive panel, Suezann Holmes interviews 2–3 experienced NEDs to reveal what really stands out in board packs, reports, and live discussions. ​ You will learn how to translate complex financials into board-ready narratives, avoid common engagement pitfalls, and use data-driven storytelling to build credibility, influence outcomes, and strengthen long-term board relationships as a modern finance leader.

Speakers:

Suezann Holmes

ScaleXP

Founder & CEO

Three years on: Lessons from Comic Relief’s digital transformation

Implementing a new finance system is a major milestone, but the real impact takes time. Three years after go-live, Comic Relief shares how digital transformation improved efficiency, reporting, and decision-making. This session offers practical tips to sustain benefits, avoid pitfalls, and drive long-term value. Plus, honest lessons on what worked, what didn’t, and strategies to maximise technology investments. Learning Outcomes • Apply insights with practical strategies • Understand digital transformation impact • Recognise value of digital transformation • Sustain growth and strategic decision-making

Speakers:

Bex McGann

Comic Relief

Head of Finance

Neil Wildy

Xledger UK

PM Manager

Beyond the numbers: FDs shaping strategic business direction

A panel discussion covering the role of the FD in supporting, challenging and shaping the strategic direction of their organisation. Using data, metrics and a wider world view, helping organisations make the most effective strategic steps for resilience and growth.

Speakers:

Hannah Pollard

Fairstone Group

Finance Director

Sara Vening

Sara Vening Consulting Ltd

Fractional FD & Coach

Claire Long

Muckle LLP

Director of Finance

Nevil Tynemouth

New Results

Executive Coach, Author, Facilitator and International Speaker

Deepfakes, data breaches and delusions: The AI risks you need to know about

How easy is it to swindle an FD out of their company’s money? Jake Moore did it with a bit of research and an AI voice generator. AI has given scammers powerful tools for fooling the unwary accountant or finance team. Add to that the danger of exposing confidential data – plus AI’s ability to make things up – and you have a new area of risk to contend with. Jake, Global Cybersecurity Advisor at ESET and a former police digital forensics expert, joins Olivia McMillan, COO of cloud accounting provider iplicit, to help you learn about AI risks before the hackers beat you to it. You may never trust a voice memo again.

Speakers:

Olivia McMillan

iplicit

Chief Operating Officer

Jake Moore

ESET

Global Cybersecurity Advisor

E-invoicing is coming: How finance teams can prepare now

E-invoicing is expected in the UK by 2029, and the shift towards real-time digital reporting is accelerating globally. For finance teams, this is more than a compliance update — it will fundamentally reshape invoicing processes, ERP integration, reporting and internal controls. This session examines why governments are driving adoption, the operational and cash flow implications for organisations, lessons from international markets, and the practical steps finance leaders can take now to assess readiness, engage stakeholders, and plan a controlled, cost-effective transition.

Speakers:

Mohammed Sidat

Wolters Kluwer

Associate Product Director

From back office to brand asset: Why payment behaviour is now a CFO’s reputation play

As the UK introduces the toughest late-payment rules in the G7, how companies pay their suppliers is becoming a public measure of trust and credibility. In this session, Terry Corby, Founder of Good Business Pays, explains how payment behaviour has moved from a back-office process to a board-level reputational issue — and how Finance Directors can use it to attract better suppliers, strengthen customer confidence, reduce risk and turn compliance into a competitive advantage.

Speakers:

Terry Corby

Good Business Pays

Founder & CEO

Leading through uncertainty: Economic insight and strategic action for finance leaders

In today’s volatile economy, the decisions of CFOs and FDs have a direct impact on organisational resilience and growth. Join this session to hear Jonathan Ashworth, Chief Economist, ACCA deliver a concise, data-driven analysis of the current economic outlook, covering key trends, market risks, and opportunities that will influence strategic decisions. A panel of CFOs, will then share how they are responding in real time, exploring how finance leaders can drive proactive decision-making, optimise performance, and safeguard long-term value. The session will also highlight how accountants in practice can support smaller businesses, offering practical guidance to help clients navigate uncertainty with confidence. Packed with insight, peer-led perspectives, and actionable takeaways, this session equips finance leaders to anticipate challenges, make smarter decisions, and lead their organisations with impact. Global Economic Conditions Survey: Q4 2025 | ACCA Global

Speakers:

Clive Webb

ACCA

Senior Insights Manager

Sophia Levell FCCA

Access Fertility

CFO

Jonathan Ashworth

ACCA

Barry Saitch

Excel London

Director of Finance & Procurement

Rachel Shorter

MPRD Ltd – A Coesia Company & Antilles Network

Finance Director & Founder

The future of finance is human: Human-led, AI-enabled

The future finance function will be human-led and AI-enabled — guiding businesses and governing intelligent systems. As AI becomes embedded across enterprises, finance leaders must strengthen Business Guidance—supporting strategic decision-making and enterprise value creation—while enabling Business Governance, ensuring the integrity, accountability, and transparency of AI-enabled decision systems. This keynote explores how these two pillars evolve in the AI-enabled enterprise and the capability shifts finance professionals must make to remain effective and relevant in the future.

Speakers:

Ash Noah

AICPA & CIMA

Managing Director - CIMA

Agentic AI for finance – AI that executes tasks, not just answers

What if your finance team had a tireless assistant that could process invoices, flag duplicates, route approvals, and reconcile transactions—24/7, with zero errors? That's agentic AI. Unlike chatbots that simply answer questions, agentic AI takes action: executing workflows, making decisions, and handling repetitive tasks so your team can focus on strategic priorities. Discover what's possible when AI moves from advisory to execution in the finance function.

Speakers:

Peter Beard

GenFinance.AI

Founder and Director

Spreadsheets to stories: How to present with confidence and impact to non-finance stakeholders

Numbers tell us what. Stories tell us why. Whether you are speaking to the board, communicating with internal teams, or addressing a room full of shareholders, the ability to present with confidence and clarity is a critical skill that all finance professionals must master in the modern workplace. In this interactive session, you will learn how to translate even the most complex financial data into a clear and compelling narrative and then deliver your message about those figures in a way that resonates with your stakeholders and helps them make better decisions (even if they don't usually understand numbers).

Speakers:

Kolarele Sonaike

The Great Speech Consultancy

Barrister & Communication Skills Coach

The CFO transformation: From Financial Controller to Growth Architect

As Accountex 2026 draws to a close, join us for the definitive grand finale on the future of finance leadership. While the traditional CFO role was defined by the rear-view mirror, today’s leaders are defined by mapping the road ahead. Drawing on decades of collective leadership, this panel brings together veteran in-house CFOs Catherine Birkett (GoCardless) and Tom Caulton (DNA Payments) alongside Jim Leeves (Co-founder, Shapes) to provide a 360-degree view of the role’s evolution. We’ll move beyond the buzzwords to tackle the 'Final Day' truth: how to cut through the AI noise to find real ROI, the three non-negotiables for a modern finance toolkit, and how finance leaders can better leverage their accountants to accelerate this transition. Whether you're leading an in-house team or supporting a portfolio of clients, this session is your Monday-morning blueprint for driving growth in 2026 and beyond.

Speakers:

Catherine Birkett

GoCardless

Chief Financial Officer

Tom Caulton

DNA Payments

CFO

HMRC’s Transformation road map

Hear from HMRC’s Director General for Strategy and Policy Jonathan Athow on delivering in the first year of the Transformation Roadmap. Find out what has happened already, what will be happening next, and how different groups can get involved in the next steps for the UK’s tax and customs authority.

Speakers:

Jonathan Athow

HM Revenue & Customs

Director General of Strategy and Policy

A fireside chat – The CFO mandate of the frontier firm

Drawing on real-world experience, this fireside conversation explores how the CFO’s role is evolving in organisations operating at the frontier of AI-enabled enterprise. As intelligent systems become embedded across marketing, sales, and operational decision-making, finance is playing a central role in shaping how resources are allocated, how performance is measured, and how value is created.

Speakers:

Ash Noah

AICPA & CIMA

Managing Director - CIMA

ERP Transformation: What finance leaders wish they had known

Most ERP projects fail. Not spectacularly - just slowly, expensively, and painfully. In this unmissable session, finance leaders who have been through the trenches share the hard-won lessons that rarely make it into the brochures, the boardroom presentations, or the post-implementation reviews. The pitfalls, the politics, the moments where it nearly all fell apart - and how they navigated them. If you're considering an ERP transformation, already in one, or trying to salvage one, this is the most important session you'll attend at The FD Show.

Speakers:

James Stenning-White

Diversified UK & Europe

FD

Preete Janda

Ipap Consulting

CFO

Mike Baldock

RSULT

Director

Placeholder Session

Speakers:

Ben Stocken

Atherio

Founder / CEO

Can CFOs really become CEOs?

Are finance professionals simply the guardians of numbers — or are they the next generation of visionary CEOs? This thought-provoking talk challenges one of the most persistent assumptions in corporate leadership: that finance leaders are too risk-averse, too analytical, or too internally focused to lead an entire organisation. Exploring the evolving role of the CFO and other finance professionals, the session examines whether financial discipline is a limitation — or a hidden superpower in today’s volatile, data-driven business world.

Speakers:

Bharti Radix

Hospitality B

Founder

How to sell fractional CFO services: The exact process behind a 7-figure practice

Fractional finance is booming, but most new FDs struggle with one thing: selling. Elliott breaks down the precise sales process behind scaling a fractional CFO business to a seven-figure valuation, a full pipeline, and the ability to turn clients away. Using SPICED, a free CRM setup, and a step-by-step workflow, he shows how finance leaders can run stronger discovery calls and follow-ups. Attendees will also see real examples of messaging, deal tracking, and next-day actions they can implement immediately to start winning fractional work.

Speakers:

Elliott Gaspar

Momentum CFOs

Founder and Fractional CFO

Baby Boomers: Growth through acquisition, opportunity and threat

The UK is approaching a major exit crunch. Baby Boomers own 37% of UK businesses, rising to 66% when including owners aged 50+, many of whom will seek to exit at the same time. For CFOs, the risk is clear: without early value creation, most businesses will fail to attract buyers and face costly solvent liquidation. As organic growth is unlikely to deliver £1m+ EBITDA and an attractive multiplier, this session explores how CFO and Accountants should take the lead to help owners execute a successful buy‑and‑build strategy to build value and enjoy a successful exit in a buyer’s market.

Speakers:

Steve Darnell

VFD Pro Ltd

CCO

What’s next for finance? How today’s CFO mindset is reshaping tomorrow’s decisions

As finance leadership broadens beyond traditional accounting roles, CFOs and Finance Directors face new pressures shaped by industry complexity, technology choices, and rising expectations. Drawing on the findings from AccountsIQ’s annual CFO Mindset Report, this session unveils exclusive insight into how finance leaders across different sectors feel about key challenges such as under-used or over-complex software, automation, AI and decision-making confidence. Moving beyond a single-year narrative, it explores where finance leadership is heading next — and how systems, processes and skillsets must evolve

Speakers:

Elaine Birch

AccountsIQ

Content and Communications Manager

Darren Cran

AIQ Group

CEO

Heather Stockton

Champion Accountants

Senior Manager

James Sundin

R.E.P.R.E.S.E.N.T

Co-founder & Chief Evangelist

Building a digital personal brand as a finance leader

This session will cover how to build an online professional presence as a finance leader in 2026. It will cover how to establish your thought leader credentials, without straying into clickbait and shallow ‘influencer’ tactics. The impact of this will be to build presence for finance leaders, ultimately boosting careers and generating leads & sales for in-house finance leaders

Speakers:

Dan Medlock

Drumbeat

Cofounder & COO

Are you comparing the right things? Benchmarking that actually helps

Most finance teams track something, whether that is budget versus actuals, month over month results, or industry averages. But which comparisons actually lead to better decisions? Our Panel of working CFO's and accountants explain how they rebuilt their benchmarking approach, including what they stopped tracking, what they began focusing on, and the surprising metrics that ultimately changed how they run the business.

Speakers:

Robert Smith

AAB

Client Manager

Richard Sergeant

Principle Point

Managing Director

Shivani Chheda

Fathom - an Access Company

Senior Account Manager

Frances Kay

App Advisory Plus / TC Group (Farnell Clarke)

Co-Founder App Advisory Plus and Partner of TC Group (Farnell Clarke)

Beyond the branch: how fractional CFOs, accountants and banks can work together to support established SMEs

With banking access becoming harder for established SMEs, accountants and fractional CFOs are stepping in to fill the gap. Join Allica Bank’s Sophie Hossack (Head of Partnerships) and Conrad Ford (Chief Strategy Officer) to explore how advisors can work together with banks to guide clients through borrowing, cash flow and financial planning. They will share practical strategies for forecasting liquidity, managing repayment pressures, and accessing tailored banking solutions. Discover how collaborative approaches can protect working capital and help businesses stay resilient in the current market.

Speakers:

Simon Lofts

Allica Bank

National Key Account Manager

AI-Ready finance: From global compliance to intelligent operations

As governments accelerate the shift to digital finance—through e-invoicing, real-time reporting, and automated compliance - forward-looking CFOs are moving beyond compliance to build intelligent, insight-driven finance functions. Explore how global regulatory change is reshaping finance, why most AI investments fall short, and what it truly means to be AI-ready. In this session, two perspectives come together to tell one story. We'll examine how global regulatory shifts are reshaping the finance function from the outside in — and why the race to buy AI tools is solving the wrong problem.

Speakers:

Cynthia Rajan Babu

Zoho Corporation

Head of Marketing - Zoho Books & Zoho Practice

Transforming finance operations: A Cloud ERP case study

Moving finance to the cloud isn't just about technology, it's about transforming how your team works. Discover how your organisation can reimagine finance functions using cloud ERP, from automating manual processes to enabling real-time decision-making. Learn firsthand how one SAP customer has brought this to life by leveraging Cloud ERP to create impact whilst accelerating their journey toward a smarter, more connected business. This is a must attend session if you are looking at practical modern finance transformation in action.

Speakers:

Silvana Nouwn

SAP

Senior Account Executive

Silvana Nouwn

SAP

Senior Account Executive

Why would my business need a 2nd CFO?!

In this session, we’ll look at how the CFO role is evolving—moving beyond traditional financial control into shaping strategy, leading transformation, and managing organisational risk. We’ll explore the three pressures that most often prompt CFOs to seek peer support: increasing complexity, limited capacity, and the growing consequences of each decision. We’ll also talk through the early signs that the role may have expanded beyond what one person can realistically take on, along with practical ways to assess whether additional support could improve outcomes, reduce risk, and help prevent burnout. Throughout the session, you’ll hear directly from experienced CFOs who’ll share their own perspectives on these challenges and how they’ve helped organisations navigate them.

Speakers:

Charlotte Page

CFO Centre

Chris Thomas

CFO Centre

Portfolio Chief Finance Officer

Fractional FDs: Wowing clients in the age of AI

As AI reshapes the finance industry, the firms that stand out won’t just be the most automated - they’ll be the most memorable. This panel breaks down how fractional FDs can use AI-enabled tools and ways of working to totally delight clients. Attendees will leave with clear frameworks, real examples, and simple habits to improve first impressions, reduce friction, and build loyalty as AI transforms how fractional finance work gets done.

Speakers:

Abi Kolade

Zeneducate

Commercial Finance Leader

Fi Titus

Fineo

CEO & Co-Founder

Paddy Aling

AMS Group

Fractional CFO

Sam Tasker-Grindley

Nexus

Founder

Building repeatable cost optimisation engines: How finance leaders turn cost pressure into sustainable performance

Cost optimisation is no longer about short-term cuts — it’s about building a repeatable, sustainable performance capability. This session shows finance leaders how to move from one-off cost programmes to embedded cost optimisation engines that deliver consistent, long-term value. Learn how structured collaboration enables cross-functional execution, how governance protects savings, and how finance leaders can turn cost pressure into strategic advantage.

Speakers:

Alistair Roman

Cost Optimisation Consultancy

Interim CFO/FD

From Excel to AI agents: A practical framework for automating finance processes

Everyone's talking about AI agents, but how do you build one that's auditable and understands your processes? I'll share a practical 5-step framework for automating finance processes with AI agents. I'll show you how to move from Excel-based workflows to intelligent automation that handles real accounting work. We'll cover getting your data ready, designing a "team of agents," and keeping humans in the loop at critical points. Live demonstrations will show how to teach an agent your business rules. You'll leave with a clear roadmap to either build agents yourself or intelligently oversee someone building them for you

Speakers:

Rishi Sapra

Avanade/Accenture

AI For Business Intelligence (AI4BI) Offering Lead

The modern CFO tech stack: Beyond fragmentation

As finance leaders take on increasingly strategic roles, the modern CFO must rethink how technology enables agility, insight, and growth. This session explores the evolving finance tech landscape—end-to-end platforms, specialized point solutions, and examining the real ROI of integrated systems. We’ll unpack the challenges of tech fragmentation, data silos, and overlapping tools. With solutions like Zoho Finance Suite from Zoho, organisations can see how tightly integrated ecosystems reduce complexity, improve data visibility, and accelerate decision-making—demonstrating the tangible value of a unified approach.

Speakers:

Reshma Roy

Zoho Corporation

Director, Accountants Channel & Partnerships UK & Europe