The Digital Accountancy Forum and Awards 2021

Biography: Samantha Louis is Chief Executive Officer of Praxity Global Alliance, joining in June 2021 from the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants where she was Vice President in charge of International Advocacy. She’s an experienced leader and prior to her moving to London she was Regional Vice President for Africa at the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) where she directed the growth of the member and student population in Africa from 2,000 to over 25,000 and led the expansion of CIMA into Southern and Western Africa.   Samantha has served  on various local and international boards and senior leadership groups, including the Professional Accountancy Organisation Development Committee of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and has extensive experience in several non-executive directorships.  She currently serves on the Council and Finance Committee of Roedean School, UK.   Samantha is a Fellow of CIMA and a Chartered Global Management Accountant.  She holds a Batchelors degree from the University of the Witwatersrand and holds post-graduate courses in public relations and management, as well as a Master’s degree in business administration, with distinction, from the Gordon Institute of Business Science at the University of Pretoria.

Session Details: Panel: Does the future look bright? 04-11-2021, 3:10 pm View In Agenda

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Session Details: Chair’s opening remarks 04-11-2021, 8:50 am View In Agenda

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Biography: With over 20 years of experience in the information technology and financial services industry, Ross Hampton, Head of Strategy, has successfully developed CaseWare solutions, specific to the needs of accountants, auditors and finance professionals for new and expanding markets. He is now responsible for developing and implementing growth opportunities and strategic alliances with CaseWare clients, members and other industry leaders across the globe. Prior to joining CaseWare International, Ross served as Managing Director for CaseWare Africa, driving business development strategies and initiatives including product strategy and application engineering.

Session Details: The Journey to the Cloud: It’s Easier Than You Think 04-11-2021, 9:20 am Panel: What does the post-Covid accountancy firm look like? 04-11-2021, 10:20 am View In Agenda

Biography: Claus is the founder and CEO of Konsolidator. Claus has more than 20 year experience from working with financial analytics, group accounting, financial reporting, training in consolidation software, and M&A activities throughout his career. He has previously held positions as CFO in Copenship Group A/S and Netop solutions A/S, and Financial Director in Clipper Group and A.P Moller Maersk Group.

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Biography: With extensive experience in the accountancy industry across roles in auditing, IT, process re-engineering and product management, Evan has an excellent track record of delivering high profile projects and successful business consultancy. He joined Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting UK in 2014 as a professional services consultant and became Lead Technology Product Manager in 2018. From both a technical and strategic business point of view, his career has always been tightly aligned with increasing productivity within accountancy practices. Starting out as an auditor in his early career, Evan progressed on to senior IT roles in accountancy firms including six years with a top 15 UK practice, and over three years with Rouse Partners. The expertise and knowledge he gained led him to start his own business in 2014, providing consultancy and training for accountancy practices and other professional services providers. At Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting UK, Evan focuses on representing and managing the customer and market needs, covering both existing on-premise and the company’s future cloud products. He holds the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) certification from the BCS - The Chartered Institute for IT and is certified by the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT). He also holds certifications from Microsoft.

Session Details: Preparing your Clients Ahead of the MTD for Income Tax Deadline 04-11-2021, 11:30 am Panel: What does the rapid acceleration in digital adoption mean for the industry? 04-11-2021, 12:30 pm View In Agenda

Biography: Carl Reader is chairman at multi-award winning firm d&t and Head of Accounting (EMEA) at Practice Ignition. Carl serves as Chair of the Practitioner Panel at ACCA. ​Carl is widely recognised as a thought leader in the accounting profession, speaking globally to accountancy audiences about a range of topics. He has been recognised as one of the leading voices on social media by ICAEW, is regularly featured in the accounting press, and was formerly a member of the Accountancy Age 35 under 35.

Session Details: Happy clients, happy bank account 04-11-2021, 12:10 pm Panel: What does the rapid acceleration in digital adoption mean for the industry? 04-11-2021, 12:30 pm View In Agenda

Biography: Jamie Lyon leads ACCA’s cutting-edge insights programme that explores the implications and opportunities presented by advancing digital technologies, corporate governance, enterprise risk, financial and business transformation and talent management. By working with employers, governments and regulators across the world, Jamie and his team produce cutting edge, practical and accessible advice and insights on the most pressing issues impacting the business environment. Jamie’s extensive experience of financial management, corporate transformation, risk management and talent development was gained during his career in industry with a number of leading FTSE 100 businesses including Royal and Sun Alliance and Marks and Spencer. Jamie is a chartered certified accountant with a degree in Economics from Sheffield University.

Session Details: Professional Accountants at the heart of sustainable organisations 04-11-2021, 9:40 am Panel: What does the post-Covid accountancy firm look like? 04-11-2021, 10:20 am View In Agenda

Biography: Sam Plotkin is a Chartered Accountant with a masters degree in computing science which focused on human-computer interaction. Experienced in applying technology across audit, assurance, and advisory, Sam is chair of the Deloitte global audit analytics working party, and authored the strategy which set the firm on a path to data driven audit. Sam’s experience as an auditor established a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities data and analytics can bring to the audit industry. This led to his appointment as programme director of the analytics platform Spotlight, which was successfully deployed globally on thousands of audit engagements. He now takes responsibility for the development of analytic content in the next-generation data platform, Cortex. During his time at Deloitte, Sam has fostered a holistic, people-centred, and purpose-driven approach to using technology to improve audit. He believes that a high-quality audit has societal benefit and using technology to improve audits is vital to capturing public trust and confidence in the profession.

Session Details: Data and Detectives, Not Diesels: What matters more - loud engines and powerful tools OR access to data and tech-enabled auditors? 04-11-2021, 9:00 am View In Agenda

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Session Details: Digital + Data = Irreplaceable 04-11-2021, 2:50 pm Panel: Does the future look bright? 04-11-2021, 3:10 pm View In Agenda