International Accounting Forum & Awards 2022
The Waldorf Hilton, London
29th June 2022
International Accounting Forum & Awards 2022
DAY 1|29th June 2022
Registration
8:50 am Chair’s opening remarks
SESSION ONE The Global Outlook for the Post-Pandemic Firm
Chaired by Rob Brown, Host of the Accounting Influencers Podcast |
9:00 am Making a more purposeful and people-centric accounting profession a reality
The pandemic was a unique and exceptional challenge for society, the economy, and our profession.
But as we’ve adapted to new ways of working, and embraced greater use of technology, a more purposeful and people-centric accounting profession is becoming reality faster than ever could have been imagined.
As we look ahead 25 years from now, we say things can only get better…
- The outlook for the post-pandemic firm is set amid a backdrop of The Great Resignation, a younger generation’s shift in priorities, and desire for a greater sense of purpose from work
- Alongside these societal shifts, the hybrid-work era is just beginning – learning to develop and maintain relationships, creating and nurturing meaningful roles, and providing a better experience for accountants are all key to success
- In today’s – not tomorrow’s – digital audit-era, maximising the use of technology and automation is critical to enabling the accountant experience needed to attract and retain talented people in the profession
- Businesses have always recognised and valued the unique and comprehensive perspective accountants provide – technology is enhancing this
- Technology is enabling accountants to supplement professional judgement with greater objectivity – building more transparent and insightful client relationships
- The increasing connectivity of systems allows businesses of all shapes and sizes to benefit from big data
- In the age of disinformation, the concepts of true and fair have never been more important
- The Brydon report sets a path for a more purposeful Audit profession that acts in the public interest – this is achieved most easily with the right blend of people and technology
- Sport has shown how technology compliments and supports fair and consistent application of the rules – it’s time for financial referees to get the same help

Sam Plotkin
Global Analytics Director
Deloitte
9:20 am Modernizing Client Lifecycle Management for Tax and Accountancy
- Modernize your accountancy and tax client interaction management with a secure, onestop interaction workflow platform
- Building a onestop hub to manage your complete accountancy and tax client life cycle across account onboarding, account servicing, and exception handling
- Rethinking today’s costly, inefficient, and fragmented client engagement model, which requires significant manual intervention
- Streamline client business processes across your accountancy and tax firm and orchestrate each step of your workflows to fast-track client business

Shimona Pinto
Senior Corporate Solutions
Moxo
9:40 am Firm Transformation in a Post-Pandemic World
- The pandemic has caused many firms to rethink their strategies and transformation is absolutely necessary for firms to grow and survive
- Breaking down the opportunities presented to firms today which include ESG advisory, supply chain advisory, client accounting and technology services
- Discussing the challenges and how firms are over coming these challenges. People challenges are top of mind
- Uncovering the challenge and opportunity in being in a remote world and how the office game has changed forever

Mark Koziel
President & CEO
Allinial Global
10:00 am Technology Trends in Accounting
- Find out how well technology is really transforming accounting
- Assess how your firm’s progress compares to peers
- Learn what’s critical for success in any digital strategy
- Hear the results from Silvefin’s annual research into technology use in the profession
- Understand views on the technology pillars for success in digital transformation and the critical role this plays in the building of a successful advisory revenue stream..

Stuart Handley
SVP
10:20 am Panel Discussion

Rob Brown
Host
Accounting Influencers Podcast

Mark Koziel
President & CEO
Allinial Global

Stuart Handley
SVP

Shimona Pinto
Senior Corporate Solutions
Moxo

Sam Plotkin
Global Analytics Director
Deloitte
10:50 am Morning refreshments and networking
SESSION TWO Digitalising the Modern Practice
11:20 am Securing the Hybrid Workplace: The Challenges for Firms and Clients Post-Pandemic
- Cyber Risks to firms and clients
- Impact of cyber crime – costs to businesses and impact on reputation
- How Praxity firms and clients are evolving, what are the solutions?

Samantha Louis
CEO
Praxity Global Alliance
11:40 am Cloud Transformation

Phil Hobden
Head Of Digital Sales
Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting UK
12:00 pm Reserved for end user
12:20 pm Citizen technologist or not? The mass migration from complicated systems to the modern digital ecosystem
- Are we moving away from large digital solutions that can do everything?
- How we best maximize the potential of digitalizing your finance teams’ workflow for efficiency and accuracy
- Choose solutions that work well together. The more complete your ecosystem is, the more accurate information you can deliver
- Trends currently happing in building a digital finance team, e.g., business technologist and Citizen Technologist – are they a quick fix or long term?

Lianne Gatti
Country Manager UK & Ireland
Konsolidator
12:40 pm Panel discussion

Samantha Louis
CEO
Praxity Global Alliance

Lianne Gatti
Country Manager UK & Ireland
Konsolidator

Phil Hobden
Head Of Digital Sales
Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting UK
1:10 pm Lunch & Networking
SESSION THREE Building a Sustainable Practice
Chaired by Christine Nicholson, Award Winning Business Mentor |
2:10 pm Grow Greener – Accountants and SMEs creating a sustainable world
- Accountants’ play a vital role as trusted advisers to the small business sector
- Given SMEs represent about 90% of businesses of the global economy, improvements in their sustainability practices are vital to addressing our global environmental and social challenges
- How can accountants take the lead and assist in making real, effective change at the heart of SMEs?
- Join our fireside chat as James Lizars of Thrive Accountants shares his experiences of becoming B-Corp registered and putting sustainability at the heart of his practice and the impact it has had

Jason Hinkle
Head of Membership UK
ACCA

James Lizars
Founder and CEO
Thrive Accountants
2:30 pm Future Proofing your Firm
Pre-pandemic the industry was identifying potential future risks to accounting practices with a focus on automation of manual tasks and changes in client expectations. Fast forward two years and the pandemic has forced firms into change at a speed never seen before. This session will discuss key strategies and transformation to assist in the sustainability of your firm.
- What does the automation of a practice really look like? Is digital transformation necessary?
- What does the new working landscape look like and how do we manage it? ( Remote working inc client experience)
- Is long term growth of a practice dependent on revenue or people?
- Ignition

Emma Crawford-Falekaono
Managing Director EMEA
Ignition
2:50 pm Reserved for end user
3:10 pm Translating developments in audit into a culture of quality and innovation
Many firms are experiencing high-growth from their audit business, but face capacity challenges. As a number of key developments in audit move from debate to implementation, how can firms capitalise on growth and drive high-impact, cultural changes.
- A high level overview of key developments in audit
- The role of standard setters, methodology providers, firms, and teams
- The status of firms and the impact of developments
- How firms can increase alignment across leadership

Mark Edmondson
CEO
Inflo
3:30 pm Panel Discussion

Christine Nicholson
Business Mentor and Consultant
Nicholson Hall Advisory

Glenn Collins
Interim Head of UK and Head of Technical Advisory,
ACCA

Emma Crawford-Falekaono
Managing Director EMEA
Ignition

Mark Edmondson
CEO
Inflo
3:50 pm Mid-Afternoon Refreshments
SESSION FOUR: Future-Proofing Your Practice
Chaired by Rob Brown, Host of the Accounting Influencers Podcast |
4:20 pm M-Files
4:40 pm Getting Started on ESR
- Understanding the immediate risks for organisations and clients
- Practical first steps organisations can take
- The opportunities of developing ESR thinking into a service line

Steve Heathcote
CEO
Prime Global
5:00 pm Closing Panel

Steve Heathcote
CEO
Prime Global
6:30 pm Drinks Reception
7:30 pm Awards Ceremony and Dinner
Sponsorship opportunities
To enquire about sponsorship opportunities for the conference, please contact:
Ray Giddings
Sales Director
T: +44 (0) 20 3096 2585
E: ray.giddings@arena-international.com
Speaker opportunities
The International Accounting Forum & Awards (formerly Digital Accountancy Forum & Awards) programme is written in collaboration with industry, if you would have a case study, idea or just a comment, please contact:
Kim Palfrey
Programme Director
T: +44 (0) 207 9366 960
E: kim.palfrey@arena-international.com