Archives: Agenda

• Mid-tier renaissance: moving from compliance-only to a data-led advisory model at scale.
• People-first technology: using systems to empower teams, standardise delivery, and improve client experience, not “shiny tools”.
• Change at speed: lessons from Azets’ expansion and rebrand, how to operationalise agility while protecting margin and quality.

• AI is raising the stakes; deciding what to automate, what stays human-led, and how to spot/challenge AI errors fast.
• The “Super Accountant”; strong critical/ ethical judgment, AI power-user skills, agile, people-first leadership.
• Leadership against the backdrop of rapid tech transformation; ensuring inclusivity and diversity are embedded within cross-functional teams.
• How to measure the impact of learning and a retain focus on its value in an agile, AI-driven profession.

• When a transformative technology arrived in American factories, owners adopted it immediately — and stalled for thirty years. The technology wasn’t the problem. The thinking was.
• AI in accounting is at exactly the same inflection point. And most firms are making the same mistake.
• A technology executive’s outside view on why the profession’s biggest competitive advantage in the AI era has nothing to do with AI.

• Value in volatility: how firms orchestrate pricing, delivery and client outcomes as AI shifts work from hours to results.
• People + trust: retaining data-literate talent (“stay” interviews) and governing AI ethics/liability as regulation tightens.
• Resilience at scale: navigating geopolitical fracture and regionalisation, how ecosystems/networks help firms and clients adapt faster.

Moderator: Susannah Streeter, Global Financial Commentator & Chief Investment Strategist, Wealth Club

• The capacity ceiling: Growth is increasingly constrained by delivery capacity, not demand. Exploring how leading firms are expanding teams sustainably without compromising quality or continuity.
• From outsourcing to co-sourcing: How firms are embedding highly-skilled South African finance professionals into integrated, high-performing teams aligned to culture, systems and ways of working.
• Case study: Scaling without added risk – how the Newtone x iSprout partnership delivers scalable, governed and seamlessly integrated capacity expansion without sacrificing culture, quality or control.

• Succession crunch: fewer future partners and rising buy-in hurdles are breaking the traditional ownership pathway.
• Strategic routes forward: buy/sell/merge/PE/alternative structures, what each option means for control, culture, risk and growth.
• Transition readiness: steps to take now, leadership pipeline, governance, de-risked client concentration, and a firm that can operate without key individuals.

• The £55,000 Spreadsheet: How manual Excel lease tracking hit the University of Oxford with a staggering audit surcharge and how “spreadsheet debt” stalls productivity.
• The Compliance Trap: Why complex regulatory shifts like FRS 102 trigger immediate data errors, intensive rework, and financial risks that legacy tools can’t handle.
• The Audit-Ready Fast Path: Practical steps to centralize lease data using AI document ingestion and read-only auditor access to eliminate friction, secure compliance, and completely wipe out extra fees.