Archives: Agenda

• Direct-source audit truth: shifting from manual verification to real-time bank/fund confirmations to reduce risk and remove grunt work.
• Margin uplift through automation: where the ~30% audit margin gain comes from—faster balance sheet testing, fewer follow-ups, less rework, better staffing leverage.
• Modern audit workflow design at scale: what “good” looks like in 2026 audit ops, how to standardise across teams, and proof points/case study outcomes.

Senior representative, Circit

• PE: threat or catalyst? How investment is changing growth expectations, operating models, and what “good” looks like for firms.
• Culture and control under new ownership: practical ways to protect identity, partner incentives, client experience and quality while scaling.
• Next-decade ownership playbook: PE, hybrid/ APS models, independence via networks—what will dominate and what firms should do now to stay competitive.

• Retention through meaning, autonomy and purpose (panel): why people stay, why they leave, and how to stop treating talent like units of production.
• The human–machine partnership: using tech to reduce burnout and improve wellbeing, with outsourcing/offshoring as part of a broader, sustainable talent ecosystem.
• Re-thinking old assumptions: billable hours in an AI world, remote vs relationship-led culture, and how juniors learn the fundamentals when AI does the “grunt work.”

• Speed wins: real-time insight beats retrospective reporting. Clients want “in-race” advice, not a “post-race” report.
• Margins are micro-decisions: cost-cap discipline mirrors fixed-fee pressure—waste (unbilled time, rework, manual steps) kills performance.
• Tech = governance: ERP, “telemetry”, digital-twin thinking turns accountability into faster decisions (pit-stop workflows, live WIP & recovery).

• 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.

Senior representative, Azets

• Technical knowledge is expiring faster; firms need people who can adapt quickly and think critically as rules and technology change.
• CPD is shifting from “ticking hours” to building real capability. Judgement, problem solving and decision making that protects quality and reduces risk.
• Human judgement is becoming the accountant’s edge. AI can process data, but only people can interpret nuance, challenge outputs, and make safe ethical decisions.