Rob Brown is co-founder of the Accounting Influencers Roundtable, a think tank and door-opening club for specialists/vendors who serve the accounting/fintech profession. He runs a training company called Business Development Academy which trains busy technically smart accountants to be confident, effective work winners. He is the bestselling author of Build Your Reputation (Wiley) and his TEDx talk ‘The Personal Brand of You' has been viewed 280K times on Youtube. He co-hosts the international podcast Accounting Influencers with Martin Bissett and is a professional host, moderator and chair for accounting/fintech events, conferences and panel discussions. He is a committed Christian, a black belt in kickboxing, enjoys backgammon, loves chocolate orange and is allergic to grapefruit.

With 25 years of experience in corporate communications, Alice Grey is a seasoned professional who brings a fresh approach to strategy. Her passion lies in thriving within highly creative environments, where she navigates the complexities of change and implements sophisticated communication strategies.

Alice Grey is not just a strategist; she's a catalyst for transformation. She excels in developing and executing strategies that inform, inspire, and drive cultural shifts within organizations. Change, for her, is not just a challenge—it's an opportunity for alignment and growth. With proven results and award-winning strategies, Alice Grey is a recognized leader in the industry and frequently shares thought leadership on the global stage.

Gaby is an Associate Director at Deloitte UK with over 15 years' experience spread across industry and financial services, starting at BNP Paribas and Banco Santander structuring fixed income derivatives, before moving to Deloitte where she specialises in guiding clients in strengthening their AI control frameworks to align with industry best practices and regulatory expectations. Gaby’s expertise extends to Generative AI where she supports firms safely adopt this technology and navigate the risks and ethical considerations introduced by the AI systems.

Bettina Cassegrain is the driving force behind HLB's commitment to professional excellence and sustainable business practices. As the Global Director of Professional Standards and Sustainability Assurance, she oversees the network's robust quality assurance programme, ensuring compliance with the stringent requirements set forth by the Forum of Firms. With a pragmatic approach to training and development, Bettina has built a culture of continuous learning within HLB. Her leadership extends to outreach initiatives focused on training, quality assurance, and related matters across Europe, Eurasia, French-speaking Africa, Latin America, and South America.

Recognising the growing importance of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, Bettina has led the development of a global comprehensive ESG methodology. This framework empowers businesses to navigate the complexities of sustainability reporting and assurance. Under her guidance, HLB has developed leading-edge sustainability assurance working papers and training modules, equipping professionals with the knowledge and tools to drive positive change. Bettina's dedication to professional standards and sustainability assurance has solidified HLB's reputation as a global leader in delivering exceptional client services while promoting responsible business practices that create long-term value and sustainable impact for stakeholders and society at large.

Professional performance  

- Former member of Pistrelli, Díaz y Asociados (Arthur Andersen & Co.).

- Director, trustee and member of the auditing team of several companies, coordinating the development and implementation of different application systems.

- Author of different articles on taxes and accounting in national media and industry publications.

Teaching background

- Professor of the PIADeF – International Fraud Audit and Detection Program organized by SMS Latin America and the University of Bologna.

- Guest professor and speaker in numerous academic fields on topics of his specialty (University of Buenos Aires, ITBA, University of Palermo, Xavier University, State University of New York, etc.).

- Frequent speaker at Seminars and Technical Conferences of his specialty

- He was a professor of Accounting and Management Chairs at the University of Buenos Aires and Intermediate Accounting at the University of Salvador.

- Participated as an instructor in various training courses in different companies on Accounting and Auditing.

Proffesional Training

- Current Professional Meetings (EPA).

o Current Professional Meetings

o Performance Factors / Emotional Intelligence

o Personality / Myers-Briggs Model

o Writing Workshop

o Fraud Prevention Workshop

o Gender and Diversity

Lynne is an ACCA Fellow with 25 years of finance operations experience, much of which has been spent actively leading finance teams through change. A natural systems thinker and technology evangelist, Lynne has been involved in a wide variety of software implementations and change projects across organisations both large and small, and has a wide and deep understanding of the many factors that can influence their success. Lynne led her team to a win in the SME Finance Team of the Year category at the GENCFO Digital Finance Function Awards in 2023, and is currently on contract to Babcock International, leading the implementation of a new rolling reforecast model and process across its £1bn revenue Land Sector.

Courtney is a member of the industry solutions team with a focus on the accounting vertical. She has years of experience identifying inefficiencies and improving processes in the accounting field and has worked with industries ranging from SaaS to midstream oil and gas, real estate, and consumer products.

Courtney holds a CPA license and a master's degree in Accountancy.

Mark has spent his career developing technology that empowers accounting firms with cutting-edge computing power. Mark started his career in a small-town accounting practice before earning his stripes at a Big Four firm leading audit and consulting engagements. He founded Inflo to revolutionize the broader audit and accounting profession with next-generation software. Mark is now influencing the advancement of audit at a global level. He is a member of the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board’s (IAASB) Technology Working Group and Less Complex Entities Reference Group, as well as chairing the AICPAs Data Standards Working Group. Mark also supports professional accounting bodies around the world.

Ash Noah - CPA, FCMA, CGMA, is VP and Managing Director of Learning, Education and Development, at the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants.
In this position, Ash leads the Research, Examinations and Learning product development for the
Management Accounting Unit.
Ash works closely with CFOs and Business Finance Leaders globally, identifying the trends that are
impacting practitioners, businesses and the profession in order to ensure that the Association’s Finance
Competency Framework, Syllabus, Examinations and Learning solutions remain effective and are
producing competencies to operate and remain relevant in the practice of Business Finance.
Ash was formerly the CFO of the International Unit of TNT, A global express logistics provider and has
led finance transformation in teams across 45 countries. He is a Chartered Global Management
Accountant (CGMA), licensed US CPA and member of the American Institute of CPA’s (AICPA). He is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA).
Ash has a passion for flying and is an avid aviator.

Shimona comes from a legal background and works with Moxo EMEA clients to modernize their client interaction workflows. She specialises in helping clients control the chaos of client management by orchestrating end-to-end client collaboration with the power of their one-stop client portal.

Mark is Partner at MHA Baker Tilly International (BTI) (Ranked 9th largest in the world) specialising in Global Assurance, Financial Turnaround, Fashion & Cosmetics, Food Manufacture & Rural Industries. He leads the MHA UK ESG Audit & Advisory function. He is also engaged in food retail, and consumer industries and a multi award winning turnaround specialist

Mark trained at Macintyre Hudson and has remained with the firm, aside from a 15 year in industry role, building a national educational commercial organisation investing over £100m, Employing 1300 staff, working with 1000s of national and international businesses, leverage GDP in the south east and enable nearly 78,000 students to be educated. He pioneered the world class sustainability Eco Project at Betteshanger park (Kent) (being the longest building in Europe at that time) in a £30m Regeneration project. Mark has been in the C-Suite understanding the challenges facing national and international businesses.

Mark has delivered numerous turnarounds from financial services through to rural businesses, and national institutions.

Mark Charis Rural Policy Group – a think tank and advocate for sustainable rural policy across the United Kingdom linking food & farming to public health and environmental sustainability. The policy group launched its National Green Futures Report in 2021 to set the foundations for a rural-first approach to economic policy-making for a more sustainable UK plc. He is directly connected into Westminster and works on a non partisan basis with government to support the industries MHA Serves.

Mark has won numerous awards for his work including National Finance Director of the year 2007, Accounting for sustainability National award 2012 (ICEAW), National Business Finance Director 2014 (Finance Director) and the Institute of Directors (IOD) blue ribbon award for Governance and Finance excellence in 2018.

He is a Liveryman in the Worshipful Company of Fruiterers, a Member of the Guild of Freemen, A member of the livery of Chartered Accountants, IoD South East Lead for ESG and a member of the CBI’s South East Council.

With over 25 years of work experience, I am a seasoned SaaS work management and planning expert with a passion for helping accounting, auditing, and consulting firms optimize their workflows and productivity. I am currently the Chief Customer Officer at Beeye, a SaaS solution that enables firms to plan, manage, and track their projects, resources, and profitability. I am driven by the mission of Beeye to empower firms to achieve their goals with greater efficiency, visibility, and collaboration. I bring diverse perspectives and experiences to the team, having worked in different markets, industries, and roles throughout my career.

As the Chief Customer Officer, I am responsible for getting validation for Beeye in all international markets outside of France, and delivering $600K CAD of revenue from scratch in new markets including the US and UK. I built and executed the go-to-market strategy for the international markets, and led a team of 7 professionals across sales, marketing, and customer success functions. I leveraged my skills in new business development, strategy, and product management to engage with global accounting networks and associations at C-suite level, and to build and close a global pipeline of prospects and customers. I also represented Beeye in all large-scale events, webinars, and podcasts, showcasing the value and benefits of our solution to the industry.

Roger is an Associate Director in Deloitte’s Markets Assurance group, with a particular focus on algorithms and regulatory change. He has a deep understanding of algorithms, gained through over 20 years of experience in the UK and in Europe, and has a thorough technical knowledge of the regulatory landscape related to Artificial Intelligence. As a senior member of the Algorithm Assurance team, Roger has been a key figure in the design and development of Deloitte’s methodology for auditing AI. He has also supported numerous technology companies in their development of control frameworks for regulatory compliance as they move through this period of major change.

Jim is HLB’s Global Technology Advisory Services Leader and has over 30 years of experience in the sector. He frequently meets with our regional technology leaders around the globe to share best practices and to help insure consistency in technology advisory offerings by our member firms.

Jim is also a Partner, Member of the Board of Directors and Management Committee at Withum, is Director of Firm Technology and Managing Director of Advisory Services. He leads the cloud solutions, business advisory, cyber, data analytics, info-security and transactional services initiatives for the firm.

Jim is a frequent speaker around the globe for HLB and many Accounting Societies and International Accounting and Trade Associations, the AICPA, Industry Technology Organizations, Incubators, Accelerators and others on topics specifically related to various accounting, technology, practice management and advisory services topics.

Jim has been continually named by Accounting Today as one of the Top 100 Most Influential people in the Accounting profession and has been named by The CPA Technology Advisor as a Top Thought Leader in Public Accounting Technology year after year.

Jeremy Smith is the Chief Technology Officer at Suralink. Jeremy has more than 20 years of experience building and running commercial software products and successful engineering, product, quality assurance, and operations teams. Jeremy has served in executive and board advisory roles at multiple companies, most recently as Head of Engineering at Teem by iOffice and previously as Chief Technology Officer of SambaSafety.

Stephanie is an inspirational leader, with over 20 years experience driving People and ESG strategies across diverse industries; she brings a wealth of experience in leading practice HR and change management methodologies to drive business performance.

Prior to recently joining HLB, Stephanie was a Director in EYs People Consulting practice and has held senior Transformation roles at major global organisations like Pearson, AXA and the Cooperative Group.  Whilst at EY, she led the organization design of EY Ripples; an ambitious corporate responsibility program intended to positively impact the lives of 1 billion people by 2030.

Global Alliance Advisory Services www.globalallianceadvisers.com +44(0)7850 660983

Jon is the founder of Global Alliance Advisory Services (“GAAS”), the leadership support consultancy
uniquely dedicated to serve international accounting networks and associations. The GAAS team
comprises former CEOs and Executives based in the UK, Mainland Europe, and the USA.
GAAS focuses on the development and implementation of growth strategies, facilitating merger
opportunities and assisting across the broadest range of operational issues for central offices. For
networks, GAAS offers an outsourced global quality management, monitoring and inspection service.
Managing global independence reporting effectively is a major issue for the networks and GAAS was
instrumental in the development of the Zenzero Global Alliance Hub which utilises the Microsoft
Power Platform and Microsoft 365 to deliver a cost effective cloud-based solution to fully automate
the process. The module can also be applied to gather and collate information from the global
membership such as the IAB survey requirements.

Jon is best known from his days as CEO of Kreston International which he led for 13 years until 2019
having previously been Managing Partner of a 9 office UK practice. During his long career in the
profession, Jon has managed accounting practices at every level - regional, national, and global.

An Executive-level Human Resources professional with Financial and Professional Services experience; specialising in building high-performing teams focused on commercial and strategic solutions, with expertise in working with PE-backed businesses focused on high-growth models involving transformation and integration activities.

Lynn leads Mercia’s Product Strategy and strategic relationships and supports firms of all sizes to nurture and develop their people.  As a qualified accountant, she has spent the last 20 years in Accountancy education, both with training providers and within practice as Director of Learning at a mid-tier practice. With this experience, Lynn is uniquely placed to advise firms on modern and innovative practices for technical learning across all areas of the profession and to design engaging learning which drives performance.

Mark Butler, as the dedicated Managing Partner at HLB Ireland, is at the forefront of the firm's expansion and consultancy services, ensuring a steadfast commitment to our clients and partners.

Mark Butler's extensive experience in accountancy, as a member of both the Institute of Chartered Certified Accountants and the Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Ireland, and as a registered auditor in Ireland and the UK, instils confidence in his expertise. With over two decades of strategic business planning and advisory across diverse Irish and international market sectors, Mark is a seasoned professional. His leadership has been instrumental in assisting high-achieving entrepreneurs through comprehensive accounting and advisory services.

Additionally, he holds significant roles outside HLB, including Non-Executive Director at FutureRange, a Technology and Cyber Security Business and a Director and Council Member position at HLB International Limited.

As the Managing Partner of HLB Ireland, Mark Butler is instrumental in charting the firm's strategic course and managing its operational activities. An early adopter of technology, Mark has a strategic focus on encouraging the team to integrate innovative solutions to drive the firm’s progression, ensuring it meets and surpasses its goals of delivering exceptional client service. His deep expertise in governance, compliance, and cross-border financial practices, combined with a robust advisory service, makes him a pivotal figure in navigating the intricacies of international advisory. Under his leadership, the firm adheres to and strategically aligns with global compliance standards while providing top-tier advisory services, maintaining a cutting-edge approach to advisory services.