With a wealth of experience in international business and strategic organizational development, Tony Sacre is building upon a 25-year career that includes senior executive roles within ANZ Banking Group, Commonwealth Bank, HSBC, JP Morgan, and National Australia Bank, as well as experience leading various financial markets, trade finance, and advisory businesses across the globe.

From 2018 to 2025 Mr. Sacre served as Chief Executive Officer of the Bentleys Network, Australia’s twelfth largest accounting firm with revenues in excess of 140 million AUD. There, he focused on enhancing capability and capacity within the network and driving developmental projects across all regions.

At Allinial Global Sacre is responsible for strategic planning, financial performance, and the association’s overall growth and success. With both CA and CPA credentials and experience serving on the association’s Global Executive Board and APAC Regional Board, he complements a primary strength of the Allinial Global leadership team—its deep, nuanced understanding of the accounting profession and the evolving needs of today’s independent accounting and advisory firms.

David Goode is the Head of Workpapers Solutions at Inflo, where he leads the advancement of innovative tools that transform audit practices. A Chartered Accountant (ICAEW ACA) with over a decade of experience, David specializes in audit technology, data-driven methodologies, and practice management. Since joining Inflo in 2022 from Haysmacintyre, he has leveraged his expertise to support firms in successfully implementing Inflo’s solutions, while championing feedback-driven product improvements. Passionate about enhancing audit quality and efficiency, David is dedicated to empowering firms with cutting-edge technology and delivering lasting value to clients and teams alike.

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.

Julia Penny was President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) in 2022-23, having been a non-executive ICAEW Board member since 2017 and Chair of the Board during her year as President. Julia was a member of ICAEW Council from 2013 until June 2025 and chaired and participated in many ICAEW committees, including the National Technical Advisory Committee. She is also a Technical Advisor to the ICAEW’s Board member on IFAC and an honorary member of CIPFA. She previously sat on  the AAT’s Council and audit committee.

Outside of this volunteer ICAEW involvement Julia is a well-known speaker and writer on audit, financial reporting, anti-money laundering and wider issues impacting the profession.

Julia is passionate about audit quality, compliance and a well-functioning profession. This includes a sharp focus on improving diversity, developing the use of technology and constantly reflecting on the need for businesses to become sustainable and how the professions can help achieve this.

He co-founded GroWize to support growing and mid-tier audit firms in the UK and US, helping them address talent shortages and audit quality challenges - issues he encountered firsthand during his own professional journey.

A qualified Chartered Accountant with over 14 years of experience in external audit, Kamlesh has worked with global clients across the UK, US, Europe, India, and Australia. Having been part of leading firms like Grant Thornton, KPMG, and PwC in both the UK and India, he has experienced firsthand the journey large firms have navigated over the past decade—including the challenges they faced. Through GroWize, he is now focused on helping growing and mid-tier firms overcome those very challenges with smarter, scalable solutions.

His expertise spans multiple industries - supporting high-growth start-ups, mid-sized enterprises, and multinational corporations through intricate audits under UK and US GAAP, IFRS, and Ind AS. With a strong track record of leading complex group and component audits, Kamlesh consistently delivers quality, compliance, and strategic insight.

He has built and led high-performing audit teams across regions, effectively navigating cultural nuances to drive collaboration, enhance efficiency, and deliver long-term value.

With a background in television news, having anchored for Sky and produced / reported for other global networks including CNN, Bloomberg and CNBC, Sasha is a seasoned presenter and interviewer. She works across industries at the intersection of business, finance and technology. Sasha has facilitated many conversations on adopting and leveraging AI and tech transformation more broadly, frequently interviewing senior leaders from HPE to IBM and Microsoft amongst others.

Recent interviews include the Former Chancellor Philip Hammond, leading AI expert Mo Gawdat, the CEO of Strava, Mike Martin, the Head of GCHQ, Anne Keast-Butler and many more in the world of business and technology.

Events throughout 2024 included co-hosting at London Tech Week, emceeing at Money 20/20 in Europe, chairing the Innovate Finance Global Summit, and consumer technology event Leap, where Sasha was one of the main stage moderators. Other events include Connected Britain, Retail Week Live, The Next Web, The Financial Times Global Insurance Summit and The London Gatwick Economic Summit.

Sasha started her career in investment banking, and frequently works with financial institutions. She also spent several years as a Senior Programming Director at Bloomberg Live, where she curated and moderated flagship business and technology events. Sasha studied Social and Political Sciences at Cambridge University and spent her gap year studying at The Sorbonne.

Apurva co-founded GroWize to help audit firms in the UK and US solve one of the profession’s most pressing challenges: the shortage of skilled audit talent. Having spent over a decade delivering complex audits across geographies, he recognized the growing strain on mid-tier and growing firms to maintain quality, meet deadlines, and scale sustainably—especially in the face of evolving standards and private equity demands. GroWize is his response: a strategic talent partner offering firms the audit-specific support they need to compete at the highest level.

A qualified Chartered Accountant with 12+ years of experience, Apurva started his career at Deloitte and later joined Grant Thornton, working across diverse sectors including technology, retail, hospitality, and green energy. His hands-on experience spans across US & UK GAAP, IFRS. He is known for his rigorous approach to audit quality, strong stakeholder management, and ability to tailor solutions to a client’s unique risk profile and operating environment.

Throughout his career, Apurva has successfully built and led international audit teams, delivering high-stakes audits while navigating cultural complexities and time zone challenges. Now, through GroWize, he is focused on helping firms reimagine how they build capacity—by leveraging offshore talent in a way that is compliant, efficient, and aligned with long-term quality goals. His mission: to elevate audit delivery standards while future-proofing firms against the industry’s most critical resourcing risks.

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.

Kim is on strategic advisory board at GroWize. He is a Chartered Accountant and a former Audit partner with EY and BDO. He was BDO’s International Liaison Partner for 10 years until he retired in 2021. During this period he visited India a number of times; he was a director of BDO’s previous member firm and instrumental in helping BDO International find a new member firm in 2013, which has since grown from 250 people to 9,000 across 12 key cities.

Jacob Sperry, VP of Customer Experience of Trullion, helps top finance and accounting teams to automate processes. As a seasoned leader in the industry, Jacob previously led the Customer Experience organization at CaptivateIQ, and was a Partner at Connor Group, leading the Salt Lake City office's Technical Accounting and IPO Services team. Jacob began his accounting career at the Financial Accounting Standard Board, then PwC, and holds a Master of Accountancy from Brigham Young University, and was a licensed CPA in New York.

Andrew Park has spent more than a decade designing, deploying, and consulting on customer experience programs for global Fortune 1000 companies. Andrew provides strategic counsel to his clients, architecting and evolving their customer experience initiatives to deliver maximum business and relationship impact. In his current role as Head of Strategic Markets, he oversees the Go To Market, partnership, and customer experience initiatives for Suralink’s highest priority markets.  He is CCXP certified, a recipient of CXPA CX Impact Award, the author of several white papers, an experienced speaker, and regularly contributes to public conversations about customer experience in forums like the Huffington Post, Inc, and Forbes.

Lesley Hornung is the Chief Marketing Officer at HLB International, where she leads the network's global marketing and brand strategy. With over a decade of marketing experience across professional services and a career spanning three countries, Lesley brings a deep understanding of cultural nuances in international business. Her expertise lies in crafting impactful brand strategies through innovative thought leadership and market insights.

Lesley spearheads HLB’s flagship global Survey of Business Leaders and is a frequent speaker at international and regional conferences, where she champions data-driven marketing approaches and fosters global collaboration. She holds an MSc in International Marketing from King’s College London, a BA in Communications, and a Propaedeutic Diploma in Journalism. Lesley is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

Colin Nelson is the Chief Innovation Consultant at HYPE Innovation, the global leader in innovation management. Colin’s a thought leader on collective intelligence, online innovation, and open innovation, helping to connect people, ideas, and data.

He helps both companies and communities to engage diverse thinking in support of innovation programmes, harnessing both the workforce and an organisations entire eco-system.

Colin has supported MBA teaching programmes at Exeter and Durham Business Schools.

His clients have included: Airbus, BASF, Harley-Davidson, Linklaters, NASA, the NBA, PWC, the United Nations, and Unilever.

Jenny is Head of our A&A and Compliance division and oversees our file review service, technical queries, manuals and all of our A&A training. Jenny is passionate about quality and ensures all of our A&A and Compliance products and services are technically sound and fit for purpose. Jenny has worked for Mercia for over 12 years and has held many positions within the A&A team including, Head of Manuals, Team Lead File Reviews and a lecturer.

Jenny sits on the ICAEW ISA Panel, which closely tracks and inputs into IAASB developments and its work programme. It focuses on the development of new and proposed revisions to auditing and assurance standards and contributes to the development of ICAEW policy on relevant audit and assurance matters. In order to stay practical at Mercia, Jenny performs file reviews and occasionally lectures.

Before joining Mercia, Jenny was an Audit Manager with Deloitte in their Nottingham office where she was involved in a range of clients from small owner managed businesses through to large listed international businesses and this covered providing audit, accounts and advisory services.

Jenny spends most of her time out of work looking after her young family and lively dog.

Emily is our Technical Services Director responsible for the delivery of our training courses, file review services, technical manuals and consultancy services. Emily is supported by our team of technical consultants across tax, audit and accounting. Before joining Mercia in 2010, Emily was with KPMG for nine years working in both tax and audit.

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.

As Morison Global’s CEO, Ryan leads the implementation and ongoing development of our strategy focusing on delivering measurable benefits to our members and supporting members in their development and growth. He has over 20 years of expertise in firm strategy, commerciality, and driving sustainable growth having worked for a number of global accounting firms and networks. Ryan has as LLB (Hons) Law degree as well as a certificate in Leading Professional Service Firms from the Harvard Business School.

Winner of CEO Asia Awards, a visionary achiever and inspirational leader, with excellent track record in strategic planning and international business development.

MBA with distinction, thought leader, with proven ability to create synergies through collaborations, to build competitive edge by leading multi-cultural teams.

Andy is an accomplished technology leader with over 25 years of experience delivering cutting-edge IT solutions to the accountancy sector. Driven by a passion for transforming business performance through intelligent systems, he founded FD Intelligence in 2020 to pioneer the use of AI in automating tax and accounting processes.

Under Andy’s leadership, FD Intelligence has become a recognised innovator in the UK’s Intelligent Automation space - developing AI-powered solutions that streamline routine, high-volume tasks and unlock real-time efficiency gains. The companies technology enables clients to shift focus from manual processing to high-value strategic work, accelerating both productivity and profitability.