VFD Articles

We are in good company as sponsors of the Accountants in Industry Theatre at Accountex 2022. (Excel London 11-12 May 2022).

Visit Accountex

Day 1 Programme: Wednesday 11 May

3 C’s of Employment Law

Jemma Fairclough-Haynes | CEO Orchard, Employment Law

A must-have talk to equip employers about he basics and the latest requirements in Employment Law. Jemma will address what she calls the 3 C’s of Employment Law – Contracts, Conduct and Current Updates.This talk is perfect for :

• Business Owners, Directors and Partners
• HR Managers
• Middle Managers
• Team Leaders and Supervisors

Navigating the Financial Eco-System of the Future

Hannah Dawson | Founder and CEO, Futrli
Julie Ashmore | CEO NatWest Rapid Cash
Kevin McCallum | CEO, Accountancy Manager
Nick Levine | Funding Options

Accountants sit at the heart of the SME industry, and play a key role in helping businesses adopt technology that can help them navigate the dynamic SME landscape in 2022. Join NatWest Rapid Cash CEO Julie Ashmore and an esteemed set of panellists for a conversation around:

• Accounting for the key challenges of 2022: from inflation to stock availability.
• The evolution of cash flow forecasting & what it means to SMEs.
• The new day-to-day roles and responsibilities of accountants.
• Redefining the SME tech stack.
• The evolving external financing market.
• Tips for SMEs moving forward.

Harnessing Data and Automation to Deliver Sustainable Growth and Financial Management Throughout a Business’ Life Cycle

Mark Walker | CEO, VFD Pro

Whether you are a Finance Director in an SME, you operate as a Portfolio FD supporting multiple businesses or even an accountant in practice supporting hundreds of businesses. Join Mark to explore the support requirements of businesses at the different stages of their life cycle and how you can utilise the combination of financial and non-financial data along with automation, to implement an efficient and robust process to deliver sustainable business growth and financial management.

4 Ways Automated Spend Management Can Lead to Business Growth

George Gregory | Regional Director, SAP Concur

You may know how automated expense and invoice solutions can improve process efficiency, but do you know how it also supports your business’s growth strategy? In 2022, finance leaders are adopting an integrated approach to spend management to support flexible working, improve the employee experience and inform the business’s path to growth. But how?

In this session we’ll cover:
• How an end-to-end approach to managing spend powered by AI can save your business time and money
• Why digitising spend processes is the key to enabling hybrid working and retaining top talent
• Integration options

How to Build Your Part-Time FD Client Portfolio

Steve Darnell | Client Success Champion, VFD Pro

How to help a business owner appreciate the full value and benefit of sound financial reporting and management, and how retaining the right full or part-time financial director is critical to success.

How to Retain your Team Way Past Qualification!

Chris Argent | Founder, Generation CFO

Talent retention is a shared issue in Industry and Practice. Chris will explore how digital skills training can help you, your firm and your clients. Qualification tends to be a reason to leave, but interesting digital skills career paths post qualification could stop this exit point and offer a new fulfilling digital career path. Pulling on examples from Industry and Practice, Chris will show you where the value opportunities are and how learning can enable it for everyone gain.

The Accountants Role is in Both the Buying and Selling Process and How they are Pivotal to its Success

Mark Walker / CEO, VFD Pro

Whether part of the buying or selling team, you have a pivotal role to play in ensuring your clients achieve the best possible outcome. Learn how accountants are uniquely placed to guide business owners through this process.

Day 2 Programme: Thursday 12 May

Human Firewall: Reducing the Cyber Risk in Accountancy

Richard Jackson | Partnerships Manager, Moore ClearComm

What is a Human Firewall?

The first line of defence against the most common cyber attacks, your employees are as important as the hardware and software within your IT security defences. Together, your team can become your “Human Firewall”.

Many cyber experts now concede the solution to cybercrime in Accountancy may not rely on computer science, it could be solved by applying human science in an effective way. People, your employees, may hold the key to cyber risk reduction.

This session focuses on how to balance your human and technical defences, in order to reduce your cyber security and data privacy risk.

How can AP Automation Assist Flexible Working and Improve the Employee Experience?

George Gregory | Regional Director, SAP Concur

In this presentation, we’ll walk you through how Accounts Payable Automation is helping organisations adapt to flexible working environments, whilst improving company culture and the employee experience.

You’ll find out:
• How employees want to work in future and what they need to be productive
• The role of technology to enable flexible working
• See how other businesses in the UK have implemented automation and the value they are experiencing.

Mitigating Risk – Increase the Value you Provide

Neil Campbell | Commercial Director, Risk Dashboard (UK) Ltd

Software designed to provide data and information from the client, to deliver increased revenue and profit for the firm, whilst creating a framework for operational resilience and growth at the client level. Identifying statutory risks and threats, creating risk mitigation strategies. All of which will increase the client business value, reduce client operating costs, and enhance stakeholder and shareholder approval.

The Opportunity to Operate as a Part-Time FD with SME’s

Rob Boll | Founder & CEO, Evoke Management

Rob will be sharing his thoughts on shifting from the traditional backward looking accountant, to a forward looking strategic Business Advisor in the form of a Part-Time FD. This will include where and how to focus on shifting to becoming proactive rather than reactive to your clients’ needs, and how you can engage with the client to be more value adding to them and their business.

Helping Businesses Preparing for Exit

Cliff Spolander | Director, Business By Design

Most business owners leave exit planning far too late. By the time they want or need to exit their business, there isn’t adequate time to prepare the business for sale. This reduces their options, forcing them to sell the business for less than expected, close the business down or continue working until they can afford to retire.

90% of businesses are not saleable in their current condition. Of those on the market, more than 80% don’t sell and, of those that do, less than 5% sell for around the asking price. Find out why this is and learn what it takes to create a saleable business and be exit-ready at all times.

Long Live the Accountant

Beverley Wakefield | Co-Founder and Director, Vibrant Accountancy
Emma Chesson | Associate Director – Business Services & Outsourcing BDO
Phil Hobden | Head Of Digital Sales – Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting UK
Stuart Hurst | Director, Accounts and Legal

There has never been a better time to be an accountant. On this panel hear from 4 accountants from different sized firms about how they have evolved their service offering to support SME’s as they move away from the COVID pandemic into a new world.

Hear how the implementation of technology, wider team education and conversation has empowered these accountants to get to the real pain their clients are facing and find out how they went about discovering and implementing the solutions to help them, moving beyond just talking about “advisory services” to delivering fully rounded long term solutions.