Tuesday 29 September 2026
London Art’otel
#AccOnTour2026
London, we’re bringing the “Alternative” experience to you!
We’re bringing the energy, insight, and honesty of our flagship events to the capital. This is your chance to step away from the day-to-day and into a space designed to challenge your thinking, connect you with like-minded leaders, and help you work on your business – not just “in” it!.
Alternative by name “Alternative” by nature
- Real voices, real viewpoints – Hear directly from leaders at mid-top tier firms – sharing what’s happening from their own desks.
- Fast-paced, high-impact format – From lightning vendor pitches to curated panels, every session is designed to spark ideas and action.
- Find your tribe – Connect with peers who get it. This is a room full of people who lead, challenge, and change things.
- All in one day – No fluff. No filler. Just the best of Alternative – in one focused, energising day.
Be part of something special
Who’s it for?
This event is exclusively for senior executives, board-level leaders, managing directors, audit leaders, tax leaders and tech leader innovators shaping the future of accountancy from the UK’s top 300 accountancy firms – those who influence strategic growth and want to stay ahead of the curve.
Alternative Accountancy on Tour – London 2026 Agenda
*Please note this programme is subject to change.
Arrival & registration
Welcome from Alternative Events
Too many partners, too few leaders: cultivating trust and leadership at every level
Strong firms need more than technically excellent partners; they need leadership at every level
Too many partners, too few leaders: cultivating trust and leadership at every level
Strong firms need more than technically excellent partners; they need leadership at every level
- Together we will explore how firms can develop people to lead themselves, others and the wider organisation, while building senior teams that operate collectively rather than in functional silos.
- You will leave with practical ideas for strengthening trust, empowerment and accountability in your firm and developing a more effective approach to succession planning.
Panel
Whose desk is it anyway – the great accountability challenge
Panel
Whose desk is it anyway – the great accountability challenge
- Where do responsibility and decision-making sit when challenges span audit, tax, operations and technology?
- Examining how firms make cross-functional decisions when everyone has ownership of the outcome.
- An honest discussion around roadblocks – what technology leaders wish management understood, and vice versa.
Vendor lightning pitches
These lightning-fast (90 second) sessions from our sponsors will provide delegates with an overview of technology products and services that are specifically relevant to accountancy practices. Each vendor will tell us what challenge their product/service addresses, how it works and what it does for clients.
Pre-morning coffee break exercise
Coffee & networking break
The big picture: global trends and the economic outlook for UK firms
Against a volatile global backdrop and market uncertainty, this session will deliver a practical reality check on how shifting interest rates, wage growth, and labour market pressures could impact business margins, client demand, and employment trends across the UK.
Deals, drivers & direction
A lightning tour of accountancy M&A
Lunch
Group therapy round table discussions: Part one
The hallmark of an Alternative Event, these peer-to-peer discussions run for 30-minutes, each led by a managing partner, a CIO/CTO and an audit partner.
Group therapy round table discussions: Part one
The hallmark of an Alternative Event, these peer-to-peer discussions run for 30-minutes, each led by a managing partner, a CIO/CTO and an audit partner.
The small groups, following the Chatham House rule, allow everyone to share problems and solutions.
For Managing Partners
The sessions run twice, allowing you to participate in both discussions.
14:00: Your first choice
14:30: Move to the other roundtable
A: What does real productivity look like?
B: Managing Partner ‘Show & tell’: Building the firm of the future
For Managing Partners
The sessions run twice, allowing you to participate in both discussions.
14:00: Your first choice
14:30: Move to the other roundtable
A: What does real productivity look like?
B: Managing Partner ‘Show & tell’: Building the firm of the future
(a) What does real productivity look like?
-
- An invaluable opportunity to benchmark practical metrics and KPIs with your peers.
- Is a firm operating at maximum capacity highly productive, or just masking deeper inefficiencies?
Peter O’Connell, CEO, Shaw Gibbs
(b) Managing Partner ‘Show & tell’: Building the firm of the future
Accountancy leaders will share their stories of how they are meeting the challenges and opportunities facing their firm and he profession, with each sharing one new initiative they have recently undertaken which has led to positive outcomes across the business.
Sanjay Bathija, CEO, Sopher+Co
For CIOs/CTOs:
The sessions run twice, allowing you to participate in both discussions.
14:00: Your first choice
14:30: Move to the other roundtable
A: Taming the frankenstack: Strategies for reducing technical debt
B: AI: What's working now... and what’s next?
For CIOs/CTOs:
The sessions run twice, allowing you to participate in both discussions.
14:00: Your first choice
14:30: Move to the other roundtable
A: Taming the frankenstack: Strategies for reducing technical debt
B: AI: What's working now... and what’s next?
(a): Taming the frankenstack: Strategies for reducing technical debt
- Digital transformation offers unprecedented efficiency gains, yet technical debt often acts as an innovation tax – with fragmented tech environments, unmanaged legacy data, and poorly integrated systems creating bottlenecks and raising cost
- How are tech leaders prioritising modernisation?
Robbie White, Partner & Innovation & Data Hub, Forvis Mazars
(b) AI: What’s working now… and what’s next?
- What AI use cases are gaining traction right now, and where are firms placing their bets for 2027?
- Lessons learned, including what has and hasn’t delivered value.
- Where firms are choosing to invest next, and the factors shaping those decisions.
Thomas Fletcher, Head of Integration and Technology, Affinia
For Heads of Audit:
Futureproofing the profit engine: Closing the audit talent gap
For Heads of Audit:
Futureproofing the profit engine: Closing the audit talent gap
- Audit is currently the economic engine room of the firm, but the traditional pipeline powering it is fractured as the classic wide-based pyramid becomes a top-heavy “obelisk.”
- Discuss strategies to combat early-career burnout and stop qualified juniors from jumping ship when their training contracts end.
Group therapy round table discussions: Part two
For Managing Partners
A: What does real productivity look like?
B: Managing Partner ‘Show & tell’: Building the firm of the future
For Managing Partners
A: What does real productivity look like?
B: Managing Partner ‘Show & tell’: Building the firm of the future
(a) What does real productivity look like?
- An invaluable opportunity to benchmark practical metrics and KPIs with your peers.
- Is a firm operating at maximum capacity highly productive, or just masking deeper inefficiencies?
Peter O’Connell, CEO, Shaw Gibbs
(b) Managing Partner ‘Show & tell’: Building the firm of the future
Accountancy leaders will share their stories of how they are meeting the challenges and opportunities facing their firm and he profession, with each sharing one new initiative they have recently undertaken which has led to positive outcomes across the business.
Sanjay Bathija, CEO, Sopher+Co
For CIOs/CTOs:
A: Taming the frankenstack: Strategies for reducing technical debt
B: AI: What's working now... and what’s next?
For CIOs/CTOs:
A: Taming the frankenstack: Strategies for reducing technical debt
B: AI: What's working now... and what’s next?
(a): Taming the frankenstack: Strategies for reducing technical debt
- Digital transformation offers unprecedented efficiency gains, yet technical debt often acts as an innovation tax – with fragmented tech environments, unmanaged legacy data, and poorly integrated systems creating bottlenecks and raising cost
- How are tech leaders prioritising modernisation?
Robbie White, Partner & Innovation & Data Hub, Forvis Mazars
(b) AI: What’s working now… and what’s next?
- What AI use cases are gaining traction right now, and where are firms placing their bets for 2027?
- Lessons learned, including what has and hasn’t delivered value.
- Where firms are choosing to invest next, and the factors shaping those decisions.
Thomas Fletcher, Head of Integration and Technology, Affinia
For Heads of Audit:
How audit firms win through client experience
For Heads of Audit:
How audit firms win through client experience
- Have we become too focused on efficiency and forgotten about client experience?
- What makes an audit client stay loyal?
- How do firms measure audit client experience?
You Decide
Agree. Disagree. It’s Complicated.
Join this fast-paced audience interaction as we explore some of the biggest questions facing the profession. Using green, red and yellow cards, delegates will vote on a series of thought-provoking statements around AI, technology, leadership and the future of work. Expect lively debate, surprising opinions and a real-time insight into what the room is thinking.
Coffee & networking break
The Alternative Samoan Circle: Accountancy firms can’t survive the next ten years
A zero-filter debate on why a mix of talent shortages, rapid technological development, and fee compression means the traditional practice model is dead.
Drinks reception & networking
Accountancy Events on Tour – London Sponsors
Accountancy Events on Tour – London Supporters
Earn CPD credits when you attend our events
At Alternative Events we want to give you maximum value for spending time out of the office. We strive to deliver learning excellence and provide our delegates with the best CDP opportunities.
As a CPD accredited event organiser you’ll earn career development points by attending our summits and conferences.
