In my 38 years of accounting, I’ve picked up a few tricks in my time, but I’m always excited to learn more.
The recent ICAS conference was packed full of insights and opportunities to consider new ways to tackle existing challenges.
You might picture a conference of accountants to be a drab, dreary affair where people just talk about numbers and dream of simpler times.
There’s a lot more going on than that.
This year’s conference did not disappoint, so I want to share with you the top five things I learned at the ICAS conference.
1) LinkedIn is a huge opportunity
While it’s not something that I have ever given much thought to, LinkedIn is apparently a great opportunity to get your name out there.
One speaker talked about the massive reach you can have on the platform.
He gave some good tips on posting every day, commenting as much as possible, and optimising your profile.
This kind of presentation helps show that there is a lot more to accounting than just filing figures.
Community is key, and being able to better engage with a community of a billion people presents an exciting opportunity.
I am eager to carve out some time to figure out how to better use LinkedIn, so expect to see me becoming a bit more active there over the next few months.
2) Storytelling is a superpower
This was my personal highlight of the whole conference.
Teaching us all to “make the future bright and easy”, Alex Bond Burnett wanted to see more professional rebels who forge their own path.
This struck a chord with me as, in the face of rising private equity investment, Scholes is proudly independent – more on that later though!
3) How to adapt to modern challenges
Keeping your finger on the pulse of what people want is essential for success.
That might sound simple, but you’d be surprised at how many people miss the mark.
There’s a recruitment crisis in accounting, and a lot of that stems from firms not understanding how to incentivise a career in accounting.
This is why we work so hard to foster young talent, as we understand that neglecting the next generation will come back to bite the industry eventually.
That’s why I was proud to be on the panel tackling the modern challenges we all face.
Recruitment was only part of that, as we also discussed how to support the growth of our clients by being innovative in the way we approach work.
We also highlighted the importance of using ICAS to keep up with best practices so that firms could keep pace with regulatory changes.
4) Stay alert for cybercrime
Cybercrime is on the rise, and cybercriminals will come for us all eventually.
It’s not like a physical crime, where some of us may never fall victim to it – it is a lot more pervasive.
Cyber risk extends beyond technology, so everyone in a team needs to be ready to fight it whenever problems arise.
Whether handling phishing emails or dodging AI-powered scams, the panel gave a lot of helpful tips for keeping firms safe.
The safer a firm is, the more secure your data is.
Cybersecurity helps all of us, and regular training and reviews are essential.
5) Private equity in accounting is on the rise
Everyone was keen to discuss the sharp increase in the number of recent mergers or private-equity buyouts.
I mentioned it on the panel, and earlier here, that Scholes are fiercely independent.
You can rest assured that our priorities are determined by us so that we will always be able to support our clients and community without interference.
However, I am aware that private equity can support succession and help some firms develop their IT and infrastructure.
My main concern is the intense focus on return on investment that comes with private equity, and I wonder where the client’s interests fit into any of it.
I am not alone in these concerns.
A sub-group has been formed by the ICAS Regulation Board to investigate this in more detail.
ICAS members can read the “Private Equity and Audit: A Threat or an Opportunity?” report to find out more information about this ongoing issue.
Whether the rise of private equity will help or harm the industry remains to be seen, but we are closely monitoring the situation as it unfolds.
What should we talk about next time?
The conference was an incredible success.
One of our associate directors, Estelle Hope, joined me at the conference and got to experience it from the other side.
She enjoyed the day and said, “The conference provided good coverage of a wide range of topics that were all interesting, while the presentations generated lots of ideas to take back for use in day-to-day business.
“It was also a great opportunity to meet up with fellow accountants from other firms to chat about the topics covered and share experiences.”
There’s no time to stop as work has already begun on planning the ICAS Practice Conference.
I asked the audience who were there, and I am now asking you, for any thoughts or ideas about what we should be doing in 2026.
Together, we can make the next conference even better, which will be hard because I loved this one!
These conferences are vital opportunities to network and socialise and benefit attendees long after they finish.
I look forward to seeing more of you at the next one!
