CPDStore

10:00 - 10:50

MTD - Lessons Learned from Implementing MTD in Practice

Speaker: Rachel Harris - striveX

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is no longer a future conversation, it’s an operational shift that will fundamentally change how accounting firms deliver services, manage capacity and communicate with clients. Many accountants understand the legislation but are still unsure how to implement it in a real practice environment without creating overwhelm for their team or confusion for clients.

In this practical session, Rachel Harris shares real lessons learned from implementing MTD workflows inside a growing accounting firm. Rather than focusing on theory or HMRC guidance alone, this session explores what actually worked, what didn’t, and how firms can prepare operationally, culturally and commercially.

Accountants should attend to understand how to avoid capacity bottlenecks, introduce sustainable pricing models, build internal playbooks and confidently guide clients through change. With MTD deadlines approaching and client awareness still low across the market, this session provides a clear, actionable roadmap that improves practice efficiency, profitability and client confidence.

In this session Rachel Harris will cover the following topics:

• What MTD really changes inside a firm beyond compliance
• Portfolio analysis and identifying impacted clients early
• Pricing, capacity planning and avoiding quarterly bottlenecks
• Building internal systems, workflows and playbooks
• Client communication strategies that actually reduce resistance

By attending this session, you will:

• Understand the operational realities of implementing MTD in a live practice
• Be able to assess your own portfolio readiness and identify risk areas
• Learn practical strategies to manage team capacity and avoid deadline pressure
• Gain insight into pricing approaches that protect profitability
• Leave with a clear framework for building workflows and internal playbooks
• Feel more confident guiding clients through the transition to MTD

This session will be most valuable for:

• Practice owners
• Accountants and tax advisers working with sole traders or landlords
• Managers responsible for workflow planning or compliance delivery
• Firms preparing for MTD for Income Tax implementation

Course level: Need to know (new regulation that all accountants must understand)

11:10 - 12:00

Message Overload - Rethinking Communication in Accountancy Teams

Speaker: Susan Heaton-Wright - Superstar Communicator

Research I conducted last year on communication overload revealed that employees spent significant time reading, responding to and managing communication on multiple platforms. Our conclusions indicate that this impacts productivity, accuracy and wellbeing. We share key research results to build awareness of this challenge and provide some solutions.

In this session Susan Heaton-Wright will cover the following topics:

• What communication overload is
• Why it is important for leaders and business owners to know about some of the key findings from research
• How this is impacting productivity and wellbeing
• What leaders and managers need to about overloading their teams and employees
• Better solutions: what we can all do to increase productivity whilst communicating more effectively.

By attending this session, you will become aware of current communication styles, their impact on productivity and ways you could communicate more efficiently.

This session will be of most interest to business leaders, business owners, managers, team managers of different seniority.

Course level: All levels

12:20 - 13:10

HR & Employment Law Update - June 2026

Speaker: Kate Shepherd - Kate Shepherd Associates

This highly interactive workshop will provide learners with a guide to recent changes in HR and employment law, as well as anticipating future changes on the horizon.

This workshop will include all the topical issues in HR and employment law including:

• Labour’s Employment Law Plans and Key Upcoming Changes
• The Employment Law Rights Act 2025: An overview of Labour's proposed legislation and its impact on workers’ rights.
• Employment status
• Employment contracts and zero hours contracts
• Developments around preventing sexual harassment
• Unfair dismissal and redundancy protections
• Family-Friendly rights, flexible working and carer’s leave
• Changes on the horizon

By attending this workshop learners will be able to

• Broaden their understanding of the latest developments in HR practices and employment law to stay up to date with their organisation’s legal requirements.
• Consider how recent legal updates and changes in employment law affect their organisation’s policies, operations, and the advice given to clients, ensuring compliance and effective management of risk
• Reflect on emerging trends and changes in the HR and employment law landscape to identify potential challenges and opportunities for their organisations.
• Proactively anticipate upcoming legal changes, developing strategies to effectively manage and adapt to evolving legal requirements

This session will be of most interest to tax advisers, auditors and business owners

Course level: Intermediate, Advanced / Need to know

13:50 - 14:40

Beyond the Noise: Finding Clarity in Your Communication

Speaker: Nick Elston - Forging People Ltd

In high-pressure environments like finance and accountancy, communication is often driven by accuracy, speed and delivery. But behind that sits something rarely addressed, the internal narrative that shapes how confidently we speak, how clearly, we express ourselves and how effectively we handle difficult conversations. This session explores how to cut through that noise. Blending lived experience with practical tools, it will help attendees communicate with greater clarity, manage pressure more effectively and build stronger, more human connections with clients, colleagues and themselves. The result is not just better communication, but better performance, better relationships and more impact in their role.

In this session Nick Elston will cover the following topics:

• Understanding how internal narratives impact confidence, communication and decision-making
• Practical tools to manage pressure and communicate clearly in high-stakes situations
• Techniques to express ideas with clarity, confidence and emotional awareness
• How to navigate difficult conversations without avoidance or escalation
• Building stronger professional relationships through more human, effective communication

By attending this session, you will:

• Understand how your internal narrative influences how you communicate and perform
• Learn practical strategies to communicate with more clarity and confidence under pressure
• Be able to approach difficult conversations with greater control and effectiveness
• Improve how you build trust and relationships with clients, colleagues and stakeholders
• Feel more equipped to express your ideas in a way that lands and creates impact

This session is particularly relevant for accountants, finance professionals, advisors, business owners and anyone working in high-pressure, client-facing or decision-making roles who wants to communicate more effectively and confidently.

Course level: Intermediate

15:00 - 15:50

Content Without Cringe: LinkedIn for Accountants and Bookkeepers

Speaker: Ashley Leeds - Full Cup Coaching

Most accountants and bookkeepers think their stories are too ordinary to share. That’s exactly why they should.

In this practical session, Ashley Leeds, The 15-Minute Guy®, shows you how to build visibility and trust on LinkedIn without feeling cringey, salesy, or like you’re showing off. You’ll learn the 3 content pillars that make posting easier, a simple way to turn one client question into multiple posts, and weekly themes that help you stay consistent. Ashley will also share straightforward ways to start using video, plus his 15-minute-a-day routine for staying visible without living on the platform.

If you want LinkedIn to bring you more conversations, referrals, and confidence, this session is for you.

Course level: Foundation / Intermediate

16:10 - 17:00

Red Flags and Credit Risk Impact for Your Clients and Your Practice

Speaker: Kevin Artlett – Pecunia (2016) Ltd

In this session Kevin Artlett will cover the following topics:

Why Red Flags Matter

• Every business leaves a trail of how it is trading – good or bad
• Accountants are often the first to see warning signs
• By the time issues appear in year-end accounts, it is often too late to act
• spot a failing business from the numbers?”

What Are Red Flags? Proactive vs Reactive

• A red flag = an early indicator of risk or instability

• Examples:

◦ Late filings
◦ Poor payment behaviour
◦ Increasing debt levels
◦ Changes in leadership

Where to Find Red Flags in Practice

• Statutory filings

◦ Late or non-filing

• Management accounts

◦ Falling margins, losses, declining reserves

• Debtor book / receivables

◦ Increasing debtor days
◦ Aged debt creeping

• Credit reports

◦ CCJs, legal actions

• Client conversations

◦ Behavioural warning signs

Key Red Flags to Watch

• Financial Red Flags:

◦ Deteriorating performance
◦ Increasing borrowing
◦ Weak liquidity

• Operational Red Flags:

◦ Frequent changes in directors or finance staff
◦ Poor documentation or controls
◦ Complex group structures

• Credit & Behavioural Red Flags:

◦ Late payments becoming normal
◦ Requests for extended terms
◦ Increasing disputes
◦ Avoidance of communication
◦ Excuses around payment delays

Impact of Missing Red Flags

• Impact on Clients:

◦ Cash flow crisis
◦ Inability to pay suppliers, staff, HMRC
◦ Increased borrowing costs
◦ Insolvency risk

• Impact on Directors:

◦ Personal stress and pressure
◦ Poor decision-making
◦ Loss of control over the business

• Impact on Accountancy Practices:

◦ Loss of fee income
◦ Bad debts from unpaid invoices
◦ Reputational damage
◦ Increased regulatory scrutiny
◦ Reduced practice valuation

Early Intervention & Practical Actions - Practical Steps:

• Review management accounts more frequently
• Monitor debtor days and payment behaviour
• Strengthen cash flow forecasting
• Challenge assumptions (e.g. “they always pay”)
• Encourage earlier client conversations

Collaboration – The Missing Link

• Accountants:

◦ Identify issues
◦ Provide financial insight

• Credit professionals:

◦ Manage payment behaviour
◦ Improve cash collection
◦ Support difficult conversations

Benefits of Collaboration:

• Faster intervention
• Better client outcomes
• Reduced risk exposure

By the end of this session, attendees will:

• Understand what “red flags” in business actually look like
• Recognise how early warning signs appear in financial and behavioural data
• Appreciate the impact of missed risks on both clients and their own practice
• Learn how to act proactively rather than reactively
• Understand the value of collaboration with credit management specialists

Course level: All levels