KEYNOTE: Roger Bootle, Economists and Chairman of Capital Economics

• The world economy as a backdrop to the UK.

• Where are we in the Brexit process and how likely is a favourable outcome?

• What is the UK’s strategy for success outside the EU?

• Is inflation about to return?

• What is the outlook for interest rates and financial markets?

One of the City of London’s best-known economists, Roger Bootle is chairman of Capital Economics, one of the world’s largest independent macroeconomics consultancies, which he founded in 1999.  Roger is also a Specialist Adviser to the House of Commons Treasury Committee, an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries and a Fellow of the Society of Business Economists.  He was formerly Group Chief Economist of HSBC and, under the previous Conservative government, he was appointed one of the Chancellor’s panel of Independent Economic Advisers, the so-called “Wise Men”. He was a Visiting Professor at Manchester Business School from 1995-2003 and between 1999 and 2011 served as Economic Adviser to Deloitte. In 2012, Roger and a team from Capital Economics won the Wolfson Prize, the second biggest prize in Economics after the Nobel.

Roger Bootle studied at Oxford University and then became a Lecturer in Economics at St Anne’s College, Oxford.  Most of his subsequent career has been spent in the City of London.

Roger has written many articles and several books on monetary economics. His latest book, Making a Success of Brexit and Reforming the EU, is the 4th edition of The Trouble with Europe. This book follows The Trouble with Markets and Money for Nothing, which were widely acclaimed. His earlier book, The Death of Inflation, published in 1996, became a best-seller and was subsequently translated into nine languages. Initially dismissed as extreme, The Death of Inflation is now widely recognised as prophetic. Roger is also joint author of the book Theory of Money, and author of Index-Linked Gilts.

Roger appears frequently on television and radio and is also a regular columnist for The Daily Telegraph. In The Comment Awards 2012 he was named Economics Commentator of the year. 

The challenge for business partners in a disruptive world!

His presentation will cover:

• The evolution of the SSC business model – where it’s coming from and where it’s going.
• Lights-out, data-driven decision-making.
• The implications for business partners.
• Opportunities for management accountants in process design and data analytics.
• Some emerging challenges, including robotic process automation and the ticking time-bomb for careers.

Ian Herbert joined Loughborough University in 2001, after holding a wide range of accounting and general management roles in both the private and public sectors. His extensive commercial experience now informs his teaching, research and consultancy.

Ian is a regular contributor to international conferences and has published over 80 academic and practitioner articles. 

His chief research interest is the transformation of the professional functions such as finance, HR, procurement and IT through new organisational forms.

Tomorrow's CFO: Applying Analytics to drive performance

The presentation will focus on the role of analytics in the future of decision making and how it can be applied by finance to drive company performance. It will involve case studies with several major organisations which focus on their application of predictive and prescriptive analytics to improve business decision making and gain a competitive advantage.

Simon is the Managing Director of Metapraxis, an analytics technology business based in London and New York. Since joining the business in 2010 Metapraxis has achieved market beating year on year growth. Simon is a passionate proponent of the role that analytics technology can play in helping businesses transform performance. Simon is a technologist at heart, having spent six years working in the technology and outsourcing sectors with Xchanging PLC prior to Metapraxis, and an accountant by trade, as a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and a member of the CIMA Council. Simon holds a BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Oxford University.
 

“I like a challenge, I do…”

When circumstances change, the strategy has to change. Shifting the strategic direction of a business can be like trying to turn around an oil tanker. But if it’s heading for the rocks, urgent action and specialist skills are needed.

Hugh Cawley has built his career on fixing troubled companies, rescuing them from impending insolvency, developing new strategic plans, restoring profitable growth and executing a sale of the business to a supportive buyer. Succeeding in this requires a clear focus on priorities, execution and, above all, people.

In this talk, highly-experienced turnaround practitioner Hugh Cawley shares his ‘war stories’ at a number of troubled businesses. FDs will have the opportunity to benefit from what Hugh has learned from rescuing and redirecting major business units and PLCs.

Hugh Cawley is currently the Chief Executive at Real Good Food plc, a food manufacturer. A chartered accountant and member of the Institute for Turnaround, Hugh specialises in working with public companies facing major strategic challenge or undergoing significant corporate change. His roles have included spells with S Daniels PLC, Dawson Holdings PLC, office2office PLC and Driver Group plc. Hugh is also a founding member of the advisory board of the Confucius Institute for Business at the University of Leeds.
 

PANEL SESSION: Change and transformation - putting people at the heart of your business strategy

How do we transform ourselves from a backward facing, transaction focused ‘gatekeeper’ to true business partner with automated historical accounting, touchless and paperless processing, where we can truly say that everything we do adds value and insight to support business decision making?

The aim of this session is to provide an open discussion forum for the challenges faced in delivering change and in getting the very best out of people. How do we get our customers excited about this change, get the resources required to deliver and perhaps most importantly equip our people for the transformation required? What is different for transformation in Finance compared to other areas in the organisation? Perhaps some of the challenge is also with us as leaders? What experiences can we share of where it has gone well or lessons learned from difficult or stalled implementations?

Corinna joined RHP in July 2017 from Thames Valley Housing.  She is a fellow of the ICAEW, and has worked in Housing since 2016 following a career at PwC, Bupa, Centrica, and latterly as transformation consultant.
 

How might we fix a troubled business?

What should you prioritise? What needs to be fixed first? How can you rely on colleagues who may have been part of the problem? All these are critical questions when faced with a struggling business, be it part of a larger corporation or a PLC in its own right.

In this discussion group, FDs can share their experiences, concerns and questions with Hugh Cawley, a finance director and general manager who has been there and done it, many times.

How to influence with authority and gravitas

Robin shows how we can build our personal impact, appearing confident and comfortable, so we engage our audience for maximum impact and influence - every time.

From 1-1 stakeholder meetings, through to networking events and speaking to larger groups, Robin will look at how best to structure what we say and how we say it.

Join Robin for this fun and practical session.

Learn how to:
• Establish rapport quickly and easily with everyone we meet
• Speak with natural authenticity and gravitas
• Structure messages for maximum impact and influence

Robin Kermode is one of Europe’s leading communication coaches working globally with politicians, senior executives and media personalities – in fact, anyone who has to speak to another human being!
He is a popular keynote speaker and author of the best-selling book “Speak so your audience will listen”. He is a regular contributor to The Telegraph and The Guardian and is the body language expert for The Mail and The Express. He is also a recognizable actor and voice over artist. His experience, enthusiasm and sense of humour make him a highly valued speaker and coach.

Lead With Confidence. Learn How Top 1% Leaders Inspire, Influence And Get Results

Leaders are made, not born.  Join like-minded professionals as Nis Arend, Founder of The Corporate Confidante, reveals skills the top 1% leaders have mastered and how they've overcome challenges to get to the top of their game.

Learn how you can use the same strategies and attract the best people to help you achieve success for your organisation.

Nis Arend founded The Corporate Confidante which trains top 1% talent, in the Financial Services industry, to be more successful - fast.
Her events, workshops and retreats help driven professionals master mindset, elevate performance and solve problems creatively without fluff.
Previously Nis was part of the senior team for leadership, learning and talent at Barclays Wealth and Deloitte. Known for her speed in achieving results, a recent client enjoyed a $15m ROI through one of her programs.
A thought leader for driven professionals worldwide, she’s the career confidence coach to one of the UK’s biggest, most influential magazine groups.  The Institute of Directors regards her as a "Leading female business leader gearing up for a global Britain”.

She’s named as one of the UK's “Top 100 Most Influential People” by the market leader, Event Magazine.
Nis has the deep expertise, knowledge and in-depth experience on how leaders can reach their aspirations, achieve their goals and drive profits for their organisations.
Clients include HSBC, Barclays, Natwest, Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander, Pinsent Masons and Bryan Cave.

Her style is hailed as inspirational, magnetic and energising