Meet our Experts

Carol Baker is Editor-in-Chief at Credit Control Journal and Asset & Risk Review, IT for CEOs & CFOs, and Property Finance & Lifestyle. Carol has been a journalist for a number of years including for ICAEW, the Financial Times, and the Guardian and often works alongside others to uncover corporate financial frauds.

Wayne is an internationally acclaimed speaker and trainer on all aspects of public and private sector accounting and auditing standards. He has been instrumental in helping to develop the profession internationally and has taken lead roles in the development of new professional bodies and the accounting profession in Mozambique and Rwanda, and been extensively involved in developing financial reporting in many countries across the globe.

Steve is Director at Leavitt Walmsley Associates, a firm of Certified Chartered Accountants. He is an internationally recognised speaker, writer and commentator on all matters to do with financial reporting and auditing. Steve is a prolific author, having written over 25 books and currently represents the North West of England on ACCA''s Practice Network Panel.

Andy Davis is a writer on investment, finance and business. He spent 15 years as a journalist on the Financial Times where he held a series of senior roles including editor of FT Weekend. Andy writes for a range of financial publications and is a columnist for Review. He has been named Personal Financial Journalist of the year in the Wincott Awards.

Sam has been using modern data technologies for the past decade to operate a lean and agile accounting function. He uses data analytics software e.g. Tableau to transform accounting reporting in a modern, shareable and actionable format whilst reducing time taken to prepare reports and streamlining content to minimise noise. Sam was a founding member and Chair of ACCA's Global Technology Forum, steering ACCA's approach to updating members around key technology developments and trends.

Michael works with technology and data companies who provide anti-money laundering and anti-bribery compliance solutions. Michael offers unique insights into the changing geo-political risk landscape, the evolution of financial crime regulation, the genesis and development of AML and ABC regulation, and how data and technology can empower organisations.

Mairéad specialises in succession planning for SMEs and their owners, retirement planning, corporate structuring, inheritance tax, property transactions and VAT, through the tax practice she founded in 2016. Mairead represents CCAB-I on TALC (indirect taxes), which is the main forum for making representations between the Irish Revenue and practitioners on tax administration in Ireland.

Kirsty Hunter is an editor and journalist with more than 25 years in the publishing industry, working on content covering international education, nursing and mental health, the hospitality sector, art collections, banking, finance and technology, as well as accounting and financial reporting for accountingcpd.net. Kirsty has been involved in the production of children's magazines and card collections for brands including Disney, Marvel, DC, Warner, Pokemon, LEGO and BBC Top of the Pops Magazine.

Sarah is a Chartered Tax Accountant (CTA) and a member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT). Sarah currently works as a freelance tax author providing technical writing services to the tax and accountancy professions.

Ross has worked as a consultant and trainer for over 20 years, specialising in finance processes, management information and performance measurement. He supports organisations to understand their processes; facilitates improvement teams; and supports staff to work together as a team to deliver tangible and sustainable improvements.

Alan has over 20 years'' experience as an Excel trainer and loves to help companies improve their business processes and learn how to harness the power of Excel.

Alan Nelson is the Founder and Managing Director of accountingcpd. He presents accountingcpd's webinars, is the face of its You Tube channel, and the resident expert on management and leadership in the accountancy profession. He has been Chair of ICAEW's Practice Assurance Committee, and a member of ACCA's SME Committee and of IFA's Regulatory Committee. He is currently a member of the Bank of England's Decision Making Panel.

Julia Penny was President of ICAEW in 2022-2023, having been a non-executive ICAEW Board member since 2017 and Chair of the Board during her year as President. Julia is a well-known speaker and writer on audit, financial reporting, anti-money laundering and wider issues impacting the profession.

Jim Power is one of Ireland's leading and best-known economic analysts. He has a wealth of experience in delivering insightful economic analysis, forecasts and commentary to international audiences. Jim writes regularly for national newspapers and is a regular contributor to radio and TV debates and discussions. He is a frequent speaker at conferences and industry events and is a member of a speakers bureau, Personallyspeaking.ie. He has his own successful business, economics and political podcast, The Other Hand.

After a successful career as a head of internal audit, Ben changed tack to work with accountants, finance professionals and teams on their personal effectiveness. He is now a director and lead consultant with Aspire Consulting Solutions, a business supporting individuals and teams to improve overall organisational performance.

Marie Speakman has over 30 years experience spanning roles from credit controller to European CFO, and having built her own accountancy practice, Marie is now focused on helping finance professionals embrace AI solutions. Marie's journey into AI started in 2020 when she collaborated with experts to integrate AI into debt collection processes while maintaining regulatory compliance. Today, she partners with businesses to streamline operations and unlock growth through AI.

John is a Chartered Accountant who has spent many years advising small and medium-sized businesses across the North of England. John is the author of two industry standard textbooks: Millichamp - Auditing and Forensic Accounting. He has also written several auditing textbooks for AAT courses.

After qualifying (ICAEW), Lisa spent several years in audit practice with Deloitte and was part of the national audit training faculty at KPMG. Since leaving practice, Lisa has worked in a variety of education-focused roles, including executive education and has maintained strong links with the accountancy professional bodies.