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Episode 8: Four Events Worth Your Calendar Space This Autumn · Chartered Accountants Global Update

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, I'm Antja Dirks from Chartered Accountants Worldwide.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: This podcast has been researched and drafted with the support of AI.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's then reviewed, shaped, and signed off by our human editorial team.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: Even though we use AI to create this podcast, every story you hear is real.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: Every person we profile is a real person doing remarkable things.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: Every statistic is checked, every event is verified, every episode is approved by us, the human editors, who care deeply about this profession.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: Technology we use with purpose, oversight, and professional judgment exactly how it should be used.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: So, without further ado, I'm gonna hand you over to Olivia.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks, Antya.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome back to Chartered Accountants Global Update, the weekly audio newsletter from Chartered Accountants Worldwide.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_01: This episode is a bit of a calendar check-in.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_01: Over the next few weeks, four events are worth clearing space for, and taken together, they say something about where the profession's attention is right now.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_01: Two are about sustainability, one is about ethics and artificial intelligence, and one steps back to ask what transformation means for finance leadership more broadly.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_01: None of these are one-off webinars you can safely skip.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_01: They're part of an ongoing conversation across the member bodies about how accountants stay relevant as the ground shifts under the profession.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_01: Let's get into it.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_01: First up, on September 22nd, Chartered Accountants, Australia and New Zealand, continues its CA Sustainability Community webinar series.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_01: This program has been running since 2023, and it's built specifically for finance professionals who need to get comfortable with environmental, social, and governance topics, not as an abstract concept, but as something that shows up in client conversations and business decisions every day.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_01: What makes this series useful is its consistency.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_01: Rather than one big set-piece event, it's a running calendar of curated practical sessions, so it rewards people who dip in regularly, rather than those looking for a single silver bullet briefing.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_01: If you're advising on sustainability risk or trying to help your organization get ahead of reporting obligations before they become mandatory, this is a low-effort way to stay current, one focused session at a time.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_01: Three days later, on September 25th, CCAB, the Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies, is hosting a free virtual webinar called Ethics in the Digital Age.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_01: This one is timely.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: CCAB has drafted a statement to the profession on the ethical use of artificial intelligence, and this session walks through it using real scenarios, the kind of judgment calls accountants are already facing when AI tools enter the workflow, questions of confidentiality, professional scepticism, and where responsibility sits when a tool gets something wrong.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_01: Speakers are coming from all five C C A B bodies, including ICAEW, ACCA, CIPFA, ICAS, and Chartered Accountants Ireland.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: So you're getting a genuinely cross-institute view rather than one organization's take.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_01: It runs from 12 to 1.30pm BST, counts for 1.5 hours of CPD, and it's free to attend.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_01: Registration is capped at 1,000 places though, so if you want in, don't leave it too late.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_01: Then on October 7th, ICAS is running its sustainability summit in Edinburgh at Dovecoot Studios, with a hybrid option if you can't make it in person.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_01: This one takes a slightly different angle from the CAANZ series.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_01: Rather than treating sustainability as a compliance exercise, the summit frames it as a driver of commercial success and looks at how finance professionals are increasingly shaping strategy, risk management, reporting, and long-term value, not just reporting on it after the fact.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_01: It's structured as keynotes plus panel discussions, so there's room for genuine debate, not just presentations.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_01: The speaker list is strong too, with voices from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Transition Finance Scotland, the University's Superannuation Scheme, and finance leaders from GSK and Swire Pacific, among others.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_01: It runs from 3 to 7 pm BST, so it's a proper afternoon commitment rather than a lunchtime drop-in.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_01: And rounding things out, on October 16th, ICAEW holds its annual conference in London, this year themed Thriving in Transformation.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_01: It's a full-day event at the Intercontinental London, the O2, and it's built around the disruption our profession keeps having to respond to, economic, political, and technological, all at once.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_01: Expect sessions on AI's effect on finance leadership, cybersecurity, risk management, scaling innovation, and practical updates on making tax digital and sustainability reporting.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_01: In the afternoon, you can choose a stream tailored to practice, industry, or policy, so the day can flex to whatever's most relevant to your role.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_01: The headline speaker is mathematician and AI expert Professor Hannah Fry, which should make for a genuinely interesting keynote on how these technological forces are reshaping business and society more broadly.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_01: It qualifies for up to eight hours of CPD, and tickets are£295.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_01: So that's four events.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_01: Two on sustainability, one on ethics and AI, and one looking at transformation more broadly, all landing within about three and a half weeks of each other.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_01: It's worth noticing the pattern here.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_01: Sustainability and artificial intelligence keep showing up together across these programs.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_01: Not because they're the same issue, but because both are forcing the same question.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_01: What does good judgment look like when the rules are still being written?
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: If you can only get to one event, pick the one closest to a decision you're already facing in your own work.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_01: Links and registration details for all four are in the show notes.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for listening, and we'll catch you next time on Chartered Accountants Global Update.