Cut costs, lead better, build more: inside the FD Show seminar programme

Taking place at Excel London on 13–14 May 2026 and co-located with Accountex London, the FD Show is the new trade exhibition built for finance leaders, including Finance Directors, CFOs, and accountants in industry. 

Visitors can explore 40+ enterprise solution providers, a free CPD-accredited seminar programme across two theatres, and a dedicated Case Study Stage packed with real-world insight into the challenges facing c-suite finance professionals right now.  

Beyond the sessions and stands, there’s a full two days of networking to make meaningful new connections and reconnect with the wider community.  

Here are some programme highlights to look forward to…   

‘Three years on: Lessons from Comic Relief’s digital transformation’ will be delivered by Bex McGann, Head of Finance for Comic Relief and Neil Wildy, PM Manager for Xledger, who will share how digital transformation improved efficiency, reporting, and decision-making. The session will provide practical tips to sustain benefits, avoid pitfalls, and drive long-term value. Plus, honest lessons on what worked, what didn’t, and strategies used to maximise technology investments. 

Elliott Gaspar, CFO and founder of Momentum CFOs, and creator of the Fractional Finance Forum will be taking to the stage for ‘How to sell fractional CFO services: The exact process behind a 7-figure practice’. Fractional finance is booming, but most new FDs struggle with one thing: selling. Elliott breaks down the precise sales process behind scaling a fractional CFO business to a seven-figure valuation, a full pipeline, and the ability to turn clients away. Using SPICED, a free CRM setup, and a step-by-step workflow, he shows how finance leaders can run stronger discovery calls and follow-ups.  

With 16 years experience as a finance professional in the hospitality industry, then founder of a hospitality business and finance/business consultancy, Bharti Radix will be exploring the question ‘Can CFOs really become CEOs?’ This thought-provoking talk challenges one of the most persistent assumptions in corporate leadership: that finance leaders are too risk-averse, too analytical, or too internally focused to lead an entire organisation. Exploring the evolving role of the CFO and other finance professionals, the session examines whether financial discipline is a limitation – or a hidden superpower in today’s volatile, data-driven business world.   

Alistair Roman brings a rare combination of Big Four rigour and real-world commercial scale to this session, having held senior finance leadership roles at some of the world’s most recognised organisations, including BP, Virgin Media O2, the John Lewis Partnership, VeriSign Inc. and Naspers. In this session, ‘Building repeatable cost optimisation engines: How finance leaders turn cost pressure into sustainable performance’ Alistair will take a deep dive into how to move from one-off cost programmes to embedded cost optimisation engines that deliver consistent, long-term value. Attendees will learn how structured collaboration enables cross-functional execution, how governance protects savings, and how finance leaders can turn cost pressure into strategic advantage.  

Rishi Sapra is a Chartered Accountant, Microsoft MVP, and the person currently leading Data & AI strategic projects at Avanade/Accenture – and he’s spent 20+ years at the intersection of finance and technology across Deloitte, KPMG, HSBC and Barclays. He knows what it takes to make AI work in the real world, not just in theory. In this seminar ‘From Excel to AI agents: A practical framework for automating finance processes‘, Rishi will cut through the noise around AI agents and deliver a practical 5-step framework for automating finance processes – covering everything from getting your data ready and designing a “team of agents,” to keeping humans in the loop at the moments that matter. Attendees will leave with a clear roadmap to either build agents themselves or intelligently oversee someone else building them.   

The FD Show and Accountex London are taking place at Excel on the 13-14 May 2026.

Register for your free ticket here. 

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