BUFDG English Higher Education Finance Conference

The English Higher Education Finance Conference is a new, one‑day, in‑person event, free to BUFDG members across all levels and roles.

Having assisted with the highly successful Scottish Universities Finance Conference for the past few years, we're trialling a similar format for English H E Institutions this year - hosted at the University of Birmingham, the conference will feature a range of sessions tailored to H E finance professionals (at all levels), including plenaries and practical breakout sessions.

This will be a full one‑day event. 

Conference Programme:

08.45 - Registration, refreshments and networking 

09.20 - Event welcome  

09.30 - Global Economic Update - James Pomeroy, Global Economist, HSBC  

10.10 - Break 

10.40 - Higher Education at a Crossroads: Financial Realities, Strategic Choices, and the Road Ahead – Scott Barton, Managing Director, Corporate Banking, Lloyds Bank, Kitty Kent, Director, Education Corporate Finance, PwC, Rose Stephenson, Director of Policy and Strategy, HEPI, Simon Crick, CFO, Aberystwth University and Matthew Knight, CFO, University of Surrey. 

11.20 - Breakouts 

12.10 - Lunch 

13.10 - Cyber Risks and Threat Intelligence - Steve Howells, Director, Client Security Advisory, Barclays 

13.50 - Breakouts 

14.40 - Break  

15.10 - AI and the Future of Higher Education – Professor Matthew Leeke, Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor, School of Computer Science, University of Birmingham 

16.00 - The Imitation Game - Karel Thomas, Executive Director, BUFDG

16.30 - Conference Close 

Morning Breakouts 

1. Unlocking Value: Strengthening procurement and finance collaboration, Rebecca Baxter, Managing Director and Julie Ann Garton, Managing Director, UKUPC.

   An interactive session exploring how procurement can support finance's challenges and priorities and where barriers may need to be overcome.

2. How People, Systems and Processes are reshaping university payments, Jackie Kruger, Director of Digital Products and Projects, Sharon Stack, Product Specialist and Claire Almond, Product Manager, Enterprise Resource Planning, Middlesex University.

   Join Middlesex University as they share a practical example of embracing change as an opportunity for growth. Faced with legacy technology transitions, resource realignment, and evolving structure between Finance and IT, the university reimagined its entire campus payment ecosystem with a singular focus: the student experience.

   University leaders will share their approach for evaluating and selecting payment solutions that integrate with existing systems, including how they:

   • Effectively collaborated between finance and IT to streamline processes and implementation.
   • Identified opportunities to reduce administrative burdens while balancing security and compliance requirements with the demand for modern, mobile, self-service payment options.
   In an environment defined by evolving technology, shifting organisational roles, and increasing financial scrutiny, Middlesex University stands as a blueprint for transformative success.  Attendees will discover how to build a resilient, connected payment environment that simplifies vendor management, drives efficiency, and empowers their organisation to navigate change with confidence — keeping stakeholder satisfaction at the core.
3. Funding Capacity, Covenants and Options in a Challenging Environment, Jessica Holden, Associate Director and Kieran McCallum, Director, QMPF. 
   • Interplay between volatile international recruitment, inflationary cost pressures, and covenant resilience
   • How credit committees view universities in 2026
   • Re‑baselining “normal” surplus, EBITDA and liquidity assumptions
   • University governance and scenario-based planning
   • Lessons from recent financing exercises
   • Where does this leave Net Zero?

 Due to illness, the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) will no longer be taking place. 

 Afternoon Breakouts

1. Driving Financial Sustainability: Approaching cost reduction and innovative risk reporting, Richard Leach, Consulting Director and Adam Lickorish, Associate Director, RSM LLP.

   This session will cover cost reduction versus transformation programmes and the key challenges and barriers to reducing cost in a higher education context.  Richard Leach will draw on his experience of working alongside operational leaders to identify cost drivers and practical areas where cashable savings could be unlocked, particularly within support and professional services.

   The session will also explore how dynamic risk reporting can support more informed, efficient decision making, helping leaders to focus effort and resources on the risks that genuinely threaten delivery of cost and transformation objectives. By linking evolving risks, mitigations and performance impacts, the session will demonstrate how risk reporting can be used as a practical management tool rather than a compliance exercise.

   The session should be thought provoking and practical for leaders grappling with challenging cost reduction targets while seeking to maintain or improve the student experience.

2. Balancing Competitiveness and Control: Unveiling the 2026 Flywire Income Collection Survey, Sheona Griffiths, Senior Director, Global EDU Product Marketing & Strategy, Flywire.

   In 2024, the inaugural Flywire Income Collection Survey (FICS) revealed that UK universities were risking up to £500 million annually in uncollected international student fees. Fast forward to today, and the landscape has only grown more complex due to evolving immigration policies, visa rejection challenges, and mounting resource constraints on finance teams.

   This session debuts the brand new findings from the 2026 FICS research.  The survey provides visibility into the policies and strategies institutions are using to manage financial and compliance risk, reduce bad debt, maintain flexibility for students, and remain competitive in evolving international markets.  Crucially, attendees will see direct comparisons between the 2024 baseline and 2026 data, revealing how sector policies have shifted, where vulnerabilities remain, and how leading institutions are turning manual, reactive processes into proactive, student-centric strategies.

3. Working at Our Best: Harnessing our Strengths for Engagement and Performance, Holger Bollman, Founder and Director, Strengthify.

   Employee engagement across the UK workforce remains low, with many people experiencing daily stress and reduced wellbeing. Within higher education, the pressures facing finance and professional services teams can intensify these challenges, affecting collaboration, confidence and performance.

   This session is about a shift that sounds small and changes a lot: putting energy into what people naturally do well, rather than into fixing what they don't. Drawing on real sector experience, including a university finance team, participants will explore how focusing on strengths can improve engagement, effectiveness and day-to-day working.

We will also be joined by a number of exhibitors, including:

• Barclays
• HSBC
• Esenda
• Cazenove Capital
• QMPF
• Mattioli Woods
• Royal London Asset Management 
• Global Payments (Touchnet)
• Stengthtify
• Unity Trust Bank
• UMAL
• Flywire
• Broadstone

This event offers a valuable opportunity for members to gain broader insight into finance across the H E sector and to network with peers and new colleagues. It is open to BUFDG members working in finance (at all levels/roles) in English universities and H E Providers.

TRAVEL

As the university has its own train station, we would encourage you where possible to travel by public transport. If you do decide to drive, then there is free parking on site. There are also several charging points - more information can be found here. Please also be aware that Birmingham has a ULEZ zone.

ACCOMODATION

As this is a one day event, BUFDG have not made provision for accomodation. Should you wish to arrange accomodation, please get in touch with the Edgbaston Hotel directly or do make you own arrangments though the usual providers. 

If you have any queries about the event, please contact Rachel.