The Finance Festival is officially CPD certified, which means attendance at the Festival equates to a maximum of 12 hours CPD.
Want to know what to watch? The table below shows what sessions might be of interest depending on your job role. You can then find out more using the session drop-down tabs below.
| Area | Sessions |
| Cash, Treasury and Investments | 2B, 2C |
| Commercialisation & Subsidiaries | 1A |
| Economy and Strategy | P1, 6B, 8A |
| Finance Technology | 1C, 3B, 4C, 5C, P4 |
| Financial Reporting & External Audit | 1C, 7C |
| Fraud, Risk & Assurance, and Internal Audit | 3A, 3B, 4C, 5B, 6A |
| Funding | P1, 5B, 6B, 7A, 8A |
| Income, Collection, and Payments | 4C, 5A, 8B |
| International | P1, 3A, 4A |
| Management, Teams, and L&D | 1B, P2, P3, 8B, P4 |
| Management Accounting | 2C, 6C, 8C |
| Payroll & Employment | 1A, 4A |
| Pensions | 1A, 2A, 4A |
| Procurement | 5C, 7B |
| Research Finance | 1B, 5B |
| Sustainability / ESG | 2B, 7A |
| Planning and Efficiency | P1, 3C, 5A, 5C, 6B, 8A, 8B |
| Tax | 1A, 3A, 4A |
Click to expand each of the sessions below and find out more about them. You can find out more about the session speakers using the links in the menu to the right.
9.30 - 10.30
Wonkhe's resident data guru David Kernohan will kick-off the Finance Festival by exploring the state of Higher Education across the four countries of the UK. He'll look at the current financial health of the sector, the key challenges facing universities, and the regulatory and policy environment. He'll also examine the tea leaves on the sector’s future, and where threats and opportunities might arise.
11.00 - 12.00
Julia and Andrea return for their annual FF round-up of the top UK tax issues that are common concerns in the university sector at the moment. They'll provide thoughts on what action you may need to take to address them, and and what resources and groups are available to support you.
Academics and post-award teams ultimately share the same goal: delivering successful, impactful research. Yet their day-to-day priorities can often feel worlds apart. Drawing on experience from both sides of the divide, Firoz Jethwa from the University of the West of England will offer a unique and light hearted perspective on the relationship between researchers and research finance professionals.
Loughborough's Prof. Ken Lee will share the results of recent research undertaken with colleagues at Lancaster University, on behalf of the FRC. The research explores the extent to which AI is being used in Financial Reporting, and in what areas, and what practical lessons can be learned. Mark Chester from the Loughborough Finance team will be on hand to ask questions and share his thoughts on what this means in a university environment.
13.30 - 14.30
The pension environment is changing fast, and universities face an increasingly complex mix of financial pressure, member expectations, and strategic decisions. In this session Rebecca Dodd and Clarke Bedford will cut through the noise to look at what is changing in the pensions world, why it matters for universities, and how institutions are responding. They will explore the latest developments across USS, the Local Government Pension Scheme, the Teachers’ Pension Scheme, the Students’ Union Superannuation Scheme, defined contribution schemes and local defined benefit schemes, including the growing role of member choice, the options available to universities and the value each could bring. This session will give a practical and timely perspective on the decisions that may shape pensions strategy in the months and years ahead.
The Banking Engagement Forum, led by the University of Cambridge, has been working for some time on a suite of projects that seek to address the financing of fossil fuel expansion. We'll be hearing from the BEF's Prof. Ellen Quigley on the latest progress on the work to create a quasi-money market fund, as well as other areas of the forum's activities. We'll also hear from the team at Handelsbanken on how they can support the sector as one of the banks accepted on the initial BEF framework.
Cashflow forecasting is a vital tool for understanding financial resilience, supporting decision-making, and ensuring institutions can meet their financial commitments. In this session, the University of Exeter will explore why cashflow forecasting matters, their key principles behind developing robust forecasts, and the unique challenges and considerations facing HEPs. Attendees will gain practical insights from the university, including forecasting approaches, common pitfalls, and how effective cashflow management can help your HEP navigate uncertainty and plan with confidence
15.00 - 16.00
As HEIs look to additional income streams, Transnational Education (TNE) is increasingly being viewed as a strategic opportunity. However, launching a new international partnership involves far more than identifying a potential market.
This session will explore the key financial, tax, legal and governance considerations institutions should address before embarking on a new TNE venture. We'll examine the risks that can arise when due diligence is overlooked and discuss the importance of establishing robust foundations from the outset to help avoid costly issues further down the line. Whether you are considering your first TNE project or reviewing your institution's current approach, this session will provide practical guidance to help you evaluate opportunities, manage risk and make informed decisions with confidence.
Cyber attacks are an increasing risk for HEIs, with the potential to disrupt operations, compromise data and place significant pressure on students, staff and resources. In this session, the University of Manchester will share reflections on a major cyber incident, exploring how the university responded to the immediate threat, managed recovery and strengthened its approach to cyber resilience following the attack. Attendees will gain practical insights into incident response, lessons learned and the steps institutions can take to improve preparedness and reduce future risk.
TBC
9.30 - 10.30
Supporting colleagues to understand the university's financial position can lead to better decisions, stronger accountability and more effective collaboration. Join the University of Oxford as they share their experience of developing financial literacy and understanding across the institution, including the practical steps taken, key learnings and the challenges overcome along the way.
Join Andrea and Julia once more for their summary of the top International tax issues that are common concerns in the university sector at the moment. They'll provide their thoughts and insight on what action you may need to take to address these issues, and what resources and support groups are available to support you.
TBC
Payments are often viewed as routine transactions, but they represent one of the most important touchpoints between an institution and its students. This session will explore how payment technology, student payment behaviour, instalment plans, PCI DSS compliance, digital customer journeys, fraud prevention, and cash flow management are all interconnected. Through practical examples, we'll demonstrate how seemingly small changes to payment processes can have a significant impact on student experience, collection rates, compliance, risk management, and operational efficiency.
Universities face increasing pressure to reduce costs while protecting services to students. Student financial support is one area where institutions can make measurable savings, release staff capacity, and improve the student experience. In this session, one of JS Group's university partners (TBC) will share their experience of modernising the distribution of scholarships, bursaries, hardship funding, and other one-to-many individual payments using the Aspire platform. The session aims to provide practical insight for institutions considering a similar transformation.
In this session, Rod Viggers from UKRI will provide an update on current research funding assurance activity, highlighting key developments, emerging themes and areas of focus. Attendees will gain insight into UKRI’s approach to assurance and what it means in practice for research finance and compliance teams.
TBC
With the introduction of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act and specifically the Failure to Prevent Fraud (FTPF) Offence in 2025, Philip and Richard will outline the steps that the University have taken to both respond to the Offence (via reasonable fraud prevention procedures) and, more broadly, taking a more proactive stance generally on fraud awareness and minimising its likelihood. The session will cover areas such as: the enhancement of the University’s approach to fraud prevention; Organisational buy-in; The ‘six principles’ framework; Cross institutional engagement, and; Outputs and next stages.
TBC
Preparing the annual TRAC return takes up considerable time, effort and bandwidth. But for everything universities put into this exercise, they rarely get much value out of it. This doesn’t, however, have to be the case. In this fast-paced session, we’ll look at how you can get more out of the TRAC process. We’ll start by looking at what TRAC is and how it works. We’ll then explore the ways we can use TRAC data to gain insight into our universities and their financial performance. And what we can do to improve the value of these data to us.
We’ll also consider how we can use TRAC data to help us with other things, such as resource allocation and course costing.
For a lot of HE staff, change and transformation has been the only constant of the last few years. This session aims to help participants gain insight into ‘why’ change can be so challenging, understand ‘how’ to create an environment for more positive engagement, and focus on ‘what’ action participants can take to help themselves and others engage with change more comfortably. It will look at: the neuroscience of change ( with the HE context firmly in mind); Threat / Reward in change situations and behaviours associated with each, and; Factors that influence our experience of change, including Identification and discussion of actions to take to help ourselves and support others through change more easily.
We hope that colleagues leave with an understanding of how people react to change and to understand practical ways of engaging with change more effectively in your role.
With the pressure on universities from recent financial and policy challenges, environmental sustainability is at risk of slipping down the list of institutional priorities. The team from EAUC will provide the latest picture on sustainability reporting requirements and initiatives, and help us understandand why they are still important and strategic. They'll also outline where sustainability actions can still help deliver financially positive outcomes and reduce risk.
Procurement can often seem complex, particularly for those who don't work in the area every day. In this session, Rebecca Baxter, Managing Director of NEUPC, and Julie-Ann Garton, Managing Director of NWUPC, will demystify procurement by providing a practical overview of procurement framework agreements, explaining what they are, how they work, and when they should be used. You’ll gain a better understanding of the procurement landscape, the benefits of aggregation through sector led agreements, why contract management is vital in the smooth running of your contract, and how to make informed purchasing decisions within your HEI. There will also be plenty of opportunity to ask questions and get answers to your procurement-related queries.
The new SORP will bring significant changes for universities, and transition planning is well underway. This session will combine an accessible overview of the key changes and what they mean in practice, drawing on discussions from the BUFDG SORP Implementation Forum over the past year. Whether delegates are directly involved in financial reporting or simply want to understand what is coming, this session provide practical insights to help prepare.
Universities in Wales have been facing many of the same pressures as the Higher Education sector across the rest of the UK. With a new government in place in Wales this year, a review of Higher Education launched, and a new UK Prime Minister, there could be more change afoot. This session takes a look at Welsh HE, the challenges it faces now, and in the immediate future, what the outlook could be over the next 12-18 months, and what it could mean for your institution and your role.
Finance teams play a critical role in the student journey, yet many colleagues may feel removed from the day-to-day realities students face. Rising financial pressures, increasing expectations and more complex support needs are changing how students engage with their universities, and with finance services in particular.
In this session, Kirsty White and colleagues from the University of Huddersfield will explore how a more student-centred approach to finance can improve both the student experience and operational effectiveness. Drawing on perspectives from pastoral finance, student support and student representatives, they will share the challenges students face, the issues most commonly encountered by finance teams, and practical steps institutions can take to reduce friction, improve communication and build trust. Discover how understanding the student perspective can lead to better outcomes for students while reducing pressure on finance teams.
Data is most powerful when it drives understanding, inspires action and influences decision-making. This session is designed for anyone looking to communicate insights more effectively and engage stakeholders through compelling data storytelling. Using a simple and practical framework, we'll explore why a focused narrative built around a key insight is often more effective than presenting a full report, and cover the three essential elements of storytelling, how to identify and structure data story points, the role of the story arc in creating impact, and how visualisations can be used to bring data to life and strengthen your message.
Join us for the final and hopefully slightly irreverent session of the Finance Festival, where Salford's Geoff Taylor will rapidly count us down (or up?!) through dozens and dozens of top tips and hints within Windows, Excel and other common software programmes. You will know some but not all, and the new stuff will probably save you time and make your day-to-day tasks either a little or even a lot easier. Join the session, compete with everyone else to see how long you stay in 'the game', and even share a few top-tips of your own...
