Rt Hon Danny Alexander

The Chief Secretary to the Treasury has been at the centre of dealing with the economic storm since shortly after the General Election in May 2010. He has led the implementation of reductions in public spending, which the Government believes are necessary to cut the deficit and reboot the UK economy. He will talk to the conferences about his experiences in one of the key roles in Government and he will outline his vision and the details of the plans to grow the economy and deliver their ambition that the UK should be the best place in Europe to start, finance and grow a business.

Angela Knight CBE

On average, FTSE 100 Companies have only 13.4% female representation on their boards. Angela will look at what can be done to ensure a better balance in the boardroom. As Chief Executive of the British Bankers Association since April 2007, there are also few people better placed to talk to us about some of the current banking issues.

Luke Johnson

Luke Johnson – the entrepreneur, one of the UK’s foremost businessmen – a former chairman of Pizza Express and author of the FT column “The Entrepreneur” – who, as well as telling his remarkable story, will challenge us all to further embrace the entrepreneurial spirit and culture.

Ian Mackintosh

The Future Direction of IASB

• The agenda setting consultation
• Conceptual framework
• A new approach to research
• “Big picture” like the definition of financial reporting, complexity, principles v rules, public sector and not-for-profits, SMEs.

Professor Costas Markides

Shaping the future of the audit profession: What can You do?

The recent financial crisis has raised questions on the usefulness of the current audit model. Fairly or not, questions are being asked and the profession is challenged to rethink its responsibilities and role. We need to not only participate but also influence this debate otherwise the future of the industry will be shaped by outsiders. To do this effectively, we need to show courage in three areas: (a) identify and put on the table issues that for too long have been the “sacred cows” of our profession; (b) be willing to make difficult choices; and (c) putting the necessary effort in “selling” our ideas to hostile audiences so that they actually get implemented. This talk will explore these three areas and then discuss what role each and every one of us can play in this difficult task.

Hugh Shields

What does the future hold for principles-based standards?

• Recap on current status of principles-based standards
• Recap on ICAS work to date on principles-based standards
• Concept of the professional judgement framework
• Where to next for principles-based standards

Professor James Woudhuysen

Courage, leadership, innovation – and taking risks

Satirising contemporary Western attitudes toward leadership, James will argue that genuine innovation always involves unforeseen consequences and a leap into the unknown. Yet right now, the West lacks the courage to confront these difficulties – even though, significantly, the East seems bolder than ever.

In this talk, James will outline some of the all-too-easily forgotten basic principles of innovation, applying them to key Scots business sectors, and recommending what delegates should do about them when the conference is over.