Beyond the balance sheet: Relational intelligence & leadership CPD summit

Join finance professionals from across the region for a day of insight, inspiration, and high‑impact professional development at the iconic Elland Road Stadium.

This year’s CIMA conference in Leeds brings together leading thinkers in culture, leadership, mindset, and strategic capability - all tailored to the evolving demands placed on modern finance teams.

Across the day, delegates will explore how to build environments that unlock high performance, develop the mindset required to thrive in times of change, and strengthen the critical thinking skills that distinguish technical experts from true strategic partners. Expect practical tools, thought‑provoking ideas, and powerful conversations designed to elevate your leadership influence and future‑ready capabilities.

Whether you’re driving transformation, shaping strategy, or developing your career pathway, the programme is crafted to equip you with fresh perspectives, renewed confidence, and the skillset needed to create impact where it matters most.

Below you can see our draft agenda for the day. We will finalise speaker arrival times and finalise it no later than by 1 April 2026 and publish on here.

• 09.30 - 10.00 | Arrival, registration, coffee&tea
• 10.00 - 10.10 | Opening remarks
• 10.10 - 11.10 | Session 1
• 11.10 - 12.10 | Session 2
• 12.10 - 12.50 | Lunch
• 12.50 - 13.50 | Session 3
• 13.50 - 14.05 | Coffee&tea break
• 14.05 - 15.05 | Session 4
• 15.05 - 15.15 | Closing remarks

*Tour of the stadium

We have initially included an optional tour of hte stadium in the event; due to unforeseen circumstances, this option can no longer be booked. We might be able to offer it closer to date. Apologies for any confusion.

Info: Hear from Gemma Ellison, Culture Director of Heart Leadership – a culture and leadership specialist, who will help you to think about the conditions needed for your teams to do their best work. She’ll talk about how even though we can’t promise psychological safety, we can create environments where our people can be brave. Gemma will discuss the importance of designing the right environments that will enable people in your organisation to do their best work. We’ll talk about being intentional and brave with your leadership, and how we can design healthy and inspiring performance environments which will not only be great for your people, but also for your bottom line.

Info: Gary will help you understand more about your mindset and how high achievers and high performers are grounded in a daily growth mindset
How do you recognise if your mindset is causing you to only achieve a fraction of your potential. What has a negative, and sometimes permanent, impact on your mindset.
How do you develop a mindset that gives you the ability to achieve anything even on the most difficult days.
He will also show you some techniques to help rewire your mindset and put you in a position where you have limitless career opportunities.

Info: Your technical and functional skills are what got you hired. They're where you feel confident, capable, and in control. And up to a point, they'll get you promoted too.
But they won't, on their own, position you as a strategic expert and adviser. That requires something different, and most organisations never teach it.
In this session, Louise draws on her experience as a leadership coach and former Director of Communications to name the gap that holds technically strong professionals back. She will explore the patterns and blockers that keep capable people operating below their actual strategic capability, identify what sits across the spectrum of critical thinking skills — including listening, judgement, and decision-making, and explore how to develop and apply those skills in the real world.
The session closes on judgement: the ability to make a sound call when the data isn't complete and the stakes are real.

Info: Change is here. And it’s not going away anytime soon. And for most professionals, the challenge isn't understanding that, it's knowing how to navigate that change confidently, without losing their footing.
In this session, Louise draws on her experience leading through significant organisational change as a Director of Communications, and her work coaching senior professionals around the world. She will explore what today’s levels of unprecedented global and business change require from us in terms of our leadership strengths and skills, and how we can build our confidence to navigate these tricky waters.
Delegates will leave with a clearer understanding of their own patterns of behaviour under pressure, and practical tools to navigate what's coming with more authority, presence, and clarity.

Info: If you're interested in attending the tour, please ensure that it is reflected in the type of ticket you purchase.

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Host or Publisher AICPA & CIMA