Welcome to the 20:20 Innovation webinar series. The themes of the webinars are a mix of general and technical topics to suit the needs of all Russell Bedford members. You can access the webinars either live or through the recorded version, with no limit, the booking form may be found at the bottom of this page.
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Adaptability in a Changing Environment - 4th March
1pm to 2pm GMT - Sharon Critchlow
This ever-changing world of new technology and complex issues can leave us feeling burned out and overwhelmed, but it doesn’t have to be like this.
In this session we will look at a framework for approaching change and spotting opportunities, consider how to enhance your growth mindset, and positioning yourself, your team and your clients to gain maximum benefit from change.
This is for everyone who works in the accounting profession
Recording Slides
Advising Businesses - How to Be a Better Listener - 8th April
1pm to 2pm BST - John Borland
Listening is one of the most underrated, yet powerful skills at our disposal and one we all use every single day.
This webinar will empower attendees to greatly improve their listening skills through being aware of their current abilities and understanding how to move to deeper levels of listening.
For anyone who is leading teams or engaging with clients at any level of the business.
Recording Slides
Management - Flexi and Hybrid Teams - 14th April
12pm to 1pm BST - Heather Elkington
Managers from all teams will leave this session with a toolkit of strategies to set clear expectations, track progress effectively, and build a collaborative team culture that works well remotely and in-office. Attendees will learn specific frameworks to improve communication streams, establish accountability, and support their team’s productivity.
Partners, managers, and team leaders (both technical and non-technical) in an accountancy practice who oversee flexible or hybrid teams and seek practical tools for maintaining team productivity, alignment, and accountability.
Recording Slides
Management - Developing Your Leadership Style - 10th July
1pm to 2pm BST - John Borland
This webinar will enable attendees to be aware of their own natural disposition and the strengths and weaknesses of their leadership styles, whilst also understanding other alternative styles and how to use them more effectively.
Anyone who is in a leadership or management role at any level, but particularly those that are new to leadership or haven’t had any formal training.
Accountancy knowledge is not required for this webinar and the contents are relevant whether managing accountants or other role types.
Recording Slides
Emotional Intelligence in the Modern Workplace - 15th July
1pm to 2pm BST - Sharon Critchlow
In these times of fast-paced technological change and increasingly poor mental health in the workforce, an Emotional Intelligence focus provides a way forward for your business. In this session we will highlight how to improve your own emotional intelligence and use these skills to increase your own happiness as well as influence others. Having a greater awareness and empathy for your teams and your clients is the key to success in the modern workplace.
Everyone who wants to grow their communication skills, learn ways to approach issues without confrontation and increase their influence.
Recording Slides
Review Skills - Effective Review of Work Created by Humans or AI! - 8th September
1pm to 2pm BST - Dave Norris
Accountants are regularly presented with information that someone or something has produced – be that a junior member of the team, an external expert or generative AI. This course aims to provide practical guidance for individuals when faced with such information to enable them to perform an effective review. It will also consider the role of firm-wide procedures to ensure a suitable level of quality control is maintained.
The course will cover a range of issues around the efficient and effective review of a variety of work, including tax, accounts and specialist advisory projects. Topics will include:
Partners and managers in practice who review work before sending on to clients.
Emotional Wellbeing - Understanding and Improving - 3rd October
1pm to 2pm BST - John Borland
Protecting the mental health of ourselves and others is crucial to our wellbeing, success and happiness. This webinar will enable attendees to gain more insight into what helps and hinders emotional wellbeing and demonstrate how to exhibit greater influence over their own resilience levels.
Anyone at any level who wants to better understand their own and others emotional wellbeing.
Personal Branding for Accountants: How Visibility Boosts Your Earnings - 22nd October
12pm to 1pm BST - Francesca McClory
By the end of this webinar, you’ll understand how to build a strong personal brand that positions you as a trusted expert in your field. You will learn strategies to increase your visibility, attract the right clients and differentiate yourself in a competitive market and discover how to be more visible with content ideas.
• Why personal branding is important
• The impact
• Building authority and trust - standing out
Partners, Managers, Business development/Marketing and your Employees.
Stress Coping Techniques - Workplace Tips - 7th November
12pm to 1pm GMT - Dr Hazel Harrison
It’s impossible to always avoid stress in our daily lives but we can learn to manage the impact it has on us. In this webinar, attendees will learn about ‘the stress cycle’ (the way stress can build up in our bodies) and the coping strategies we can use to complete the cycle. Completing the cycle makes us less vulnerable to the negative health consequences of stress and burnout.
This webinar is suitable for everyone.
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Recruitment and Retention - Strategies for 2025 - 24th April
12pm to 1pm BST - Rachel Harris
We know that recruitment and retention continues to be a challenge faced by many accountancy practices. The time has come to do things differently. In this webinar, Rachel Harris, owner of accountancy firm striveX, explains what she does to not only maintain a healthy talent pipeline but also have a waiting list of candidates wanting to work for her firm.
This webinar will give you a solid understanding of the new & emerging recruitment trends for 2025. You will learn how to develop high-level recruitment strategies to implement in your practice.
You will understand the importance of and leave with actionable steps to enhance your employer branding and candidate experience.
Partners, managers & HR professionals in accounting firms who are looking to refresh their approach to talent and recruitment in 2025.
Recording Slides
Marketing Your Firm in 2025 - Why and How - 19th May
1pm to 2pm BST - Dave Goodyear
This webinar will provide marketing insight, information and practical examples on how firms can use the latest technology, along with the core principles of marketing, to help a practice take its marketing function to the next level.
This is for marketeers and anyone responsible for the marketing function in an accountancy firm.
Recording Slides
Culture - Creating a Focused Work Environment to Boost Productivity - 3rd November 2025
1pm to 2pm GMT - Joe O'Connor
This webinar aims to help participants understand the small yet impactful elements of daily work that influence a company's culture. We will explore modern definitions of productivity, the factors that contribute to it, and how participants can encourage greater productivity within their teams.
Partners and managers who need to be lead their teams through behaviour change to drive productivity and build good culture.
Recording SlidesClick the dropdown to expand the webinar summary including content, time and speaker
ISQM - How to Effectively Manage Audit Quality - 27th February
10am to 12pm GMT - John Selwood
The session will help improve your understanding of how to establish and monitor audit quality management systems, through lessons learned from the implementation of the standards in 2022 and the subsequent monitoring and remediation work.
The course will use feedback from QAD and cold file reviews to help firms of all sizes to better refine their systems of quality management.
This update is for all senior auditors, in all sizes of firms, particularly those responsible for the firm’s quality management systems.
Recording Slides
IFRS Refresher - 3rd April
12pm to 1pm BST - Clare Jones
This webinar will be beneficial for attendees wanting to refresh their technical knowledge on IFRS. It will cover relevant accounting treatments, challenges in application and presentation and disclosure requirements for topical IFRSs.
Partners, managers and seniors in practice who need to remain technically knowledgeable in IFRS to support their clients.
Recording Notes Slides
Auditor Judgement - How to Make the Right Decisions - 23rd June
12pm to 1pm BST - John Selwood
The session will help auditors make better decisions, understand what processes enable this and produce documentation that better withstands regulatory scrutiny.
This session is for experienced auditors - including audit seniors, managers and partners - of all sizes of audited entities.
Recording Slides
Audit (ISA) Update and Refresher - 2nd July
12pm to 1pm BST - Clare Jones
This webinar will keep attendees up to date on the latest changes in audit. It will provide knowledge of the latest revisions to ISAs and the current projects by the IAASB. This will support auditors in preparation for their upcoming audits.
This webinar is recommended for all auditors, including audit seniors, managers, directors and partners who need to stay up to date on the latest audit requirements.
Recording Slides Notes
Audit Testing - Effective Sampling, Analytical Review and Controls Testing - 23rd September
10am to 12pm BST - Jez Williams
This webinar will outline the options for auditors in response to identified audit risks and will address common questions and problem areas with practical examples.
• Controls versus substantive testing: what are the options?
• Effective sample size and selection for substantive testing
• Making analytical review work efficiently and persuasively
Seniors and managers involved in auditing SME businesses.
Data Analytics: Practical Tips for Accountants and Auditors - 9th October
10am to 12pm BST - Andrew Paul
This session will demystify the world of data analytics and consider where firms could use data analysis tools and techniques in their accounting, assurance and audit services.
This session will be relevant for anyone involved in delivering accounting, assurance or audit services to clients.
Directors and Strategic Reports - ESG and Narrative Reporting - 21st October
12pm to 2pm BST - David Potts
The objective of this session is to provide auditors and preparers of financial statements a summary of how ESG and sustainability should be reflected in their annual report. The session will look at the requirements from law including management reports, the ISSB and also guidance issued by the Task Force on Climate- Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). The session seeks to clearly summarise and explain the expected approach to this issue to be taken by the management.
Auditors and accountants at all levels involved in the preparation of financial statements.
IFRS Common Disclosure Problems - 12th November
12pm to 1pm GMT - David Potts
This webinar is designed to help those attending to produce compliant and effective IFRS financial statements. The session will summarise comments and criticisms raised by regulators and look at steps to ensure that these mistakes are avoided.
Partners and managers in practice who need to stay current in reporting under IFRS and those that guide others in key IFRS problems to avoid.
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International Tax Refresher - Spring - 12th March
12pm to 1:30pm GMT - Jeremy Mindell
This webinar will update attendees’ knowledge on international tax developments. In particular, the likely further coordination of international tax policies across Western economies and beyond.
Partners, directors, managers and other staff that deal with international corporate or employment tax issues.
Slides Notes Recording
International Tax Refresher - Autumn - 17th September
12pm to 1:30pm BST - Jeremy Mindell
This webinar will update attendees’ knowledge on international tax developments. In particular, the ongoing progress of Pillar 2 in implementing an effective 15% global minimum corporation tax rate.
Partners, directors, managers and other staff that deal with international corporate or employment tax issues.
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Starting Your AI Journey (Spring) - 4th February
1pm to 2pm GMT - Billie Mcloughlin
This webinar has been designed to introduce accountants to Artificial Intelligence (AI) fundamentals. We will consider the distinction between AI and automation and how you can prepare for effective AI adoption in your accountancy practice.
Participants will gain a clear understanding of AI, machine learning, and Robotic Process Automation (RPA), and how these technologies can transform accounting processes and industry standards.
Any practitioners who are in the infancy of using AI in their firm or are yet to adopt advanced technologies such as RPA.
Recording Slides
Microsoft 365 - The Hidden Apps that Boost Productivity - 6th May
1pm to 2pm BST - Rebecca Williams
By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to identify and utilise key hidden apps within Microsoft 365 that will help accountants to explode productivity.
Partners, managers and teams in practice who want to boost their productivity with the use of hidden and lesser-known apps with Microsoft 365.
Recording Slides Notes
Microsoft Teams and Outlook - Top Tips -1st October
1pm to 2pm BST - Rebecca Williams
By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to efficiently navigate and utilise advanced features in Microsoft Teams and Outlook to improve communication and productivity. Attendees will be able to optimise inbox organisation, collaborate seamlessly with Teams channels, and integrate both platforms for streamlined workflows.
Partners, managers and teams in practice who want to streamline communication, collaboration, and task management using Microsoft Teams and Outlook. Attendees will gain practical tips to enhance productivity, manage client interactions, and improve workflow efficiency across their teams.
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Cybersecurity for Accountancy Practices in 2025 - 11th February
10am to 12pm GMT - Andy Larkum
This webinar will explain some of the emerging cyber security threats and actions you should be taking to address them. We will also discuss how AI is changing the threat landscape, and some of the “silent dangers” of using AI in the workplace.
Practice owners, partners and managers in practice who need to stay current in Governance, Risk and Compliance and be aware of risks arising from cybersecurity.
Recording Slides
