Programme - Wednesday 29th daytime (Fringe)
Programme - Wednesday 29th evening (Dinner)
Programme - Thursday 30th daytime (Main meeting)
(Exact timings TBC in the agenda details, which will be provided directly to attendees)
Thursday morning walk or run
For those of you who would enjoy some early morning exercise alongside your peers on Thursday 30 April. Isio have arranged to meet up outside the main entrance of Edgbaston Park Hotel (the venue) at 7am, to depart shortly afterwards either on a c5k run or a shorter walk. The run time will depend on you, and the planned route will be shared when we meet up. The walk will be aimed to take c20 minutes and utilise some of The Campus Mile – University of Birmingham | Conferences and Events
If you have any questions in advance, please contact Sophie.
And ‘yes’, the walk may be cancelled if the weather is very wet. We expect the runners might be agnostic to a bit of rain! No need to ‘sign up’ – just meet at 7 and your guides will await.
THURSDAY 30th APRIL
08.45 - 09.10: Registration / tea & coffee on arrival
09.10 - 09.15: Welcome from the outgoing Chair (Erica Conway, CFO, University of Birmingham)
09.15 - 10.15: Session 1 - Economic and fiscal outlook and higher education funding (Kate Ogden - Senior Research Economist, IFS)
Kate Ogden from the Institute for Fiscal studies reflects on the outlook for the economy and the public finances, considers current arrangements for funding higher education, as well as the potential implications of the forthcoming Welsh and Scottish elections.
10.15 - 10.45: Tea and coffee break
10.45 - 11.45: Session 2 - UUK transformation taskforce and the strategic outlook for the sector (Vivienne Stern - CEO, Universities UK)
Vivienne Stern is the Chief Executive of UniversitiesUK. Vivienne and the team at UUK are not only “the voice of UK universities” but also support Vice Chancellors in ways similar to how BUFDG supports CFOs and FDs. They liaise closely with the Office for Students, the DfE, and many other organisations to influence policy and practice and increasingly work with sector organisations such as BUFDG to ensure that specialist views and opinions are fed back to government. Vivienne will tell us about some of the work currently underway and how Finance Directors can help.
11.45 - 12.30: Session 3 - Good governance in H E: a conversation with the Royal College of Art (Amanda White - CFO, Royal College of Art; Sudhir Singh - Head of Not-for-profit, MHA; Alistair Jarvis - CEO, AdvanceHE)
The RCA has undergone significant changes to its governance over the last few years. While it would acknowledge there’s still plenty of scope for development, the commitment to transparency and continuous improvement, amongst other themes, means that it is an interesting lens through which to view your own institutional governance arrangements. Join Amanda White (CFO, RCA), and Sudhir Singh (RCA council, Audit and Risk Committee, and Head of Not-for-Profit, MHA), in conversation with Alistair Jarvis (Advance HE), to consider and discuss what good financial governance in HE might look like in 2026 and beyond.
12.30 - 13.30: Lunch
13.30 - 14.30: Session 4A [FRY SUITE] - Strategic collaboration: efficiency and transformation projects with Jisc and SUMS (Heidi Fraser-Krauss - CEO, Jisc; Nick Pidgeon - Managing Consultant, SUMS)
In this session, Nick from SUMS and Heidi from Jisc talk through recent work undertaken by both their organisations as a result of the UniversitiesUK efficiency and transformation taskforce. For SUMS this is focused on the Organisational Efficiency Maturity Assessment (OEMA) - the sector’s first framework for assessing organisational efficiency and maturity, developed in partnership with AHUA. Jisc's activities include digital and data maturity benchmarking, the development of shared sector standards for digital transformation, and collaborative approaches to systems procurement. Come and learn about how your institution can benefit from these initiatives.
13.30 - 14.30: Session 4B [WRITERS' SUITE UPSTAIRS] - Shifting planning cycles in a world of uncertainty (Martyn Riddleston - CFO, Bangor University; Kate Manku - Head of HE & Charities, Lloyds Bank; Aashish Khadia - Director of Strategic Planning and Performance, University of Leeds)
With the increasing financial and policy volatility impacting the HE sector, many institutions are in a process of re-thinking their planning processes, revising their forecasting timelines, and reviewing the technological options that support the planning framework. Given the growing pressures on finance departments from efficiency drives as well as increasing external audit and regulatory reporting, it’s hard to know what a ‘good’ planning cycle might look like. Join this breakout session to hear sector case studies of attempts to improve planning, and discuss with colleagues the challenges that you face within your own institution in making (and keeping) your planning cycle fit-for-purpose.
14:30 - 15:00: Tea and coffee break
15:00 - 15:50: Session 5 - The future of H E talent (Sam Sanders - Partner; Ed Briggs - Associate Director, Education Advisory; Andrea Turley - Partner, Education Advisory, KPMG)
In the current climate of financial stress and technological change, expectations of the finance function are changing rapidly – there is a need to be smaller, smarter, faster, integrated and more strategic. We'll discuss how finance is disrupting itself by reshaping its identity, and examine the skillsets needed to deliver value and insight at speed. We’ll bring to life real world examples and help you think through the practical next steps to help you move from vision to execution over the coming years.
15:50 - 16:00: Conference close by the new BUFDG Chair (Mary White, CFO, University of Portsmouth)
