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ICAEW event

Valuation Conference 2026

17 September 2026, Virtual Event

Learn about current developments in business valuation.

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Highlights

Sessions will cover a range of practical and technical issues to keep you at the top of your field, enabling you to provide your clients with solutions to the challenges in this ever-changing sector.
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Economic insight

Learn about both UK and global economic trends in one of the most popular sessions at the conference.

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AI in action

Hear how firms across the sector are using AI today, with practical examples, lessons learned, and insights into where organisations are seeing real value.

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Valuation essentials

Refresh your understanding of key valuation principles, including the latest developments in international standards, private market valuation guidance, and current valuation methodologies.

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CPD

Attending this conference could contribute up to 5 hours of verifiable CPD.

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Advanced valuation techniques

Explore how practitioners are approaching discount rates, risk adjustments, and valuation challenges beyond traditional finance theory in an increasingly scrutinised environment.

Morning sessions

Chair's opening remarks
9:30
AI in Practice: How Firms Are Using AI Today
This session brings together speakers from different sized firms to discuss how they are using AI in practice across their organisations. Panellists will share real-world examples, lessons learned, implementation challenges, and where they are seeing genuine value. Focused on practical insight rather than theory, the discussion will explore how approaches to AI adoption differ depending on firm size and priorities within the sector.
09:35
Valuation 101
This session provides an introduction to core business valuation concepts and current guidance. Andrew Strickland, Consultant will cover key valuation terminology from the International Valuation Standards, previews the likely direction of IVS 2028, and reviews updates in the 2025 IPEV Guidelines. The session also explores how EBIT and EBITDA multiples are used in practice, explains the meaning of market participant acquisition premium, and looks at valuation issues for fractional interests in private company shares, including discounts informed by recent case law.
10:20
Break
11:00
Beyond CAPM: Discount Rates, CSRP and the Reality of Valuation Practice
This session explores the gap between textbook finance theory and real-world valuation practice. While CAPM remains foundational, valuers routinely incorporate additional risks including liquidity, concentration, and execution risk through adjustments such as CSRP. The discussion will examine evolving thinking from the Appraisal Foundation project, practical approaches to constructing discount rates, and how practitioners can develop more structured and defensible risk adjustments in response to increasing scrutiny from auditors, HMRC, and disputes contexts.
11:20
Private credit in the spotlight: Preparing for stakeholder scrutiny
Private credit is attracting serious investor and regulatory attention. This session explores what that means for valuations and governance. This session will include a short presentation on the market context followed by a panel including valuation practitioners and industry participants: what matters to users of valuations, where they see the risks, and what they think the impact on valuation practitioners will be.
12:05
Lunch
12:45

Afternoon sessions

Economic update
Join James Pomeroy, Senior Global Economist, HSBC for one of the most popular sessions at our conference is always a summary of the economic backdrop.
13:45
Continuation funds
14:50
Break
15:30
Accountancy discounts and Court discounts
This session centres on the case of HO and TL [2023] EWFC 215, concerning the valuation of a hotel on a small, unnamed island. We can all recognise that business valuations seek to factor in the risks within the business model. The valuer then derives a value equivalent to cash payable on completion. In arriving at that figure, the valuer will have considered issues such as discounts for lack of marketability and, if relevant, lack of control. In this case the Judge wrestled with the concepts of "accountancy discounts" as described above, and "court discounts". Court discounts sought to make adjustment for the perceived preference for "copper-bottomed" assets over the risk-laden assets of a trading entity. This session seeks to address how "hard cash" is compared with the valuation of a trading concern in the Family Courts and the impact on our valuations."
15:50
Closing comments
16:30
Close
16:35

Our Speakers

Speaker: Blandine Arzur Kean
Blandine Arzur Kean Managing Director, Grant Thornton

Blandine leads the regulatory advisory insurance practice in Financial Services. She advises clients across the insurance industry, regularly working with senior management teams to help them respond in a practical and proportionate manner to regulatory requirements. Her experience ranges across conduct regulation, compliance function effectiveness, governance, and risk management, having worked in all these areas in-house prior to advising clients. Having previously been in their shoes helps me to understand their current challenges.

Speaker: Euan Hamilton
Euan Hamilton Director, Grant Thornton

Euan is a Director in the Valuations & Modelling team, leading on financial services valuations. He has extensive experience in business valuations for financial reporting, transaction, and restructuring purposes including valuations of private equity and private debt. Euan typically works with clients in the financial services sector and support them in their valuations of companies and investments across a wide range of sectors and geographies.

Speaker: James Pomeroy
James Pomeroy Global Economist, HSBC

James is a global economist at HSBC. He joined the Economics team in 2013 and shares insights about the global economy with a wide range of clients, as well as speaking at a wide range of events. Asides from the day-to-day workings of the global economy, much of his work focuses on longer-term trends and themes, and the impact that they have on the economy and policy decisions today. This includes demographic data and trends, which extends to consumer trends, urbanisation and technology adoption.

Speaker: Thomas Rodwell
Thomas Rodwell Managing Director, Disputes Advisory

Thomas is a forensic accountant and business valuation expert who provides economic and financial advice. He is regularly appointed as an expert to opine on issues of finance and valuation.

Andrew Scrutton Bland
Andrew Strickland Consultant

Andrew is a Chartered Accountant with many years’ experience of corporate transactions with specialism as a business valuer. He is also a main contributor to ICAEW’s quarterly newsletter and presents regularly to service users. He indulges in work related to business valuation, litigation support and corporate finance transactions, acting for both buyers and sellers, advising value, on the main terms and on the tax implications of transactions.

Our partner

Logo of Business Valuation Benchmarks an ICAEW partner
Business Valuation Benchmarks

Aims to overcome the inherent problem of the unreliable transaction multiples from databases, and equip financial professionals with reliable transaction multiples and insights.

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Testimonials

It was a very useful and stimulating summary of relevant current valuation topics.

Previous attendee ICAEW's Valuation Conference 2025

ICAEW has clearly raised the bar with the 2025 valuation conference. Speakers' input was outstanding and technical issues discussed addressed very current matters. This conference was very instructive and a joy to follow.

Previous attendee ICAEW's Valuation Conference 2025

Good refresher and perfect to keep abreast of latest trends and valuation requirements.

Previous attendee ICAEW's Valuation Conference 2025

Excellent event with very good speakers all on topic.

Previous attendee ICAEW's Valuation Conference 2025

Join the ICAEW Valuation Community

Expert insights into regulatory and technical changes impacting this increasingly complex field to support you in your work as a valuation practitioner. Membership is open to everyone, including non-ICAEW members.

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