On Friday 16 October 2026, the ICAEW Annual Conference takes over InterContinental London – The O2 under the theme "Turning business complexity and change into value". smartZebra will be there.
The ICAEW Annual Conference is where the profession gathers to get ahead: a full day of keynotes, afternoon streams across practice, industry and policy, and up to eight hours of CPD. This year's headline keynote comes from Professor Hannah Fry, who will look at the technologies arriving next and at a question that sits squarely in front of the profession: when both humans and machines are fallible, who should make the decisions that matter?
That question is close to our own work, so we are glad to be in the room.
Why We Are Attending
Chartered accountants touch valuation constantly, even when valuation is not the job title. Impairment testing, purchase price allocation, share-based payment, deferred consideration, going concern assessment and transaction advice all need a discount rate, and all of them get reviewed.
The awkward part is rarely the model. It is the inputs. Where did the risk-free rate come from? Which index was the beta regressed against, over what period and at what frequency? Why that market risk premium? Was the peer group the same one used last year, and if not, why not?
smartZebra answers those questions by design. Every parameter is adjustable, every figure carries its source, and the full calculation path can be exported alongside the result. Our data is already used by auditing firms, advisory practices and tax authorities.
What We Are Bringing to the Conversation
If you are attending the conference, we would be glad to discuss:
- Impairment testing – deriving and documenting a defensible WACC for each cash generating unit
- Purchase price allocation – peer-based inputs for intangible asset valuation
- Beta factors – valuation-date precision, configurable regression settings and statistical quality metrics
- Risk-free rates – daily-updated yield curves for major economies, aligned to your measurement date
- Market risk premia – implied and historical, with the reasoning documented rather than assumed
- Credit spreads and cost of debt – by rating and by term, including synthetic ratings
- Multiples – trailing and forward-looking peer multiples, sector multiples across 20 sectors and more than 100 subsectors
- AI in professional work – where automation genuinely helps, and where professional judgement has to stay in charge
Why 16 October is Worth the Day Out of the Office
The 2026 programme is built around clarity in a changing world, future-focused leadership thinking, and turning insight into impact, with streams covering topics from MTD and sustainability to business advisory and regulatory change.
Underneath all of that sits a quieter theme: the standard of evidence expected from finance professionals keeps rising. Reviewers, regulators and audit committees ask for the derivation, not just the conclusion. Getting the data layer right is what makes the rest of it defensible.
All Conference Details
Let's Connect in London
If you are coming to The O2 on 16 October, get in touch beforehand or find us during the breaks. Whether you are preparing impairment tests for year end, reviewing someone else's discount rate, or working out where AI fits into your practice, we would enjoy the conversation.
See smartZebra Before the Conference
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More on the modules: Cost of Capital · Beta Factors · Multiples · For CPAs
