At a glance
- Key sessions of the inaugural IFA Conference 2025 covered late payments and community engagement strategies.
- HMRC’s Lenny Barry discussed Making Tax Digital system readiness and client testing requirements.
- Forest Phoenix Accountancy, Andrew Coombs, and Muhammad Bilal won the inaugural IFA Awards.
A record 260-strong member group attended the IFA Conference 2025 at the Royal College of Physicians in central London.
The conference began with a noticeable buzz among guests, who were anticipated sessions with speakers such as former small business commissioner Liz Barclay and HMRC’s Lenny Barry.
The conference kicked off with opening remarks from IFA executive director Jonathan Barber. He applauded the international nature of the event, which included attendees from countries such as the UAE, Ghana and Pakistan – with more joining online.
Barber called on members to build a stronger network between themselves, the IFA’s team and their own clients. “I strongly encourage you to engage,” said Barber. He also noted the community aspect that already exists among IFA members, and noted that the day was to celebrate all their work.
Members as a community
IPA Group CEO Andrew Conway then discussed issues including the Group’s progress with Ian Hornsey, IFA MAC chair & eastern regional ambassador.
Conway said that despite geographical differences, practitioners in both the IFA and the IPA faced the same issues. “The IPA Group has to be the backbone,” he said. “As a group I think we’re in a stronger position.”
Conway set out the Group’s strategic plan, based around growth, value and leadership. The group intends to drive service delivery and quality, he said, and to support members to help their clients thrive.
Like Barber, Conway called on members to engage, and have a stronger voice with those that influence and set policy. He flagged the MyCommunity space as one which members should use to engage and communicate with their peers.
The group is also looking at innovative ways to build more pathways into the IFA.
Late payments and MTD – clients need support
Liz Barclay, until recently the UK small business commissioner, spoke passionately about the role that accountants need to play in eradicating late payments to the smallest businesses. “Small businesses innovate, and they should have their money to be able to do that,“ she said. She argued that investing in skills, technology and jobs requires confidence, which is built on being paid on time and in good time.
Another keenly- anticipated session was that of HMRC’s Lenny Barry, who talked about the incoming MTD [Making Tax Digital] for Income Tax regime.
Barry led a lively session, ditching his deck of slides to instead take questions from the audience for an hour.
He said HMRC “was ready” to go live with the MTD for Income Tax system, and that it was vital for accountants to place a tranche of their clients into testing. He also stated that it was “in software companies’ interests” to train practitioners and their clients to use MTD and accounting software, and that practitioners should push for such support.
Inaugural IFA Awards winners
The conference concluded with the announcement of the IFA’s inaugural award winners in three categories. Kevin Reed, chair of judges of the awards thanked everyone for the opportunity to learn more about IFA members and practices. “We were really impressed to see both quantity and quality on show, which is not easy for an awards’ first year.
“The entries demonstrated not just a range of skills and qualities, but also the wide range of countries that now span the IFA’s membership.”
“Small businesses innovate, and they should have their money to be able to do that.“
Liz Barclay, outgoing Small Business Commissioner
Practice of the Year was won by Forest Phoenix Accountancy. Reed said the firm had done “a really good job at meeting the awards criteria” and came across as “a great all-rounder, made alive by the detail in the entry itself”.
Rising Professional of the Year was won by Andrew Coombs. Reed said Coombs showed “a balance of progression and innovation in his role as a practitioner”, and had great testimonials to back up his entry. Honourable mentions went to both Chouleebhorn Messing and Chandan Sharma.
The final award, for Member of the Year, went to Muhammad Bilal. Reed said Bilal “uses his practice-based ethos to support his mental health advocacy” and called him “clearly influential in his region”. Aaron Sewell received an honourable mention.
