Programme Conference 2026: Glasgow and, for the First Time, London

"Talent is everywhere. Opportunity isn't."

Sanjay Singh, our Managing Director, opened this year's Programme Conference in Glasgow with those six words on 9th September, and several people were still quoting them on LinkedIn days later. There were 104 people in Trades Hall to hear them: 59 students, which is more than half of everyone currently on the programme, along with 36 mentors, seven alumni and four representatives from partner firms. Dains Scotland sponsored the day.

Later in the month we did it again, on a smaller scale, in London. KPMG hosted our first ever conference outside Scotland at its Canary Wharf office, for 22 students, mentors, alumni and trustees. Both days were built around the same thing: time for students to talk to people already working in the profession, and to ask them anything.

Aileen Edgar's own students were sitting their ATX exam that day. Aileen, a freelance accounting tutor who is fairly new to mentoring with us, spent it at Trades Hall instead, in a building she remembers from visits with her dad when he was Deacon of the Cordiners.

"I certainly learnt a lot, as a fairly new mentor on the programme, about how to better support my student, about challenges facing university students now with the job market," she wrote afterwards. She was also glad to hear "that it isn't a one and done thing, and that I will be able to go next year too."

After last year's conference, students asked for more interaction and more time to network, so this year the professionals did less presenting and more talking. Fourteen of them hosted seven rounds of ten-minute round tables, each a quick introduction to a different corner of accountancy and finance.

Sally Hewish, a partner at Johnston Carmichael, spent hers "tackling their no holds barred questions about my experiences as a career auditor". Laura Mansley CA, a tax manager at Gallagher, hoped she had "sold it well" on a career in tax. Stephanie Pentland CA, Head of Student Experience at ICAS, took students through the CA qualification "from training through to qualification and beyond".

Elizabeth Young, a risk consulting and internal audit partner, came to talk about less obvious routes, and found several students worried about signing up to audit or tax and then discovering they didn't enjoy it.

"I was glad to reassure them that my experience is that getting their CA is where their options will begin to open up," she said, "rather than them being tied into any particular specialism at this stage."

Danielle Devoy CA used one of her Standard Life volunteering days to be there. As she saw it, the theme of the day, "to mentees and mentors alike, was to be curious and ask questions."

Other sessions were more hands-on. Calum Macdonald CA ran a graduate and internship boot camp with mock interviews, and Ashlene McFadden and Alex Allen from iMultiply, our charity partner for 2026, ran a workshop on personal branding. Mentors had a safeguarding session of their own, which every mentor who rated it scored excellent or very good.

At least one firm left with a plan. Ian Mackie of Hall Morrice, who spoke about working in smaller firms, wrote afterwards that "one practical next step for Hall Morrice is to explore offering paid internships to ICAS Foundation students."

Fifty-three people filled in our Glasgow feedback survey. All of them said they had met more people involved in the programme and left feeling more engaged with the Foundation, and inclusiveness was the best-rated part of the day at 96.2% excellent or very good, up from 90.9% last year. The thing we need to fix, for the second year running, is getting the agenda and arrival details out sooner.

Trustee Alex Smith closed the day with a reminder for the students.

"Ask questions: of your mentors, of each other, of your wider support network. People who volunteer their time want to help you succeed."

Thank you to Dains Scotland for sponsoring Glasgow, to KPMG for hosting London, and to every mentor, speaker and volunteer who gave up a day to be there.

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Read next: What our students took away from the day →