Connecting the smaller practice community: SPG Forum 2024

11 December 2024

SPG Chair and Penningtons Manches Cooper Partner Stephen Rome gives his roundup of SPG Forum 2024 and what's to come in 2025.

As Chair of the R3 Smaller Practices Group Committee I am writing this coming off the adrenaline high that was the 2024 SPG Forum.

This was my third SPG Forum as Committee Chair, and each year it seems to get better and better – a sentiment which was reflected by tickets for the event selling out in September (more on solving that problem later). 

In a departure from previous years, delegates teed off the event at Moor Hall Golf Club. I am always reminded that a key focus of the SPG Forum is the opportunity to connect with other members of the restructuring, turnaround and insolvency profession, and that was exemplified as delegates joined together at The Belfry for the evening welcome reception, where conversations from the course carried on at the dinner tables. 

On day two, we were all moved by our keynote speaker Lee Castleton, who started our second day with an emotional journey through his experience as a Post Office Sub Postmaster. His talk resonated with us on the importance of integrity and honesty. The Post Office scandal highlighted the importance of governance and doing the right thing. It is hoped that voices like Mr Castleton will continue to make us revisit our ethical behaviours and the impact our actions can take on other individuals who often have little support.

This year we introduced SPG Stories, giving an opportunity for SPG members to give insightful talks about their involvement in our profession. Thank you to Bradley Parrot, Francesa Tackie, Nicholas Parton and Matthew Letts for taking the stage and sharing their personal stories. A common theme from several speakers on the second day was fraud, whether it was on work being done to reduce opportunities for fraudsters to misuse Companies House, updates on s.423, or the impact on fraud within companies. Members also heard from Miles Hacking, who rose to the challenge of speaking about ethics for an hour while keeping his audience engaged and entertained.

The in depth technical and legal updates from the day were well balanced by the relaxed Gala Dinner with many of us taking the opportunity to catch up with others in the profession alongside meeting new contacts. Even the late finish couldn’t keep us away from the final day with Caroline Sumner running us through the great work R3 has achieved in the last year on behalf of its members including lobbying parliament on issues that impact the profession. Delegates could then attend interactive sessions including the use of AI in practice, updates from the RPBs as well as HMRC. The final talk by Jeremy Mindell gave an economic outlook into the future following the election news of Donald Trump’s appointment and the new Government’s first year in power.

On leaving the event, I was extremely pleased to hear that the hard work of the SPG Forum committee had paid off with such positive feedback. Our only disappointment was that more members were unable to join. It is for this reason we have taken the decision to move the SPG Forum in 2025 to Stratford-upon-Avon where the beautiful Crowne Plaza will host us. We can accommodate up to 350 delegates with the additional benefit of having exclusive use of the hotel.

I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at next year’s event and wish you a merry Christmas and all the best for 2025.