Bringing the Compliance Community Together
On Wednesday 14th October, members and industry colleagues came together in London for the APCC Autumn Conference 2026, kindly hosted by T. Rowe Price. It was wonderful to see so many members in the room, and the energy, engagement and conversation throughout the day made it one of our most rewarding events to date.
At the APCC, our members are at the heart of everything we do. Our conferences are designed to give compliance consultants the chance to hear directly from regulators and industry experts, explore the issues shaping our profession, and connect with peers facing similar challenges. This year’s programme delivered on all three.
Opened by APCC Chair Steve McGuinness, the day combined practical technical sessions, regulatory updates and a thought-provoking keynote, with plenty of time for networking in between.
Highlights From the Day
Morning keynote: Strong enough to protect – Open enough to enable We were delighted to welcome Laura Dawes, Director of Authorisations and Sustainable Finance at the Financial Conduct Authority, as our morning keynote speaker. Leading the FCA’s Authorisations division – the regulator’s gateway for firms entering UK financial markets – Laura explored how the FCA balances robust consumer protection with an authorisations regime that supports innovation and growth. It was a valuable opportunity for members to hear directly from the regulator on a topic central to the work compliance consultants do with their clients every day.
Building scalable retirement advice Richard Parkin, Head of UK Retirement at T. Rowe Price, followed with a look at how firms can deliver consistent client outcomes in retirement advice. Using T. Rowe Price’s 5D framework, he explored how a Centralised Retirement Proposition can be both a regulatory expectation and a commercial opportunity, as defined contribution pots grow and demand for retirement income advice continues to rise.
CASS 5: hot topics and practical challenges Charles Drew, Director, Financial Services at PKF Littlejohn LLP, shared insight from more than 100 CASS 5 audits. His session covered the breaches firms most commonly encounter, emerging areas such as FCA waivers, designated investments and NST confirmation letters, and what good CASS governance looks like in practice.
Afternoon keynote: The Problem With Solutions Our afternoon keynote from Dan Holloway, CEO of Rogue Interrobang, was a real highlight. Drawing on his own lived experience, Dan explored the social model of disability, the “empathy gap” and why accessibility must work right to the last mile. His insights into co-production and designing support that consumers will genuinely trust gave delegates plenty to reflect on in the context of vulnerability and the Consumer Duty.
The FCA supervision of lawyers and accountants Guy Wilkes, Head of Financial Services Investigations and Enforcement at Mishcon de Reya, set out what the move to FCA anti-money laundering supervision of law firms and accountants could mean in practice. He walked delegates through the anticipated timetable, the risks and “known unknowns” for firms, and the potential knock-on effects for those already supervised by the FCA.
Transforming data collection: next generation regulatory reporting To close the programme, Peter Royle, Manager and Deputy Accountable Executive at the Financial Conduct Authority, provided an update on the FCA’s Transforming Data Collections programme. He shared progress to date, the ambition behind NextGen reporting and the benefits it could bring to compliance consultants and their clients, and extended an open invitation to APCC members to help shape and test the new approach.
Celebrating Our Community
The conference was also an opportunity to share some of the latest developments from the APCC. Delegates were introduced to our new Proud to be an APCC Member logo, developed with input from our Member Feedback Forum, which members can now display on their websites, email signatures and client documents.
We also shared news of our new vetted panel supporting firms in taking trainees through to CAS, now live, and confirmed that applications for the next ASPS cohort will open soon.
A Word from Our Chief Membership Officer, Gabby Holloway
“It was fantastic to see so many members and familiar faces in the room. The quality of the speakers and the level of engagement throughout the day really showed what makes the APCC community so special. Events like this are about more than CPD — they are about bringing our profession together, sharing knowledge and building connections that last well beyond the day itself.”
The feedback we have received since the event has been overwhelmingly positive, and we are delighted that conversations on the day have already led to new sign-ups for our working groups.
Thank You
A huge thank you to everyone who joined us and helped make the day such a success. Thank you to T. Rowe Price for hosting us in such a fantastic venue, to all of our speakers for sharing their time and expertise, and to our sponsors for their continued support in helping us deliver this event.
Delegates have been sent the slides from the day. If you attended and have not received them, please contact the team at membership@apcc.org.uk.
Dates for Your Diary
📅 Festive Forum & Networking Event: Thursday 10th December
🔗 Book here: Reserve your place, here.
📅 APCC Spring Conference 2027: Wednesday 14th April 2027 — save the date, with more details to follow.
Stay in the Loop
We’ll be sharing further updates on our upcoming events over the coming weeks — check back regularly for announcements. We look forward to continuing the conversation and welcoming you to a future APCC event.
For any questions about our events, sponsorship or speaking opportunities, please contact the APCC events team.
