Finance Conference 2026 | From risk to resilience: sustaining our progress
£368
£483
The human cost of Wales’s housing emergency is profound, deeply affecting health, wealth and life opportunities across the nation.
At a time of seemingly endless political churn, volatile economic forecasts, increasing demands on every front and rapid technological disruption, the need for sustained action is unwavering. For finance directors and their teams, the challenge is not just about balancing the books—it is about sustaining the very ambition and core purpose of the Welsh social housing sector under immense pressure.
This conference moves past the familiar talking points of 'unprecedented times' to confront the hard realities of today’s financial landscape. It is a space for honest, transparent reflection and strategy. Together, we will dissect the economic forecasts, political environment, interrogate new funding models, and explore how we harness emerging technology to protect our financial resilience.
Every decimal point we manage represents a home, a family, and a community. Join us as we look beyond the ledger to ensure that, even in the most challenging of times, we hold true to our shared purpose to change lives and communities across Wales.
Draft programme
Day 1 - Thursday 1 October
8.45am Registration, networking and exhibition viewing
9.30am Introduction to Day One - Chair’s Welcome
9.50am Keynote | Reading the Room: How the Current Political Climate is Shaping Housing Finance
Ed Jones, Bangor University
In social housing, politics and the economy are two sides of the same coin. To build a resilient business plan, finance leaders must understand not just the economic data, but the political climate generating it. This session views our current economic reality through a purely political lens, analyzing how the government's present agenda is influencing market stability, regulatory pressures, and sector funding. Join us for a sharp, timely breakdown of the political forces dictating today's economic landscape, and leave with the insights required to stress-test your finances against immediate political risks.
10.20am Panel | What does this actually mean for social housing?
- Rhea Stevens, Community Housing Cymru
- John Tattersall, Centrus
- Ed Jones, Bangor University
11.00am Coffee Break/Exhibition Viewing/Networking
12.00pm Workshops
1) The Human Ledger: Managing the Psychological Impact of Economic Change | Pip Gwynne, Insight HRC
Financial uncertainty has a profound psychological footprint. When funding landscapes shift and regulatory pressures mount, it trickles down into team dynamics, affecting decision-making, productivity, and wellbeing. This workshop cracks open the psychology of uncertainty. We’ll examine why human brains crave certainty, how economic stress manifests in the workplace, and how leaders can decode defensive or anxious team behaviors. This session offers actionable strategies to help your team navigate ambiguity, maintain focus, and foster resilience in high-stakes times.
2) SORP update
3) The Finance Innovation lab: Pitch your ideas for the future
The challenges facing housing associations require more than just traditional fixes—they demand fresh thinking. Do you have an innovative funding model, a process automation idea, or a new approach to risk management that could transform our sector? We are looking for bold ideas for our Finance Innovation Pitch Session.
This workshop is your platform to pitch your innovative concepts to a room of peer leaders and sector experts. Whether your idea is a fully formed strategy or an exciting spark of a concept, we want to hear it. Submit your Expression of Interest to be considered for a pitching slot, get constructive live feedback, and help shape the future of housing finance.
4) The Housing Tax Health Check: Crucial Updates and Compliance
Dan Guy, Cubed Tax
In the world of social housing finance, tax compliance is a moving target. Failing to keep pace with changing legislation can lead to unexpected liabilities, costly penalties, and missed savings. This practical workshop provides an essential update on the tax landscape for housing associations. Led by sector specialists, we will break down recent and upcoming changes in VAT, corporate tax, employment tax and CIS. Designed for finance teams who need to keep their organisations compliant and tax-efficient, this session will translate complex regulatory updates into clear actions and checks that can be taken straight back to the office.
12.45pm Lunch/Networking/Exhibition Viewing
13.55pm Regulation in Wales: One Year On | Jo Valentine, Welsh Government
One year on from publishing the Regulatory Framework for Wales in 2025, the Welsh housing sector remains resilient but continues to operate in a challenging financial environment. Welsh RSLs are balancing significant competing demands — investing in existing homes, meeting decarbonisation commitments, delivering high-quality tenant services and maintaining development ambitions — while navigating cost pressures, funding constraints and increasing regulatory expectations.
In this session, we will hear from Jo Valentine, Deputy Director of Housing Policy and Regulation, and Daniel Guest, Senior Financial Analyst in the Regulation Team. Together, they will reflect on what they have seen over the past year and the financial and regulatory pressures facing the sector.
They will explore what the evolving regulatory landscape means for Welsh RSLs and reflect on the experience of the past year.
14.15pm Panel | Redrawing the Roadmap: Business Planning in a Volatile Era
Traditional 30-year business plans feel increasingly fragile in a world where political priorities shift overnight and economic indicators remain stubborn. To survive and thrive, housing associations must evolve from rigid forecasting to dynamic, agile planning. This panel brings together chair's, chief executives and finance directors to discuss how they are embedding political and economic volatility directly into their business models. We will explore how to set realistic parameters for rent, inflation, and borrowing, while building the operational flexibility needed to pivot when the wider landscape changes. Join us to learn how to move past reactive fire-fighting and design a business plan that actively embraces uncertainty.
- Matthew Wilde, SWIG Finance & FCHA Chair
- Terri McCullagh, Danske Bank
- Michaela Booth, Altair
14.35pm Workshops
1)The Human Ledger: Managing the Psychological Impact of Economic Change | Pip Gwynne, Insight HRC
Financial uncertainty has a profound psychological footprint. When funding landscapes shift and regulatory pressures mount, it trickles down into team dynamics, affecting decision-making, productivity, and wellbeing. This workshop cracks open the psychology of uncertainty. We’ll examine why human brains crave certainty, how economic stress manifests in the workplace, and how leaders can decode defensive or anxious team behaviors. This session offers actionable strategies to help your team navigate ambiguity, maintain focus, and foster resilience in high-stakes times.
2) Essential Pensions Update for Housing Associations
Quantum Advisory
Keep your organisation ahead of changing pension dynamics. This fast-paced workshop provides a comprehensive update on the latest regulatory changes, market shifts, and valuation impacts affecting social housing providers. Whether you are managing defined benefit legacy risks or looking to optimize your defined contribution offerings, this session offers the practical guidance and expert insights you need to protect your bottom line and support your workforce.
3) Essential Insurance Update for Housing Associations
Gallagher
Whilst traditional insurance markets remain competitive, housing associations are increasingly exploring new approaches to managing risk and controlling costs. This interactive session will provide an update on current insurance market conditions, including underwriting trends, capacity constraints, emerging risk areas and insurer expectations. It will also examine a range of alternative risk transfer options, from structured self-insurance and captive arrangements to parametric solutions and innovative risk financing mechanisms. Attendees will gain practical insights into how housing organisations can strengthen resilience, improve risk financing outcomes and develop a sustainable long-term insurance strategy in a rapidly evolving market.
4) The FD Playbook: Lessons from the Top for Future Leaders
Every seasoned Finance Director has a mental playbook of lessons learned from navigating rent caps, economic shocks, and major corporate pivots. This workshop offers future leaders a rare opportunity to learn directly from that experience. Our "In Conversation" session strips away the formal presentations for a real, unfiltered discussion with experienced sector FDs. Discover what they wish they had known before taking the role, how they balance financial stewardship with the social mission, and how to build strong relationships with CEOs and Boards. This is your chance to gain invaluable mentorship insights to help accelerate your leadership journey.
- Brian Pickett, CCHA (Chair)
- Naveeda Morgan, CCHA
- Lorraine Oates, Merthyr Valleys Homes
- Rhys Parry, Adra
15.20pm Coffee Break/Exhibition Viewing/Networking
15.50pm Panel | Sweating the Assets: Unlocking Underutilised Revenue Streams
- Claire Snook, SamKat
- Cerys Williams, EON
- TBC
16.20pm Close of Day 1 - Chair’s reflections
17.00pm Drinks reception
19.00pm Dinner
20.30pm Evening entertainment: The Great Social Housing Lego Build
Day 2 - Friday 2 October
8.45am Registration, networking and exhibition viewing
9.40am Introduction to Day Two - Chair’s Welcome
9.50am Behind Closed Doors: Inside a Credit Rating Committee Meeting
10.30am Panel | The Matrix: Balancing Credit Rating Demands with Regulatory Reality
- Sandy Murray, ClwydAlyn
- Gemma Bell, Devonshires
- James Tarrant, Savills
11.10am Coffee break, networking and exhibition viewing
12.00pm Workshops
1) Essential Insurance Update for Housing Associations
Gallagher
Whilst traditional insurance markets remain competitive, housing associations are increasingly exploring new approaches to managing risk and controlling costs. This interactive session will provide an update on current insurance market conditions, including underwriting trends, capacity constraints, emerging risk areas and insurer expectations. It will also examine a range of alternative risk transfer options, from structured self-insurance and captive arrangements to parametric solutions and innovative risk financing mechanisms. Attendees will gain practical insights into how housing organisations can strengthen resilience, improve risk financing outcomes and develop a sustainable long-term insurance strategy in a rapidly evolving market.
2) Essential Pensions Update for Housing Associations
Quantum Advisory
Keep your organisation ahead of changing pension dynamics. This fast-paced workshop provides a comprehensive update on the latest regulatory changes, market shifts, and valuation impacts affecting social housing providers. Whether you are managing defined benefit legacy risks or looking to optimize your defined contribution offerings, this session offers the practical guidance and expert insights you need to protect your bottom line and support your workforce.
3) SORP update
4) The Housing Tax Health Check: Crucial Updates and Compliance
Dan Guy, Cubed Tax
In the world of social housing finance, tax compliance is a moving target. Failing to keep pace with changing legislation can lead to unexpected liabilities, costly penalties, and missed savings. This practical workshop provides an essential update on the tax landscape for housing associations. Led by sector specialists, we will break down recent and upcoming changes in VAT, corporate tax, employment tax and CIS. Designed for finance teams who need to keep their organisations compliant and tax-efficient, this session will translate complex regulatory updates into clear actions and checks that can be taken straight back to the office.
12.20pm AI in the Finance Function – Hype vs. Reality
12.50pm Panel | The AI Rollout: Practical Next Steps for Finance Leaders
1.50pm Chair’s close and reflections
2.00pm Conference close and takeaway lunch
Accommodation
We have reserved rooms at the Metropole for our conference delegates. To book a room, call the Metropole directly on 01597 823700 and let them know that you are booking for the One big conference. You will pay through the Metropole and they will handle your booking.
If there is no room at the Metropole or you would like to stay elsewhere, the below options are available:
- The Llanerch Inn (10 minute walk from metropole)
- Highland Moors Guesthouse (0.4 miles from centre)
- Hampton Hotel (0.7 miles from centre)
Local taxi firms if staying further out:
George’s Taxi – 07498729724
Adeys Taxi – 01597822188
Both of the above are local recommendations.