The Finance, Accounting & Bookkeeping Show has published its 2026 Insight Report, bringing together the conversations, ideas and challenges that shaped this year’s event.
FAB welcomed thousands of accountants, bookkeepers and finance leaders to the NEC Birmingham on 11 and 12 March. Across two days of speaker sessions, debates, workshops and conversations with more than 100 exhibitors, the event offered a real-time view of the issues affecting the profession.
Produced by AccountingWEB, the report captures those discussions and explores what they could mean for firms, finance teams and business leaders over the next 12 months.
Turning conversations into insight
FAB brings different parts of the accounting and finance community together in one place, from independent bookkeepers and small practice owners to mid-tier firm leaders, CFOs and finance directors.
That breadth makes the event more than an opportunity to learn about new products or hear from expert speakers. It also provides Sift and AccountingWEB with a direct view of the pressures facing the profession and how leaders are responding to them.
The report draws on sessions featuring figures such as Rebecca Benneyworth, Dan Neidle and HSBC’s Emma Wilks, alongside discussions taking place across the exhibition floor.
Rather than simply summarising individual sessions, it identifies the connections between the topics raised throughout the event and the practical changes already taking place within firms and finance teams.
Five priorities for the profession
Five themes stood out particularly strongly at FAB 2026: regulatory change, artificial intelligence, growth, talent and leadership.
Making Tax Digital remained the most visible regulatory issue, with firms preparing for more frequent reporting, additional client contact and greater pressure on their capacity.
AI was equally prominent, but the discussion had moved beyond speculation. Speakers and exhibitors focused on practical adoption, stronger data, connected systems and using automation safely within established workflows.
Growth conversations also became more commercially focused. Firms are reconsidering pricing, client selection, delegation and how additional capacity can be converted into higher-value services. As routine compliance becomes easier to automate, the report suggests that insight, judgement and relevance will become more important measures of value.
Talent and leadership ran through every theme. Automation is reducing some of the repetitive work traditionally used to train junior employees, increasing the importance of communication, critical thinking and problem-solving earlier in people’s careers.
A more connected picture
One of the report’s clearest conclusions is that regulation, technology, talent, risk and commercial pressure can no longer be treated as separate issues.
New regulations affect workloads. Workloads influence technology decisions and pricing. Automation changes how teams are structured, while stronger systems and governance increasingly determine whether firms can grow, manage risk or prepare for succession.
The report argues that the strongest organisations will be those that respond to these pressures together, building value and resilience into their operating models rather than relying on individual effort.
Looking ahead to FAB 2027
The next stage will be less about recognising that change is coming and more about demonstrating how organisations have responded.
By the time FAB returns to the NEC Birmingham on 10 and 11 March 2027, attention is expected to have shifted towards redesigned workflows, stronger controls, clearer pricing and better use of capacity in an increasingly automated market.
The FAB 2026 Insight Report provides a snapshot of a profession under pressure, but also one investing in new ideas, stronger leadership and better ways of working.