We’re excited to bring you an update on what is happening for ICB Major Events in 2024.

As you may know, we’ve been bringing you ICB Conferences now for well over 10 years, and greatly appreciate that so many members join us and engage in those events as we travel around the country each year.

In 2024 we’re going to be doing things a little bit differently and the team is excited about what we have planned to bring to you.

We have taken the time to evaluate several elements of our major events. The first is making sure that we are bringing you the best value for money and the best experience for you as a professional bookkeeper. Other elements we considered included:

• Accessibility and suitability of event venues
• Timing of events considering the impacts of other industry activities, including those of our key strategic partners
• Impacts on, and availability of, the ICB team resources

Having conducted focus groups with ICB members and discussions with the ICB Board, the ICB Leadership team are excited to announce some changes to our major events from 2024 forward.

It’s important that our major events remain dynamic, fun, engaging and well resourced, and mutually beneficial for ICB, members and our event partners.

Combination of the current HR/Payroll Workshop with the EOFY Seminar Series

In 2024 we will cease running the current HR/ payroll workshops in November each year and they will be combined with an enhanced end financial year series.

These events will run from mid June 2024. We will be delivering 5 face to face locations, across 2 days each.

• Melbourne
• Sydney
• Brisbane
• Adelaide
• Perth

One day dedicated to HR & Payroll updates, insights and hands on case studies, and the second day will be the delivery of the ICB End of Financial Year Workshop Series.

We will maintain the end of financial year seminar online series for those who are unable to attend face to face. It is still to be determined as to whether the HR & Payroll Component will be part of the inline series. This series would incorporate 2 events running one day after the other. The first being a delivery of an HR/ payroll workshop, and the second day being our traditional EOFY workshop.

Running the events on two separate days, will allow those members who want to engage in additional payroll, training and or information sessions to do so, acknowledging that there is a number of our Members who do not engage in HR or payroll.

In the same way, given the end of financial year workshop is essentially the same each year, this format would give provision for those Members who wish to undertake the EOFY workshop for either a refresher or, as a first time attendee, and those members who only wish to attend the HR/ Payroll workshop could do so.

Registrations will be available for one or both days and would be opened to allow both students and non members to attend.

The additional benefits of combining 2 events into one include:

• Brings a new format to the end of financial year series.
• Allows for new or additional content on day one.
• Allows for a broadening of scope of content to be delivered across the series.
• Allows for the introduction of education partners, HR and IR partners to be involved.

Australian Bookkeepers National Roadshow (ABR)

This is the national conference event that we have been delivering for over 10 years. This is our annual event that ICB members are used to and it will continue in our current format.

The current event will be renamed from Summit to Roadshow. We will continue to deliver this event in 7 face to face locations delivered across the month of October as we move away from our normal March timeframe:

• Hobart
• Melbourne
• Sydney
• Cairns
• Adelaide
• Canberra
• Perth

Brisbane will feature the 2 day National Event: The Australian Bookkeepers Summit.

Considerations are still underway as to whether this event continues in Darwin. A decision is likely to be made in early 2024.

The Online version of the Roadshow event will be delivered in mid November.

Australian Bookkeepers Summit (ABS)

In November 2024 we will be introducing a 2-day National event, The Australian Bookkeepers Summit, in Brisbane at the Brisbane Convention and Entertainment Centre in Southbank to coincidence with Global Bookkeeping Week, on 11th & 12th November 2024.

We are really excited about the opportunities this event offers and we aim for it to be like no other bookkeepers event you have ever experienced in our space before.

We have listened to your feedback of giving members a ‘whole of your business’ experience.

It’s coming together for two (2) days of unique content with not only the ICB team but also key partners and players in our space to deliver to you more about how we do the business of professional bookkeeping in 2024 and moving forward.

There will be our usual ICB updates and technical sessions, enhanced with hands on sessions where you will get to role paly, do exercises and workshops and participate in growing your bookkeeping businesses and services out to your clients even much more than we have done before.

Introduction of The Australian Luca Awards and evening awards dinner

Based on the ICB Global Luca Awards format and structure, this will be the first truly Bookkeeping Industry lead awards ceremony in Australia – the Oscars of the Bookkeeping World.

The awards night will fall on the night between the two days of the National Event in Brisbane and therefore within global bookkeeping week, the Awards serves to:

• Recognise bookkeepers within our community, who should be duly recognised, for their commitments and dedication to our profession and industry.
• Celebrate the excellence of service and professionalism within the Bookkeeping Industry, and
• Provide an opportunity to invite guests from the broader finance profession, the education sector, government, business, and our partner community to both increase the profile of professional bookkeeping and bookkeepers, and to acknowledge any involvement that they have had into the profession over the course of the previous 12 months.

This event would be open to all bookkeepers in Australia regardless of their membership status with any professional association. There will be no entry fees payable, and nominees must be nominated by 1 nominating party and endorsed by one other.

Partner awards, are only to be those associated in formal partnerships with ICB.

Current proposed award categories:

• Student of the Year
• Educator of the Year
• Network Facilitator of the Year
• Solo Bookkeeper of the Year
• Small Practice of the Year (1–4 employees)
• Large Practice of the Year (4+ employees)
• Employed Bookkeeper of the Year
• Emerging Bookkeeper of the Year
• Service to Bookkeeping or Bookkeeping Advocate of the Year
• Bookkeeper of the Year (would be selected from the winners of the other BK award categories)
• ICB Accredited Training Provider of the Year
• ICB Partner of the Year (Strategic/Approved)
• ICB Partner of the Year (would be selected from the ATP, RTP, Software Partner and/or strategic partners)

Our intention is to have judges from both within our industry and the broader business community, such as business leaders and small business champions, appropriate to the individual award category.

We will also be utilising the Luca Awards evening for any awarding of ICB Lifetime Membership awards and recognising any ICB service and membership award recipients in the room for Fellow and 10+ years of ICB membership.

In mid 2024 we will be establishing a Luca Awards committee. This will be a call out to our partners and the ICB membership base join with the ICB team to design and deliver the awards event. This may also include assisting in elements of the awards process such as sponsor attraction, nominations and judging processes.

Keep an eye out on all of our communications in early 2024 as we bring you much more information about what these exciting events will look like.

Thank you for your ongoing support of these events and we are so looking forward to the new chapter in 2024.