Accounts Payable events offer training and education from industry experts, and a chance to connect with hundreds of AP/P2P professionals and suppliers
It may be a while since you’ve ventured to a face-to-face event. But as businesses settle into their new normal, conference venue doors all around the world are reopening and professionals are eager to enter.
The 2023 IFOL annual conference program awaits Accounts Payable professionals across the UK, USA and Canada. We look forward to seeing our members and colleagues once again.
Here’s what our community considers the main benefits of face-to-face events.
1. Expand AP network
Fellow peers, industry experts, guest speakers, trainers, suppliers, and new business partners. The list of who you meet at a conference is extensive.
Meeting new people is considered the second biggest benefit of face-to-face events. It is something that cannot easily be replicated in any other situation.
Imagine the conversations you will have! You could be inspired by another colleague on how to handle an issue you have, or indeed inspire others from your own experience. New connections can change how your team operates, bring new ideas or tried-and-tested strategies on how to grow your team and boost performance.
(And not forgetting the IFOL team themselves as your conference hosts. It’s a time for us to come together and build on those relationships in person.)
2. Meet solution providers
There are few places better to meet with leading solution providers than during face-to-face Accounts Payable events.
With exhibitors from a range of software and solution providers, you can discuss any problems you currently experience and see what advice or solutions they can offer.
It’s a great starting point for anyone considering AP automation. It saves a lot of time otherwise spent researching possible solution partners, and gets you in front of the right people for a conversation.
3. Discover the latest industry trends
Discovering industry trends is top in our recent poll, and conferences offer this exclusively. This is crucial for finance leaders to stay up to date, with interpretations and predictions from industry expert speakers and panellists.
Useful for benchmarking your own team and company against global trends and competitors, this finance research data enables informed decision making for future growth.
Our conference masterclasses feature our own independent research across a range of finance topics.
4. Boost skills and knowledge
Conferences provide the chance to unlock new areas of learning and development for teams. A good agenda should spark interest and offer delegates the prospect of gaining new skills and knowledge.
It can be the most effective way to upskill an individual, or a whole team in a specific area – such as automation or fraud.
There is also huge value in receiving training from a real person, face to face. It provides the opportunity to interact, ask questions, and share your own experience.
This format leaves a long-lasting impression so delegates remember what they learn. They can then take the knowledge back to their team / company to benefit them in the future.
Summary
And finally, there’s one more thing to note. And it sits alongside all the above points that contribute to the ‘overall experience’.
Who doesn’t enjoy a day out of the office (or your work-from-home space?), to soak up the hospitality in a lovely venue, have meaningful conversations with people you can relate to, and enjoy being looked after?
Find your local IFOL Accounts Payable event and make the most of what it has to offer!
