Autumn is deadline season for Irish accountants, tax advisers, and finance professionals — which makes it exactly the wrong time to fall behind on CPD. That's the thinking behind The September Fest 2026, running online across three packed days from Tuesday 1st to Thursday 3rd September.
Across 18 one-hour sessions, The September Fest brings together specialist practitioners from leading firms to cover the topics currently shaping practice in Ireland: tax, compliance, corporate finance, and the AI tools and governance questions every practice is now grappling with. Sessions are pitched at Foundation, Intermediate, and Need to Know level, so whether you're brushing up or going deep, there's a seat for you.
What's on each day
Day 1 — Tuesday 1st September: Tax and Capital
The event opens with a full day of tax essentials, starting with Brendan Casey on PRSI liabilities on non-employment income, followed by John Murphy on bringing family members into investment decisions. Lauren Greene tackles income tax and corporation tax essentials around deadline season, Morna Canty-Ahern covers capital tax essentials, Michael O'Scathaill takes on the trickier world of investment companies, mutual trading, charities, and insolvency, and the day closes with John Lovell on capital allowances and property expenditure across the UK and Ireland.
Day 2 — Wednesday 2nd September: Compliance and Finance
Day two shifts to the compliance and finance issues on every practice's radar. Sinead Gortland opens with a topical company law update, Benjamin Okpara unpacks the newly revised ESRS delegated acts, and Lungi Sepotokele walks through AML rules for accountancy practitioners. Tom Murray covers corporate finance for SMEs, Dermot Madden introduces forensic accounting and its day-to-day application, and Lindsay Webber closes with revenue recognition under the updated FRS 102.
Day 3 — Thursday 3rd September: Practice, AI, and People
The final day looks forward. Chantal Cornelius opens with AI for marketing content, Liam Lynch explores balancing GDPR, cyber defence, and AI, and Marie Toft shows how to implement AI safely with a human-centric approach. Stacy Franklin looks at building a continuous improvement culture through Kaizen, Laura Reidy delivers an employment law update, and Edel Walsh closes the conference with a session on performing at your best, not your limit — a fitting note to end on after three intensive days.
Why it's worth your time
Eighteen hours of CPD is a serious dent in your annual requirement, delivered in one focused week rather than spread thin across the year. Every session comes with a detailed note pack, so you leave with more than a memory of a good talk — you get a reference you can actually use back in the office. And because it's fully online, there's no travel, no time out of the office beyond the sessions themselves, and no reason not to dial in from your desk.
If you're already weighing up your CPD spend for the rest of 2026, CPD Club is worth a look — at €550 it undercuts the full event price on its own, before you factor in everything else it unlocks.
The contents of this article are meant as a guide only and are not a substitute for professional advice. The authors accept no responsibility for any action taken, or refrained from, as a result of the material contained in this document. Specific advice should be obtained before acting or refraining from acting, in connection with the matters dealt with in this article.
