16 June 2026 | What Senior Finance Leaders need to know about Excel (Leading teams and reduce spreadsheet risk)

Event information

How near or far away is your organisation in applying best Excel practice?

Excel is one of the most essential tools in finance. However, poor spreadsheet management can create operational risk, control failures and costly rework. For CFOs and Finance Directors, the challenge is no longer how to use Excel, but how to lead teams that rely on it.

This two-part webinar series is aimed at senior finance leaders who need confidence that spreadsheets across their organisation are fit for purpose, well governed, and developed sustainably.

Across the two webinars, John Tennent, Founder of Corporate Edge, and Mark Proctor, Microsoft MVP and Director at Twenty Seven Solutions Limited, will explore how finance leaders can take control of Excel use across their teams from managing risk, through capability building, to modern best practice.

This webinar will focus on the leadership and governance responsibilities finance leaders have when Excel is embedded in business processes. John Tennent will explore how CFOs and Finance Directors can better manage and mentor Excel driven teams by putting clear standards and structures in place, reducing reliance on individual “experts”, and improving oversight without needing to build spreadsheets themselves. The session will cover practical approaches to consistency, documentation, review, access and version control, alongside assessing skills to set a clear ambition for how Excel is used across the team. Attendees will learn how to reduce risk while maintaining productivity.

The second webinar will then cover what ‘good’ looks like when Excel is used well, and how finance leaders can build greater capability across their teams.

This webinar series is aimed at those in senior roles that oversee teams using Excel.

Key benefits

• Clarity on leadership and governance of spreadsheet use, including how to reduce risk while maintaining productivity.
• Practical ways to assess and build Excel capability across finance teams, avoiding reliance on single individuals.
• Better judgement about tools and technology, including when Excel is enough, when other tools are needed, and how to use AI and Copilot pragmatically.

About the speaker

John Tennent, Co-Founder, Corporate Edge John provides a wide range of portfolio business courses, though specialises in strategic financial planning, business modelling and investment appraisal. His background is in finance, starting his career as a Chartered Accountant with Deloitte & Touche in 1983. He went on to become the Financial Controller of a US bank before joining a training consultancy as Client Director. He co-founded Corporate Edge in 1996. He is the author of the Economist Guide to Business Modelling, the Economist Guide to Financial Management and the Economist Guide to Cash Management. He is a member of the ICAEW Excel Community Advisory Group.

CPD hours

ICAEW's revised Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Regulations bring in new CPD requirements. This includes a minimum number of hours and an ethics requirement. Attending this webinar could contribute up to 1hr of verifiable CPD, providing you can demonstrate that the content is relevant to your role.

A copy of the webinar booking confirmation email is accepted as evidence of verifiable CPD. Click here to use ICAEW’s self-assessment tool to help you work out how much CPD you will need to fulfil each year.

Costs

ICAEW members and non-members are welcome to join. This event is organised by the Excel Community. Please click here to join online.