The Strategic Leadership Master Class
In today’s rapidly changing business environment, accountants play a critical role in helping organisations remain resilient, sustainable and prepared for the future. This practical, hands-on workshop is designed to help public practitioners and professional accountants strengthen their strategic thinking, problem-solving and leadership capabilities.
Working in teams, participants will tackle a real-world sustainability and business resilience challenge, exploring how economic, social, environmental and technological trends can affect organisations, industries and communities. Through guided activities, you'll identify emerging risks and opportunities, develop future-focused solutions, and present your recommendations in a team pitch session.
The workshop focuses on building practical skills that accountants can apply directly in their professional roles, whether advising clients, supporting business growth, managing risk, leading change, or helping organisations navigate uncertainty and achieve long-term success.
To ensure participants get the most from the experience, a small amount of pre-work will be required before attending. The pre-work will introduce the challenge scenario, provide background reading and help you prepare for the collaborative activities on the day.
Workshop details
Date: Wednesday, 18 November 2026
Time: 8:00am to 5:15pm
Location: Rydges Resort Hunter Valley
Learning outcomes
By participating in this workshop, you will:
- Develop practical approaches to solving complex business and sustainability challenges.
- Strengthen your ability to think strategically and assess future risks and opportunities.
- Build confidence in developing solutions that support long-term organisational resilience.
- Enhance collaboration, communication and leadership skills through team-based activities.
- Learn how to present and defend recommendations to stakeholders.
Microcredentials awarded
Successful completion of the workshop contributes to the following IPA microcredentials:
- Problem Solving 2 – Solving different types of problems.
- Problem Solving 3 – Helping others understand problems.
- Teamwork 1 – Working collaboratively to achieve shared outcomes.
What you’ll gain
Upon completion of the workshop candidates may be eligible to advance to the Global Certificate of Public Accounting (GCPA), the IPA Group's flagship professional credential. The GCPA recognises the broader skills and capabilities needed by today's accountants, including leadership, problem-solving, collaboration and strategic thinking.
The program forms part of the professional development pathway available to Fellows (FIPA), supporting the progression of experienced accounting professionals and demonstrating advanced capabilities beyond technical expertise.
Whether you work in public practice, business, industry or advisory services, this workshop provides a unique opportunity to strengthen the skills needed to help businesses adapt, remain sustainable and thrive in an increasingly complex world.
About the Facilitator
Dr Robert Kay is the Managing Director of Incept Labs and a founding Director of RiPLTec.
His career has moved continuously between industry and academia. He was formerly the Head of Strategic Innovation at Westpac Banking Corporation; a Senior Lecturer in Information Systems and Organisational Development at the University of Technology, Sydney, and a research analyst at Bovis Lend Lease. Establishing Incept Labs in 2008, Robert has been commissioned to undertake multiple studies of senior leaders, covering topics of organisational resilience, innovation, and corporate governance. The largest of these involved interviews with Chairs of 100 organisations around Australia for the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Ultimately, however, his passion is in education. His early research focused on experiential curriculum design for the development of 21st Century learning and he has been involved in numerous evaluations of school transformation and professional development programs across South Australia, Victoria, the Northern Territory and Malaysia, including multiple studies of Indigenous education. This work has coincided with extensive research on the development of scalable soft skill assessment methods, in partnership with the UN Economic Social Commission Asia Pacific (UNESCAP) and Monash University that is ongoing.
Robert holds a first class honours in curriculum development and worldview change, whilst his PhD involved the application of biological systems theory to improving learning and resilience in organisations.
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