Every organisation, of whatever size, will have to embrace fundamental change over the next decade – the advance of AI all but guarantees it. “Within the next six to 10 years, the world is likely to become an unbelievably different place,” says Paul Wahlhaus, creator of a new ICAS course called Leading Digital Transformation. “The speed of change we have now is only the beginning. So we need finance leaders to be part of the discussion about how we reshape organisations in ways that may be vastly different to where we stand today.”

Wahlhaus has spent most of his career working in digital transformation, equipping him to lead a course that’s bursting with insights for today’s business leaders. He expects the one-day session to appeal to a wide range of people working in finance – from mid-level accountants, keen to get involved in big-picture deliberations, to board-level executives or start-ups managing a very different set of risks and opportunities.

But before we explore the course content, what exactly is digital transformation? “There are misconceptions,” says Wahlhaus. “It’s not simply about digitising paper forms, installing new IT or incorporating AI. It’s essentially the strategic reinvention of an organisation, enabled by digital technology, data and new ways of working to create sustainable value.

“The course gives finance people a good overview of change activity within their organisation. And that’s really useful, particularly if you’re partnering with colleagues and teams that are involved in digital transformation. Taking part will help you understand the language and the landscape so that you’re better positioned to ask the right questions and interpret what you’re hearing.”

Customers first

After tackling the core foundations of digital transformation, the session explores the significant shift towards “customer-centric transformation”.

The initial focus is less about which technology your organisation is going to invest in, rather on creating the best possible customer journey. Wahlhaus points to the process of a rail customer buying a ticket. In this case, the journey extends from the point of the customer choosing the best option through to the completion of their trip. “If you can make that automation work really well, you save a lot of money on areas such as remedial action through call centres,” says Wahlhaus.

Course participants are then taken on “a walk-through of more than 30 current technologies that can play a valuable part in digital transformation”. This extensive list will be included in the full course guide given to participants afterwards.

“It’s ambitious, it provides a framework and it will get finance people thinking and asking the right questions”

The next step is to complete a questionnaire that indicates to everyone taking part where their organisation is in terms of “digital maturity”. This is followed by exploring roadmaps for designing and executing successful strategies for transformation.

“A systems-change programme is only part of the story. What you’re doing is effectively changing the overall organisation in terms of the processes you follow, and the type of people and capabilities you need,” says Wahlhaus. “You should also think about the kind of leadership you need, and what kind of cultural characteristics the business requires to make the transition a success. We know that many people are uncomfortable with change, so how do you show them the benefits?”

The course even takes time out to explore two very different styles of project management: the traditional waterfall approach – which still works well with some business models – and the more modern agile approach, which is particularly effective in complex, digitally based transformations.

Accountants may instinctively want to minimise implementation costs, but that can run the risk that the systems will not achieve their stated benefits. Speed of implementation, of course, could be driven by competitor pressures, so the session looks at how the overall ‘change management’ approach of a digital transformation programme needs the review of options and a strategic decision.

“That’s the course programme,” adds Wahlhaus. “It’s ambitious, it provides a framework and it will get finance people thinking and asking the right questions.”

Leading Digital Transformation is online only, 8 July or 9 October 2026.
Find more information or book your place