On a Wednesday night in Edinburgh in July, the ghost of Adam Smith suddenly emerged in a puff of smoke. It is more than 200 years since the moral philosopher and founder of modern economics was resident in these parts, moving in his distinctive gait – described by friends as vermicular, or “worm-like” – and devising theories on the “invisible hand” and moral sentiments. Now a ghost Smith – in the form of Succession actor Brian Cox – is haunting Thatcher and extolling the partnership model of John Lewis.

Smith’s apparition appeared onstage at the Festival Theatre as part of Make It Happen, a Fringe satire on the rise and fall of the Royal Bank of Scotland during the 2008 financial crisis. Smith would probably be happier with the ideas that inspired a new festival launching in the Scottish capital this month.

Billed as the “Davos of the ethical finance world”, the Edinburgh Finance Festival (EFF) will see more than 2,500 delegates descend on the city from 15 September. The 12-day gathering – predicted to boost Edinburgh’s economy by £1m via spending on accommodation, food and drink – will cover issues such as fintech, onshore wind and climate finance, plus an ICAS-hosted session on transition plans. Speakers include Scotland’s Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes, ex-First Minister Humza Yousaf and City of London Policy Chairman Chris Hayward.

“As CAs, we must think ethically. This is what your CA training gives you – technical astuteness, but also that compass to ask: ‘Is this the right thing?’”

Selecting Edinburgh was a no-brainer, says Omar Shaikh CA, Managing Director of the Global Ethical Finance Initiative (GEFI), which is organising the festival. “Edinburgh is the natural home for green and sustainable finance – don’t forget Scotland was among the world’s first governments to integrate the UN’s sustainable development goals [SDGs] into its national performance framework. It’s also got a strong financial services sector [employing nearly 150,000 people], and it’s synonymous with festivals.”

This period also brings milestone anniversaries for several Auld Reekie-spawned financial institutions: the Chartered Banker Institute (CBI) turns 150 this year, the David Hume Institute hits 40, Social Investment Scotland marks its 25th birthday in 2026 and ICAS turned 170 just last year.

The festival will showcase Edinburgh’s rich financial legacy with events held across the city. “We want to leverage these heritage assets to create a space conducive to systemic thinking and reflection,” says Shaikh. “It’s a way of looking at the past to help us shape the future.”

During the festival, delegates will have the chance to visit Panmure House, where Adam Smith lived from 1778 until his death in 1790 and which holds a rare copy of his hugely influential work The Wealth of Nations. The Library of Mistakes (Edinburgh’s repository of financial failures and other business-related books) is an apt venue for “Revisiting RBS’s Collapse”, hosted by the presenters of the popular A Long Time in Finance podcast.

Throughout the festival, attendees can soak up the psychic energy of a city which hosts the world’s oldest professional body for accountants – ICAS, of course – and bankers (CBI), pioneered life assurance through Scottish Ministers’ Widows’ Fund and gave birth to the savings bank and the overdraft.

“It epitomises the alive-and-kicking culture of enquiry which led to the Scottish Enlightenment… Donald Trump is welcome to join and share his thoughts, as long as he’s also willing to listen”

“Us accountants have got a challenge,” says Shaikh. “We give assurance signing off that financial statements provide a true and fair account. But over recent decades have we accounted for or adequately reported on non-financial matters, including negative consequences of business activities on the environment?

“On the horizon are seismic climate-related challenges. This isn’t just about your premises being flooded – your supply chain might be impacted, causing huge disruption to your business and stock price. The role of accounting is critical here, but we need to broaden what we’re examining and reporting on.

“As CAs, we must be thinking ethically… It’s not superficial analysis. This is what your CA training gives you – that technical astuteness, but also that compass to ask: ‘Is this the right thing?’”

Ethical awakening

Shaikh’s ethical epiphany came shortly after graduating from the University of Glasgow (despite his fervour for Edinburgh, Shaikh is a proud Glaswegian) in 2000, amid the fall of Arthur Andersen, followed by the Parmalat accounting scandal. “When all this collapses in front of you as a young CA, you start to question everything you’ve been taught,” he says. “[You think] ‘Hold on a minute, who’s auditing the auditors?’ That culture of inquiry led me to ethical finance.”

During his decade working in London, where he gained his ICAS qualification, Shaikh’s interest in ethical finance fell on deaf ears: “I’d be dismissed; people told me, ‘This is for tree-hugging hippies, a ‘haircut’ performance, don’t bother coming back here.’”

In 2010, Shaikh left to become the Director of the Islamic Finance Council UK (UKIFC), later helping drive the 2018 Edinburgh Finance Declaration, the world’s first shared-values framework on ethical finance.

The world of faith-based finance shares much with ethical banking. Islamic (or “sharia-compliant”) finance views money as having no intrinsic value, with the charging of interest (riba) prohibited. Christian-based finance upholds similar principles, emphasising fair trade and the equitable distribution of wealth. At EFF, there is a Christian Aid-hosted “Debt Crisis Roundtable” and a UKIFC session, “Blended Finance and Key Trends in Islamic Finance”.

“I see faith-based finance as a subset of broader ethical finance,” says Shaikh. “If my local bank is investing in sectors deemed harmful to society, such as pornography or gambling, why wouldn’t I want to have the choice where my bank lends my money? I have zero visibility about how they’re using my current account or deposit money.”

Some international development organisations have talked about adopting elements of faith-based finance, which makes sense to Shaikh. “Many countries in the global south pay more money on debt interest than their combined education and healthcare budgets,” he says. “They can’t get out of these IMF loans – it’s crippled them.”

Through his work at GEFI – which Shaikh co-founded in 2017 – he helped establish the SDG Financial Products platform with the United Nations Development Programme, and a £100m sustainable sovereign bond fund with financial services group Aegon at Cop26 in Glasgow.

If this weren’t enough, Shaikh also spends his spare time volunteering at the Colourful Heritage charity he helped launch in 2012, which documents the stories of Scotland’s early generations of south Asian migrants. The initiative has hosted exhibitions with Glasgow Museums and is currently campaigning for a permanent memorial to recognise the four million British Indian Army soldiers who served in World Wars I and II.

Whether it’s creating the EFF or working with Colourful Heritage, Shaikh sees it all forming part “of a journey chasing my own intellectual curiosity”. (During our conversation, Shaikh references everything from the Abrahamic and Franciscan approaches, the Chicago academics such as Milton Friedman, and Shakespeare).

“I probably ask too many questions!” he says, part of a morally inquisitive Scottish tradition stretching all the way back to Adam Smith. “That’s the beauty of Scotland, we have this culture of enquiry. We don’t have all the answers, but we’re not scared of asking the right questions and sharing thoughts with the world. And that’s what we’re seeking to do with this festival.”