Conference News: A Calculated Expansion, Chatting with Human+Tech Week; IWCE CFP
A Calculated Expansion: In 2027 Easyfairs will bring its Digital Accountancy Show to the US. Since launching in the U.K. in 2021 the event has grown significantly from 600 attendees to several thousand. According to the official announcement, “the U.S. edition is expected to bring together accounting firms, in-house finance teams, software providers and strategic advisers, with programming focused on technology adoption, practice growth and peer learning.” Digital Accountancy Show US will happen at the Palmer Events Center in Austin, TX from 26–27 May 2027.
In lock-Step: Step San Francisco is happening later this month bringing together “the people building the AI economy.” The conference team recently announced that they are partnering with Founder Institute for the 2026 event. They noted that “this collaboration connects the FounderX community with the broader Step network, offering attendees exclusive access to joint programming and unmatched opportunities to engage with founders, investors, and operators from around the world.” Step San Francisco will be at The Midway (and at venues across the Bay Area) from 26 – 27 August.
Submission Opportunity: The 2027 International Wireless Communications Expo (IWCE), self described as “the premier gathering for the critical communications industry” is accepting speaker submissions until September 11, 2026. At next year’s conference (8 – 11 March in Las Vegas), the agenda will reflect the themes and topics “helping public safety professionals discover the mission-critical topics that matter most to them.” These include LMR & Broadband Devices; Emerging Technologies: Drones, AI and NTN; Interoperability & Convergence; 911 and NG911; In-Building Connectivity & Location Services; Network Infrastructure; Coverage Solutions and Deployables; Regulatory & Policies; Services and Applications; IoT and Automation; Network Resilience & Cybersecurity; Budget, Procurement & Strategic Planning; and Emergency Management. Have questions? IWCE offers a helpful submission guide.
Conference Manager Q&A: Nichol Bradford is Founder & CEO of Human+Tech Week, returning to San Francisco from 10 – 14 May 2027. Self-described as “the global platform where human potential and technology converge,” Human+Tech Week (HTW) will gather leaders, builders, researchers, investors and institutions to discuss the challenges shaping work, health, and cities and participate in symposiums, innovation labs, and a global start-up competition happening around San Francisco. We caught up with Nichol to find out what’s instore for next year’s event.
Speaker Strategies: What differentiates Human+Tech Week from other events happening that cover AI? We live in an age of extraordinary tools, but conversation cannot stop at what the technology can do. We must ask what it can do for people and how we use it to reimagine the systems that most directly shape human life. For us, those are work, healthspan, cities, and capital. HTW is also an ecosystem, not simply a conference. We need large rooms where people can encounter the biggest ideas and see the full landscape, but we also need small and medium-sized rooms where they can go deep, develop their thinking, and find customers, collaborators, partners, and funders. The week combines both.
Speaker Strategies: Can you tell our readers more about the partner events that take place that week? Partners create salons, workshops, dinners, design sprints, demonstrations, customer gatherings, and full-day symposiums. An organization may not need to build an entire conference. It may need a place inside a larger week to bring its community together around a focused question. In 2026, we had 80 events across San Francisco, ranging from an intimate 20-person founder and investor dinner to a 400-person gathering about technologies that support human relationships. We expect as many as 150 partner events in 2027.
Speaker Strategies: What is the most important piece of a successful presentation abstract or topic description? A strong abstract needs a clear thesis. It should tell us what the speaker sees, why it matters now, and what the audience will understand differently because of the conversation. I am especially interested in something consequential that needs to be examined, designed, or built. The description should make the stakes clear and show why this speaker is the right person to lead the conversation.
Speaker Strategies: What do you love most about your job? I love creating conditions for people and ideas to find one another. It is a little like being a chef. You are thinking about the ingredients, the setting, and what each person brings to the whole. For me, this work is about creating a softer landing through this period of technological change. I love bringing together the people who are prepared to build it.
Coming Up Next Week: ISACA and IIA team up to produce the Governance, Risk, and Control/GRC Conference from 17-19 August at the Gaylord Pacific Resort & Convention Center in San Diego, with content also available virtually. A few hours north on the Pacific Coast Highway, Crypto gets underway 17 August in Santa Barbara as one of the largest academic conferences in cryptography and cryptanalysis. The Alliance Chief Marketing Officer Summit/Boston promises CMOs insights into the “way modern marketing teams are built, run, and optimized for retention, personalization, and the AI era” when it’s held 10 August at the Westin Copley Place. CIO 100 Awards & Conference is held 17-19 August in Scottsdale, recognizing organizations that use technology to drive business value, innovation, and competitive advantage. And from 19-20 August at the Sheraton Grand Whitefield in Bengaluru, Zinnov’s Confluence will explore key aspects of global talent and technology, and how to make big bets while keeping human wisdom at the heart of decisions.