PKF Global Gathering and
Americas Meetings 2025
More than 300 friends and colleagues from 68 countries around the world reunited in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic from 27 to 31 October 2025 for our Global Gathering and Americas Meetings. Together we enjoyed 53 agenda sessions, with 79 different speakers sharing insights on a whole host of topics.
North America and Latin America Meetings
The event kicked off with our Americas Meetings, which saw representatives from our member firms across our North and Latin America regions and beyond come together to share achievements, challenges and their vision for the future.
Our North America meeting opened with an interactive future-focused workshop led by guest speaker Tina Sanford from AICPA & CIMA, exploring what the accounting profession should look like in 2040. Delegates also joined engaging sessions on the role of our brand in attracting and retaining new talent and examined the latest trends in marketing, including the growing impact of AI.
Meanwhile, over 55 delegates attended our Latin America meeting, a day devoted to growth, innovation and strengthening regional collaboration. Members took part in an open discussion panel, during which leaders from PKF Brazil, PKF Chile and PKF Panama showcased their growth journeys. We celebrated exciting developments, including PKF Costa Rica’s new office and additional service lines introduced by PKF Paraguay and PKF Vila Naranjo, and heard the latest on the region’s ongoing client experience project.
Technical streams
The brightest minds from our Audit, Tax, Advisory Corporate Finance and Sustainability teams hosted service line-specific sessions during our technical day.
Our PKF Audit Identity Committee shared an update on this collaborative initiative (which focuses on enhancing audit services) and revealed how the project can benefit our members, their people and clients. We explored the use of AI and technology to elevate audit quality and efficiency, delved into the sustainability assurance market and provided a round-up of developments in network quality and risk.
Our Tax & Legal programme featured engaging sessions on international corporate taxation, transfer pricing and the challenges and risks associated with implementing AI, before concluding with an open forum discussion on business development. Delegates shared success stories, identified new opportunities for global collaboration and agreed the group’s strategic focus for 2026.
Led by partners from PKF Arsilon, the Advisory stream aimed to foster a common Advisory culture across our network, helping firms uncover opportunities, align service offerings and consistently drive greater value for both local and international clients. Our global Corporate Finance team shared valuable insights into current market and capital trends, focusing on shaping our Corporate Finance strategy over the next 12 months. Industry experts from our Sustainability group discussed how market forces influence our client service offering and outlined strategies to stay ahead in this evolving practice area.
Event highlights
Guest speaker David Friedman, award-winning CEO and culture expert, delivered a thought-provoking keynote address during our plenary day, revealing how world-class organisations intentionally shape their culture to drive performance and gain a sustainable competitive edge. David explained that a company’s values should be distilled into actionable behaviours and rituals, embraced by all members of an organisation. By being purposeful in all that we do and embedding certain rituals into our work, a firm’s culture can be transformed into a strategic asset.
In our session on protecting and elevating our global brand, PKF Global Head of Brand Sarah Allman and JoLayna Arndt, Chief Growth Officer at US member firm JLK Rosenberger, outlined how AI is changing search engine optimisation, now redefined as ‘search everywhere optimisation’. We learnt how, in this evolving digital landscape, our brand is the golden thread that unites us and any positive action to promote it benefits our wider network. Our speakers considered the impact of AI on firms’ market visibility and encouraged members to empower their marketing teams to explore this area further.
Another highlight was Thursday morning’s deep dive into market consolidation and the growing influence of private equity. We examined the related trends, opportunities and risks, and discussed the impact on succession planning, quality and independence, and firm culture.
Reflecting on this session, PKF Global CEO Theo Vermaak said, ‘Although we are operating at a time when the accounting profession is undergoing unprecedented change, our global community is a powerhouse, within which our members can continue to thrive by leveraging the collective strength of our network, seizing opportunities to work more closely together and pooling expertise via our practice groups. We must stand by our clear vision and strong principles, as to what and who we want PKF to be. Staying true to this will allow us to navigate short term volatility and emerge stronger as a high-quality, integrated, fully branded, truly global network. We need to ignore the noise around us and stay true to our vision.’
Belong together
By attending our annual Global Gathering, PKF people have the unique opportunity to connect in person with fellow members of our global community, from all corners of the world. The value of our flagship event goes beyond initial connections; it allows our members to earn the trust of their peers by spending meaningful time together in and out of the conference room, really getting to know the person behind the email address.
We loved seeing the different ways people forged and deepened relationships over the week. Many opted for a mindful start to each day, coming together on the beach to watch the sunrise. Some took a dip in the sea or joined one of our famous PKF Fun Runs. For others, coffee breaks during the conference offered an ideal chance to catch up.
On the final night, everyone joined together for our beachside gala dinner, a real celebration of our diversity, unity and PKF spirit. We toasted achievements across our global community at our glittering Icon Awards ceremony, feasted on a buffet of Caribbean culinary delights and danced the night away under the stars.
Be the change
We’re proud to be a global community that cares, united in our ambition to bring about positive change.
All fundraising from our 2025 global events is being directed to CSR projects in Zambia, which are led by Antony Ranjan and his team at PKF Zambia. Together with PKF members around the world, we have supported Lushomo Home for abused girls, Lubasi Children’s Home, Maramba Old People’s Home and Lushomo Trust Grace Centre.
A grand total of $25,236 has been raised from our events this year and used to instal a solar system at Lushomo Home, giving residents access to clean drinking water 24 hours a day. We have also funded the purchase of new beds, mattresses and equipment, creating not just a safer space for the girls, but a real home.
We’re delighted to announce that we will continue to support the CSR initiatives in Zambia at next year’s global events, meaning that we can make an even greater impact. Thank you to all our PKF Global family for empowering us to make a difference.
Event partners
We were delighted to welcome Caseware, Circit, Inflo, Suralink and Tapt as our event partners. Thank you for sharing insights and connecting with our members.
Thank you to our hosts
We're very grateful for the support of Hector Guzman Desangles and everyone at our host firm PKF Dominican Republic in putting this event together. Thank you for your warm welcome to beautiful Punta Cana.
Event feedback
It’s been fantastic to receive positive feedback from delegates, guests and event partners both during and after the conference.
Sacha Boquete, director at Swiss member firm PKF Fiduciaire, captured the essence of the event perfectly: ‘The PKF Global Gathering was a perfect mix of ideas, innovation and above all amazing people from all around the world. What I’ll remember most are the conversations, the energy and the connections built throughout the week. Meeting so many passionate PKF colleagues reminded me once again that the real strength of our network lies in its people.’
Thank you to everyone who attended our Global Gathering and Americas Meetings 2025 and made the events so memorable. We look forward to announcing further details soon about next year’s Global Gathering in Budapest, Hungary.
Are you interested in joining our dynamic network and unlocking a world of opportunities for you and your firm? Find out more about the benefits of PKF Global membership here
