The Fiji Institute of Chartered Accountants (FICA) has confirmed the dates, venue and a headline line-up for its flagship FICA Congress 2026, announcing the event will be held on May 8–9 at the Crowne Plaza Fiji Nadi Bay Resort & Spa in Wailoaloa Beach. Themed “Charting New Horizons for a Changing World”, the two-day forum will bring together local and international policymakers, industry leaders and technical experts to examine the evolving challenges facing business, finance and public policy.
“We have curated a strong and diverse line-up of speakers, both local and international, including policymakers, global experts, and industry leaders,” FICA president Sharvek Naidu said in announcing the programme. Naidu said participants could expect perspectives from senior government and industry representatives, international organisations such as the World Bank, regional standard-setters and leaders from business and professional bodies. He added that the programme will balance global viewpoints with local relevance and feature a motivational keynote, interactive panels and a debate aimed at keeping sessions engaging and thought-provoking.
Among the speakers named in the latest release is Naca Cawanibuka, the Fiji Rugby Union’s general manager – High Performance, a role to which he was appointed in 2025. Cawanibuka brings more than two decades of elite-sport experience as a former international player, coach and high-performance specialist. His profile highlights involvement with Fiji’s U21 and national 7s squads and a key role in the physical preparation of Fiji’s men’s 7s that captured Olympic gold in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. He also served as Head of Athletic Performance for the Fijian Drua and holds a Master’s in Sports Science and High Performance from Otago Polytechnic.
FICA has also secured Heidi Dening as a motivational speaker. Dening, an Amazon best-selling author of Her Middle Name is Courage, is described as an expert in professional resilience who draws on personal experience surviving a paralysing illness, a gunpoint kidnapping, a tsunami, a major earthquake and petrol-bomb attacks. Her work centres on improving professional resilience and self-leadership across organisations; her biography cites keynote engagements and programmes delivered to tens of thousands of professionals across more than 20 industries and recognition as “Best International Keynote Speaker” in the Asia Pacific region.
Patricia McKenzie is another confirmed contributor. McKenzie is listed as a Fellow of the Chartered Association of Accountants of England and Wales (FCCA) with more than 35 years’ experience in public finance and reform. Her qualifications include a postgraduate certificate in Public Financial Management from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and executive leadership certificates from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. FICA’s announcement positions her to speak on financial management, governance and reform — key areas for governments and institutions navigating fiscal pressures.
FICA says the Congress will blend plenary addresses with interactive sessions to equip accountants and finance professionals with knowledge on global trends, reform imperatives and leadership practices. The announcement of dates, venue and confirmed speakers is the latest development as FICA moves to finalise its programme and speaker roster ahead of the May event.
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