German auditors’ summit 2026

At the major industry summit in Berlin, Germany’s leading auditors came together at the invitation of manager magazinand WGMB. In presentations, discussions, and direct exchanges, around 150 guests examined the forces reshaping the profession—crisis, artificial intelligence, and the growing role of private equity. Amid rising interest from private equity investors, the topic quickly emerged as the defining theme of the evening. In his keynote, Martin Sell, former head of the supervisory authority APAS, warned that even the perception of conflicts of interest could undermine trust in the profession. On the panel, Heike Wieland-Blöse, CEO of Grant Thornton Germany; Bruno Schick, Co-Managing Partner at Cinven; Jan Brorhilker, Head of Assurance at EY Germany; and Stefan Anochin, who sold his firm last year to Afileon—a group backed by the Swiss investor Partners Group—discussed the implications. Dietmar Palan of manager magazinmoderated the discussion. Simone Salden, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of manager magazin, led the evening with confidence and ease.