Every month, we share some highlights of what’s been happening in and around KBA.
This month, Company Director Sarah Hogan jetted off to give a keynote speech in Miami. Meanwhile, back on home turf and thanks to your generosity, we featured in The Telegraph.
And Events & Marketing Executive, Emma Bell has passed her first exam in her journey towards an advanced qualification. Find out more below…
Sarah Hogan delivered 20 ideas in 20 minutes at a global financial planning conference in Miami
The Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT), founded almost a century ago in 1927, is a global, independent association of the world’s leading life insurance and financial services professionals from more than 700 companies in 80 nations and territories.
Sarah has close affiliations with the organisation, and is proud that her membership is recognised internationally as the standard of excellence in the life insurance and financial services business.
Posting on LinkedIn, shortly after her session, Sarah said:
“This week I had the privilege of speaking at #mdrt Miami 2025. The first time I have spoken on US soil, and as the last session of the day I was concerned people might have hit the beach by then. But I didn’t need to be as it was packed out and standing room only.
“20 ideas in 20 minutes were delivered and well-received by all.
“I loved it. Thank you for the opportunity ❤️”
Miami wasn’t Sarah’s first rodeo.
You may recall reading about the time when Sarah gave the keynote speech at the annual MDRT conference in Greece in September 2024.
She was Chair of UK MCC for MDRT from 2020 to 2022. And she is already lined up to speak at another event later this year – though next time, rather than heading overseas, she’ll be destined for London.
Thanks to your reviews, KBA The Financial Planning Company featured in the Telegraph
We’re thrilled that we have been featured in the Telegraph as a VouchedFor Top Rated Firm 🎉
Plus, our wonderful advisers, Sarah Hogan, David Parkinson, Gary Fletcher and Hannah Needham have all been named Top Rated Advisers too 🏆
VouchedFor’s Top Rated guide was distributed in the Times earlier this year and now it’s been promoted in the Telegraph too.
This success is all down to you and your generous testimonials about the work we do for you. In fact, you have helped us achieve an impressive rating of 4.9 out of 5, based on 264 testimonials.
Click here to read our reviews and see what clients have said about working with us.
If you haven’t left us a review yet, or it’s been a while since you’ve written one, click on your adviser’s name below and follow the simple steps to do so. Your support could help us make the VouchedFor Top Rated guide again in 2026.
Thank you so much to all our brilliant clients, your support means the world to us.
If you’d like a digital copy of the VouchedFor Top Rated Guide, please email contactme@kbafinancial.com and we’ll wing one over to you.
Emma Bell makes an impact, passing the first of 4 professional exams with Distinction
When the brilliant news arrived, Emma was taking a well-earned break, but we’re delighted to say that Emma Bell – our wonderful Events & Marketing Executive – has passed her Marketing Impact exam with Distinction.
Part of her journey to achieving Level 4 in Professional and Digital Marketing, this exam was the first step towards the CIM Level 4 Professional and Digital Marketing Diploma.
We made a big pot of celebratory tea and sat down with Emma to find out all about it…
How long have you been working towards this exam?
I’d say I’ve been working on it properly for around three months. Balancing full-time work, a social life, hobbies, and studying is definitely a challenge.
And I’ll admit, I was a bit of a procrastinator with this one!
But I’m a big believer in the principles of Eat That Frog, and at one point I just told myself: “Enough is enough, it’s time to get it done.”
That mindset shift made all the difference.
How are you with exams in general?
Honestly, exams haven’t always been my strong suit. I didn’t thrive in high school exams, and I often say I became more “intelligent” later in life!
It wasn’t until college that I realised coursework was where I really excelled. With less pressure, I achieved a Triple Distinction* and found my stride.
I then chose to go straight into full-time work instead of university, and at 22, I put myself through a Level 5 qualification in Events Management, graduating with a Distinction.
Since then, things have really taken off for me professionally.
What was the hardest part of preparing for the exam?
I’m someone who learns best through real-life experience rather than textbooks or slides, so the most difficult part was studying areas I haven’t yet encountered firsthand.
The theory-heavy sections were definitely more of a challenge, but the exciting part is that I now get to put those into practice and build on what I’ve learned.
And the easiest?
The easiest part was recognising so much of the content from my day-to-day work at KBA. Nearly five years of hands-on marketing experience meant that a lot of the concepts felt familiar, which made revising them much smoother.
Can you tell us a bit about how you prepared – do you have a revision technique or are you a natural learner?
Definitely not a natural, I rely on methodical prep!
I’m a huge fan of handwritten notes, and I must have filled hundreds of pages. Of course, they were all colour-coordinated (I can’t help myself).
Visual organisation really helps me retain and structure information.
How was the exam itself?
Surprisingly great! I actually felt really confident going into it. It’s such a nice feeling to walk out of an exam knowing you gave it your best.
Are you working towards another qualification, or taking a break first?
No break for me just yet! I’ve got three more exams to go before I complete this qualification, and I’m keen to keep up the momentum.
I’m fully embracing the Eat That Frog mentality, so I’ll be diving straight into the next module, with the goal of being fully qualified in under 12 months.