We are on the cusp of Scaling New Heights and I would be remiss if I failed to share my experience at my first conference with Insightful Accountant.
XeroCon took place at the Southern Exchange in Atlanta last week. If attention to detail was a class, Xero would get an A every time. That may not be surprising coming from a company whose tagline was, “beautiful accounting software,” but it was proven true on many levels in Atlanta. Xero showed up ready to play, train and entertain.
The electric energy from the Xero employees was contagious. No matter what part of the company they came from or what position they held, they were all about Xero and all about talking to the people who were there to learn more about it.
Who knew accounting conferences could be fun! I had multiple people at the Westin ask me what kind of conference XeroCon was because it seemed so engaging and everyone was so energetic. One gentleman I spoke to in the lobby was genuinely confused. He looked at me and said, “So this is an accounting software?” Like he didn’t believe me.
This is so awesome to me because this is how Xero distinguishes themselves in the market.
And their “beautiful business” isn’t just the software itself or the business model. It extends to their goals and values as a company and how they present those goals and values to the public. They want to get you excited about this software, excited about the changes they’re implementing in 2018 and excited about your business and clients. Consistency at this level shows a substantial amount of planning, organization and passion for the accounting profession as a whole that just cannot be faked on that scale.
Keri Gohman, President of Xero Americas, was very active at the conference. She was constantly talking to accountants of the floor, speaking to groups of people and seemed genuine in all aspects of her presentation. I had not met Keri before this conference and upon meeting her, she and her team were incredibly kind and open to discussing the future of Xero and what their goals were moving forward in North America.
A big topic at XeroCon was change in the accounting profession with the help of technology and AI. Herman Man, Vice President of Product and Partnerships at Xero, took charge of this topic in his keynote and continued to talk about it on many different levels. He discussed how the way our world is impacted by technology has changed how we view accounting as an industry. The term connected accounting came up quite a bit. Connecting accountants to their clients by automating processing and entering data; allowing these accountants and firms to connect with their clients.
This theme was present in both Keri and Herman’s keynote addresses. Keri talked about how connecting accountants to their clients is the future of their business. Technology is changing the way business is done, automating a lot of processes that were previously done manually by accountants. Accountants shifting into a genuine advisor role allows them to get to know their clients on a personal level and can help their firm grow by being able to offer more services than just standard data processing. When an accountant and business owner have a personal relationship, these people will turn to their accountants for guidance and help in a lot of financial areas; not just once a year during tax season.
Herman tied a lot of changes Xero was implementing in the next year into this concept of connected accounting. Initiatives like integrating more banks and allowing for simple email invoices through the software will allow accountants to shift into what Ben Richmond, Vice President of U.S. Partner Sales at Xero, called a simple advisory role; or if they are ready, a complex advisory role.
The significance of this advisory role being broken up into a simple and more complex position, allows accountants to shift at their comfort level. To grow as individuals in the profession and transform with it and their own pace.
While at XeroCon, I was also able to spend time with Steve Sharpe, Head of Communications at Xero Americas and Stefanie Redmond, Marketing Campaign Manager. Both were extremely passionate about their positions at Xero and were positive in how the company is moving forward, and their role in the transformation of the industry.
Everyone who I spoke with and listened to speak from Xero all had a consistent message. Technology and the progression of things like AI are changing the business world and how business is done. Xero is adapting to that progression and highlighting to their accountants that this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Xero showed that they are willing to help you make that shift. As Tim Cook, Implementation Manager said, “accountants are the experts of their niche and those at Xero are the experts of the software.” XeroCon highlighted Xero’s consistency and their passion for helping accountants move towards the future of accounting.
I look forward to covering more from Xero and seeing where they help the profession go.
Keri Gohman
This Way to Magic
Herman Man
Xero