Well Xerocon 2014 has come and gone and yet again the annual Xero event has left a permanent mark on the accounting industry for all the right reasons. And with 1300 people attending (partners, exhibitors and Xero staff) it has to be one of the biggest technology based conferences in Australasia.
This year was all about industry leadership, building great partnerships, increased connectivity through the Xero API and last but not least continuing the disruption through innovation all while having a damn good time.
Personally, it was a remarkable event as I was announced as the new Head of Accounting of Xero Australia, part of the senior leadership team here in Oz. Performing the role alongside that of my role as a director at EFS Strategic, I am the voice of Xero and the Xero Partners to the rest of the industry (& the world). I am also the voice of the Xero Partners back into Xero.
The changes coming to both the accounting platform and practice management platforms were all well received and continue the Xero commitment to ensuring all new features are designed to do it better in as many ways as possible than it has been done before.
The missing piece to the puzzle remains a full tax suite for accounting practitioners. The BAS and Company Forms now in Xero Practice Manager have worked well, but there is no doubt practitioners need to see the entire suite and they need to see it soon. That was the key piece of feedback I received as I canvassed the Add-On Exhibitor floor during the event.
The Awards Dinner was once again a huge event. Playing in the band for the second year, seeing close to 600+ people pack the dance floor for a solid two hour set was just mind blowing !
This year saw a brand new set of award winners (except for Receipt Bank..congratulations on another award guys !). This just proves what I said last year that as Xero continues to grow, there are more excellent partners and more excellent Add-Ons joining the Xero family who are going out there and doing great things for the industry and for our clients. Add these new partners and Add-Ons to the early adopters who continue to drive the changes and you have a very powerful group of professionals re-defining the accounting and bookkeeping industry.
And that is why I am so humbled and honoured to now be leading this group in my new role. And I got off to a good start judging by this tweet…
So it has been a fantastic event yet again and one I will remember for a very long time.
Be sure to check out the Xero blog where I will be posting regularly in the capacity of my new role as well as continuing to check back here as I continue to share my thoughts and opinions.
The Final Xerocon Q&A with the company’s leaders 🙂 You may recognise the guy sitting on the far right….
James Solomons 