How You Can Help Shape The Future Of Accounting - Heather Smith

[00:00:00] Wine Tasting Implies Small Amounts Were Being Tasted. Was It Small Amounts, John? Or Was It...

[00:00:06] I Mean, Yeah Small Amounts Were Tasted But Multiple Small Amounts

[00:00:12] It's Just Holding A Baby And Sticking A Bottom It's Now

[00:00:15] It's The Same Thing Right? That's Pretty Much What John Did

[00:00:18] Pretty Much The Same

[00:00:19] That's No Wonder It Wasn't Making Any Sense When I Was In Practice Before And Used Systems Like Xero For Multi-Entities

[00:00:25] Or Trying To Pull Together Multiple Sources Of Data You Spend Hours Of Time One In Excel Pulling It Together

[00:00:31] Then You Get To The Next Month When You Try To Remind Yourself How Did I Do That Last Time?

[00:00:35] And Then Are You Actually Putting The Data Together In The Same Way? Are You Aggregating It In The Same Way?

[00:00:39] And Are You Even Consistently Applying The Same Logic As What You Did The Month Before Or The Quarter Before?

[00:00:45] I Have Just Come Back From Las Vegas, Oracle NetSuite Conference, Nashville XeroCon Conference,

[00:00:52] Accounting And Business Show In Singapore So They've All Just Kind Of Happened All At Once

[00:00:56] You're Also Involved With The ACCA Board And The Upcoming Elections

[00:01:01] People Who Are On The Council Have Influence Over The Way The Profession Is Run

[00:01:07] And I Love Your Updates And Listen To Them Religiously

[00:01:11] I Want That Awareness Brought Into The Educational Arena

[00:01:17] I Want Students To Be Coming Through And Know About Various Bits Of Technology

[00:01:22] Be Training On What Is Actually Going To Be Useful For Them So That They Can Actually Roll Out Into A Practice Almost Ready To Work

[00:01:31] There Are Over 250,000 Members In The ACCA World And A Very Small Amount Of Them Vote

[00:01:37] So I Encourage You To Be Actually Involved In The Voting

[00:01:40] Your Vote Really Does Count Because Such A Low Number Do Actually Vote And It Only Takes A Few Minutes

[00:01:47] At News This Week I'm Kicking It Off

[00:01:50] Xero Snaps Up Sift Analytics In A $70 Million Deal

[00:01:54] How the heck Am I Supposed To Do What I Was Doing In Classic Xero Invoicing To The New Xero Invoicing

[00:02:00] Starling Bank Were Fined 29 Million Pounds By The FCA For What They Called Shockingly Lax Customer Checks

[00:02:08] Acron Have Enhanced The Security Probably On The Back Of Their Work With The FCA And Becoming More Regulated

[00:02:14] Access Continued Their Shopping Spree And The Xero Ecosystem

[00:02:18] Free Agent Over The Summer Have Gone Crazy With Releasing New Integrations

[00:02:23] Only Old People Have Codliver Oil Tablets So Why Were You Taking Codliver Oil Tablets?

[00:02:28] I'm Getting Younger I Started As An Old Man

[00:02:30] And Now You Look Like A Baby

[00:02:31] Yeah Exactly

[00:02:32] Hello And Welcome To Today's Digital Talks In A Crawl World Episode

[00:02:37] We Are Delighted To Be Bringing You A Few Interesting Guests This Week That We've Been Joined By Heather Smith

[00:02:45] About Her Re-Election Campaign With The ACCA And For All Those Who Haven't Taken The Time To Vote Yet

[00:02:53] We Very Much Urge You To Go And Do That Because You'll Hear From Her On Why That Is Very Important For Her And For Other People That Are Up For Election

[00:03:01] And Also We'll Be Hearing The Latest Update From Matt At iPlicit On The Centralized Versus Connectivity In ERP Data

[00:03:13] And We'll Also Be Hearing In The App News From A Few Snippets That Have Been Going On In The Marketplace Specifically To Do With Acquisitions

[00:03:23] Investments And Any Of The New Features That Are The Latest And Best In Class Of Of

[00:03:30] Of Course A Few Of The Applications In The Accounting Tech Space

[00:03:32] So Before We Go Any Further I'm Going To Be Joined By My Co-Hosts John And Ryan

[00:03:39] John How Are You?

[00:03:40] How Are Things? Where Are You?

[00:03:43] Hi Andy

[00:03:43] Yeah I'm Really Good Thank You I'm In Our Manchester Office Today Just Had To Come In For A Few Meetings Catch

[00:03:48] Up With A Few People But Yeah All Good To Come Off The Back Of A Fairly Chilled Weekend And A Bit Of Wine Tasting

[00:03:54] The Other Night Which Is Very Good So Yeah All In All

[00:03:58] Wine Tasting Implies That This Was Just Small Amounts That Were Being Tasted But Was It A Small Amounts John Or Was It?

[00:04:08] I Mean Yeah Small Amounts Were Tasted But Multiple Small Amounts

[00:04:13] So You Didn't Choose To Use The Swirl Bucket At All?

[00:04:17] No That's A Waste Unless It's Terrible Wine

[00:04:20] I Mean I Did Have To Pour One Class Of Red Away Which Was Absolutely Awful But There You Go And At The End Of The Night I Did Commandeer One Of The Bottles That Was Left On The Table Just To Make Sure That The Small Crowd Of Us That Were Having A Bit Of A Chinwag Together Didn't Have To Move Away From Where We Were To Get More Wine

[00:04:38] Oh Very Nice And Sounds Like A Good Evening Ryan How About You Any Wine Tastings Happening On Your Front Or Is It Just Mainly Sleep?

[00:04:46] Well I Wish It Was Sleep

[00:04:47] Yeah I Strive For Sleep At The Moment

[00:04:51] With The Little One But I Was Still Having Fun Times Just You Know Different Fun Times

[00:04:57] It's Not Going Out Partying Drinking

[00:04:59] It's Just Holding A Baby And Sticking A Bottom In Its Mouth

[00:05:02] You Know Same Thing

[00:05:05] It's Full Of Love Though

[00:05:06] That's The Nice

[00:05:07] It's Just The Same Thing Right

[00:05:09] That's Pretty Much What John Did

[00:05:10] Pretty Much The Same

[00:05:11] I'd Be Very Pleased

[00:05:14] So Like If You Just Hold Me

[00:05:16] Rock Me To Sleep At Night

[00:05:17] There You Go

[00:05:18] Next Night Out

[00:05:19] There You Go

[00:05:19] That's A Double Room Booked

[00:05:21] Unfortunately I'm

[00:05:21] Lifting You At The Accounting Excellence Awards

[00:05:23] That Are Taking Place Tomorrow

[00:05:25] Which Is A Bit Of A Shame

[00:05:27] Especially Since We Held Our

[00:05:29] Sized Awards Event

[00:05:30] And We Had Quite A Few People Join Us

[00:05:32] Tom Joined Us As Well

[00:05:34] I'm Really Looking Forward To See Some Of The

[00:05:35] Nominees Tomorrow

[00:05:37] If You Should I Make Some Time To Speak To

[00:05:41] Please Hit Me With Some Options

[00:05:43] John

[00:05:43] Ryan

[00:05:44] Tell Me Who You Think That We Should Try And Tap Up And Speak To While I'm There

[00:05:49] I Think You Should Speak To Gavin From Beach Counts

[00:05:54] Because He's

[00:05:54] I Think He's Up To Three Awards This Time Around

[00:05:57] And He's Always Got A Fairly Big Player In The ESG Space

[00:06:00] Which Is A Hot Topic For Us At The Moment

[00:06:01] And Yeah Lots To Learn From Him Now

[00:06:05] Nice

[00:06:05] I'm Going To Make Some Time To Speak To Alex

[00:06:08] And Soaring Falcon Because She's A Regular On Our Podcast

[00:06:11] And She's Up For An Award Again

[00:06:14] And I Saw I Think The Last Time I Was There Was Two Years Ago

[00:06:17] Unfortunately She Just Missed Out On The Award That She Was Up For

[00:06:20] But I'm Really Hoping That She Secures A Win Tomorrow As Well

[00:06:24] How Are You Ryan?

[00:06:27] Well We're Kind Of Up For An Award

[00:06:28] Now That We've Been Acquired By Summer

[00:06:30] Summer Up For New Firm Of The Year

[00:06:33] And Because Obviously They're Brand New

[00:06:35] Scrut and Bland Been Here For A Hundred Years

[00:06:37] But We've Been Acquired By Someone That's New

[00:06:39] So Hey We're Up For An Award

[00:06:41] It's An Exciting Times

[00:06:42] This Is Good

[00:06:42] I Think The Other Person You Should Catch Up With India As Well

[00:06:44] Just Very Quickly Is Phil Hobden

[00:06:46] Since He's Now Got His New Exciting Sales Role At Silverfin

[00:06:49] So I Think It'd Be A Good Opportunity To Find Out What's In Store For Him

[00:06:52] Over The Next Few Months

[00:06:54] Nice

[00:06:54] Sounds Good

[00:06:56] All Right

[00:06:56] Well Shall We Go On With App News

[00:07:03] So Kicking Off App News

[00:07:04] This Week I'm Kicking It Off

[00:07:06] Zero Snaps Up Sift Analytics In A $70 Million Dollar Deal

[00:07:11] It Looks Like There Was An Upfront Payment Of A Roughly $40 Million

[00:07:16] And $10 Million Was Issued In Zero Shares With A Balance In Earnouts And Employee Stock

[00:07:23] Compensation Over The Three Years Of Deferred Consideration

[00:07:27] Sift Obviously As Most People Know Intergrates With Different Softwares Like Xero, QuickBooks and Sage

[00:07:33] And Has Allowed Users To Transform

[00:07:36] And Has Allowed Users To Transform Financial

[00:07:36] Or Financial Data Into Reports, Forecasts And Analytics

[00:07:40] So Initially It Was Set Up Just For The South African Market

[00:07:44] But Now It's Operational In More Than 80 Countries

[00:07:47] With Most Users Based In Zero's Largest Market

[00:07:51] So It Was Like A Really Great Synergy For Xero

[00:07:54] As Xero Has Currently Got More Than 70 Employees

[00:07:58] So Hopefully They Will Go From Strength To Strength And Continue To Build Out A Deeper Relationship

[00:08:04] Within The Xero Technology

[00:08:06] What Are Your Guys Thoughts On That In Terms Of Being Acquired By One Of The Big Ones?

[00:08:12] Because Xero Hasn't Made An Acquisition In A While And Do You Think That It Means Some Changes For The Other Apps

[00:08:18] That Are Currently That Sift Currently Plugs Into

[00:08:23] Hopefully This Is A Better Acquisition Than Xero Have Done In The Past

[00:08:27] We've Now Got Obviously New Ownership

[00:08:28] And I Think It's I Think It's Going To Be Quite A Powerful One

[00:08:33] Because I Think The Way Sift Have Played Their Go To Market

[00:08:37] Is They've Gone You Know An All You Can Eat

[00:08:41] I Guess Account For Accountants Who Then Plug In All Of Their Clients

[00:08:44] So They've Got A Huge Amount Of Data On Small And Medium Size Businesses

[00:08:50] Across All The Key Jurisdictions That Xero Play In

[00:08:55] So Even If They Don't Care About The Tech

[00:08:57] The Amount Of Data That They've Got Through This Acquisition

[00:08:59] That They Can Learn From And Then I Guess Use To Feed Their Strategy Going Forward

[00:09:06] I Think Probably Justifies The Value In Itself

[00:09:09] But If They Manage To Have A Deeper Tie With Sift

[00:09:12] Which Is Generally Aimed At The Smaller Business Side

[00:09:15] From The Way It's Got And Built It's Reporting

[00:09:18] I Think Personally I Think It's Quite A Good Acquisition

[00:09:21] Let's Just See And Hope Fingers Crossed

[00:09:24] That It's Not Destroyed As Part Of The

[00:09:27] Part Of The Ongoing Developments After Acquisition

[00:09:30] I Think Historically Xero Have Been Pretty Good In So Far As

[00:09:34] They Haven't Shut Off Their Acquisitions To Their So-Called Competitive Products

[00:09:39] So Hopefully QuickBooks, Sage, Free Agent Users, Etcetra

[00:09:44] Will Still Be Able To Use Sift And Connect Into It

[00:09:46] And Use The Reporting Functionality And The Other Features That They've Got There

[00:09:50] I Mean For Me I Think Where This Is Really Interesting Is There's Two Parts To This

[00:09:57] Xero Quite Clearly Missed Out On Buying Savvier Analytics

[00:09:59] Which Is Now Part Of The Dext Suite Of Products Dext Precision

[00:10:04] And No One Could Quite Understand Why Xero Didn't Pull That One Off

[00:10:08] So They Effectively Corrected That Mistake Because Sift Have Some Of That Functionality In There

[00:10:15] And Also We're Going To Be Talking About At Some Point One Of The New Releases

[00:10:19] That Xero Have Got Which Kind Of Covers Some Of That Functionality As Well

[00:10:25] And The Second Part Of It Is I Think That For A Long Time Xero

[00:10:28] Have Been Trying To Improve The Reporting And Add More And More Functionality To Reporting

[00:10:32] And The New Xero Reporting That They Launched A Few Years Ago Is Pretty Good

[00:10:36] It'S Got A Lot Of Functionality And Flexibility

[00:10:38] But It'S Not Particularly Visual If You Like In Terms Of It That Way That It'S

[00:10:42] You Know It'S Not It'S Not In The Same Realm As Sift Or Fathom Or Spotlight

[00:10:46] Some Other Products That Are Out There And That'S Very Much What People Are Looking For

[00:10:50] In Their Functionality Plus I Think The Final Thing Which I Think It'S It'S Might Be An Interesting

[00:10:55] One For Them To Be Able To Leverage Off The Back Of Is That With Sift You'Re Able To Do

[00:10:59] Some Of Better Work Around Consolidating Multiple Products Multiple Versions Of Xero Etc Together

[00:11:07] And That Is An Area Of Potential Weakness For Xero As They Sort Of You Know As You Go Multi-Group Or

[00:11:12] Multi-Entity And You Could Kind Of Look At That And Say Maybe They Might Fix With The Sift

[00:11:17] Acquisition Some Of The Things That Are Problematic Like Group VAT Registration And Filing A Return

[00:11:22] And Stuff Because There'S Going To Be A Crossover Of Handing Beta Off To A Third Party Which You Can Aggregate

[00:11:26] Together And Then Potentially File So I'M Going To Put That On The Potential Hit List For Something They Might Do In The Future

[00:11:32] Yeah I'M Not Sure It'Ready But I Think It'Ready But I Think It'Ready Quite A Nice Play If They Do Do That

[00:11:38] Interesting Can I Just Ask One Question Who Are The Other Independent Analytics Based Dashboard Apps That Are Left In The Space That Are

[00:11:47] That Would Rival With This At The Moment

[00:11:51] You'Ve Got Dext Precision From Analytics Point Of View You'Ve Got Expert

[00:11:57] I Guess It'S Relatively New Over To The UK

[00:11:59] And Which Is More AI

[00:12:01] I In The Sense That That'S Their Take On It What About Join As Well

[00:12:08] Join'S More The Consolidated Reporting Side Which Sift Do As Well

[00:12:11] So I Guess The Beauty Of Where Sift Got To Is It Did Such A Broad Range Of Things To A Certain Level

[00:12:19] Without Going Too Advanced And I Think That'S Another Really Good Ploy In This Acquisition Is That Where Zero Is Aiming

[00:12:27] Which It Keeps Reiterating Is That Small Business Space Sift Works Well For

[00:12:30] So In Terms Of Dashboards Financial Reports Consolidation

[00:12:34] Analytics For Passing Scorecards Spreadsheets

[00:12:37] Linking Spreadsheets And Then Reviewing Data

[00:12:41] And Then I Guess The Next Step Is In Inriching Now With As You Said Some Sort Of Maybe Applications To Use The Data More Effectively AI

[00:12:51] Perhaps Powered Or Not But Either Which Way Hopefully The Two Together Can Do Something That'S Really Intuitive For This One

[00:13:00] With Client As You

[00:13:01] With Client As Enterprises

[00:13:02] Well Look Pivoting From That I'VE GOT Another Bit Of News

[00:13:04] From Zero

[00:13:05] A Different Take On This One

[00:13:07] As You Probably Experiencing If You'VE GOT Zero As An App You Work With

[00:13:11] You'Re Probably Getting Contacted By Your Clients That Go

[00:13:13] How The Heck Am I Supposed To Do What I Was Doing In Classic Zero Invoicing To The New Zero Invoicing

[00:13:19] Because We'Re Getting A Lot Of Queries As You Know It'S Hitting That Transition Date Now

[00:13:23] And Dear Jolly CPTO At Zero Took Upon Herself To Reach Up Personally Via Blog To I Guess Everyone To Talk About The Purpose And Why They'Re Going Down This Route

[00:13:35] And I Think It'S Not Necessary What'S Interesting That Was In The Blog But The Fact That They'Ve Recognized Maybe The Pushback And The Need To Do That

[00:13:45] Someone High Up At Zero Is Need To Step Up And Say You Know These The Reason This Is Why It'S Important This Is What We Need To Do And It Does Highlight Some Features That I Guess People Panicking About That Weren'T In Place By The Time It Gets Cut Off

[00:13:58] They'Be In Put In Place And They Have Already Highlighted After This Blog I Think As Well That There'S A Few Features That Won'T Be Live

[00:14:05] By The Date It Gets Cut Off And Will Only Be Rilled Out After That Date But They'Ve Also Talked About Some Of The New

[00:14:12] Interesting More Dynamic Features That New Zero Invoicing Enables And I'M Still Similar To What It Was With Zero Reporting

[00:14:20] When The New Stuff Came I Was Actually Very Not Interested Passionate About The Change To The New Style

[00:14:29] I Think Unlike Zero Reporting Where They Managed To Get It All Done Before The Cut Off

[00:14:33] They'Ve Just Delayed It A Little Bit This Time And I Think It'S Starting To Affect People

[00:14:36] We Talked About This I Think Didn'T We On A Previous Pod But I Think Effectively Launching A Feature A New Feature And Then Not Having The Basic Function

[00:14:47] Of The Feature You Are Replacing Is Just Not Acceptable That Anyway That Is Where Zero Are At The Moment And We'L See What Happens

[00:14:55] Moving On Then To Something Completely Different Starling Bank Were Fined 29 Million Pounds By The FCA For What They

[00:15:03] They Called Shockingly Lax Customer Checks And This Is A Fine That Was Reduced From 41 Million Pounds As A Consequence Of Some Of The Actions That Starling Have Taken To Mitigate These

[00:15:14] But This Is A Slightly Tortuous Issue And The New CEO Who Was Put In Place In March Who Took Over From Ann Bowden Who Interestingly Enough The Other Day Was At A Conference Saying She Wouldn't Want To Try Being A Founder CEO Again

[00:15:31] But He Has Had To Sort Of Took His Tail Between

[00:15:33] But He Has Had To Sort Of Took His Tail Between His Legs And Apologized Wholeheartedly For The Failings And And It Seems Like From What You Can Read About This It'S Just A Failure Of Process Because Basically Starling Became Aware Of A Problem In January 2023 That Its Automated Screening System Had Since 2017 Only Been Screening Customers Against A Small Portion Of The Financial Sanctions Lists That Are Available And Not The Full Comprehensive Lists Which

[00:16:01] For Anyone Working In Our World Seems A Little Bit Unfathomable

[00:16:04] Because Basically Most Systems Seem To Automatically Look At All Of The Lists And The Challenge Is About Cutting Down The Noise To Figure Out If The John Smith That You Are Trying To Take On As A New Client For Example Is The John Smith That May Be On One Of The Sanctions Lists

[00:16:19] But This Is An Issue That The FCA Have Been Aware Of

[00:16:23] But This Is An Issue That The FCA Have Been Aware Of You Know Obviously We Have Issues With Revolut In The Past As Well And Other Things And Effectively They Were Put On Notice About Opening Accounts And Having To Improve Their Systems A Good Few Years Ago And Then The FCA Went Back For A Compliance Check And Found Out That They Hadn't Actually Done What Starling Agreed To In Terms Of Making Some Changes To The Processes And They Had Opened Over 54,000 Accounts For

[00:16:48] 49,000 High Risk Customers Between September 21 And November 23 And They Have Now Had To Basically Go Back Through A Process Of Rechecking Those And I Can Only Assume Potentially Shutting Some Of Those Accounts Or Dealing With Some Of Those Accounts As Well

[00:17:04] There Isn't Any Detail About That But The SCA Were Pretty Damning In Their Opinion About How Starling Have Performed In This Case

[00:17:13] It Sounds Unsurprisingly The Plan-Up Is Growing At A Phenomenal Rate So It'S Exactly What We Were Talking In One Of Our Earlier Podcasts To Do With AML Compliance Processes And How In A Bid To Speed Up Go To Market There Are Checks And Balances That Sometimes Get Missed In The Bid To Get To A Frictionless User Experience And Getting Customers Onboarded

[00:17:40] But Then At The Same Time

[00:17:41] But Then At The Same Time Comes At The

[00:17:42] But Then At The Same Time Comes At The Expense Of Some Or Perhaps The Considerations That Existed For A Long Time In Terms Of Financial Regulation

[00:17:49] What I Thought Was Really Interesting About This Was That The Case Took Only And I Say Only 14 Months From Opening To Achieving The Outcome And That'S Fast For The SCA That'S Very Fast

[00:18:05] Was The Average Case

[00:18:06] Was The Average Case Typically Is Anywhere Between Like You Know It'S Sort Of Around The 42 Months That They'Re Saying

[00:18:12] But I Happen To Know Obviously This Does Take A Long Time When You Report To The SCA And You Know Those That Work In Any Of That Financial Space

[00:18:19] You Know We'Re All On The Hook To Make Disclosures As Part Of The Training That You Have To Do And For Compliance And I Think It'S Really Interesting To See That Actually What This Shows Me Is The SCA Is Still Cracking Down

[00:18:35] Quite Well On Those In This Space Where It Comes To Like FinTech And The Technologies That Have Been Fast Growing But Coming Under Regulation

[00:18:44] So I Think Actually I'M Quite Excited To See How They Develop This A Little Bit More Because I Think That There'S Still A Lot Of Gaps That People Have You Know Not Really Tightened Yet And I Think That The Fact That The FCA Is Speeding Up A Little Bit Will Mean That We All Get Our Checks And Balances In Order To Make Sure That

[00:19:05] Compliance Takes Place At The Right Kind Of Speed So Yeah Interesting

[00:19:11] Yeah We'Re Talking About I Guess Compliance And Security And I Know We'Ve We'Ve Talked About Banks But Also Payments As Well In Previous Podcasts We'Ve Got Apron Who Have Enhanced The Security Probably On The Back Of Their Work With The FCA And Becoming More Regulated They'Ve Released Two-Factor Authentication But The Ability To Mandate It Has Been In The Tool For A While But Something That I Am Very Passionate About Is Giving

[00:19:35] The Admin The Admin Users The Ability To Mandate It Across All Users In The Tool And That Is Something They'Ve

[00:19:41] They'Ve Ruled Out I Don'T Know If It Was A Forced One Is Becoming Going Through That FCA Regulation But It'S Good To See Either Way As Well As That They'Ve

[00:19:49] They'Ve Released Some Other Tweaks In September Regarding The Ability To Put Through Sales Invoices For Scouting And Uploading Through Apron And The Ability To Collaborate Via The Act Button Which Everyone Loves To Do Right You Love To Tag People For Communication Like

[00:20:05] If You Need To Check Something Or Approve It You Can Do That By Mentioning Inside Apron Now

[00:20:10] As Some Girls From Apron As Well As Ryan Said A Whole Host Of New Features Rolled Out They Braised 22 Million In Investment To Expand The Payments Push They'Ve Already Success That They'Ve Already Had In The UK And They Have Seen Extreme Product Growth When It Comes To The Customer

[00:20:31] They'Ve Are Based More Than 20-Fold To Thousands Of Small Businesses And 90% Of The Thing Were Signed Up For The Accountants And Bookkeeping Channel

[00:20:42] Apron Was Initially A Payments Tool They'Ve Made No Secret Of This They'Ve Going Into Extents Cards And Payment Products That The Plan Is Really To Help Launch A New Product For Larger Suppliers That Issues Invoices To The Smaller Customers And Their Intention

[00:21:01] Tending To Reduce The Manual Work Of The Manual Work Of

[00:21:31] And It'Ve Really Interesting To See How That Investment

[00:21:34] And The Investments To See How That Investment Is Used To Make More Intelligent Decisions Around

[00:21:37] Not Just Like Who Is Who Benefits From That But Also How Much And What Because I Think That In Most Of What We'Re Seeing Even To Ryan Your Point That The Features Are Really Being Deployed Are So Great From A Tech Perspective

[00:21:54] Also They'Ve Have Recently Become Regulated And Have A EMI License And I Think It'Ve Mean A Lot Of Growth On All Fronts

[00:22:04] So Then To Start Taking On New Products Around The That Piece Of Land Payment Of Small Suppliers And Making Sure That They'Re Paid Faster I Think That'S In Itself Another Category On Top Of Card Issuing So It'Ve Very Interesting To See How That Goes

[00:22:20] But It'Ve An Amazing Amount Of Money To Have Been Raised Over This Period And Where I Suppose Most Have Struggled In This Space

[00:22:28] It Seems That Aprons Have Got Some Secret Sauce On Their Side

[00:22:33] Yeah I Completely Agree With That And Congratulations To Bogdan And The Team Because They Are The Guys That Can Keep Finding People With Deep Pockets At The Moment

[00:22:42] That'S For Sure

[00:22:44] Moving On Then To Something Else

[00:22:45] Access Have Continued Their Shopping Spree And The Xero Ecosystem And Have Announced They'Ve Entered Into An Agreement To Acquire Tradeify Which Will Probably Be Familiar To A Lot Of People

[00:23:00] They Have An Office Over Here In The UK Although They'Re A New Zealand Based App Originally And By Didn't Know The Name They Are A Product That Is Built For Trade People Offers A Whole Bunch Of Things Around

[00:23:13] Managing Customer Enquirees Sending Estimates And Quotes Scheduling Staffing Job Tracking Timesheets And Then Invoicing And Certification

[00:23:21] Etcetera Off The Back Of It And They Were Founded In 2013 So Just Over Just Over 10 Years Ago By An Electrician Over New Zealand

[00:23:32] Excuse Me Who'S In For A Payday Now Of Approximately I Think It Says 9 Million New Zealand Dollars So About 4.5 Million UK

[00:23:41] And Tredify Has Around About 20,000 Customers

[00:23:45] And Tredify Has Around About 20,000 Customers Particularly Across UK New Zealand And Australia

[00:23:47] No Announcement On How Much The Deal Is Worth

[00:23:50] Although It Has Been Announced By The Overseas Investment Office Based In New Zealand

[00:23:55] That The Deal Is Subject To Their Approval Which Means That The Value Is Above 100 Million New Zealand Dollars

[00:24:01] So Around About 50-50 Million UK Sterling

[00:24:05] So That Will Have To Go Through The Approval Process And That Can Take A Good Few Months So That Deal Won't

[00:24:11] Be Closed Out Until The OIO Have Finished Their Work

[00:24:15] But A Fascinating One

[00:24:17] And I Mean I Guess

[00:24:17] You Know Access Have Said All The Positive Things About Adding This To Their Ecosystem Of Products And Stuff

[00:24:23] But I Guess I Continue To Ask The Question Is Like Why Are Access Buying These Kind Of Products

[00:24:29] Particularly Like A Product Like Tradify Which Really Is You Know Has Had Most Success I Would Say With Very Small Trade Businesses

[00:24:38] You Know Typically The Sole Traders

[00:24:39] One Or Two Person Firms Things Like That

[00:24:41] That's Not The Sweet Spot For Access In Terms Of Their ERP Solution

[00:24:46] And Yet Access Have Said All Of The Usual Stuff In Terms Of This Is A Great Addition To Our Ecosystem Etc Etc

[00:24:54] But The Reality Is Is That Most Tradify Customers Are Not Going To Be Using Access Financials For Example To Run Their Business On Because That's Way Too Complex

[00:25:02] And Way Too Costly

[00:25:05] So You Can Only Assume That Access Has Decided That Yes They're Talking About Their Ecosystem But The Reality Is Is They're Just Looking For Good Products And Trying To Buy Good Products

[00:25:13] Which Is Effectively What Visma Are Doing

[00:25:16] Yeah You Took The Words Out Of My Mouth On This One John

[00:25:18] I Am Baffled By The Strategy

[00:25:21] So If We Talked About Zero's Acquisition Of Sift Earlier And You Know That Fit Perfect In Their Sweet Spot

[00:25:26] This Doesn't Fit There At All

[00:25:28] Now They've Definitely Been Acquiring Those Cloud Native Solutions

[00:25:31] They've Got A Broad Brushstroke That's Gone Across

[00:25:33] There's Some Really Good Strategic Acquisitions As They've Been Doing This Like Including Lights Of Fathom And Unleashers

[00:25:39] Of You Know Combine Up Products But This One Just Sits On The Edge

[00:25:42] Don't Really Get It And But If It Makes Some Money Does It Really Matter

[00:25:48] And I Guess My Final Bit To Wrap Up The App News For This Week Is To Talk A Bit About FreeAgent

[00:25:54] And They Have On The Back Of Releasing Their Integrations Directory Over The Summer

[00:26:01] Have Gone Crazy With Releasing New Integrations

[00:26:05] So I Think In September They've Announced Five

[00:26:09] They've Integrated Into Call Pay One

[00:26:11] Which Is A Total Expense Management App

[00:26:13] They've Integrated Into Add Some

[00:26:15] Which We Talked About Quite A Bit On The Podcast Over The Summer Period

[00:26:19] Which Is Kind Of That VAT Integrator Into HMRC

[00:26:23] To Suck Out Data You Might Not Be Able To See From Your Agent Services Account

[00:26:26] They've Integrated Into Penfold

[00:26:28] And The Pension App And Now They've Integrated Into Buddy As Well Which Is The New All In One HR And Payroll Tool That You'll Probably Be Seeing A Lot More On With Probably The Cutest

[00:26:42] Probably The Cutest Little What's It Called? Not Logo But The What's It Called? I've Got A Mind Blank

[00:26:50] It's A Red Panda

[00:26:52] Yeah But What Was It Called?

[00:26:53] The Mascot?

[00:26:54] The Mascot

[00:26:55] Thank You

[00:26:56] Thank You Indeed

[00:26:57] Mind Blank On The Word Mascot

[00:26:59] Do You Think As An Aside

[00:27:00] Do You Think We Should Be Looking For More Accounting Tech Providers To Come Up With Some Sort Of Fluffy Mascot

[00:27:06] Because We've Got Translucent With The Skunk

[00:27:09] We've Got Buddy With The Red Panda

[00:27:13] Few Signs Tend To Give Away Like Little Koalas Don't They As Well

[00:27:16] So I Think This Is What We Need Is We Need Kind Of People To Align With Some Kind Of Mascot

[00:27:24] Definitely I Definitely Agree And I Mean The Last One That I Guess The Free Agent Have Integrated In Is Expert

[00:27:29] So Calling A New Expert Come Up With A Fluffy Mascot That We Could Talk About On The Podcast

[00:27:33] I Think Free Agents Should Be A Nice Fluffy Dog Because They're The Friendliest Don't They?

[00:27:40] Yeah They Should

[00:27:42] Or They Could Be Like Those Cat Memes You Know They Sort Of Smile And Like

[00:27:46] Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah And That Wraps Up This Week's App News

[00:27:49] So If You Want To Learn A Bit More About iPlicet As We've Been Going Through The Series And Learning More From Them About Their Products And How They Sit In The App Ecosystem

[00:27:58] And We've Got Different Finance Platforms That You Could Potentially Utilize For Your Clients Then Stay On

[00:28:10] Well I'm Delighted To Say That I'm Joined By Matt Lunes From iPlicet And We're Going To Continue The Series That We've Been Doing Originally With Paul And Now With Matt On Talking About iPlicet In A Bit More Detail Getting To Understand The Product Some Of The Features Of The Product And Why

[00:28:26] Why Has Been Making Waves Of The Last Few Years In Terms Of Really Bounded On To The Accounting Tech

[00:28:30] And Making A Difference And The Focus Of Today's Session Is Going To Be Just Talking A Little Bit More About The Modern

[00:28:37] ERP Perfect Fit For iPlicet In Terms Of Where They're Looking To Position The Product And Also Just How You Can Then Utilize That To Slice And Dice The Data

[00:28:46] And We're Going To Have An Interesting Conversation About What's The Benefit Of Having All Of Your Data In One Place

[00:28:52] In A Modern ERP In Terms Of Being Able To See Everything In iPlicet For Example But Also iPlicet Does Have Integrations With Third Party Products And Best Of Breed Products As Well

[00:29:01] And So They've Also Got The Ability To Kind Of Have This Hybrid Setup And See Data Across Different Systems And In Different Places

[00:29:09] So Matt I'll Hand Over To You Maybe You Can Just Give Us A Little Bit Of A Background In iPlicet Fill In Some Of The Gap

[00:29:16] So Maybe Paul's Left And Talk To Us A Little Bit About This Modern ERP Concept

[00:29:21] I Think In Terms Of Talking About Having All Your Data In One Place Compared To Being Split Across Multiple Systems

[00:29:27] I Think First Of All There's A Ton Of Efficiencies You Can Save Around That Just In Terms Of This One Version Of The Truth Is That Ability To Drive In And Slice And Dice Your Data In Any Way That You See Fit

[00:29:39] So One Of The Biggest USPs That We Have Inside iPlicet Is The Fact That The Reporting Tables Are Basically By All Intents Of

[00:29:46] And Purposes Pivot Tables Okay So That Means That You Can Accumulate All Of Your Data Across Either The Group Or Even If It's Just An Individual Entity But You Can Slice And Dice And Manipulate Data

[00:29:58] However You See Fit So Whether That's By Entity Whether That's By Financial Year Cost Center Department Projects Doesn't Doesn't Really Matter But The Point Is It's Always Consistently Applying That Same Logic Each Time Whereas My Previous Role When I've Used Systems Like Zero For Multi Entities Or Trying To Pull

[00:30:16] Pulled Together Multiple Sources Of Data

[00:30:19] You Spend Hours Of Time One In Excel Pulling It Together Then You Get To The Next Month Or The Next Quarter And You Try To Remind Yourself How Did I Do That Last Time And Then Are You Actually Pulling The Data Together In The Same Way Are You Aggregating It In The Same Way And Are You Even Consistently Applying The Same Logic As What You Did The Month Before Or The Quarter Before And Then You Might

[00:30:38] I Realize Halfway Through That You've Exported The Wrong TV For The Wrong TV For The Wrong Period Which I Was Definitely Guilty Of When I Was Doing Things Like Just Even Simple Age Creditors Reports For Example When I Was In Practice Before And Realizing That Four Of Them Were For March Period And One Of Them Was For April And That's No Wonder It Wasn't Making Any Sense

[00:30:55] So You've Definitely Got Some Benefits For The Wrong

[00:31:25] So You've Just Multiple Multiple Entities Or Even Multiple Cost Centers Or Multiple Divisions In A Way That Probably Like You Say Is Much More Challenging Where Maybe Using Multiple Versions Of Zero To Try And Achieve The Same Thing

[00:31:36] And Then I Think You've Got The Other Added Complexity As Well You Start Stitching Together With These Multiple Apps And Stuff Who's Owning Those Apps Who's Making Sure That One Change Has Been Applied Here Who's On Top Of The Training For All Of These Apps And Making Sure That You're Getting The Most Out Of Them And You're Keeping Up With The Pace Of Change

[00:31:54] And Then Even If You're Doing All Of That And Then Even If You're Doing All Of That What Happens If One Of These Apps Gets Bought Or Sold Or Sold Or Changes Or There's An Update To One Of The Things And It Completely Breaks Your Chain Who's Looking After That We Saw That I Saw That In My Time And Practice With Data Deer We Use Data Deer A Lot For The Excel Extraction Tool From Zero We Remember That They Bought Data Deer And Turn That Feature Off Within Six Months And It Was Only For QuickBooks Customers Now I'm Not Saying That's Going To Happen For Every App Out There But What If One Of Your Core

[00:32:24] AppStops If Your Apps Is Your App Start Gets Gets Gets Gets Taken Out With The Knees And All Of A Sudden You've Got This Hole In Your In Your Yikkiosphere What Are You Going To Do With That Yeah It's Definitely A Risk Isn't It I Guess The Flip Side Argument Maybe If I Was Being A Little Bit Testy With You Is That You Could Say That People Use These Best Of Breed Solutions Because They're Looking For A Product That Really Fits Their Requirements And Sometimes When You're Looking At An ERP Solution We Were Talking About OCR Before We Started Recording And Sometimes Those OCR Capabilities In An ERP

[00:32:54] are functional, but maybe not as capable as the best products out there

[00:32:58] that are standalone sometimes?

[00:32:59] Yeah, for sure.

[00:33:00] So we've got an open API, for example, so we can connect with systems

[00:33:03] of people's choice.

[00:33:05] So, for example, in the OCR space, we've got the likes of Lightyear.

[00:33:10] So we don't limit people to only using iPlicit.

[00:33:13] What we're looking to do is we're looking to build a system

[00:33:16] that is best of breed and best of class in the finance function,

[00:33:20] and then we will connect to other systems of your choice

[00:33:22] so you can still have that best of breed approach.

[00:33:26] But the idea is most of those finance functions are consolidated

[00:33:29] in one piece of software, and you're plugging in things like CRM systems,

[00:33:33] for example, or EPOS systems, not necessarily things like approval software

[00:33:38] or OCR software.

[00:33:40] The key here is understanding your customer's needs and wants.

[00:33:43] So when we are going through the sales cycle with a customer,

[00:33:46] we really understand their processes from start to finish,

[00:33:49] and we always make the key point of them that this is the chance

[00:33:52] to readdress everything, not just lift and shift existing processes

[00:33:56] into the new system because that's the worst thing that you can do,

[00:33:59] but reassess everything.

[00:34:01] And we work with you to make sure that ultimately,

[00:34:03] however you decide to use iPlicit or whatever ERP you end up going for,

[00:34:07] you have one version of the truth.

[00:34:09] Well, I think that is the perfect place to end that, Matt,

[00:34:12] because I think you're absolutely right.

[00:34:13] It's like focusing in on what the client's needs are

[00:34:16] and making sure that they take that opportunity

[00:34:20] to address everything as the perfect timing

[00:34:21] for any kind of transformation project,

[00:34:24] particularly when you're moving from one finance system to another

[00:34:26] because that's going to have a fairly big impact.

[00:34:29] So thanks very much for your insights,

[00:34:31] and we've got one more to record,

[00:34:33] so we'll move on to that shortly,

[00:34:35] and we'll look out for that in the next podcast.

[00:34:36] Perfect.

[00:34:39] Oh, indeed.

[00:34:40] Here you go.

[00:34:41] This will make you happy.

[00:34:43] So you know how I love to take the mickey out of you

[00:34:46] rubbing weird stuff into your body?

[00:34:48] Might be a bit into this also,

[00:34:50] just a caveat, but okay, yes?

[00:34:53] Yeah, yeah, weird stuff.

[00:34:55] So I have decided to start taking manuka honey

[00:35:01] mixed with turmeric and ginger

[00:35:06] and a little bit of black pepper

[00:35:07] because it's got anti-inflammatory properties.

[00:35:11] And, you know, the best thing about inflammation

[00:35:13] is one of the biggest killers in the world.

[00:35:17] I have literally, in the last 24 hours,

[00:35:20] just started taking that.

[00:35:20] So we'll see what the results look in a week.

[00:35:22] John, John, before you go any further,

[00:35:25] John, what did I tell you to do?

[00:35:27] All summer I told you to do this,

[00:35:29] and lo and behold, you're only doing it now

[00:35:32] as you enter your winter months.

[00:35:34] I'm proud of you.

[00:35:35] It's a time thing, all right?

[00:35:36] My God.

[00:35:38] You had to go milk the bees.

[00:35:43] The boobies.

[00:35:45] No, John.

[00:35:46] No.

[00:35:47] Bad John.

[00:35:49] So look, I've got two questions that come out of this.

[00:35:52] Firstly, where did that stat come from

[00:35:54] that inflammation is the biggest killer in the world?

[00:35:58] So inflammation is one of the biggest killers in the world

[00:36:01] because it leads to things like type 2 diabetes,

[00:36:04] heart disease, all sorts of other things.

[00:36:05] And that is why they call it, what do they call it?

[00:36:08] It's inflammation.

[00:36:10] That's a phrase that you might hear.

[00:36:13] Aging.

[00:36:14] Yeah.

[00:36:15] It's really bad for it.

[00:36:16] It's also inflammation is one of the biggest causes

[00:36:20] of like a lot of your brain diseases and stuff.

[00:36:24] So things like Parkinson's, dementia, et cetera, et cetera.

[00:36:27] Right.

[00:36:28] It sounds like you have been listening to

[00:36:31] or reading The Glucose Goddess,

[00:36:33] which I read the other day.

[00:36:36] And she talks about the fact that we're kind of

[00:36:40] boiling our bodies from the inside.

[00:36:42] And so the best way to second navigate this

[00:36:45] and prolong your DNA health is to avoid glucose bite.

[00:36:49] And so also decided to take an experiment last week

[00:36:54] for the last one week.

[00:36:55] And I told her, I think I need to ease my way into it

[00:36:58] a little bit.

[00:36:59] So she says there's four things that you can do,

[00:37:02] which is one is having a savory breakfast.

[00:37:06] Two is having a veg starter to any meal that you have.

[00:37:11] Three is moving for 10 minutes intensely

[00:37:14] after you've eaten or within a 90 minute window

[00:37:17] of having eaten.

[00:37:18] So that intense movement could be like dance or walking.

[00:37:22] And then the fourth thing, which I did really try

[00:37:25] for all of one day last week,

[00:37:27] but then I thought, no, I've got to ease myself into it,

[00:37:29] was the tablespoon of vinegar in the 300 mills of water

[00:37:34] before you eat.

[00:37:36] And oh, God, it was...

[00:37:38] Was this apple cider vinegar as well?

[00:37:40] I actually, she said that anything...

[00:37:44] Oh, don't tell me you went with like malt vinegar

[00:37:45] or something.

[00:37:46] You're just like the stuff that you lob on your chips.

[00:37:49] So I tried...

[00:37:51] So I tried...

[00:37:54] So I tried...

[00:37:54] So any vinegar you have in your covers.

[00:37:57] So I went with...

[00:37:58] I went with...

[00:38:00] I went with...

[00:38:00] Quit laughing.

[00:38:01] I was laughing at you.

[00:38:02] I went with white wine vinegar.

[00:38:05] That was...

[00:38:08] What?

[00:38:09] What?

[00:38:10] I've been in the cupboard for about 15 years.

[00:38:12] I think that's the point where you've got like flaky bits

[00:38:14] of the bottle.

[00:38:15] It is layered.

[00:38:17] No, I'm not really smart.

[00:38:19] God, that was awful.

[00:38:21] I'm smart.

[00:38:21] And so...

[00:38:23] And then in the end, what I've done is instead,

[00:38:26] I've done the other three things.

[00:38:28] And then this week, on a weekend,

[00:38:30] I bought some supplement,

[00:38:33] the vinegar and the capsule format.

[00:38:36] What?

[00:38:37] Why not?

[00:38:38] Vinegar in capsule format.

[00:38:39] Do you mean...

[00:38:40] Do you mean like you get those little packets

[00:38:42] when you go to the chippy

[00:38:42] and it comes in a little plastic packet?

[00:38:44] That's not capsule format.

[00:38:45] It's not.

[00:38:48] It's not.

[00:38:49] You get a box of 500 at a time.

[00:38:53] Just shot this into her mouth.

[00:38:57] No.

[00:38:59] So I bought like...

[00:39:00] Then pills that you can swallow

[00:39:01] and I thought...

[00:39:03] I don't want to have to drink it.

[00:39:05] Really hard.

[00:39:06] I tried.

[00:39:07] You could get those little packets.

[00:39:08] You could put them in the freezer

[00:39:09] and pretend they're like a little ice lolly.

[00:39:12] That's true.

[00:39:12] It's still bad for your teeth.

[00:39:14] By the way, it's still bad for your...

[00:39:16] So is this like when you...

[00:39:17] Did you ever used to have

[00:39:19] those cod liver oil tablets

[00:39:20] that were the most revolting thing in the world?

[00:39:22] Is it like having one of them?

[00:39:24] Did you just say,

[00:39:25] did you used to have them?

[00:39:26] That implies that you used to have them,

[00:39:27] Ryan,

[00:39:27] and only old people have cod liver oil tablets.

[00:39:30] So why were you taking cod liver oil tablets at like...

[00:39:33] I'm getting younger.

[00:39:35] As I get,

[00:39:35] as I get,

[00:39:36] you know,

[00:39:36] through my years,

[00:39:37] I'm getting younger.

[00:39:38] I started as an old man.

[00:39:40] And now you look like a baby.

[00:39:42] Yeah,

[00:39:42] exactly.

[00:39:43] If you look at my son,

[00:39:45] he looks like a grumpy old man.

[00:39:46] So it follows,

[00:39:48] it follows

[00:39:48] through our genetics.

[00:39:51] Anyway,

[00:39:51] how are you making this concoction?

[00:39:52] You're our very own

[00:39:53] Benjamin Button.

[00:39:54] Is that what you're saying?

[00:39:55] I am.

[00:39:55] I am.

[00:39:56] Just like Brad Pitt.

[00:39:59] So how are you making that concoction,

[00:40:05] John?

[00:40:05] Is it on a spoon?

[00:40:06] Are you pouring honey on a spoon?

[00:40:07] On a spoon.

[00:40:09] How are you making this thing?

[00:40:12] I make it in a little jar.

[00:40:14] And if you were doing the precise measurements,

[00:40:17] it's seven teaspoons of honey,

[00:40:20] one teaspoon of turmeric,

[00:40:21] one teaspoon of ground ginger,

[00:40:23] half a teaspoon of black pepper,

[00:40:24] mix it all together.

[00:40:25] And then you can have a spoon of it

[00:40:26] every single day.

[00:40:28] You want to keep it in the fridge?

[00:40:30] No,

[00:40:31] not really.

[00:40:31] Cause it's only honey,

[00:40:32] isn't it?

[00:40:33] And like dry,

[00:40:35] dry ingredients.

[00:40:36] It's about inflammation.

[00:40:37] Generally,

[00:40:37] all of those are really good for inflammation

[00:40:39] on their own individually,

[00:40:41] but putting them together

[00:40:42] is just makes me like a really great way

[00:40:44] of over the winter months,

[00:40:46] taking care of yourself.

[00:40:47] And in preparation for the spring months

[00:40:49] when the pollen first comes in,

[00:40:51] you will climatize a little bit better.

[00:40:53] So it's a,

[00:40:54] you can't just expect honey to work.

[00:40:56] Is it local honey though?

[00:40:58] I went,

[00:40:59] I went a bit poncy

[00:41:00] cause I went for Manuka honey,

[00:41:02] but you know,

[00:41:03] that's cause I decided to just go to Tesco

[00:41:05] and buy it

[00:41:05] cause I was being silly.

[00:41:07] Um,

[00:41:07] but,

[00:41:08] um,

[00:41:08] um,

[00:41:09] apparently the one thing,

[00:41:10] I mean,

[00:41:10] getting off the Manuka honey topic

[00:41:12] is a,

[00:41:12] a black pepper makes the turmeric

[00:41:15] 20 times more effective.

[00:41:17] And that is why Indians love turmeric

[00:41:20] and gurum masala specifically.

[00:41:23] Um,

[00:41:24] we've learned a lot from this,

[00:41:25] this intro.

[00:41:27] I feel like maybe we,

[00:41:29] welcome to my club.

[00:41:30] Welcome to my club,

[00:41:31] John T.

[00:41:32] And I'm so,

[00:41:32] I'm so glad to have you.

[00:41:34] Come on in,

[00:41:35] take a seat.

[00:41:36] I'm not sure I want to be.

[00:41:40] I'm still,

[00:41:41] I'm still maintaining a level of scientific,

[00:41:43] you know,

[00:41:44] reasoning in this approach.

[00:41:46] I think,

[00:41:46] um,

[00:41:47] I think we need a new intro for our podcast.

[00:41:49] It should be welcome to the modern health podcast

[00:41:52] brought to you by John and Indy and Ryan,

[00:41:54] who's an idiot and just listens.

[00:41:59] Today,

[00:42:00] we are going to be joined by the wonderful Heather Smith

[00:42:03] from the other side of the water,

[00:42:04] who has given us her time,

[00:42:07] very late into the wee hours of the morning,

[00:42:09] um,

[00:42:10] to dial in and has also,

[00:42:12] um,

[00:42:13] been touring at globetrotting once again.

[00:42:15] Um,

[00:42:16] Heather,

[00:42:16] tell us more about where you are right now,

[00:42:19] where you're going to,

[00:42:20] where you've been.

[00:42:21] Um,

[00:42:21] in the reason.

[00:42:23] Thank you,

[00:42:24] Indy and Ryan for,

[00:42:25] um,

[00:42:25] having me on the show.

[00:42:26] Really,

[00:42:27] um,

[00:42:27] um,

[00:42:27] always enjoy being here.

[00:42:29] Always enjoy listening to your show.

[00:42:30] Uh,

[00:42:31] I have just come back from,

[00:42:34] um,

[00:42:34] Las Vegas,

[00:42:35] where I went to the Oracle NetSuite conference.

[00:42:37] And then prior to that,

[00:42:39] I was at the,

[00:42:40] um,

[00:42:40] Nashville Zero Con conference.

[00:42:43] And I've had,

[00:42:44] I think a couple of weeks back,

[00:42:46] back in Brisbane,

[00:42:47] Australia.

[00:42:48] Um,

[00:42:49] and at the end of this week,

[00:42:50] I head off to the accounting and business show in Singapore.

[00:42:53] So they've all just kind of happened all at once.

[00:42:55] Um,

[00:42:56] but,

[00:42:56] uh,

[00:42:57] just very grateful for the opportunity to travel to accounting as a global language.

[00:43:02] And it's really wonderful to be able to jump into these different places,

[00:43:06] hear what they're doing,

[00:43:08] immerse yourself in the culture and how they,

[00:43:10] how they embrace accounting and the different nuances there.

[00:43:14] You're also involved with the ACCA board at the moment and the upcoming elections and votes that will happen there.

[00:43:22] So can you tell us a little bit and just give us a high level summary snapshot on everything that you're working on to do with the ACCA?

[00:43:30] Um,

[00:43:31] because obviously most of our listeners are accountants,

[00:43:35] have their own boards.

[00:43:36] Um,

[00:43:37] each one operates differently,

[00:43:38] but obviously it is something that we don't really get time enough to cover.

[00:43:42] And it sounds like you're,

[00:43:44] um,

[00:43:44] at least pushing an agenda there.

[00:43:46] And so it'd be good to hear more about it.

[00:43:49] Absolutely.

[00:43:49] Thank you for the question.

[00:43:51] So the ACCA is having their global council elections and there's 31 members up and you can,

[00:43:57] um,

[00:43:57] um,

[00:43:58] uh,

[00:43:58] you can,

[00:43:59] there are 11 spots open.

[00:44:00] And you can vote for them.

[00:44:01] So I encourage you to look to see who,

[00:44:04] who you should be voting for and be actually involved in the voting process because people who are on the council have influenced over the way the profession is run.

[00:44:16] When they have influence over in,

[00:44:18] in terms of bringing accounting technology into,

[00:44:21] um,

[00:44:22] the education,

[00:44:24] ensuring that the gap has been bridged between sort of,

[00:44:26] sort of old school accounting and,

[00:44:28] and sort of modern accounting.

[00:44:29] And we want people who are aware of that,

[00:44:33] who are in those influential positions to have those conversations and bring technology,

[00:44:38] um,

[00:44:39] into the education.

[00:44:41] Bit of it.

[00:44:42] Um,

[00:44:42] I have,

[00:44:43] uh,

[00:44:44] one of the interesting things is,

[00:44:45] this is actually the fifth time I'm running for it.

[00:44:47] Um,

[00:44:48] but by doing that,

[00:44:50] you become known by people within,

[00:44:52] uh,

[00:44:52] the organization and was invited to join their technology body,

[00:44:58] their global technology forum,

[00:44:59] which is extraordinarily exciting.

[00:45:01] Um,

[00:45:01] and I'm also chair of their,

[00:45:03] um,

[00:45:03] global SME forum.

[00:45:05] And we have meetings on a sort of a bi-monthly basis.

[00:45:10] People all over the world,

[00:45:12] really exciting.

[00:45:13] Um,

[00:45:13] and we develop,

[00:45:14] uh,

[00:45:15] professional insights.

[00:45:16] We put out like a dozen professional insights,

[00:45:19] if not more every year,

[00:45:20] which is very useful for pushing the industry forward.

[00:45:25] How does the process for electing or for,

[00:45:29] um,

[00:45:29] being able to decide who goes on the board?

[00:45:32] How does that go?

[00:45:34] How does that happen?

[00:45:35] What are the patterns that you've seen in terms of,

[00:45:38] um,

[00:45:39] if someone does vote or doesn't vote?

[00:45:41] Actually,

[00:45:41] like we always hate people who abstain actually the most,

[00:45:45] don't we?

[00:45:46] Because it's really unhelpful.

[00:45:47] They have the vote and they don't take it.

[00:45:49] So it's just interesting to know how does that work in,

[00:45:52] um,

[00:45:53] in that world?

[00:45:54] So there are over 250,000 members in the ACCA world and a very,

[00:46:00] very small majority,

[00:46:01] um,

[00:46:02] uh,

[00:46:02] amount of them actually vote,

[00:46:04] very small amount of them vote.

[00:46:06] They have up to 11 votes to take.

[00:46:09] Um,

[00:46:09] and,

[00:46:10] it only takes a few minutes to actually sit and sit and actually do the vote.

[00:46:15] And when you click through the process,

[00:46:17] you can read everyone's profile,

[00:46:19] get to know who they are.

[00:46:20] Um,

[00:46:21] but also you can actually connect,

[00:46:24] connect with them on LinkedIn and,

[00:46:26] and then you sort of can follow who they are and over the years and,

[00:46:29] and sort of get to know who,

[00:46:31] who they are.

[00:46:32] And if you,

[00:46:33] um,

[00:46:34] if you give away your vote and the chair gets to actually allocate that vote and,

[00:46:40] and they end up with thousands of votes to actually distribute that way.

[00:46:44] So it's really worth noting that your vote really does count because such a low number do actually vote.

[00:46:52] Wow.

[00:46:53] That is amazing.

[00:46:54] I mean,

[00:46:54] that's incredible to know that that's just the low number that ends up making it through.

[00:46:59] So if you have a vote and you're not using it this year,

[00:47:02] please,

[00:47:02] can you,

[00:47:03] um,

[00:47:03] make sure you do actually for once instead,

[00:47:06] and then not moan about it later when you,

[00:47:08] you know,

[00:47:09] the decisions have been made on your behalf,

[00:47:10] because I'm sure that is,

[00:47:11] uh,

[00:47:12] something that we Brits like to do a lot.

[00:47:14] Isn't it Ryan?

[00:47:15] It is.

[00:47:16] We do love a moan.

[00:47:17] Um,

[00:47:17] I guess something I'd love to,

[00:47:19] to ask you,

[00:47:20] Heather,

[00:47:20] because you know,

[00:47:20] we're very much tech focused,

[00:47:22] uh,

[00:47:22] digital disruptors.

[00:47:23] And part of the reason we do our app news is to educate,

[00:47:26] to,

[00:47:26] to make sure people know what's going on and what's,

[00:47:29] uh,

[00:47:29] changing in the app landscape is what's,

[00:47:31] what do you really want to change?

[00:47:33] What do you really want to improve in the professional body,

[00:47:35] especially ACCA from a,

[00:47:36] from a tech education perspective?

[00:47:38] Like you very,

[00:47:39] very focused on,

[00:47:40] um,

[00:47:41] app,

[00:47:41] app,

[00:47:42] uh,

[00:47:42] technology.

[00:47:43] And I love your app updates and listen to them religiously.

[00:47:48] I want that awareness brought into,

[00:47:51] um,

[00:47:52] um,

[00:47:52] the educational arena.

[00:47:54] I want,

[00:47:55] um,

[00:47:55] students to be coming through and know about,

[00:47:59] uh,

[00:47:59] the,

[00:47:59] the various bits of technology and not be sort of training on something

[00:48:03] that they're never going to use,

[00:48:04] be training on,

[00:48:05] on,

[00:48:05] on what is actually going to be useful for their,

[00:48:08] them.

[00:48:08] And so that they can actually roll out into a practice,

[00:48:11] almost ready to work,

[00:48:15] um,

[00:48:15] and,

[00:48:16] and educated about roll out into a practice or into a commercial,

[00:48:19] um,

[00:48:20] enterprise and in a better state to work and aware of modern

[00:48:25] technologies.

[00:48:26] Um,

[00:48:27] also would like to see,

[00:48:29] uh,

[00:48:30] modern technologies used in terms of the actual,

[00:48:33] uh,

[00:48:33] uh,

[00:48:34] examination process as well.

[00:48:36] That's,

[00:48:36] uh,

[00:48:36] quite interesting.

[00:48:37] I actually did my final exam outside in a hawker center,

[00:48:42] which is a,

[00:48:43] uh,

[00:48:43] food center in Singapore.

[00:48:45] And there was a monkey in the tree above me and he kept jumping

[00:48:48] around and I was very scared.

[00:48:49] So I did my last exam in Singapore.

[00:48:53] Well,

[00:48:53] I've never,

[00:48:53] I've never,

[00:48:54] I've never been that distracted during an exam.

[00:48:56] Usually just someone coughing,

[00:48:57] but a monkey chopping it around a tree is pretty impressive.

[00:49:00] Um,

[00:49:00] something I guess we wouldn't want people to do and something we need to be

[00:49:02] very aware,

[00:49:03] wary of when we're doing the exams now is the impact of AI.

[00:49:06] And hopefully I guess in your position,

[00:49:08] you,

[00:49:09] you know,

[00:49:09] absorbing all of this information,

[00:49:11] you can help guide,

[00:49:13] um,

[00:49:13] the,

[00:49:14] the board in the impact of AI,

[00:49:16] the education around AI.

[00:49:17] Is that something you're passionate about as well?

[00:49:19] Yeah,

[00:49:20] absolutely.

[00:49:21] It is astonishing how good it can actually be to,

[00:49:25] to respond to answers.

[00:49:27] And I,

[00:49:27] and,

[00:49:28] and it's something that the educators and the invigilators are going to have to

[00:49:32] navigate in a way that properly tests people,

[00:49:36] but also ensures that they're not using AI in a place that where they

[00:49:41] shouldn't be using AI.

[00:49:43] Um,

[00:49:44] like,

[00:49:44] as we all know,

[00:49:45] it's,

[00:49:45] it's become a part of our everyday,

[00:49:49] but you need to know what you're doing and,

[00:49:52] and,

[00:49:53] understanding that the,

[00:49:55] the,

[00:49:55] the,

[00:49:55] the T balance debits and credits and,

[00:49:58] and coming right back to,

[00:50:00] to,

[00:50:00] to the basics is really,

[00:50:01] really important foundation to build upon.

[00:50:05] Um,

[00:50:06] and how to do that is something that,

[00:50:07] that always,

[00:50:08] always needs to be embraced.

[00:50:10] And so someone like me,

[00:50:11] I'm sitting in all the forums,

[00:50:13] reading what the students are saying.

[00:50:14] Um,

[00:50:15] and so would bring surface that Intel back to the conversations that I'm

[00:50:19] having,

[00:50:20] uh,

[00:50:20] when I have the opportunity to have them.

[00:50:23] Definitely.

[00:50:23] And I think one of the challenges nowadays is technology is sometimes

[00:50:27] hiding all of that core knowledge that you built up as a,

[00:50:31] accountants in the past.

[00:50:33] Um,

[00:50:33] and so it's reframing,

[00:50:35] reshaping how the education works.

[00:50:37] And it'd be really interesting to see how those bodies change over time.

[00:50:41] One thing that I think we've always been concerned about as a trio is the

[00:50:44] speed of them,

[00:50:45] the change,

[00:50:46] you know,

[00:50:46] um,

[00:50:46] I guess it's,

[00:50:47] we could criticize.

[00:50:48] They're not doing it fast enough.

[00:50:50] Um,

[00:50:50] but hopefully by getting the right people on the board,

[00:50:52] the right people that can,

[00:50:53] um,

[00:50:54] share the insights will enable that.

[00:50:55] And,

[00:50:56] um,

[00:50:56] Heather,

[00:50:56] I guess,

[00:50:57] you know,

[00:50:57] you have any opportunity to put yourself forward and potentially be

[00:51:00] elected as a keeper.

[00:51:02] Yeah,

[00:51:03] absolutely.

[00:51:04] Hopefully I keep trying.

[00:51:06] This is my first time.

[00:51:07] I keep trying,

[00:51:08] but,

[00:51:08] uh,

[00:51:08] what I do,

[00:51:10] it's great to see people actually getting involved.

[00:51:12] And a lot of people come and say,

[00:51:14] tell me this their first time voting.

[00:51:15] So that's a good thing as well.

[00:51:17] Um,

[00:51:17] it's completely off topic now.

[00:51:19] Uh,

[00:51:20] the hair color seems a lot more normal.

[00:51:22] Like you've not got vibrant pink or.

[00:51:24] I knew you were going to ask that.

[00:51:26] There it is.

[00:51:32] Otherwise the hairdressers,

[00:51:34] um,

[00:51:34] fingers turn pink.

[00:51:35] So I'm,

[00:51:35] I'm holding up a metal,

[00:51:37] metal vivids,

[00:51:39] um,

[00:51:39] next generation vivid color.

[00:51:41] This is,

[00:51:42] I've never tried this one before,

[00:51:43] but I'm trying that tomorrow.

[00:51:44] Okay.

[00:51:44] For,

[00:51:45] for people listening in,

[00:51:46] it's by L'Oreal there.

[00:51:47] So in case L'Oreal wants to sponsor your podcast.

[00:51:52] Perfect advertising.

[00:51:53] You always know how to,

[00:51:55] um,

[00:51:56] you always know how to ask the interesting questions.

[00:51:59] Don't you?

[00:52:00] Well,

[00:52:00] it's because I'm jealous.

[00:52:01] I don't,

[00:52:02] I can't do these things.

[00:52:03] I can't really,

[00:52:04] I can try and dye my beard,

[00:52:05] but I just don't think that's going to have any real impact.

[00:52:08] Heather,

[00:52:08] did you,

[00:52:09] um,

[00:52:09] hear about our latest awards?

[00:52:11] Awards and,

[00:52:12] um,

[00:52:12] the lead up to the awards?

[00:52:14] Actually,

[00:52:14] you've probably caught some of Ryan's,

[00:52:16] um,

[00:52:17] LinkedIn posts and their promotion of how we are going about events and how we're,

[00:52:23] you know,

[00:52:23] seeing the industry.

[00:52:24] It was obviously one really topical discussion that was covered on the awards day itself around

[00:52:30] influencers.

[00:52:32] So it's very interesting because obviously we work in the same space and have done for the

[00:52:36] last few years.

[00:52:37] And I think that space has really boomed within the last six to 12 months.

[00:52:42] There are so many different forms of influencers out there now.

[00:52:47] It's really just to get your perspective on it,

[00:52:49] because to be honest with you,

[00:52:50] I love putting Ryan on the spot most of the time.

[00:52:53] Um,

[00:52:54] but the post that he shared just in the run up to the awards was absolutely,

[00:52:59] it's for once actually,

[00:53:00] I think all of us had a really good time just looking at Ryan and giving me a good roasting

[00:53:05] for a few days.

[00:53:06] So what were your thoughts?

[00:53:09] Yeah,

[00:53:10] look,

[00:53:10] absolutely.

[00:53:11] I think that many of us feel that the word influencer is an ugly word.

[00:53:15] However,

[00:53:16] I think it's about sort of taking an understanding of where it is in that you're educated,

[00:53:23] you're aware of what's happening and trying to put out responsible,

[00:53:28] um,

[00:53:29] your insights or your,

[00:53:30] what has surfaced for you as something that,

[00:53:33] that,

[00:53:33] uh,

[00:53:34] you're using and other people potentially should look at whether it is,

[00:53:39] um,

[00:53:40] absolutely.

[00:53:41] Uh,

[00:53:41] you should look at this or whether you should be aware of something is,

[00:53:45] uh,

[00:53:47] it's always important to,

[00:53:50] um,

[00:53:50] be transparent about where that position came from.

[00:53:54] So do you have a strategic relationship with someone or,

[00:53:58] um,

[00:53:59] um,

[00:53:59] is it from like one of the things I do is I get hosted to go to conferences.

[00:54:04] So,

[00:54:04] but through doing that,

[00:54:06] I get a huge amount of education that I can share with people.

[00:54:09] So I,

[00:54:10] I always do feel I get called that an influencer.

[00:54:12] I feel uncomfortable with it.

[00:54:14] However,

[00:54:16] education is really important.

[00:54:17] And so I put on the bright pink hair.

[00:54:19] I put on the colorful outfits so I can,

[00:54:22] um,

[00:54:22] engage with people.

[00:54:24] Um,

[00:54:24] and I spend a lot of time crafting what I,

[00:54:27] I,

[00:54:27] I put out there in terms of,

[00:54:29] uh,

[00:54:29] content,

[00:54:30] um,

[00:54:31] and information for people.

[00:54:33] But,

[00:54:33] uh,

[00:54:34] the,

[00:54:34] for me personally,

[00:54:35] the first time I realized I was an influencer when I turned up at grade eight,

[00:54:40] which is,

[00:54:41] um,

[00:54:41] first year of senior school.

[00:54:42] And one of the mothers came up and said to me,

[00:54:45] she chose that school because she knew I'd have done the research and would have picked the best school.

[00:54:50] And she chose it only on me.

[00:54:52] And that was a quarter of a million dollars expenditure.

[00:54:56] She said she chose on me.

[00:54:58] Wow.

[00:54:59] That's insane.

[00:55:00] Uh,

[00:55:00] did you say grade eight?

[00:55:03] Yeah.

[00:55:04] Senior school starts at grade eight in Australia.

[00:55:06] We go grade eight and then you go through to grade 12.

[00:55:09] I think what do you call that?

[00:55:10] I started early.

[00:55:12] And to my point,

[00:55:13] actually,

[00:55:14] the,

[00:55:14] the,

[00:55:15] one of the things that I think is interesting around the term influencer is that we've turned something that is an action into a person.

[00:55:26] So to actually then say,

[00:55:27] well,

[00:55:28] one is that one.

[00:55:29] Actually,

[00:55:29] you do that in your everyday life,

[00:55:33] whether you're conscious of it or not.

[00:55:34] Some people are just better at transmitting it.

[00:55:38] And so I found,

[00:55:39] I find that,

[00:55:41] um,

[00:55:41] there is some responsibility that we need to have to being able to do the diligence on people that you're buying into services for.

[00:55:50] So I think that's really important because in this day and age,

[00:55:53] it is easy to then enter into something that you believe is like a distant sales relationship.

[00:56:00] Early days of eBay were the same.

[00:56:02] You know,

[00:56:03] my dad invested in what he thought was a laptop.

[00:56:06] Of course,

[00:56:06] it never arrived,

[00:56:08] um,

[00:56:09] on eBay.

[00:56:10] So,

[00:56:10] uh,

[00:56:11] distant selling in general has always been something that has gone through its infancy,

[00:56:16] where,

[00:56:17] when you're,

[00:56:18] you're working with people remotely from where you are,

[00:56:21] then maybe that,

[00:56:22] that's the bit that I think gets a little bit tarnished by like what is influencer and what is actually just distant selling.

[00:56:29] But I think that in all cases,

[00:56:31] in both cases,

[00:56:32] it's just about being really well informed.

[00:56:35] And to me,

[00:56:35] I think that now,

[00:56:36] like we have,

[00:56:37] there's so much technology at our disposal to be able to improve what it is that our understanding is,

[00:56:44] regardless of whose network we are a part of.

[00:56:47] I think the main thing is just whose community that you choose to be in and whose table you want to sit at.

[00:56:52] Um,

[00:56:53] and that's why I think that we're,

[00:56:55] we're probably quite open in different ways because we all have very different approaches to it.

[00:57:00] And I know Ryan's post caused a lot of controversy.

[00:57:03] Um,

[00:57:04] but Ryan,

[00:57:05] you learned from it,

[00:57:06] right?

[00:57:06] You,

[00:57:06] you,

[00:57:07] you know,

[00:57:08] people mistakenly always put a voice to your,

[00:57:10] your words,

[00:57:11] but actually I think that you were just learning from it.

[00:57:14] Yeah.

[00:57:14] Well,

[00:57:15] look,

[00:57:15] part of it was just to start a conversation and it was to not say influencing is bad.

[00:57:19] I think influencing is great,

[00:57:20] but it's about being ethical as influencers.

[00:57:23] So doing it in the right way,

[00:57:24] in the right tone,

[00:57:26] the right manner and being open about,

[00:57:27] you know,

[00:57:27] if you are promoting something,

[00:57:29] you know,

[00:57:29] be honest about it and why you're promoting something.

[00:57:31] Um,

[00:57:31] but you know,

[00:57:33] I guess we could call ourselves influencers.

[00:57:35] Other people could call ourselves,

[00:57:36] call us influencers,

[00:57:37] but let's be honest.

[00:57:38] Heather's gone a level above.

[00:57:39] She's a celebrity in the accounting space.

[00:57:41] She's beyond,

[00:57:42] she's stepped above influencing.

[00:57:44] Ryan,

[00:57:45] you are a celebrity in my world.

[00:57:48] Well,

[00:57:48] at least I've got at least in one person's world,

[00:57:50] I've hit that level.

[00:57:52] Well,

[00:57:53] don't,

[00:57:54] sorry for him.

[00:57:55] Don't do it,

[00:57:56] Heather.

[00:57:58] I think that,

[00:58:00] um,

[00:58:01] many,

[00:58:01] many people,

[00:58:03] the,

[00:58:03] um,

[00:58:04] accounting apps or accounting technology is hitting them like a,

[00:58:07] a fire hydrant.

[00:58:08] There is just so much information coming to,

[00:58:11] to them.

[00:58:12] And,

[00:58:13] uh,

[00:58:13] you,

[00:58:14] you,

[00:58:14] Indy,

[00:58:15] John and Ryan are doing such a great job of disseminating that

[00:58:18] information that I'm listening to you.

[00:58:20] I'm listening to,

[00:58:21] uh,

[00:58:21] Tom Herbert who,

[00:58:22] and,

[00:58:23] and,

[00:58:24] who I adore and,

[00:58:25] um,

[00:58:25] to,

[00:58:26] to Blake and,

[00:58:27] um,

[00:58:28] David on,

[00:58:28] on the accounting podcast and just trying to bring all the

[00:58:31] information in and disseminate it all and surface it back.

[00:58:35] Um,

[00:58:35] and I'm sure that you're,

[00:58:36] you're doing the same,

[00:58:37] like the,

[00:58:37] the,

[00:58:38] the amount of research that you do to do your,

[00:58:41] um,

[00:58:41] apps news.

[00:58:42] I'm sure just as hours that people don't realize.

[00:58:46] And,

[00:58:47] and yet influencing,

[00:58:47] but you've done the research and you're just putting that

[00:58:50] information in front of them in a,

[00:58:51] in a way of manner of doing that.

[00:58:53] And frequently what I'll do,

[00:58:55] and I can come back from a,

[00:58:57] um,

[00:58:57] text writing perspective,

[00:58:58] because text writing,

[00:58:59] you defined how you should do it in text writing.

[00:59:01] As I'll say,

[00:59:02] okay,

[00:59:03] this is the solution that I use,

[00:59:05] but let me give you three solutions.

[00:59:07] And I give them an alphabetical order.

[00:59:09] If I don't have a preference,

[00:59:10] always give it an alphabetical order.

[00:59:12] If you don't have a preference.

[00:59:15] That's a really great tip.

[00:59:16] And actually probably,

[00:59:18] um,

[00:59:19] super helpful.

[00:59:19] We started with the digest looking at ways that we could

[00:59:23] transmit that same information,

[00:59:24] but obviously we do try.

[00:59:26] And I think that's the,

[00:59:27] one of the things that things that we were talking about

[00:59:29] before is the approach that we take on influence is,

[00:59:33] um,

[00:59:34] we're probably the Marmite,

[00:59:36] the Vegemite in some respects,

[00:59:38] because we do want to at least share something that is,

[00:59:42] um,

[00:59:43] slightly objective,

[00:59:44] but as you grow,

[00:59:45] as we said,

[00:59:46] things change.

[00:59:47] They evolve as you're working with more and more businesses

[00:59:50] in the space.

[00:59:51] And I think we've kind of see it as a duty is where we

[00:59:54] can to at least keep on trying to convey the content

[00:59:58] that is relevant based on the applications that are out

[01:00:02] there.

[01:00:02] Case in point,

[01:00:03] you know,

[01:00:03] we've worked with some payment technologies.

[01:00:05] We've looked at their processes.

[01:00:07] We've then found maybe some had different processes for

[01:00:11] like from a compliance standpoint.

[01:00:14] So therefore rather than,

[01:00:15] you know,

[01:00:16] calling out or naming and shaming,

[01:00:18] what we tend to do is then say,

[01:00:21] and actually it's,

[01:00:21] it's quite ironic because right.

[01:00:23] We have the ditch water reward.

[01:00:24] We don't actually go out of our way to then name and shame.

[01:00:28] We actually tend to focus on the topic,

[01:00:31] which is compliance and how you can do it well.

[01:00:33] And what are the implications if it's not done well in this

[01:00:36] space?

[01:00:37] So,

[01:00:37] um,

[01:00:38] yeah,

[01:00:38] it's just,

[01:00:39] uh,

[01:00:39] I guess we're all on that path to understanding the balance

[01:00:43] of how to influence and what the,

[01:00:45] um,

[01:00:46] right ways are to make sure that we transmit the

[01:00:49] information.

[01:00:49] And it's heard by the accountants as a general community.

[01:00:53] And I think it's in our industry,

[01:00:55] it's so difficult because things change so quickly.

[01:00:58] So as soon as a takeover happens,

[01:00:59] you're like,

[01:01:00] okay,

[01:01:00] what's going to happen?

[01:01:01] I just recommended a,

[01:01:02] and it's been taken over.

[01:01:05] Are the prices going to go up?

[01:01:06] Are the sub fees going to go up?

[01:01:07] Are they going to stop investing in it?

[01:01:10] And,

[01:01:10] and,

[01:01:10] and you're like a year later,

[01:01:12] this thing,

[01:01:12] this,

[01:01:13] um,

[01:01:13] solution that you loved,

[01:01:17] you,

[01:01:17] you,

[01:01:17] you've dropped,

[01:01:18] you've dropped so fast and you're,

[01:01:19] you're working on something else.

[01:01:20] So it is very difficult and people need to kind of almost

[01:01:24] understand when they're listening to you.

[01:01:26] You almost need to timestamp everything again.

[01:01:30] There's still a second in time.

[01:01:32] This is the solution.

[01:01:34] That is exactly right.

[01:01:36] It is constantly evolving and trying to stay on top of it

[01:01:39] is partly just picking a lane.

[01:01:41] And so those that are very passionate about products that

[01:01:44] necessarily I'm not passionate about,

[01:01:46] I'm still,

[01:01:46] I still have a lot of respect for them because they've picked

[01:01:48] a lane.

[01:01:49] They've,

[01:01:49] they've gone down the path of going,

[01:01:50] well,

[01:01:50] this is why I'm supporting that tool.

[01:01:52] And as you say,

[01:01:53] there could be an acquisition.

[01:01:54] There could be something else that happens.

[01:01:55] Like we had,

[01:01:56] you know,

[01:01:57] uh,

[01:01:57] the plug pulled on making tax digital and it,

[01:01:59] it crippled some apps like overnight because of,

[01:02:02] of that.

[01:02:03] And yeah,

[01:02:03] that,

[01:02:04] that was been impact.

[01:02:04] But it's been great having you on here.

[01:02:07] The last bit I'd like to get,

[01:02:08] uh,

[01:02:09] some thoughts on from you are,

[01:02:10] what do you think has been,

[01:02:11] um,

[01:02:11] I know you've been,

[01:02:12] you've been touring,

[01:02:13] you've been across the U S you've seen some products.

[01:02:15] What do you think has been a really good app release that

[01:02:17] you've seen recently that you thought,

[01:02:19] you know,

[01:02:19] that one I really like.

[01:02:21] Oh,

[01:02:24] so disclosure,

[01:02:25] I strategically partner with Michael Wood,

[01:02:27] which you,

[01:02:28] you,

[01:02:28] you know already,

[01:02:29] but I'm just very impressed with translucent.

[01:02:32] I'm very impressed with it because I,

[01:02:34] I love how it is a compound app.

[01:02:36] Um,

[01:02:37] I think I've said it that to you before,

[01:02:39] the fact that it all breaks down into Lego blocks.

[01:02:42] Um,

[01:02:42] you get all your different,

[01:02:43] um,

[01:02:45] files,

[01:02:46] your zeros,

[01:02:47] your QBOs,

[01:02:47] your waves,

[01:02:48] whatever it is,

[01:02:49] and they can all,

[01:02:49] um,

[01:02:50] break,

[01:02:51] uh,

[01:02:51] come together and be consolidated.

[01:02:53] Just that.

[01:02:55] I find quite fascinating,

[01:02:56] um,

[01:02:57] and,

[01:02:57] and quite different,

[01:02:58] um,

[01:02:59] out there.

[01:03:00] Um,

[01:03:00] yeah.

[01:03:01] So I've,

[01:03:02] um,

[01:03:03] I know their,

[01:03:03] their logo is a skunk,

[01:03:05] I believe.

[01:03:06] I've just realized I've got a logo,

[01:03:07] a Lego panda that looks quite a bit,

[01:03:10] a little bit like a skunk anyway.

[01:03:11] So that's my last little bit.

[01:03:13] So I've got something that looks like a translucent Lego,

[01:03:16] um,

[01:03:17] well,

[01:03:18] icon,

[01:03:21] random bit from me.

[01:03:22] Anyway,

[01:03:22] Michael,

[01:03:23] Michael subtly got it into your office.

[01:03:26] Probably.

[01:03:26] He is very good at that subtle marketing,

[01:03:28] but look,

[01:03:28] thank you so much,

[01:03:29] Heather,

[01:03:29] for coming on,

[01:03:30] talking us through what you're trying to achieve with the,

[01:03:32] the ACCA global council and,

[01:03:34] you know,

[01:03:34] your infinite insights on anything that's tech in the accounting space.

[01:03:38] Thank you so much.

[01:03:39] And you're all doing such a great job.

[01:03:41] Thank you.

[01:03:42] Thanks Heather.

[01:03:44] Thanks for joining us on today's episode.

[01:03:46] We hope you enjoyed hearing more from Matt from iPlicit,

[01:03:51] Heather on the ACC,

[01:03:52] a upcoming elections and some perspectives on influences.

[01:03:57] Also the app news.

[01:03:58] If you've got any perspectives that you want to share on any of the app news,

[01:04:02] stories that you heard or anything on today's episode,

[01:04:04] then we're always hunting for more feedback.

[01:04:07] And,

[01:04:07] uh,

[01:04:07] we really are grateful for it.

[01:04:09] If you haven't already done so,

[01:04:10] we'd really appreciate a review,

[01:04:12] um,

[01:04:12] just to know how we're doing on the episodes.

[01:04:15] And it's really helpful for us.

[01:04:17] If more people in the community reach us to reach out to us directly,

[01:04:21] um,

[01:04:21] to let us know if they've got something interesting or new,

[01:04:24] they'd like to also break to the accounting tech community.

[01:04:27] Um,

[01:04:28] so if you are in the market for speaking,

[01:04:30] then get in touch with one of myself,

[01:04:33] either Indy,

[01:04:34] Ryan or John,

[01:04:36] or you can reach out to me as well.

[01:04:37] So,

[01:04:38] um,

[01:04:38] thanks again.

[01:04:39] We'll catch you on the next one.