This week’s episode (sponsored by FreeAgent ) dives into the latest
accounting tech news and fintech news, with sharp takes on major acquisitions and the future of user experience.
We cover:
The big fintech news as Starling acquire Ember — and what it means when a challenger bank strategically pulls the rug out from its high street competitors.
Xero's controversial decision to email your clients directly — and the debate on who should own the client relationship.
Xero's long-awaited navigation redesign and Syft-powered analytics — and whether this finally brings the user experience up to modern standards.
The launch of QuickBooks agentic AI experiences — and how they're leveraging the entire Intuit ecosystem to go beyond simple bookkeeping.
Plus: A deep dive into UI/UX with iplicit's CPO Paul Sparks, exploring why modern design and a mobile-first approach are just as critical as the AI hype.
We also hear from Tugger's Craig Morrall on why your P&L is only half the story, and how to get true business insight by combining financial and operational data.
00:00 Welcome to Digi-Tools in Accrual World!
04:43 User Experience Matters: Modernising Accounting Platforms - with Paul Sparks from iplicit
05:07 Mobile App Development and User Experience
07:08 Platform Usage Analysis by Role
08:32 UI/UX Modernisation Plans
09:54 AI Assistant Integration
14:31 App News
15:18 Starling Bank Acquires Tax Software Ember
20:10 Xero will contact your clients on updates
23:57 Xero Analytics Gets an Upgrade with Syft
27:17 Xero is introducing a redesigned navigation
30:34 QuickBooks is launching new agentic AI experiences
35:00 Sage has announced the launch of Workforce Intelligence
39:05 Sage expands capabilities for Intacct
44:10 FreeAgent Adds Excel Export for Management Reports
44:40 Data-Driven Decisions: Combining Financial and Operational Reporting: with Tugger
45:28 Combining Financial and Operational Data
48:04 Data Ownership and Reporting Structure
50:03 Business Drivers for Integrated Reporting..