It wasn’t so much a baptism of fire as an introduction by ice. My first trade exhibition. And what a way to start… with the offering from accounting software giants Intuit, QuickBooks Connect at the London Printworks.
With the UK in the grip of a cold snap, and most of the south of England under a blanket (to be honest, quite a thin one) of snow, the first challenge was to get to east London from Vladivostok on Sea (aka Brighton). The next, having arrived at the several-aircraft-hangar-sized venue, was to decide whether to keep one’s coat on or not. On was the answer.
As a former UK national newspaper journalist, I loved the location. It’s where they used to print the Evening Standard, the Metro and the Daily Mail (not so much). The problem was you need a big building to print newspapers in. And big buildings are hard to keep warm!
With the green and white strobe lighting, it was a bit like entering a vast Berlin techno club (apparently). But there were no bouncers… just was a very warm welcome from the QuickBooks team, inspiring speeches from the keynotes and absorbing workshops from leading figures in the accounting field. Plus plenty of steaming hot coffee.
History lesson at QuickBooks Connect
Former MI6 officer Julian Fisher had a selection of chilling anecdotes from the world of secret agents, spies and the dark arts of persuasion. While Jo Tomlinson delivered words of wisdom geared specifically for accountants.
“We’re looking for clients who want more than an end of year history lesson,” said Jo.
Another highlight for me was catching up with Rich Preece, Intuit VP and leader of accountant segment. We had a short but illuminating chat about technology, artificial intelligence and what the future holds for accountants in particular and the industry in general.
Rich is a very smart guy who flagged up the reality of data as “the new currency”. The ability to provide accountants and small businesses with the information to make better and more profitable decisions was key, he told me. He added that what the future held, given the present rate of development in accounting software, was “unimaginable.”
Rich said that data aggregation, combined with artificial intelligence, would change the industry landscape beyond recognition. Quite.
Beef brisket burrito
After a break for a beef brisket burrito, it was off for a couple of afternoon workshops. QuickBooks sales expert Louise Kenny used her soft Dublin brogue to demystify five steps to digitalisation.
It’s the route that accountants must take in order to reach the “holy grail” of becoming an advisory service and it goes via digital design strategy, segmentation and client awareness, efficiencies and capability building.
Particularly interesting was her presentation slide on the proportion of time accountants felt they spent doing different aspects of the job. Bookkeeping still came in very high and advising very low.
My last port of call for the day was a Making Tax Digital panel discussion led by Quickbooks’ Nick Williams and featuring Rebecca Benneyworth, Ian Fletcher and HMRC’s Clare Sheehan. It was a lively discussion full of wit and wisdom.
My favourite quote of the day came from Rebecca and concerned the urgency with which accountancy professionals should approach MTD. “It’s too late to be early. But it’s a good time to be on time.”
Next up, Accountex Summit North followed by Accountex in May…. I can’t wait!