Cloud Leaders: Reflecting on 2016, Future Trends & Being Thankful

November 23, 2016 Customer Team

What are you grateful for this Thanksgiving?

"We went on a huge hiring spree this year to build out a strong foundation for Catching Clouds that would allow me to start spending more time 'on' my business and less time 'in' my business.  The last piece of our team's puzzle will be put into place just before Thanksgiving.  I'm sooo thankful for that." - Patti Scharf, Catching Clouds 

"I am so grateful to have a team of accounting superheroes. I've always heard,  "No one will care as much about your success as you do", which I think is untrue. Time and time again my team goes above and beyond the call of duty to wow our clients and to help Accountingprose be the best it can be. I love seeing my team grow their skills and creating an environment where they can do their best work." - Cristina Garza, Accountingprose  

"As a recently widowed man (13 months), I am extremely thankful for friends and family who have rallied around me keeping me from being lonely....most of the time.  I am thankful to my father God for his grace and mercy who keeps me company the rest of the time. I am thankful for my many friends and acquaintances at Xero, Hubdoc and TSheets who are almost family by acting like it. I am thankful for my employees and business associates with whom I spend the most time and labor on behalf of my clients. All of these things make me a most blessed man." - Jerry Slade, ByTheBook Keepers 

How has the accounting industry changed since last year?

"The accounting industry is also becoming more "hip" and learning new ways to engage clients online and via social media. Rather than maintaining that behind the scenes "bean-counting" image, accountants are becoming more integral to their clients' day-to-day operations and decision-making processes. And because of new tools and technologies, accounting is becoming easier to understand and keeping financials organized and meaningful is much more fun!" - Nancy Moore, Anchor Bay Accounting 

"With more and more accountants embracing the cloud, there is more feedback and funding going to each of the cloud accounting and app partners, the solutions are getting better and better for all of us.  With the awareness of the cloud and a focus on delivering value to small businesses, it's raising our clients awareness and their expectations.  As well as driving their businesses forward." - Scott Scharf, Catching Clouds 

"There seems to be a heightened awareness of technology's impact on the accounting industry. It is exciting to be part of an industry wide revolution." - Mike Pinkus, ConnectCPA 

What do you hope to see more of in the coming year?

"I hope to see more sunshine. I hope to see more live music. And I hope to see more W-9s completed long before the Form-1099 filing deadline."  - Nancy Moore, Anchor Bay Accounting 

I hope to see deeper integrations between the core platforms like Xero and the Add On partners, pushing for 2 way synchronization, enabling more business value to be delivered to our mutual customers, and enabling our smart accountants to provide more smart human value with less time and effort. - Scott Scharf, Catching Clouds 

"Automation. I love that Xero is spending time to add automation through machine learning and artificial intelligence. Some accountants may see automation as a job killer, but I encourage them to look at it from a different perspective. Let the accounting robots do the repetitive/mundane tasks - these are jobs that I am excited to let go! Once you create that automation you can use your extra time to help your clients grow- it is a win for everyone!" - Cristina Garza, Accountingprose  

"I'm hoping that more accounting firms learn that it does themselves and their clients a disservice to try to be all things to all people, recognize the benefits of specialization, and pick a niche for their own practices." - Patti Scharf, Catching Clouds 

"We hope to see new innovate apps that can take care of my job for me so that I can travel and relax :)" - Mike Pinkus, ConnectCPA 

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