In this video, Karpas argues that because Xero made a conscious decision to both support the end user customer and the professional accountant, it is in a much better position to attract large numbers of customer in the US.
This will be a big ask. Of all the accounting markets I have followed, the US is the toughest one to crack because Intuit is so deeply entrenched. As Karpas says, Intuit has built software based upon the idea that you don’t really need a professional accountant. I’d argue that is wholly untrue for the portion of business that is adapting to economic and market changes that have been sweeping the world since 2008.
Like his counterparts in Australia, New Zealand and the UK, Karpas sees opportunity for a new breed of accountant that wants to help business thrive. Off camera, we discussed how over the years, I have seen a steadily growing group of professionals emerge that are fundamentally different to those who went before.
Today’s emerging trend is for professionals to be service led rather than transaction oriented. By that I mean they are offering a menu of relationship based services rather than seeing the annual accounts an tax compliance as their bread and butter.
Even so, Xero has a lot of catching up to do in the US and while I don’t doubt they will achieve a significant measure of success, they have to flesh out the product considerably before they can confidently argue being on a par with the incumbent. The big issue will be whether Xero can create enough buzz in the Silicon Valley region that, in turn, can be amplified throughout the country.
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