As part of its ongoing effort to understand the needs of the accounting market, Xero (www.xero.com), the global leader in online accounting software, today announced the latest inductees to the Xero Partner Advisory Council (XPAC), thanking the graduating class of 2013 and introducing new members of the class of 2014. The Xero Partner Advisory Council represents a global team of the world's most innovative and forward-thinking accounting professionals, dedicated to empowering small businesses and strengthening Xero's worldwide partner community.
Today's news marks Xero's latest move to keep ahead of market trends and customer needs by working closely with its accounting professional partners. Members of XPAC have an unparalleled understanding of customer needs and they work with Xero to convert big picture strategies into real world solutions.
"We couldn't be innovating and disrupting the accounting industry without the valuable insight provided by our established community of accounting professionals," said Jamie Sutherland, president, Xero U.S. "The XPAC team is a core part of the Xero ecosystem, playing a crucial role in our ability to deliver new products and features that are guaranteed to be of service to accounting professionals and their clients. To the class of 2013, who will continue to partner with Xero in 2014 and beyond, we give an enormous 'thank you,' and look forward to working with the class of 2014 to further lead the cloud accounting revolution."
The XPAC class of 2013 offered Xero helpful customer feedback, much of which was incorporated into the development of Xero's latest features like 1099s, QuickBooks® Conversion, Payroll, Files and Purchase Orders. The 2013 graduating class consists of a variety of industry pundits, including Steve Chaney of Chaney & Associates; Doug Sleeter of The Sleeter Group; Jim Wilkinson of the Braver Group; Magen Smith, CPA; and multiple award-winner Gary Boomer of Boomer Consulting. In particular, Gary Boomer has devoted an extraordinary amount of time and support to both Xero overall and to the program, and as such was awarded the first U.S. Xero MVP award at Xerocon, Xero's annual user conference.
"Boomer Consulting, Inc. advises many of the top 500 U.S. accounting firms, including a majority of the top 100 firms. Most firms are looking for ways to provide innovative and higher value advisory services. Xero and their related ecosytem provide a strategic advantage to those firms and many of their clients," said Gary Boomer, CEO of Boomer Consulting. "When we show our customers the power of the Xero accounting platform, they are very grateful for the improved productivity and collaborative opportunities. I am pleased to have followed Xero's development and entry into the U.S. market over the past 2 1/2 years as well as personally meeting their U.S. and New Zealand leadership team."
Helping to guide the design process this year is the XPAC class of 2014. The team includes Nick Bird of Lucid Books; Tom Compere of RBZ; Jill Kuksa of HTH; Keith Mueller of Bookkeeping Express; Bruce Phillips of Harshman Phillips & Company; Scott Scharf of Catching Clouds; Ryan Watson of Upsourced Accounting; and Barrett Young of The Green Abacus. The team has already hit the ground running, with the first meeting taking place this past December.
"In my experience with Xero, it is clear that the company is thoroughly engaged with the accounting community, and I look forward to personally being involved with XPAC this year," said Ryan Watson, Principal, Upsourced Accounting. "The features and innovations that Xero produces go way beyond 'requirements' -- they actually make us excited about accounting!"
About XPAC
The Xero Partner Advisory Council (XPAC) was created to strengthen the relationship between Xero and its partner community. The team meets periodically to discuss various topics and provide advice on Xero's partner program, sales strategies, product, and vision, resulting in targeted, innovative new features and supporting content. To request XPAC membership, email USPress@Xero.com.
