Accountex is BACK!😃 What to expect – Ask the industry

April 21, 2022

Accountex is BACK!😃 What to expect – Ask the industry

Adam

Accounting Tech, FinTech

Accountex is finally back this May and people seem to be full of genuine excitement at the prospect of gracing the halls of the Excel Centre once again.

Yes, the Accounting Mega Event is back IRL.

With my partner in crime, Phil Hobden starting a new job at Wolters Kluwer as Head of UK Digital Sales this week. It’s down to me to bring you this round-up of what to expect at Accountex. Actually, that’s a lie. Rather than me telling you about it and why you should go. I’ve asked some of the best in the accounting world for their thoughts.

So, if you’re on the fence ago going or need some tips for what talks to see and what vendors to check out, then keep reading or listen to our new pre-launch podcast.

Party like it's 2019?

But before we do, it’s worth mentioning the parties, there’s a few and even one on a boat. Sorry, make that two parties on a boat AND Chris Moyles is DJ’ing. You might not know this, but accountants and vendors do know how to party.

But without further ado, here’s the opinions from some of the best in the business.

Who are you?

Carl Reader, Founder, international speaker, and author of BOSS IT.

Why are you attending Accountex?
Speaking and catching up with colleagues, friends, and contacts.

What are you looking forward to the most?
Seeing the industry back to its pre COVID buzz!!!

What will be a must watch/visit?

My sessions 😊

Who’s going to have the best Swag?

It’s tough to call. I’m keeping my powder dry with this one.

Who are you?

John Toon, Technology Strategy Lead @ Beever and Struthers. Plus, Digi-Tools In Accrual World Podcast Co-founder.

Why are you attending Accountex?

“I’m attending for Networking opportunities primarily.

What are you looking forward to the most?
Identifying potential new vendors and of course the party on the first night.

What will be a must watch/visit?

I’m still organising what I’m going to visit and attend, but with so much going on over two days, sometimes the best stuff finds you.

Who’s going to have the best Swag?

That’s a tough one, but I’m going with Silverfin, Sage and Dext.

Who are you?

Karen Reyburn, Founder/Owner of PF

Who are PF?

PF works exclusively with accountants to help them learn how personal involvement in their own marketing, and understanding the principles of marketing focused on their clients, brings them more of the kind of clients they love (and less of the ones they don’t).

Why are you attending Accountex?

I’m speaking on Thursday, and connecting with clients and prospects and companies who serve accountants who i know. Bringing one of the team so they get to connect with people too.

What are you most looking forward to?

Running into people i haven’t seen in person for years!!

What will be a must watch/visit?

my talk on thursday morning 10.15am about “Better not more”. ha! I must at least show up for that! 🙂 But also i’d love to stop by the goproposal stand as they’re always enthusiastic and energetic, and the xero stand always has fun things to do and good places to rest the feet.

Who’s going to have the best Swag?

hm….i’m going to say gocardless!! they’ve had some exceptionally cool swag in the past.

Any other tips?

Wear good comfy shoes. Drink lots of water. Bring some fresh fruit snacks and something which isn’t too sweet or salty to snack on. Take fresh air breaks so you’re not stuck inside for the entire day with no sunshine or outside air.

Who are you?

Richard Sergeant, MD @ Principle Point

What does Principle Point do?

I work with Fintech’s who build products for accountants or the clients of accountants.

Why are you attending Accountex?

Bit of work. Bit of play.

What are you most looking forward to?

Bumping into people I know along the way,

What will be a must watch/visit?

Carl Reader trying to knock people over while on an e-scooter.

Who’s going to have the best Swag?

Now that, is the $1M question… I aim to find out again,

Anything else we need to know?

Hydrate while you’re there. Don’t agree with everyone but play nicely. And if you’re out on the boozeafter day 1, be warned, day two can be hell with a hangover.

Who are you?

Helen Cockle, COO @ Futrli

Who are Futrli?

Complex forecasting made simple for accountants truly looking to scale the support and advice they give their business clients.

Why are you attending Accountex?

It is one of the best accountant focused events of the year and an opportunity for us to engage with clients old and new.

What are you most looking forward to?

Seeing everyone! We have been locked away for too long.

What will be a must watch/visit?

The Futrli Stand – obviously

Who’s going to have the best Swag?

Our Swag. Yes, it’s that good.

Anything else we need to know?

Maaaaay be – wait and see on the day!

Who are you?

Zoe Lacey-Cooper, MD @ CPDStore

Are you exhibiting?

Yes, you can find us on stand 175.

Why are you attending Accountex?

#FOMO and it’s the place to go!

What are you most looking forward to?

Watching the doors opening – we have waited 3 years for Accountex London to run again – We cannot wait!

What will be a must watch/visit?

Des O’Neill from CPDStore talking about “The Great Resignation” 11th May @ 10.15

Who’s going to have the best Swag?

Sage always! although CPDstore are giving it a go! I am trying to arrange a swag off video so watch this space!

Anything else we need to know?

Parties! Book them in! Ignition already fully booked but the IRIS private Yacht party just recently launched, and it looks pretty cool!

Who are you?

David Tuck, Co-Founder & CEO @ Mayday

What does Mayday do?

Making month end painless. Starting by automating intercompany recharges between connected entities.

Are you exhibiting?

Not this year.

Why are you attending Accountex?

First trade show since launch. Scouting out in advance of exhibiting next year.

What are you most looking forward to?

Meeting up with other apps.

What will be a must watch/visit?

Carl Reader’s talk.

Who’s going to have the best Swag?

Ignition.

Who are you?

Kayleigh Graham, Head of Sales @ Telleroo.

What does Telleroo do?

Better bulk payments. Cut out payment errors. Work more securely. Get payment, accounting systems & finance teams working better together.

Are you exhibiting?

Not this year but I am hosting a panel on cognitive diversity!

Why are you attending Accountex?

To raise awareness of the importance of cognitive diversity in the accounting industry but also to get an understanding of what’s new and upcoming in the space. The industry is going through an interesting time at the moment where we are truly starting to see the outputs of implementing all the new tech and ‘advisory’ processes. The focus is really now on value delivered not features new tech can provide.

What are you most looking forward to?

Honestly – catching up with everyone and meeting new people!

What will be a must watch/visit?

My own talk – duh! But also Fran Tricaricos talk – a really inspiring story.

Who’s going to have the best Swag?

Hmmm – Capitalise usually have some good quality swag OR Dext.

Who are you?

Emma Crawford-Falekaono, Head of EMEA @ Igntion

What does Ignition do?

Ignition makes it simple to engage clients, get paid and run your accounting or professional services business on autopilot. From impressive online proposals to automated engagement letters and payments, we free you up to focus on what matters most – your clients. Stand 20.

Why are you attending Accountex?

To remain at the forefront of Accounting & Finance innovation. We can finally get 250+ global brands together and engage with our customers and members of the profession face to face. Not only is it an amazing opportunity to engage with other likeminded people, it is great educational opportunity for my team with the high calibre of speaking sessions.

What are you most looking forward to?

Finally having meaningful, human face to face connections with tech savvy members of the accounting & finance industry.

What will be a must watch/visit?

The Igniton party on Wednesday evening from 5pm at The Fox ExCel, live music, free drinks and a DJ. Make sure you register

Who’s going to have the best Swag?

When you find out, can you let me know?!

Who are you?

Aynsley Damery, CEO @ Clarity

What does Clarity do?

Clarity helps busy accountants thrive by realising the full potential of their team, their firm and their clients. We do that by giving them the structure, tools and plans to build better businesses; and the confidence to make it happen. Come and see us on Stand 323.

Why are you attending Accountex?

I’ve always loved attending Accountex as an accountant in practice. Great to meet people, great to see what’s happening/hot in the industry and great to hear from the best about what’s working right now. It’s exactly the same now!

What are you most looking forward to?

Catching up with our members, friends and colleagues after way too long! And of course, making new friends.

What will be a must watch/visit?

Stand 323 of course! And our talks on Wednesday about “Doubling your Profits” and “The Secrets of the Million Pound Plus Firms” and on Thursday about “Why not all clients are created equal”!

Who’s going to have the best Swag?

Our socks are award-winning!

Who are you?

Kyle Hughes, Head of Partnerships @ App Advisory Plus

What does App Advisory Plus do?

App Advisory Plus was founded by accountants who found a pain point when trying to find impartial advice on app and building an app stack. We work with software vendors to market to cloud-savvy accountants and also the accountants themselves helping their clients and them wherever we can 😊 Come and hi to me on stand 1266.

Why are you attending Accountex?

We have sponsored a seminar theatre and it is AAP’s big external launch, albeit delayed by 2 years!

What are you most looking forward to?

Meeting people in my network and people I haven’t met IRL due to COVID

What will be a must watch/visit?

Apart from our stand, the 2022 Year of Payments – Making Payment and Getting Paid panel in the App Advisory Plus theatre featuring our very own Will Farnell.

Who’s going to have the best Swag?

I hear Futrli’s will be tasty 😋

Who are you?

Darren Glanville, Country Manager @ Fathom

Are you at Accountex?

We are indeed and you’ll find us on stand 883. We’re Opposite Dext and the Accounting Cafe ☕️ pop over and say hi!!

Why are you attending Accountex?

After the past few years it’s gonna be amazing to get back to one of the iconic exhibitions of the accounting and fintech space. We always look forward to getting face time with our customers and partners, and to network with our app partner peers – we’re such a passionate bunch. Of course there’s plenty of hard work to be done but great to chill out with an after-party drink or two.

What are you most looking forward to?

Meeting up IRL again, sharing insights and of course just look at the schedule of speakers – so much to absorb and take in.

What will be a must watch/visit?

So many to choose, Carl Reader is always great to see, Will Farnell and the App Advisory Plus theatre ooh so many…

Who’s going to have the best Swag?

The Swag game will be huge this year, Dext, Sage and Capitalise all have great SWAG-ger.

Anything else we should know?

If this is your first time – go with a plan, know the app partners you want to see, enjoy the experience, they are longs days, visit the talks and sessions that will add value to your firm or your role. Network with your peers, make new connections, learn what works, take time to debrief team or colleagues afterwards but most of all enjoy it.

Who are you?

Alastair Barlow, CEO @ Flinder

What does Flinder do?

We build and run smart finance functions and integrated data analytics for complex and fast-growth businesses.

What are you most looking forward to?

Catch up with people and see if there’s anything new and the buzz.

What will be a must watch/visit?

Me, obviously. I’ll be on the ACCA theatre at 12pm on Day 1 and 11am on Day 2 talking about The Evolution of the Accountant.

Who’s going to have the best Swag?

Hmm…who’s had the biggest raise recently? Karbon, Ignition? Sage normally have to have a fair amount as the product isn’t as good…

Anything else we should know?

It will be interesting to see how the profession and wider industry has really progressed over the last 3 years…we’ll get a taste from the calibre of exhibitors, talks and attendees.

Who are you?

Sam Horner, Head of Advisor Channel @ Swoop

What does Swoop do?

Swoop is a business funding and savings platform enabling businesses to discover the right funding solutions across loans, equity and grants, and to identify and easily make savings – all in one fell swoop.

We work with over 1,000 funding providers from mainstream banks, alternative lenders, venture capital funds, SEIS/EIS funds, angel investors and grant agencies, meaning that whatever your funding requirement, we’re able to offer a solution. Come say hi and see us on stand 232.

Why are you attending Accountex?

Accountex is always a great place to help up skill and educate the industry. It was a no brainer to exhibit and support. Oh and to see all the new and familiar faces in real life and not over Zoom!

What are you most looking forward to?

As we are the new kids on the block within the accounting space, I can’t wait for everyone to see and hear about what we have to offer.

What will be a must watch/visit?

Carl Reader and Alastair Barlow always know how to shake things up in their sessions! Of course our very own Andrea Reynolds who will be doing a talk on How open banking can make you indispensable: why the future is bright for a new kind of accountant.

Who’s going to have the best Swag?

It’s a tough one as all have had 2 years to plan this but if I was a betting man I would go with Dext or Sage

Anything else we should know?

Make sure you have your dancing shoes on before visiting our stand.

Who are you?

Mike Dean, Managing Director @ WhisperClaims

What does WhisperClaims do?

WhisperClaims is empowering accountants to deliver R&D tax claims themselves, under their own brand, with a combination of technology and support. Come see us on stand #111 (you can’t forget that!)

Why are you attending Accountex?

Mainly for networking with our peers in the industry and getting our message out there – that there’s a better way to deliver advisory services than outsourcing – leverage tech to bring work in-house, deliver more value to your clients and grow your firm as a result.

What are you most looking forward to?

Networking – and of course speaking on the Practice Growth Theatre stage.

What will be a must watch/visit?

Don’t miss me speaking on the Practice Growth Theatre stage at 12.00 on Thursday – see you there!

Who’s going to have the best Swag?

Ooof – well I’ve not bought any socks since AccountingWeb Live in December, so I’ll be on the hunt this week!

Anything else we should know?

It’ll be interesting to see how far the industry has gone with advisory – are firms successfully making the transition from compliance led to advisory led – I know some of our users are, but are they right at the forefront of that journey?

We’ll be talking to some of the big hitters in the Accounting and Fintech space! Got something to Share? Contact us!

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Post Tags :

Accounting Tech, FinTech

Adam

Passionate about how Fintech and Accounting Tech can support businesses.

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