It was an absolute privilege to speak at my very first Xero Singapore Roadshow last week – our first major in-person event in nearly three years. What an incredible day it was, meeting the more than 750 accountants and bookkeepers who showed up to engage with the community, share their knowledge and expertise. An extra special thank you to all those who travelled from Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and elsewhere in the region to attend.

The theme of this year’s event, One Step Ahead, focused on discussions around competitiveness and guidance for partners on getting ahead in today’s challenging climate. Featuring industry leaders and Xero’s own experts, we covered platform tech trends, employer branding and talent retention, as well as the critical nature of human expertise to maximise the value of digitalisation.

As we continue to face significant volatility and uncertainty in our macro environment, these areas will remain top of mind for our customers and clients. It is clear that practices and SMEs alike are looking to remain competitive in this tough post pandemic business climate.

At Xero, we are committed to helping SMEs and their advisors grow and thrive. We also know that digital transformation is key to this. We break down this journey into three distinct waves, which I spoke about in my keynote.

Adopt cloud accounting

While many Singaporean accountants and bookkeepers have already begun riding this wave with their clients, some have yet to take this first step. However, thanks to grants and initiatives facilitated by IMDA and Enterprise Singapore, we see that Singaporean SMEs lead their counterparts around the world in tech adoption.

Apps and services

We welcomed 17 app partners as exhibitors this year, demonstrating the power of our ecosystem in helping clients digitise other important jobs outside of core accounting. From time scheduling and attendance, POS systems, inventory management, payroll or facilitating access to capital, tapping into the wider digital ecosystem is critical to streamlining the business.

Trusted insights

Xero’s platform offers seamless connectivity to over 1,000 business solutions that enable SMEs and their advisors to harness critical data, along with actionable insights to help themselves and their clients plan for the future, or even just nail what they need today.

In case you missed it, here are some of the other key announcements and product updates we made at Xero Roadshow Singapore 2022:

• Our 2023 Singapore State of the Accounting Industry Report with key industry insights to help practices benchmark their business – download the report here!
• Direct filing of GST F5 returns with IRAS through Xero’s direct connection to the myTax portal. Use this checklist for an in-depth guide or join our GST F5 direct filing webinar to find out more.
• The launch of our latest lending integration with DBS making it simpler and easier for SMEs to apply for working capital loans. Find out more by joining our Education Month Webinar: Easy access to Finance with DBS Bank through Xero.
• Our new reporting function. Xero will be retiring old report templates on 31 July 2023. Discover the benefits of Xero’s new reports at Xero Education Month by registering for this session.
• An overview of the top small business apps available in the Xero App Store. Find out how you can grow your advisory services with our app ecosystem.
• A recap on the latest InvoiceNow grants and how e-invoicing can help your clients get paid faster.

Finally, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all those involved who made the event a huge success. From our exhibitors and presenters, to all those who came down, and the incredible Xero Asia team who brought the event to life – a big heartfelt thank you for showing us so much love and support. We can’t wait to see everyone at our next Xero event.