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Paul Bulpitt, Xero UK

Xero UK appoints new head of accounting

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13th Aug 2015
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Xero UK’s newly appointed head of accounting Paul Bulpitt readily admits to being a partisan. “Xero has had a transformative impact on my professional life,” he says. “It was an offer I couldn’t say no to really”.

He’s eager, however, to emphasise that he’s still very much an accountant. His firm, The WOW Company, has experienced strong growth – winning the Practice Growth category at last year’s Practice Excellence awards – and Bulpitt will continue to function in his capacity as director of accounting at the firm.

“I’m really keen to make clear that that’s definitely the case,” he says. “The head of accounting role at Xero is about appointing someone on the front lines of the profession. That hasn’t changed.”

As a well known professional iconoclast, Bulpitt is a good match for Xero. But his words exhibit less of the lacquered sheen of a trained marketer than the determined confidence of an entrepreneur. He’s certain, he says, that he can fulfil both roles: “Both Xero and I believe it’s important to have a foot in both camps and I think the roles are mutually beneficial.”

The head of accounting role is a new one for Xero UK. But the role already exists at Xero US and is currently occupied by Amy Vetter.

Bulpitt’s role as head of accounting will be to act as a representative for Xero’s 3,000+ accounting partners.

“Xero are great at building accounting software and their team is extremely talented,” says Bulpitt. “What they lacked was a person who is working on the front line every day. So if you imagine things from a practical perspective, like a product roadmap, they’ve got a gazillion demands for different features and all different directions in which to take the product. But how do they prioritise? how do they know?

“My role is to gather feedback from this community in a coordinated way and say, ‘listen, guys this is what we need to do’.”

In the video accompanying Bulpitt’s appointment, Gary Turner, Xero UK’s managing director, speaks about Xero’s desire to formalise its relationship with its partner network.  “The existing input we get around road map and strategy is going to be even more laser sharp and focused,” says Turner. “I know we’ll get a lot of benefit from that independent voice, operating side by side with us.”

Bulpitt was first contacted about the role two months ago and has now officially started. “As you can imagine with any new job, there’s kind of a lull before the storm,” he admits. “But there are a few projects we’ll be able to talk about in next month to six weeks.”

Despite the calm start, he is aware of the challenges to come. “The 3,000+ accountants on the Xero partner platform all have different voices, all have different ways in which they want to take the product,” says Bulpitt.

“The opportunity here is to make a difference to, literally, thousands of businesses. This role isn’t about where Xero are now; it’s about where Xero are going to be.”

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By qad999
15th Aug 2015 21:36

strong growth ?

...but no profits .. am I missing something ?

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