Member Article

A festive chat with… Gary Turner, managing director of Xero

Today’s festive favourite is Gary Turner, managing director of cloud-based software accounting company, Xero.

2015 – Looking back

What were the highlights for your business in 2015?

**“**Xero has had another big year of growth with annualised subscriptions on track to exceed £90 million and we also confirmed our position as the leading online accounting software with over 100,000 subscribers in the UK. We were also pleased to be named by Forbes Magazine as the World’s Most Innovative Growth Company for the second year running.

“Xero appearing in the form of an Apple Watch app was an exciting development as it was a further step in making finances more mobile for customers. In honour of the Rugby World Cup Xero hosted a dinner with James Kerr, the bestselling author of, ‘Legacy: What the All Blacks Can Teach Us About the Business of Life’ for an exciting talk on what can be learnt from the world’s leading rugby players when dealing with pressure in business life.

“Other highlights include the launch of Payroll on Xero for UK customers and welcoming Metro Bank to the network of automated bank feeds. “

Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently this year?

“Looking back, the dinner we hosted with James Kerr opened my eyes to the possibility that successfully navigating high pressure situations is a privilege for the successful. I wish I had taken the time to appreciate the pressure of growing Xero UK all these years!”

How has your industry changed in the last year?

“It’s clear that developments like the cloud and the appearance of new ways of managing your business with tools like Xero is fundamentally reshaping every industry in significant ways. Whether you’re in software like us, accounting or any line of business, both the reach and pace of technological innovation is quickening every year, and 2015 was no exception with the real emergence of services like Uber and Airbnb, or smartwatches coming of age with the launch of the Apple Watch.”

2016 – Moving forward

What are your key focuses for next year?

“We just love building things that make our customers lives easier, whether they be ideas or features that ensure small business customers remain in the best position for growth and efficiency. A big focus next year will be applied to the creation of tools help users to work even smarter and faster. It will also be important to add to the 450+ certified add-on solutions already directly integrated with Xero. “

What are you most looking forward to in 2016?

Xero will be working closely with the Government Digital Strategy (GDS) team within HMRC to support the roll out the Digital Tax Account service, designed to replace the current Self Assessment tax return process. As such, Xero will be detailing its strategy at Xerocon, it’s annual conference in London on the 9-10 February. HMRC’s Brigid McBride OBE, who leads the delivery of the HMRC strategy, will also be there outlining its core elements at Xerocon.

What do you expect will be your biggest challenge in the coming year?

“Given the reliance among the majority of the UK’s 5.3 million businesses on simplistic paper or spreadsheet-based record keeping habits, the challenge of migration to a digital reporting world will not be trivial, and will require the support of the cloud software industry in the form of creating compelling digital alternatives in order for the Government’s digital strategy to meet its goal. “

The softer stuff

If you could go back in time, which piece of advice would you give your younger self?

“It’s great to get to a level of fearlessness when you have confidence in your team because actually in business you don’t know whether it’s going to work or not. There’s a huge risk element. Attain a level of fearlessness, - not arrogance - faith in your and your team’s abilities empowers you to take on any challenge. Have faith and confidence in your vision - anything is achievable.

How will you be celebrating the festive period?

“The family and I are heading up to Scotland to spend Christmas with family back in Scotland for a few days, then we plan to disconnect from the grid and just hibernate, polishing off a few mince pies along the way.”

Take a look at previous ‘festive favourites’ across the South East and London:

Rahul Parekh, CEO and co-founder of EatFirst

Tracy Ewen, managing director at IGF Invoice Finance

Michael Page, joint managing director of Saracen Interiors

Martin Campbell, managing director of fintech startup Ormsby Street

Salman Iftekhar and Michael Gadsby, co-founders of Staffing Match

Graham Marley, chief executive of Let’s Do Business Group

Sarah Anglim, founder and managing director of Gatwick’s I Love Meet and Greet Parking

Kristian Poliszczuk, director of online job portal Workango

James Wyatt, partner of Surrey letting agency, Barton Wyatt

Wayne Treveil, CEO of Tenants Plus

Darren Rigden, partner at Crowe Clark Whitehill

Michael Kent, CEO and founder of Azimo

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ellen Forster .