What Xerocon means to me | Tanya Titman

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As Xerocon inches closer (less than 100 days to go!) we got in touch with some of last year’s award winners to talk everything Xerocon and why they continue to go year after year.

Tanya Titman is the Managing Director of Consolid8, and was the Xero Australia Accounting Partner of the Year in 2016.

What do you enjoy at Xerocon?

For me, I love the fact that there’s a really diverse range of topics and speakers. It’s not just all about Xero. That’s quite unique in terms of technology conferences. It’s not all about the product and there are enough sessions to cater for everyone. We’re taking the full team again this year, because it’s a great event for everyone in the business to have the Xerocon experience. My team – who love product – are well catered for, and then there are so many other topics as well; we can get so much out of the event.

Why do you chose to go?

Xerocon is an essential part of our team training. Not only for the learning and personal development but also for the networking. I always enjoy listening to Rod Drury and his thoughts on where the industry is heading. He has made such a huge impact on our industry and always challenges our thinking. Being able to talk and network with other accountants and bookkeepers who are aligned and on the same journey as you is great too. It’s a very unique experience – being able to network across both industries together – which is really beneficial.

What was an unexpected experience or memorable experience you have had there?

We thought last year in Brisbane it would be really fun to do a flashmob. We arranged for a choreographer to come and work with our team, and we organised training schedules to practice in the lead up to Xerocon. The choreographer worked with us to put this dance together, and the team got right into it. Then we had it recorded. During the first couple of days of the conference we sent out the video to anyone game enough to join us. On the final night we ended up getting the band to play the song for us. We then walked into the dance floor and did the flash mob taking everyone by surprise. It was great to have a bit of fun with the team as well as a number of people that we have met along the Xero journey.

What have you learnt at Xerocon?

Every year I get something different out of it. I love going and meeting all the add on partners, because there’s always something new and seeing how that might apply to us and our customers. Having all of our team there is beneficial in many ways. It means that we can strategically split up and cover off all sessions and meet all of the add on community across the two days.

How has winning a Xerocon award helped your business?

Winning the national ‘Accounting Partner of the Year’ award at Xerocon in 2016 just topped off a really awesome year of awards for us. It certainly was for me the most exciting award to win because it was about our journey with Xero. We’ve worked so hard as team to embrace the technology and be innovative in what we do. It was an achievement that we had strived for as a team and to celebrate it with everyone present was very satisfying. We have been working hard on a number of new initiatives since winning Accounting Partner of the Year. This award has given us the confidence to take our business to the next level. It has definitely been very rewarding for Consolid8 and our profile amongst the business community and our peers.

Who are most looking forward to hear from at Xerocon 2017 and why?

As always there’s such a diverse range. I’m interested to see Kieran Flanagan and Dan Gregory on the agenda. They are speaking about behavioral science which is an area we are really big on. We do a lot of work-based profiling and we actually consult in this area. It is something that I haven’t seen on the agenda previously so I am really excited about that. The way the industry is going, it’s so much more about workplace culture and communications and ensuring staff are very engaged and delivering great service.

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