Humans of Xero: Sarah Foo

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Our Humans of Xero blog series features one of our awesome Xero staff members. Learn all about their dreams, some fascinating facts and what makes them tick!

Meet Sarah – originally from New Zealand but now lives with her family in beautiful Hong Kong helping accountants and bookkeepers make the leap to Xero as a Partner Consultant.

Tell us about your role at Xero?

I’ve been at Xero for over a year as a Partner Consultant based in our Hong Kong office. My role is about educating and inspiring accountants and bookkeepers to move to Xero to improve their practice. I’m always meeting and introducing new people to Xero, explaining all the finer details, and answering the nitty-gritty questions.

Hong Kong is an exciting market for us because many accounting firms here don’t use desktop software. Instead, they tend to use Excel or Word to keep their books. Often at the start of meetings people arrive with their arms folded, sceptical about what Xero can do. I always love watching people’ expressions when they see how Xero works and how many hours it can save them. Nothing can beat the challenge of taking people from Excel spreadsheets to doing everything in the cloud.

Why did you decide to join Xero?

Before joining Xero I worked for 12 years in professional services for accounting firms based in Auckland, Shanghai, Singapore and Hong Kong. Being a Kiwi, I was really happy when Xero announced they were opening an office in Hong Kong. Xero is a major New Zealand success story, and one I’m excited to be a part of.

The more I researched and spoke to people working at Xero and using the product the more excited I became. I wanted a role where I can help people and make a difference so Xero felt like a natural fit.. My parents own and run small businesses so I know how tough it can be. However, Xero is really helping small business owners by giving them better insight into their financial health and more time to do the things they love.

What’s it like working at Xero?

Xero is an incredibly empowering and unique place to work. You’re encouraged to bring your whole self to work and speak about your family, passions and goals. In Hong Kong we have just 8 staff so even though Xero is an ASX listed company, here we are very much a start up. We all roll up our sleeves and do whatever needs to be done. It’s incredibly flexible and trusting so you’re not expected to be at your desk every moment of every day – particularly in my role where I’m out and about most days visiting accounting firms or conducting classroom training.

Tell us something #human about yourself?

I have 4 year old twin boys so one of the really #human things I love about Xero is the flexibility and childcare leave they offer.This means I can get to parent teacher conferences, graduations, and care for my children if they’re sick. I can also work from home or a cafe, and be trusted to do my best work.