The In-house Finance Team’s Guide to Xerocon

This year's Xerocon is in Sydney, Australia at the ICC on Wednesday 23rd and Thursday 24th August.

If you’re an in-house CFO, Finance Lead or Financial Controller attending Xerocon, you might initially feel the event isn’t built with you in mind. You’ll be among many talks focused on building practice for accounting firms, which can seem far from your day‑to‑day priorities.

But with a strategic approach, Xerocon can transform how you work. Here at Mayday, we’ve seen the event unlock practical efficiencies for in‑house teams. Our CEO David Tuck has attended 10 Xerocons over the past decade, and we’re sharing tips to help you get the most out of your time there.

Read on to learn which exhibitors, demos and talks are most valuable for someone in-house, and how to make the event work for you.

Exhibitors

Xerocon will host over 80 exhibitors, each ready to showcase products and run live demos. This is where in‑house teams often find the greatest value, with real opportunities to save time and money through automation and smarter workflows. A fellow attendee summed it up:

“We get the most out of the vendor stalls rather than what Xero releases. We look for solutions that can enhance our work, reduce time or streamline cumbersome or repetitive processes.”

Consider that among the 80+ exhibitors there may be a few solutions that significantly improve your finance team’s efficiency without requiring a move to a more complex ERP. The big question is, ‘Which of the 80+ exhibitors should I focus on?’

We’re here to help. While we can’t cover every exhibitor, here are app partners we believe suit the needs of most scaling in‑house finance teams and why.

Global expansion and multi-entity

• Mayday (stand G4): For multi-entity Xero users, Mayday offers intercompany recharge automation, simple cross-entity bank reconciliation, and auto-balanced loan accounting. Their intercompany module helps close multi-entity month ends efficiently.

• Spotlight: Create polished performance dashboards and consolidated reports for multi‑entity Xero groups.

• Airwallex: For multi‑currency businesses, accept payments globally in 50+ currencies across 170+ countries, with reduced foreign transaction fees.

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Insight and analytics

• Castaway: A smart cashflow forecasting tool with 3‑way reports and scenarios to test strategy under different market conditions.

• Fathom: An all‑in‑one reporting solution combining analysis, cash flow forecasting and actionable insights.

• Syft: Collaborative financial reporting from simple to integrated forecast reporting for teams.

• Xpna: Excel‑powered connectivity and control for consolidating ERPs, currency conversion, eliminations and what‑if scenarios.

• Calxa: Not‑for‑profit and business budgeting to automate insights and board reporting.

• Spotlight: See Spotlight above for multi‑entity reporting.

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Inventory, supply chain management and manufacturing

• GoJee: Job management, inventory, invoicing and more in a single Aussie app to boost performance.

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Spend management and accounts payable

• ApprovalMax: Automate approvals with multi‑role, multi‑tier workflows to streamline AP and maintain control.

• Lightyear: Data extraction, approvals and collaboration for supplier bills in one platform.

• Weel: An Australian spending platform with company cards, approvals and real‑time transaction visibility.

• Expensify: End‑to‑end expense management integrated with Xero for real‑time tracking.

Payroll and HR

• CloudPayroll: AU payroll with multi‑cost centre tracking and secure user access.

• Employment Hero: Automates payroll processes and HR workflows from timesheets to pay runs in one solution.

• Planday: Xero’s workforce management for rostering, time tracking and payroll.

• Rippling: Consolidates HR, IT and Finance tasks across systems for employee lifecycle management.

• WorkflowMax by BlueRock (launching 2024): A new, updated job management product with a BlueRock partner program, demo opportunities at Xerocon.

Accounts receivable and payments

• Chaser: End‑to‑end receivables automation, credit checks, debt collection and reconciliation in one platform.

• Paidnice: Incentivize on‑time payments with automated late fees and reminders while preserving relationships.

• GoCardless: Recurring payments for invoices, subscriptions and instalments with lower costs.

You can check out a full list of exhibitors on Xerocon’s official website.

Talks

There are back‑to‑back talks at Xerocon, but these are the sessions we believe will inspire in‑house finance leaders:

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Wednesday 23 Aug 

• 11:15am - 11:55am, Lisa MacCallum, an expert in purpose‑led business transformation, Main stage.
• 2:30pm - 3:15pm, What’s next for AI in accounting, Breakout stage 1.
• 2:30pm - 3:15pm, Master reporting and insights in Xero, Breakout stage 4.
• 3:30pm - 4:15pm, Making the most of emerging technologies, Breakout stage 1 – panel discussion.
• 4:30pm - 5:15pm, Finding the right apps for the job in the Xero App Store, Breakout stage 2.
• 5.30-7pm, Exhibition happy hour. A great time to visit exhibitor stands and catch demos.

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Thursday 24 Aug

• 10:15am - 10:45am, Main Stage, Mark Pesce, futurist and educator, sharing thoughts on AI and accounting.
• 11:30am - 12:15pm, What’s next for AI in accounting, Breakout stage 1 (repeat).

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Tips

• Visit exhibitors during practice‑focused talks. Breaks offer quality 1:1 time with app partners at exhibitor stands.

• Wear comfortable shoes. Expect long walks between halls; comfort wins over formal attire.

• Set goals beforehand. Know what you want to achieve and stay focused on the right outcomes.

• Pack a phone charger. You’ll be online all day, so bring a charger or notebook for jotting down ideas.

• Connect on LinkedIn during the event. Capture contacts in the moment for easier follow‑ups.

• Block out time after the conference. Schedule next steps and trials with app partners.

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Lastly, drop by Mayday on stand G4. We’ll discuss how we help multi‑entity businesses on Xero, hand out some t‑shirts, and look forward to meeting you.

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