SEEING THE FUTURE
Steve Cox, Chief evangelist, IRIS Software Group, ACCA member
Taking flight
I wanted to be a pilot. My dad worked for British Airways for 40 years, so that was my dream job. I started studying for it, but it wasn’t to be. So I sat down and thought about what I wanted to do. I’d always had a love for numbers and I got talking to a couple of accountants and finance managers about their roles. They explained how what they did might be in the background but it was really important to help a business grow, and that appealed to me. I liked the idea of being a person who could help things to grow.
I went to Bournemouth University to study accountancy, but I never imagined I’d end up as chief evangelist at a software company. I’d never even heard of the word “evangelist” at that point! I thought my career aspirations would get me into a finance team or running an accountancy practice. Little did I ever think that I’d be working for a company that provides the lifeblood for accountants to do their jobs and studying future finance trends around the world.
"There must be a better way"
I’ve always been a techie, so when I was studying for my degree I was really struck by the lack of technology. We spent most of the time on paper or spreadsheets and I thought there must be a better way of doing things. When it came to looking for a job after graduation, I wanted to find a role that would combine finance and accounting with my love of tech. And that’s how I ended up at IRIS Software Group. At that time it was one of the few companies creating the core software for accountancy practices. It was exciting to join at a real growth point in the business.
My first role was on the phone supporting fellow accountants in using the software. Then I gradually moved into the development and product management areas. While I was doing that, I qualified as an ACCA member. I was spending time with accountants, not just on the phone but also going out and seeing them on-site, and I felt it was really important to understand the details of what they did in terms of their knowledge and their day-to-day activity. And there was also that sense of mutual respect—they could see me as a similarly qualified accountant who understood what they were saying. The knowledge I gained during my ACCA studies and becoming an ACCA member has given me the insight and better understanding of the daily worries and dreams of accountants across the UK. This helped shape my future and that of IRIS.
Wipe-out
I was rising steadily through the ranks and everything was going well, but then came a reality check. Three years ago I was the senior product director for the accountancy side of the business, when our CTO left. So I threw my hat in the ring and said I’d jump in as interim CTO until we found someone, while doing my current role. In all honesty, I hadn’t realised how much I was taking on. I was working until 1 or 2am every night and then getting up at 6am, and six months later I ended up with shingles and was wiped out of the business for three weeks. My wife sat me down and said, “You’re not seeing the kids, you’re hardly ever around and when you are, your head’s in the laptop. You’ve got to change.”
Enter the chief evangelist
It was a pivotal moment. I realised I had to calm down and focus on doing what would help IRIS to thrive. One thing I realised was that we were too focused on the short term. I sat down with our CEO and said, “At the moment, we’re only looking 18 months ahead, but technology is changing so fast and the accountancy industry is evolving rapidly—we need to look further afield at what’s going on across the globe and how it will influence the UK.”
And that’s where my role of chief evangelist came from—my tenth role in 17 years at IRIS. It’s a great opportunity for me to understand how technology is shaping the transformation we’re seeing in accountancy today. And I’m able to share the findings with ACCA, with our customers and with our teams internally, to help educate them about what the next big thing is that’s going to hit, whether it be a piece of legislation, something within the general culture of accountancy or a new technology that’s coming along. It’s a great feeling to sit down with people and talk to them about what’s happening, showing them that crystal-ball moment of what comes next and then helping them to plan for how they can go and thrive in the future.