Melbourne, XPAC and a whole lot of heat

This week I swapped my Sunny Coast sea-breeze for Melbourne’s… let’s call it enthusiastic warmth… and headed down for the quarterly Xero Partner Advisory Council (XPAC) meeting.

If you’re wondering what XPAC is, picture this: a group of enthusiastic finance professionals (yes, we exist) who gather regularly to share ideas, challenge thinking, and help shape the future of Xero. We meet with clever, passionate Xeros and use our combined experience and superpowers to make life easier for small businesses and their advisors.

Reading that back, I sound especially important. I promise I’m still the same person who trips over her own feet and loses her glasses on top of her head.

Melbourne, you fiery minx!

Two key observations from this trip:

1. Melbourne was HOT.
   Not “ooh it’s a warm day” hot - more like “standing too close to the oven on an Aussie Christmas Day” hot. Walking around on Tuesday afternoon felt like I was being slow roasted.
2. The Australian Open turns the whole city into a festival.
   The energy was electric. Even the Xero office felt like it had absorbed some of that tennis buzz. And yes, I absolutely loved it.

What we actually talked about (between melting)

XPAC is always a mix of deep thinking, honest conversations, and a few “wow, that’s exciting” moments. This round included:

• Connecting with Diya Jolly, Xero’s Chief Product and Technology Officer, to dive into how Xero listens to the voice of the customer - and how our feedback helps shape the product roadmap.
• Exploring the realities of day-to-day advisory work: the tools we rely on, the pain points we wrestle with, and the jobs that need doing. Then we looked at what the future practice could be with AI reimagining workflows end-to-end.
• Rolling up our sleeves for deep dives and workshops to help shape the evolution of the new Xero Partner Hub - including the unified platform, homepage widgets, and JAX integration.
• Hearing updates on key Australian product priorities: workpapers, user permissions, inventory, tax, payments, and payroll.

It was big. It was energising. And yes, my husband will confirm that I always come home from these meetings buzzing with ideas and inspiration. How lucky am I to still feel this way about my work?

A little bucket-list magic

As if the XPAC goodness wasn’t enough, we also got to go to the Australian Open men’s quarter final. That’s a big fat tick on the Trace Bucket List. I may have squealed. Once or twice.

Grateful, tired, inspired.

By the time I boarded my flight home, I was equal parts exhausted and grateful. I love my job. I love working with clever, passionate people. I love contributing to something that genuinely helps small businesses.

And while the big smoke was fun, nothing beats coming home to the sleepy, relaxed Sunny Coast. Truly the best of both worlds.

My advice, stay cool and hit the beach!