Using cloud technology, Figured works hand-in-hand with Xero, a leading cloud accounting platform, to provide up-to-date financial management information, reports and analysis.

Founded in New Zealand, we’ve since expanded to become a global team across Australia, the US and now the UK, where we launched in June 2018. Before entering the UK, we took our time to understand the market. We’ve worked closely with UK partners over the past 12-months to better understand the needs of UK accounting practices and their clients. To provide local support to our partners, we’ve also built a strong team on the ground in the UK.

We are a disruptive and ambitious software company that believes we can change agriculture for the better. The UK is facing a period of change in which the collaborative approach that Figured enables can deliver real value. With Making Tax Digital, Brexit, Open Banking and the rapid adoption of cloud accounting tools influencing the UK market, the need for an agri-specific financial management solution has never been more relevant. And while these might be the influences that lie ahead of us right now, we can expect a period of constant and on-going change, and within six months' time, those drivers of change could be different.

We believe that a prosperous industry needs to start with a cultural shift towards focusing on profit, rather than production, as a driver of business results. As trusted advisors, we believe that accountants have a critical role to play in changing this. We see so much talk about on-farm technology, such as drones and self driving tractors, but there is only value in these tools if they are helping a farming business to become more profitable. Their value is not just about the data they provide, but understanding this in the context of a farm’s financial performance.

Profitability and growth happen through a closer understanding of efficiency and productivity. Therefore empowering advisors with insightful financial data and accessible analysis tools is critical to helping the farming sector in the UK becoming more competitive, more focused on profit, more innovative and better able to respond to changing times.

We’re excited to be working with the ICAEW Farming Forum throughout 2019, including participating in next year’s conference, and demonstrating our support through sponsorship of the group. We’re looking forward to contributing to membership growth and reach by leveraging our ecosystem of accounting partners, as well as our relationship with Xero.

We’d love to hear from members with feedback on what they want to see from us as the group’s technology partner.

David Kirby
UK & Ireland Managing Director
david.kirby@figured.com

The views expressed are the author’s and not ICAEW’s.