What the Xero Acquisition of Syft Means for the Future of Financial Reporting—and why Embedded Analytics is the Next Frontier

Team Ablaze Collective
September 20, 2024 • 8 MIN READ

The recent Xero acquisition of Syft has sparked conversations across the accounting and fintech industries. Syft, one of Intuit’s most popular, and widely downloaded apps from their marketplace, renowned for its intuitive financial reporting and analysis capabilities, will now be integrated into the Xero platform.

This acquisition is a powerful move, enhancing Xero’s reporting capabilities and making it easier for small and medium-sized businesses to access more detailed, and customized, financial insights without needing third party apps. This acquisition enables Xero to offer deeper insights and better data visualization, making it easier for businesses to track their financial performance and make informed decisions.

However, this acquisition also signals something bigger—the increasing importance of data-driven, real-time insights and the role they’ll play in transforming how CPA firms operate. As specialists in embedded analytics at Ablaze Collective, we see this as a positive step but also an indicator that the future lies in real-time, proactive insights that embedded analytics offers.

Here’s how we view the Xero-Syft acquisition, the role it will play in addressing the need for multi-entity reporting, and why we believe embedded analytics will continue to be the next evolution for CPA firms seeking even more powerful tools.

The Syft Acquisition: A Move Toward Consolidated Reporting

Syft has long been favored for its ability to generate insightful reports, KPIs, and dashboards from accounting data. With its integration into Xero, users will now have access to Syft’s reporting features natively within the platform, which is a huge win for accounting firms managing multiple clients or entities.

One key aspect that this acquisition brings to light is the need for consolidated reporting, especially for CPA firms that handle hundreds of clients. Managing multiple entities means not just analyzing individual client data but also consolidating data across entities, portfolios, or client groups, which can be a time-consuming and complex process.

With the Syft acquisition, we surmise that CPA firms using Xero will likely gain better tools for multi-entity reporting, which is a big deal for firms juggling hundreds of client accounts. This could help firms:

• Generate consolidated reports across multiple clients or entities, streamlining the workflow and providing a clearer financial picture at a portfolio level.

• Track performance metrics across multiple businesses, allowing CPA firms to monitor trends, benchmarks, and KPIs across all clients more efficiently.

• Improve client service by offering more comprehensive, top-level insights for business owners managing multiple entities or for firms that oversee groups of companies.

This consolidation will allow firms to get a high-level view of their clients’ portfolios without having to stitch together reports manually, saving time and providing better insights. For CPA firms handling a wide range of clients, this is a welcomed improvement, and the Syft acquisition will likely make this process far more seamless for Xero users.

Why Embedded Analytics Takes Financial Reporting to the Next Level

While the Syft acquisition brings a valuable new dimension to multi-entity reporting, it also points to a broader shift in how firms are thinking about data and reporting. Consolidated reports are essential, but firms need more than just static, historical reports—they need real-time, actionable insights that allow them to predict future outcomes and respond proactively. This is where embedded analytics comes in.

At Ablaze Collective, we specialize in embedded analytics that moves beyond traditional reporting. Here’s why we believe embedded analytics will play a critical role in the future of CPA firms.

1. Real-Time Data for Proactive Advisory Services

The integration of Syft into Xero will improve reporting, but these reports are still based on historical data—they give insights into what has already happened. While this is helpful for tracking performance, it doesn’t offer the ability to respond to real-time changes in a client’s financial health.

Embedded analytics, on the other hand, delivers real-time data directly within the accounting platform itself. Rather than waiting for end-of-month or end-of-quarter reports, firms can monitor KPIs in real time. This enables CPA firms to:

• Respond immediately to changes in cash flow, revenue, or expenses.

• Set up real-time alerts for key financial events, like a drop in profitability or a sudden spike in operating costs.

• Provide proactive advisory services, helping clients adjust their strategies before problems escalate.

Real-time embedded analytics means that CPA firms can shift from retrospective analysis to proactive decision-making, giving clients the agility to respond to financial changes as they happen.

2. Seamless Integration with Existing Workflows

Syft’s integration into Xero will streamline workflows for Xero users by reducing the need for third-party tools. But with embedded analytics, firms don’t even need to export data into another tool. Embedded analytics integrates directly into the accounting systems you already use, such as QuickBooks Online (QBO), Xero, or other cloud accounting platforms.

This means:

• Firms get real-time insights without having to leave their accounting platform or manually pull reports.

• Analytics are embedded within the day-to-day workflow, making it easier for accountants and clients to access the data they need without any extra steps.

• CPA firms can offer customized dashboards for each client, reflecting the KPIs and metrics most relevant to them.

By integrating directly into the workflow, embedded analytics reduces friction and makes financial insights accessible in real time.

3. Building Tailored Advisory Services with Internal Data

A major opportunity that embedded analytics offers is the ability to use internal data from the firm’s own QBO or Xero portfolios to build powerful, customized advisory services. Many CPA firms rely on third-party data sources to create benchmarks and KPIs for their clients, but you already have all the data you need in your own system.

With embedded analytics, firms can:

• Create customized benchmarks and KPIs for each client based on data from their own portfolios, ensuring the insights are directly relevant to the client’s specific industry, region, or business size.

• Offer tailored advisory services by leveraging your existing data—whether it’s across multiple entities or for individual clients—without needing to rely on generic third-party reports.

• Provide predictive analytics that forecast future trends based on real-time data, helping clients plan for growth, manage risks, and make strategic decisions based on what’s likely to happen, not just what’s already occurred.

By using the data that already exists within your firm’s portfolio, you can offer highly customized, real-time insights that deliver more value to your clients.

4. Consolidated Reporting with Real-Time Insights

While the Syft acquisition is likely to improve consolidated reporting for Xero users, embedded analytics goes a step further by offering consolidated insights in real time. This means that CPA firms managing multiple clients can:

• Monitor trends across entire portfolios, not just individual entities, and do so in real time.

• Use multi-entity dashboards to track KPIs across various clients and provide strategic insights on a broader scale.

• Provide real-time advice on client groups or business portfolios, based on up-to-date financial metrics rather than waiting for periodic reports.

For CPA firms managing hundreds of clients or dealing with multi-entity clients, the combination of consolidated reporting and real-time insights allows for better forecasting, benchmarking, and overall client service.

Conclusion: The Syft Acquisition Is a Positive Step, but Embedded Analytics Is the Future

The Xero acquisition of Syft is a great move for the industry, particularly for CPA firms that manage multiple clients and require consolidated reporting. It’s a sign that financial reporting is becoming more streamlined and accessible to a wider range of businesses. But as the accounting industry moves forward, firms will need more than just retrospective reports—they’ll need real-time, proactive insights that embedded analytics provides.

At Ablaze Collective, we’re committed to helping CPA firms unlock the full potential of their own data, offering embedded analytics that integrates seamlessly into the systems they already use. Whether you’re looking to provide real-time insights, set up proactive alerts, or create customized benchmarks using internal data, we’re here to help you take your firm’s advisory services to the next level.

If you’re ready to explore how embedded analytics can transform your firm, we’d love to chat. Let’s make financial insights faster, smarter, and more proactive—together.