Xero, the small business platform, has formed a global collaboration with the multinational professional services network, PwC. The collaboration now allows local PwC firms around the world to provide quick and easy access for their clients to access the Xero platform.

It builds on established relationships in the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. As a result of the new global collaboration, new advantages will emerge for small businesses based in markets like Asia, Europe, the United States and other countries to help accelerate their cloud adoption journey. It also outlines a commitment from both PwC and Xero to continue to innovate together, resulting in the development of efficient products and services for small businesses globally.

Anna Curzon, Xero’s Chief Product Officer said “Internationally, less than 20% of small businesses use cloud accounting technologies. Australia and New Zealand are much further advanced in this area, there is a huge opportunity to bring the benefits of real-time tools to businesses and advisors around the world. This alliance means Xero and PwC can work together to help small businesses increase productivity and provide them valuable time back in their day.”

“Accountants, bookkeepers and their customers want beautiful technology and intuitive online experiences to drive efficiency which helps their businesses thrive. PwC has big ambitions for delivering the innovations their clients want and are asking for. By leveraging Xero’s global platform and strengthening our relationship, we’re able to build a more connected network to accelerate innovation. We see this as helping small businesses succeed by opening up even more opportunities to deliver beautiful products and services around the world,” Curzon said.

Using Xero Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), PwC will work with Xero to continue to innovate together, resulting in the development of more efficient products and services for small businesses. Xero and PwC have already established a track record of designing and building innovative tools and solutions such as PwC’s Cashflow Coach.

Scott McLiver, Global Digital Innovation leader for Entrepreneurial & Private Business, PwC New Zealand, said: “Business owners are increasingly embracing the cloud for their key business systems. For the simple reason that the benefits of doing this are simply enormous. The access to business data that Xero provides allows PwC to build products that solve key business problems. By leveraging powerful cloud accounting technology to build digital products with PwC’s knowledge and technical capability, we can help small business owners to be successful in ways that previously wasn’t possible.”