On Wednesday 15 March 2023, we hosted our very first SyftCon in the Syft office in Johannesburg, South Africa. The office was decked out with glorious food and gorgeous floral arrangements for our attendees to enjoy alongside stimulating conversations, debates, and networking.

Our team donned dedicated SyftCon T-shirts featuring the iconic skyline and we turned our attention to some of the challenges that South Africans - and the world at large - have faced in recent times. This was a day full of insights and new perspectives and we'd like to thank everyone who attended.

The theme of SyftCon 2023 was Opportunities in the Face of Obstacles. As a company which saw immense growth during a global pandemic, we are very familiar with this theme.

In South Africa, where SyftCon was held, we face incredibly difficult circumstances with the rolling blackouts we euphemistically call "loadshedding" which make it very difficult for businesses to operate. This, combined with widespread corruption and widespread economic hardship means that finding opportunities in the face of obstacle is not just an interesting concept, but a necessity.

While loadshedding may not be a universal issue, there's no doubt that other countries are facing similar turbulence and hardship with the cost of living crisis in the UK and potential recession looming in the US and elsewhere. Moreover, if there's anything I took away from last Wednesday's discussions, it's that the problems that accountants and bookkeepers are facing today tend to be very similar worldwide. From the scarcity of talent to skills gaps and a general lack of understanding of cloud accounting, these problems are widespread and need to be addressed.

Our morning started off with an introduction from the event organiser and Customer Success Manager, Jamie Bezuidenhout, reflecting on the move towards e-commerce operations during COVID-19 and concurrent uptick in cloud software, online meeting, and remote collaboration.

Next, our CEO and Co-Founder, Vangelis Kyriazis, took us through the story of the birth and maturation of Syft Analytics over time. From just 4 employees - or co-founders - at its inception to the milestone mark of 50 employees, the Syft story has been a great example of seizing opportunity in difficult circumstances. What's more, it serves as proof of the wealth of talent available in South Africa.

Ricardo Ghanem, from Wingman Accounting, and Syft CEO, Vangelis Kyriazis, speaking in the panel discussion

Next, our keynote speakers gave presentations noting the key issues impacting the financial and business sectors of South Africa and highlighting ways in which these issues could be transformed into opportunities. SyftCon's keynote speakers ranged from the Head of Risk at PwC South Africa, Anton van Wyk to Nick Tozer, tax risk manager at Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) and Grant Krog, executive in advisory at First National Bank (FNB).

One of the insights that struck me as particularly interesting were the ways in which uniquely South African challenges led to amazing innovation in the "unseen economy". Often mislabelled as the "informal economy", the "unseen economy" is actually very formalized, but goes largely unnoticed by the "formal economy" despite its impact on a vast number of people. There was also a lot of emphasis on managing risks in an organization and inspiring a culture of ethical behavior, the importance of which cannot be understated if we are to stave off bribery and corruption.

We also had a lively panel discussion between three Syft users, Celeste Summerton from the Business Boutique, Ricardo Ghanem from Wingman Accounting, and Lauren du Plooy from Rae & Associates, about the merits of different accounting softwares. The big names that came up were Sage, Xero, and QuickBooks. Strong cases were made for all three of these accounting softwares. However the strongest case was made for making the move to cloud accounting software in the first place and leaving desktop software in the past.

It was very encouraging to see that everyone in attendance at SyftCon made use of cloud accounting software!

The panellists also discussed what they use Syft for in their practices and what their tips and tricks are when it comes to marketing their practices and hiring new talent, some of the most widespread problems for accounting firms today.

We also had some very interesting talks from our Head of Growth, Duran Hamer, and Head of Product, Ele Kyriazis, about Syft's growth path and plans for the future. From new feature releases to an increasing number of software integrations, Syft is primed to keep growing and providing value to our expanding userbase so that creating and collaborating on beautiful reports is simple and more and more businesses can start making data-driven decisions today.

Furthermore, our Head of Education and Implementation, Jodilee Manuel, discussed her projects with universities to bridge the skills gap along with future plans for our training platform, Syft Campus. With the combination of our software and the Education department's commitment to training, it's never been so easy to up-skill your team or future team members who are still studying.

It's difficult to capture the vibrant energy of SyftCon 2023 in text and I know that as a Syftie I can be biased, so let's see what our attendees had to say instead. Here are a few comments I found on LinkedIn.

Luan van Rhyn from Thrive CFO says:

"Amazing to see how far you have come Syft Analytics and I will book my front-row seat to this a show for sure. Success can be the only destination with such an amazing team."

Ricardo Ghanem from Wingman Accounting says:

"A great event! Well done to Syft; you are truly leaving the global competition behind. What a treat to have a South African success story like Syft in the cloud accounting space."

Damian Baker from OCFO says:

"As a South African tech company, Syft Analytics has achieved remarkable success, their dedication to providing top-notch solutions for data analytics, reporting and business intelligence is truly commendable."

Michelle Janse van Rensburg from Nimacc Business Lounge says:

"We can honestly say Syft Analytics is a phenomenal tool, providing real time valuable insights with a reliable connection to Xero and a support team that is always willing to go the extra mile 💙 (no matter how difficult the customer 😉)"

PKF Ignite's LinkedIn page says:

"It was so great to catch up with the Syft Analytics team at #Syftcon yesterday.
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They blew us away with their awesome roadmap and upcoming developments. And let's not forget all the valuable insights we gained on the latest trends in the professional firm market.
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Can't wait to put all this new knowledge into action!"

All things considered, our inaugural SyftCon was a great success. It showed us the great potential residing in accountants and SMEs in South Africa and the strength of the accounting community when we come together to find answers to our most pressing problems. We are so grateful to all our accounting and bookkeeping partners who joined us on 15 March and to our insightful speakers for imparting their wisdom. We look forward to doing it all again in 2024!