If the State of the Stack Live Webinar demonstrated that the conversation is changing, StackedX showed what that change looks like in practice.

On 19th March at Stables Country Club in Bury, 30+ finance professionals in the North West came together to spend the morning focused on one thing: 

How do we actually build a finance function that scales?

Co-hosted by accounting firm PM+M and CFO Techstack, StackedX brought together a wide range of apps from the stack, including Xero, Mayday, Fathom and Dext, alongside advisors and in-house finance leaders.

Rosie Cooper, Director of Cloud Advisory at PM+M summarised its purpose:

“Finance teams are under increasing pressure to deliver faster insights while managing growing complexity. This event was all about showcasing practical, achievable ways to build systems that truly support growth.”

This framing set the tone for the day. 

What stood out?

Across the sessions and conversations, there were three key takeaways...

1. The overwhelm is real

While the ideas behind modular finance stacks are gaining traction, the reality for many teams is still the same:

• Too many tools

• Too much complexity

• Not enough clarity on where to start

StackedX addressed these issues.

It wasn’t about abstract ideas or high-level strategy; it was about practical application, with panel sessions focused on:

• Structuring Xero as your core system
• Automating month-end processes with Mayday
• Using Dext to enable structured data workflows
• Layering on reporting tools like Fathom for real-time visibility

2. The shift to problem-first thinking

Another key takeaway from the day wasn’t focused on which tools to use, it was about how to think.

Rather than starting with:

“What apps should we implement?"

... The finance leaders explained how, instead, they are starting with:

"What’s breaking in our current process?"

"Where are we losing time or confidence?"

"What would “better” actually look like for us?"

Only then do their stacks begin to take shape.

3. The spreadsheet problem isn’t going away on its own

One stat shared during the session stuck:

"88–94% of spreadsheets contain errors."

Despite everything that has changed in finance tech, spreadsheets still frequently sit at the centre of reporting, consolidation and month end.

StackedX highlighted that the solution isn’t to rip everything out overnight; it’s to systematically remove friction by using tools like Mayday, Dext and Fathom to automate repetitive workflows, improve data integrity and move toward a single source of truth.

One attendee highlighted that this is where tech stacks are delivering the most immediate value.

AI: part of the story, not the whole story

It will be no surprise that AI was a clear thread throughout the morning. Interestingly, though, it wasn’t the headline.

The strongest message from attendees and PM+M advisors was that AI amplifies good systems, it doesn’t fix broken ones.

Businesses benefitting the most from AI aren't the ones adopting the most AI tools, they’re the ones with clean data, connected systems and clear processes, who are using AI to better understand what actually matters.

AI isn't the strategy; it's an enabler. Without the right underlying systems and data structure, its impact remains limited.

PM+M's role

This was PM+M’s and CFO Techstack's second co-hosted StackedX event.

Accounting firms like PM+M are recognising that their role is evolving. It’s no longer just about compliance and reporting; it’s about helping clients design and build the scalable systems behind the numbers.

Finance leaders are starting to truly see that:

• They don’t need to default to ERP
• They don’t need to over-engineer for future complexity
• They don’t need to accept slow, manual processes as the norm. 

Instead, they can start with a strong core (Xero) and add apps where needed, establishing a stack that evolves with the business.

And, they don't have to do it alone. Events like StackedX, bringing together practitioners, partners and tech providers, turn individual ideas into shared momentum.

The Word is Spreading

StackedX captures the reality of The Word is Spreading.

It offered real demos, real use cases and real conversations between people solving the same problems.

It also showed that the shift is not confined to reports or webinars. It’s happening in regional communities, inside finance teams and across businesses actively modernising their operations.

And this is only Part 2 in our series.

The Word is Spreading will continue to explore where this shift becomes visible through events, stories, and the growing tech stack around them.