Intacct Taps Taylor Macdonald to Head Channel Program

In a move to accelerate its value-added reseller and CPA channel initiatives, cloud accounting provider Intacct has hired channel veteran Taylor Macdonald as its new vice president of channels.

Macdonald has over 20 years of experience in the accounting and enterprise resource planning software channel space, from running his own tech consulting and reseller firm — Macdonald Consulting Group — to heading up channel programs at Sage and Deltek.

“Intacct and cloud computing represent a massive business opportunity for the channel,” said Robert Reid, president and chief executive of Intacct. “Synergistically, we believe that the channel is the key to driving broad adoption of cloud-based financial management across North America. Bringing on Taylor, with his tremendous track record of success and channel leadership, will fuel the adoption of cloud computing and will further drive Intacct’s already rapid growth.”

In Macdonald’s view, the move is primarily about bringing CPAs and traditional resellers something different and more valuable than much of the on-premise software they currently recommend or sell.

“The business proposition that a company like Intacct has for a traditional VAR is far better than what they currently have,” he said. “The annuity stream of the cloud is far more valuable to your business over time [than traditional, on-premise accounting or ERP software]. If you are a VAR of any traditional product, how can you be happy with all you have today?”

Macdonald noted that his goal for Intacct is not to grow the channel to hundreds or even thousands — as with some competing, traditional accounting and ERP vendors — but instead to “hand pick” resellers that “make the most sense” and won’t compete directly with channel partners in their area.

One of his initial plans is to create “charter partners” for specific areas, offering them specific benefits for becoming an Intacct partner. Macdonald said this will involve “giving them the right tools and making them feel part of an exclusive club.”

Macdonald joined Intacct because, he said, the company “has a mature product and a business that is committed to the channel. The cloud [product] financials are where growth is at.”

Intacct formalized its channel program, which consists of VARs and CPAs, in 2008. Today, the company says it has more than 100 partners in its channel.

Madonald noted that Intacct held an advantage in the CPA community thanks to its partnership with CPA2Biz, the marketing arm of the AICPA’s products and services.

Intacct is the first of several members to join the CPA2Biz Trusted Business Advisor Solutions program.

“We allied with Intacct in 2009 because we knew that cloud computing would improve productivity, increase transparency and reduce costs for both AICPA members in public practice and the millions of small and mid-sized businesses they serve —  and the partnership has greatly exceeded our expectations,” said CPA2Biz president and CEO Erik Asgeirsson. “We’re delighted to see that someone of Taylor’s caliber has joined Intacct. Clearly, it will help to accelerate the joint success of our partnership with Intacct even further.”

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
Career moves
MORE FROM ACCOUNTING TODAY