Introducing ApprovalMax's Heads of Accounting and Bookkeeping for EMEA

Partners are invaluable to what we do here at ApprovalMax. We’re proud to work closely with accountants and bookkeepers across the world to help their clients build robust financial controls using automated approval workflows.

As part of this, we’re excited to announce the expansion of our Partner leadership team in EMEA: Stuart Hurst, Managing Director of Accounts and Legal, and Lara Manton, Founder and Director of LJM Bookkeeping Ltd, are joining the ApprovalMax team in the UK.

“ApprovalMax wouldn’t be what it is today without the accounting and bookkeeping community,” says Matt Lowry, Chief Revenue Officer of ApprovalMax. “We’re thrilled to have Stuart and Lara join the team to offer a local presence for our partners here in the region, sharing valuable knowledge on end-to-end AP automation, financial controls, and digital adoption. There are great times ahead!”

Growing the team

The two join the team to spearhead Partner education and thought-leadership activity in the region, supporting the accounting and bookkeeping community while also shaping the product to meet Partner’s unique needs.

Stuart Hurst joins the team as Head of Accounting EMEA. He draws on close to two decades’ industry experience – during which he has moved over 1,000 clients to cloud accounting.

The Manchester-based accountant, named Xero’s Most Valued Professional (MVP) in 2021, believes in ‘working smarter not harder’. Stuart helps ambitious business owners expand by simplifying their books through automation, using tools like ApprovalMax.

“It’s been a mission of mine to help both business and accounting firms grow and make the most of the app stack available to them,” says Stuart. “ApprovalMax has already been a big part of that journey and now I’m proud to work directly with the team and share my insights to help as many people build out automation and financial controls, which should be the bedrock of any growing firm.”

Lara Manton is an experienced bookkeeper and member of the Advisory Council for ICB UK. This year, she was named in Ignition’s Top 50 Women in Accounting 2023, winner of Xero’s Innovative Partner of the Year 2023, and Influencer of the Year at ICB’s LUCA Awards. She joins ApprovalMax as Head of Bookkeeping EMEA, bringing a wealth of experience advising businesses on using the vast resource of cloud-based systems.

Although she is a self-described ‘numbers person’, Lara understands her clients may not be. She aims to take the pressure off their teams, help the business run efficiently, and give business owners the support they need to be confident in their numbers.

Lara has a big focus on going paperless and has guided countless small businesses and bookkeeping professionals in making the switch to digital – including through ApprovalMax.

Lara says, “It’s great to see the team at ApprovalMax really caring about what bookkeepers can bring to support not only their clients, but software providers and the industry as a whole. I’ve been using the product for years and I am excited to join the team on the next part of their journey.”

Earlier this year, ApprovalMax also welcomed Brendan Lucas and Cassandra Scott to the Australian team to lead accounting and bookkeeping in APAC and assist partners in the region.

ApprovalMax for Partners

The new appointments extend the development of ApprovalMax’s Partner Programme. This is designed for accounting and bookkeeping firms which provide accounts payable processing services to their clients. It’s also for cloud integrators, advisors, and resellers who want to become experts in ApprovalMax to pass on the benefits of the features to their clients.

Our Partners receive benefits including discounts, a free license for personal use, and Partner Learning and Certification.

Reach out if you’d like to know more about how we work with our Partners.