Senior Account Executive (Accounting Firms)

Zato · Auckland or Sydney · Full-time

About Zato

Zato is building agentic AI for accounting firms. Our platform helps firms automate and manage the real compliance workflow: questionnaires, GL review, workpapers, queries, review, sign-off, client communication and delivery. We are working with accounting firms that want to reduce manual work, improve margins, move faster, and change how compliance work is done.

We are now looking for a commercially sharp Senior Account Executive to help accounting firms adopt Zato.

The role

This is not a high-volume cold-calling role.

You will work through a defined list of accounting firms, build trusted relationships with owners, partners and directors, run discovery, lead product demos, handle objections, and convert interested firms into successful Zato clients.

The role sits across sales, consulting, relationship management and implementation handover. You need to be able to understand how an accounting firm actually runs, identify where time and margin are being lost, explain the commercial case for change, and help firms move from interest to action.

This is a hands-on commercial role. You will be close to the CEO, product, implementation, and client teams, and your market feedback will directly shape Zato's growth.

What you will do

• Own a portfolio of target accounting firms across New Zealand and Australia
• Build relationships with accounting firm owners, partners, directors and senior managers
• Run structured discovery calls to understand firm size, job volumes, workflows, team structure, bottlenecks and adoption risks
• Deliver practical product demos tailored to how each firm actually works
• Identify commercial opportunities across new firms, existing relationships and wider firm rollouts
• Handle objections around change management, pricing, data, integrations, staff adoption and implementation
• Convert interested firms into pilots, annual commitments and broader rollouts
• Maintain strong pipeline discipline, CRM hygiene, forecasting and follow-up
• Work closely with implementation to ensure sold firms are handed over properly and become successful users
• Stay close to clients through the early adoption period to support trust, retention and expansion
• Feed market insights, objections and product feedback back to the CEO, product and implementation teams
• Represent Zato professionally in meetings, events, webinars and partner conversations

Initially, you will focus on

• Working through a defined list of warm and target accounting firms
• Running discovery and demo conversations with partners and directors
• Helping convert interested firms from trial, pilot or early engagement into committed rollout
• Building a repeatable sales process for accounting firm conversion
• Understanding the core objections firms have when adopting AI and workflow automation
• Working closely with implementation so firms have a clear path from “yes” to successful adoption

What we are looking for

• Must have Experience selling to or working with accounting firms
• Experience in B2B sales, SaaS, accounting software, account management, partner management, customer success, implementation, or accounting practice
• Confidence speaking with business owners, partners, directors and senior stakeholders
• Strong discovery, demo, objection-handling and closing ability
• Ability to build trust quickly with senior commercial decision-makers
• Strong commercial judgment and comfort discussing workflow, margin, staff leverage, time savings and operational change
• Ability to translate product features into clear business outcomes
• Strong organisation, follow-up, pipeline management and CRM discipline
• Curiosity about how accounting firms operate and where their pain points sit
• Ability to work closely with product, implementation and client teams
• Resilience, urgency and ownership

Nice to have

• Experience inside an accounting firm as a senior accountant, client manager, practice manager, advisory manager or operations manager
• Existing relationships across accounting firms in New Zealand or Australia
• Experience selling practice management, workflow, compliance, tax, advisory, payments or outsourcing-related solutions
• Experience using Hubspot, Salesforce, or similar sales tools

What success looks like - In this role, success means you can:

• Build trust with accounting firm partners and directors
• Quickly understand how a firm operates
• Run a sharp discovery and demo process
• Create urgency without being pushy
• Convert serious firms into committed Zato clients
• Work cleanly with implementation so clients are not oversold or poorly handed over
• Help Zato build a repeatable commercial engine across New Zealand and Australia

Who this role suits

This role could suit someone from a range of backgrounds.

You may be a SaaS Account Executive who wants to sell something more meaningful into a defined vertical. You may come from Xero, MYOB, Karbon, Ignition or another accounting technology company. You may be a commercially strong customer success, partner or implementation person who wants to move closer to revenue. You may also be from an accounting firm and deeply understand practice operations, with the confidence and energy to move into a commercial role.

What matters most is that you can understand accounting firms, build trust with senior people, run a strong commercial conversation, and help move firms from interest to action.

Location

This role can be based in Auckland or Sydney. Regular travel across New Zealand and Australia may be required for client meetings, events and firm visits.

Why join Zato

Zato is a hyper-growth venture changing the entire industry. We are working with a growing number of accounting firms across New Zealand and Australia, and we believe AI will fundamentally change how compliance work is delivered.

This is a chance to join at the front edge of that shift, work directly with the senior team, and help build the commercial engine for a company with serious ambition.

You will have real responsibility, direct exposure to the market, and the opportunity to shape how accounting firms adopt AI in practice.

Apply if

• You are commercially sharp and relationship-led
• You can run discovery and demos confidently
• You are comfortable speaking with accounting firm owners, partners and directors
• You care about solving real operational problems, not just selling features
• You want to be part of a high-growth AI company changing how accounting firms work

Reach out to ***email_hidden*** if you want to stand out with your resume, and your best win with an accounting firm.