25 years of Business Fitness: Sean Devenish on ambition and innovation

Sean Devenish, Chief Product & Technology Officer, 11 years at Business Fitness

As Business Fitness celebrates 25 years, Sean Devenish reflects on a company that has consistently challenged itself to think bigger, and build for what's next. Few people have played a bigger role in shaping that evolution over the last decade than Sean Devenish.  

"When I first started, we were a very small team," Sean recalls. "The business was much more informal, and the scope of what we were building was significantly smaller." Since then, "The biggest change has been the scale and maturity of what we do," says Sean. "We've grown into a much more robust organisation, with specialised teams, quality processes and the capability to deliver far more sophisticated solutions than we could in those early days."

For Sean, that growth reflects something bigger than technology alone. It reflects the organisation's willingness to continually evolve. "Over the past 25 years, Business Fitness has successfully adapted through multiple generations of technology while staying focused on the needs of the profession." One achievement he's particularly proud of is the company's ability to modernise its entire product ecosystem while many established software businesses continue to grapple with legacy systems. "We've consistently been willing to challenge ourselves and invest in the future."

While much has changed, Sean believes some of the company's defining characteristics have remained remarkably consistent. "Integrity has always been a big part of who we are." "We've always been transparent, honest and focused on doing the right thing for our clients." He also points to another enduring characteristic that has helped drive Business Fitness forward. "We've always been ambitious. As we've grown, we've introduced more structure and processes, but we've never lost that practical, can-do attitude. There's still a strong willingness across the team to find solutions, work together and get things done."

Looking ahead, Sean sees AI as the next major opportunity because of its potential to fundamentally change the way accountants work. "What excites me most is the chance to rethink how work gets done." He believes the greatest opportunities will come from designing products and platforms that are built for an AI-enabled future from the outset. "It's about looking at the platform at a foundational level and asking what needs to change to make agentic experiences genuinely useful for firms."

For Sean, the next chapter of Business Fitness is about helping firms work in entirely new ways. "The opportunity now is to help shape what comes next." With a strong platform, deep industry expertise and a willingness to embrace change, Sean believes Business Fitness is well positioned for the future. "The most exciting part is that we're still evolving. We have a strong track record of adapting to change, and I believe we're only at the beginning of what's possible."