:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/GHZ57A42BSEKZXDAAMMFXAQUZ4.jpg)
AccountsIQ, a financial software company whose backers include Irish tech entrepreneur Pearse Mee, has raised €5.8 million in a new funding round.
The company said it intends to use the new funding for accelerated growth and recruitment across sales and marketing, customer success and engineering with plans to increase headcount from 40 currently to up to 130 people in the coming years.
Finch Capital, a Dutch-headquartered venture capital firm that is a partner with Enterprise Ireland in a €20 million fintech-focused fund, led the financing.
It brings to nearly €8 million the total raised-to-date by AccountsIQ, which has previously secured financing from angel investors such as Mr Mee, who sold his smart-grid software company AMT-Sybex to Capita for an estimated €127 million in 2014, netting a reported €94 million for himself.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/D6YLME36YLAOEO2PA5OZLXGJIQ.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/V5W7CGMQ4XHO5EOW2T4D3ZNHWY.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/6DP5LAGNDMQIMESUKTRAIAMTCY.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/DOTISSKN5DYENQARSVGQOG2RNA.jpg)
Founded in 2008, AccountsIQ’s cloud-based accounting software platform is used by 4,000 businesses in 85 countries with clients including PwC, The Irish Times and Asavie Technologies.
The platform is primarily aimed at companies working across multiple locations, currencies and jurisdictions - an area underserved by many financial management solutions. It is particularly popular among medium-sized businesses growing through franchising, or multinational subsidiaries that can use the platform to streamline and automate the capture, process and reporting of their financial performance across all business units.
Growth
Founder and chief executive Tony Connolly said the company reported a 22 per cent rise in growth in 2020 despite the Covid crisis with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 38 per cent in the years prior to this.
“We were achieving steady growth with relatively little outside investment over the last few years but the combination of Brexit and Covid is leading businesses to reconsider their regional presence, which opens up huge opportunities for a cloud-based accounting product such as we have,” he said.
“The timing is there now for a real ramp-up as there is a demand from companies on legacy software to upgrade to a platform that can allow them to work better with a more diversified workforce and business,” Mr Connolly added.
Finch, which has offices in Amsterdam, London and Singapore, last week announced the first close of a new €150 million fund. The early-stage VC typically backs companies focused on fintech and “deep tech”, which includes artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IOT).
Since its inception in 2013, Finch Capital has made 40 investments across Europe and Asia and its assets now total $400 million (€330 million). Among the Irish companies it has previously backed is Aylien, an AI-risk intelligence provider.
“AccountsIQ has developed a powerful cloud-based financial management system designed for today’s world where multi-entity organisations need a common platform to manage, benchmark and provide a group wide consolidated view. As investors in companies that are shaping the future of finance, we are excited to back this established executive team and award-winning product,” said Finch principal Mike Brennan.
Philip Lee, led by Eoghan Doyle, acted for Finch Capital on the investment, while Venture Legal Services advised the company.
:quality(70)/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/irishtimes/016623f1-a68b-427c-b57b-ea9950f2c2e4.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/sandbox.irishtimes/GW3FWAURWFGM7FF4RMYJLBG7ZI.png)