- In the often overlooked world of financial reporting and auditing, where errors can have devastating repercussions for companies, a new player, InScope, is emerging with a tech-driven approach.
- Founded by Mary Antony and Kelsey Gootnick, InScope aims to improve financial reporting and auditing by leveraging machine learning and large language models.
- InScope recently closed a $4.3 million seed funding round, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, Better Tomorrow Ventures, and other notable individual investors.
Mary Antony and Kelsey Gootnick, both seasoned professionals with strong backgrounds in accounting, met in 2018 while managing the accounting function at Flexport. Their shared experiences highlighted the inefficiencies and risks in traditional financial reporting and auditing processes. These processes, often time-consuming and fraught with errors, could take weeks or even months to compile accurate financial statements and disclosures, a challenge that major companies like Lyft have encountered firsthand.
Recognizing the need for technological intervention, Antony and Gootnick launched InScope in 2023, headquartered in San Francisco. The startup’s platform aims to simplify and streamline financial reporting and auditing for mid-market companies and enterprises. Since its beta launch in early 2024, InScope has been working with customers using Oracle Netsuite, offering solutions that automate GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) and non-GAAP reporting, including critical components like cash flow statements.
Antony, the CEO, highlighted the initial capabilities of InScope’s product. “We’ve automated the creation of GAAP and non-GAAP reports, including cash flow statements. Later this year, we plan to introduce features that will assist our customers in drafting their annual and quarterly financial reports,” she said. This functionality not only promises to reduce the time and effort required to prepare financial statements but also significantly mitigates the risk of errors.
InScope’s approach stands in contrast to its primary competitor, Workiva, which focuses largely on services for public companies. Gootnick emphasized that InScope’s core focus is on private companies, aiming to provide tailored solutions that address their unique needs. While some legacy professional service firms offer similar services, Antony and Gootnick believe that InScope’s technology is complementary rather than competitive, with potential for these firms to become customers themselves.
Currently, InScope has five early adopters and is in the process of signing six more. The company is not just growing its customer base but is also generating revenue, with a bold target to expand tenfold in both customers and revenue by year-end. This rapid growth trajectory has attracted significant investor interest, leading to the recent $4.3 million seed investment.
The investment round was co-led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Better Tomorrow Ventures, with additional support from a roster of influential individual investors, including Vipul Ved Prakash (CEO and founder of Together AI), Jake Heller (CEO and founder of Casetext), Debbie Clifford (CFO at Autodesk), Justin Coulombe (CFO at Miro), and Nadia Asoyan (CFO at Strike). This diverse group of investors underscores the confidence in InScope’s vision and potential.
Better Tomorrow Ventures has been a key supporter of InScope since its inception, having advised the company through its inaugural accelerator program in 2023. Sheel Mohnot, co-founder of Better Tomorrow Ventures, expressed strong support for the team: “When we met Mary and Kelsey through our accelerator, we quickly recognized their dedication and passion to solve a critical issue that can be detrimental to a company’s success. After weeks of advising them, we were convinced that Mary and Kelsey were the right people to tackle this problem.”
With the new funding, InScope plans to expand its customer base to 50 companies by the end of the year. The company will use the capital to enhance its product development, scale its team, and advance its AI capabilities. This expansion is expected to further streamline financial reporting and auditing, making these processes faster, more accurate, and less labor-intensive.
Antony and Gootnick’s vision extends beyond just improving the efficiency of financial reporting. They aim to transform the landscape of financial compliance, making it more intuitive and accessible for private companies. “We are committed to building a solution that not only meets the current needs of our clients but also anticipates future challenges in financial reporting and auditing,” said Gootnick.
InScope’s journey is a testament to the growing recognition of the need for technological innovation in traditional industries. By leveraging advancements in AI and machine learning, InScope is setting a new standard for financial reporting and auditing, promising to reduce errors, increase efficiency, and enhance the overall reliability of financial disclosures. As the company continues to grow and innovate, it is poised to become a pivotal player in the fintech landscape, driving significant change in how businesses manage their financial reporting processes.
