Despite not having an accounting background, anyone who’s glanced at a 10-K or 10-Q can see that preparing financial statements is a complicated, tedious task.
Platforms like Workiva and Donnelley Financial Solutions aim to make financial reporting easier, yet accountants Mary Antony and Kelsey Gootnick found themselves frustrated by manual challenges with these tools.
The two met at Flexport seven years ago, where Gootnick was the controller and Antony was the assistant controller. They remained connected even after Antony moved to Miro and Gootnick went to Hopin and then Thrive Global.
In each job, Antony and Gootnick encountered the same manual obstacles.
“The creation of financial statements is often pieced together through numerous spreadsheets, transferred into various Word documents, and emailed between individuals,” Antony explained to TechCrunch.
In response, the pair launched InScope in 2023, an AI-based financial reporting platform designed to automate many aspects of preparing financial statements. InScope recently raised $14.5 million in Series A funding led by Norwest, with Storm Ventures, Better Tomorrow Ventures, and Lightspeed Venture Partners also participating.
InScope isn’t yet fully automating income statement and balance sheet creation, but it’s automating a significant amount of manual work, such as verifying calculations and formatting. Just standardizing dollar signs and commas can save accountants up to 20% of their time, according to Antony, InScope’s CEO.
In the past year, InScope has expanded its client base by five times, including partnerships with major accounting firms like CohnReznick, which is ranked in the top 15 nationally.
Even though it may take time for accountants—a generally risk-averse profession—to trust AI with fully automating financial statement preparation, InScope aims for that end goal.
Norwest partner Sean Jacobsohn invested in InScope after hearing from clients about the significant time savings the product offers them.
Jacobsohn believes InScope stands out because few founders have the expertise needed to transform financial reporting technology.
“It’s a highly complex area, and founders must have experience in the buyer’s role,” he stated.
Antony agrees that accountants aren’t typically startup founders. However, she and Gootnick honed their entrepreneurial skills through years of working in fast-paced startup environments.