Without any prior experience in accounting, anyone who has taken a moment to view a 10-K or 10-Q can recognize that the creation of financial statements is a complicated and monotonous task.

Although traditional platforms like Workiva and Donnelley Financial Solutions strive to simplify financial reporting, veteran accountants Mary Antony (shown right) and Kelsey Gootnick (shown center) found themselves worn out by numerous manual obstacles within these platforms (co-founder and CTO Jared Tibshraeny is shown left).

The two met seven years prior at Flexport, where Gootnick held the position of controller and Antony worked as assistant controller. They maintained contact even after Antony transitioned to Miro and Gootnick to Hopin and subsequently Thrive Global.

Regardless of their workplace, Antony and Gootnick frequently encountered the same manual difficulties.

“The manner in which financial statements are compiled, it’s largely assembled from numerous spreadsheets, transferred into various Word documents, and circulated via email among individuals,” Antony mentioned to TechCrunch.  

Thus, in 2023, the two decided to establish InScope, an AI-driven financial reporting platform designed to assist companies and accounting firms in automating various facets of the financial statement preparation process. The startup recently secured $14.5 million in Series A funding, spearheaded by Norwest, with contributions from Storm Ventures and current investors Better Tomorrow Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners.

While InScope is not yet completely automating the creation of income statements and balance sheets, it does facilitate a substantial amount of the manual labor, ranging from math verification to formatting. Merely ensuring that dollar signs and commas are consistent and accurately positioned can save accountants nearly 20% of their time, as per Antony, InScope’s CEO.

Throughout the last year, InScope has expanded its client base fivefold, drawing in prominent accounting firms such as CohnReznick, currently positioned in the national top 15.

Naturally, it might take some time before accountants — a field Antony characterizes as risk-averse — become comfortable with AI fully managing financial statement preparation. Nevertheless, this is still InScope’s ultimate aspiration.

Norwest partner Sean Jacobsohn informed TechCrunch that he chose to invest in InScope after receiving feedback from several clients stating that the startup’s solution saves them considerable time.

Jacobsohn believes that InScope differentiates itself because very few founders have the specialized knowledge necessary to innovate in the financial reporting technology sector.

“It’s a very intricate domain, and you need to have experienced being in the shoes of the buyer beforehand,” he stated.

Antony concurs that accountants are not usually the kind of individuals who start companies. Luckily, she and Gootnick cultivated their entrepreneurial instincts through years of engagement within the dynamic environments of other rapidly growing startups.