Tech news: AuditBoard acquired for $3 billion

Audit, compliance and risk management platform AuditBoard has agreed to be acquired by technology investment firm Hg for over $3 billion. AuditBoard will continue to operate as an independent wholly-owned subsidiary of Hg, according to a spokesperson. The company will have an expanded board of directors, appointed by Hg, but will retain the same executive team it has today. Hg's resources will be used to help AuditBoard accelerate its Connected Risk vision, as well as drive new innovation and global expansion. AuditBoard is at a size and scale where additional capital and global resources can be advantageous to the continued scaling of the business, according to the spokesperson, and with HG's depth of knowledge in the risk and compliance software market, Hg was a natural choice to continue its global expansion. Goldman Sachs is serving as exclusive financial advisor to AuditBoard, and Cooley LLP as legal counsel.

Small business platform Xero announced a major jump in profits, going from a $113 million net loss in FY 2023 to, now, a $175.9 million net profit. Operating results included operating revenue growth of 22% (21% in constant currency, and an operating expense to revenue ratio of 73.3% (in line with guidance). This supported a 75% increase in adjusted EBITDA compared to FY23, to $526.5 million, with EBITDA of $497.4 million (mainly impacted by the non-cash impairment of Xero Go of $28.9 million). While net subscriber additions were down 11% from the previous year, average revenue per user grew 14%, and annualized monthly recurring revenue grew 26%. The company attributed this partially to new products, such as its generative AI JAX solution, as well as its recent expansion of its global leadership team, many of whom are U.S.-based, including Xero's new chief product and chief revenue officers (and CEO Sukhinder Singh Cassidy herself), in a move to bolster Xero's presence and customer reach in the U.S. market. With these financial results, Xero said it is in a strong position to capitalize on its new three-year strategy, "Winning on Purpose," which prioritizes more balanced profitable growth and a more focused allocation of capital. 

Spend management solutions provider Emburse is working with American Express to offer end-to-end virtual card issuance, card reconciliation and expense management in Emburse Spend to American Express customers. Customers can now connect their American Express Card programs to Emburse Spend. Card members can enroll their eligible commercial American Express Card to issue American Express virtual Cards on demand within the platform. Expenses from cards and virtual cards will automatically enter the accounting system for easy reconciliation. This integration brings pre-coded transactions from eligible American Express cards, virtual cards issued from those accounts, and other payment methods directly into Emburse Spend. … Accounting and payroll software company Patriot Software launched ACH payments on invoices for customers who integrate with Stripe. With Stripe, customers can access two-day timing for ACH settlement, compared to four to five business days for standard ACH settlement. Stripe's integration is free through Patriot and is available for both Accounting Premium and Accounting Basic subscribers. … AP automation solutions provider Basware announced a strategic alliance with Big Four firm Deloitte that will focus on key challenges, opportunities and regulatory requirements in the finance domain. The alliance between Deloitte and Basware will focus on developing a joint go-to-market strategy to reach a wider audience, creating co-innovation opportunities to address evolving legislative e-invoicing requirements, and building a pool of certified Deloitte consultants trained on Basware solutions for project delivery. … Audit solutions company Audora unveiled Audora Connect, a feature that integrates the platform with compliance automation tools including Vanta. Through Audora Connect, auditors can pull policies, tests and standard evidence requests from external automation tools into Audora's collaborative dashboard. … CPA payment processor CPACharge has launched new partnerships with the New Jersey, Nevada and Wyoming Society for CPAs. Each partnership provides members access to CPACharge and all the associated benefits it has to offer for accounting firms.