InScope raises $14.5M to automate financial reporting

The funding round was led by Norwest, with participation from Storm Ventures and existing investors Better Tomorrow Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners, according to TechCrunch. This Series A investment follows a previously undisclosed $4.3 million seed round that was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, as reported separately by the publication.

InScope was co-founded by Mary Antony, who serves as CEO, and Kelsey Gootnick, the company's other co-founder. The pair, both experienced accountants, first met seven years ago while working at logistics company Flexport, where Gootnick was controller and Antony was assistant controller. According to TechCrunch, they continued to encounter persistent, manual challenges in financial reporting at subsequent roles at companies including Miro, Hopin, and Thrive Global. Jared Tibshraeny is the company's third co-founder and Chief Technology Officer.

The platform specifically targets the labor-intensive process of preparing mandatory SEC filings like the 10-K and 10-Q. TechCrunch reports that despite the existence of legacy software from companies like Workiva and Donnelley Financial Solutions, the core process often remains a manual patchwork of spreadsheets and Word documents that are emailed between teams for review and consolidation. InScope's AI-powered platform is designed to automate significant portions of this workflow.

The automation focuses on the tedious, error-prone tasks that consume a disproportionate amount of an accountant's time. According to TechCrunch's reporting, the platform handles verification of mathematical accuracy and ensures consistent formatting across financial documents. CEO Mary Antony stated that simply standardizing the placement of dollar signs and commas can save accounting teams up to 20% of their time spent on report preparation.

It is important to note that, as reported by TechCrunch, InScope is not yet a fully autonomous system. The platform does not currently automate the complete generation of core financial statements such as income statements and balance sheets. Instead, its value proposition lies in eliminating the manual "busy work" that surrounds the assembly and validation of these documents, thereby reducing errors and freeing up financial professionals for higher-level analysis.

The substantial investment suggests confidence from venture capital firms that significant efficiency gains can be wrung from the financial reporting sector through targeted automation. The involvement of existing investors Lightspeed and Better Tomorrow Ventures in the new round indicates continued support for the startup's technical approach to a well-defined accounting problem.