The news that Capitalise had raised £3.5m in Series A investment got plenty of traction in the financial media last week. This follows iwoca raising £150m and Go Cardless $75m for its US venture.
Last year Receipt Bank raised £50m, and recently announced that Adrian Blair would be appointed CEO. Mr Blair has a record of growing firms’ digital businesses into global businesses – look at Spotify and Just Eat.
Last year we saw Futrli raise £4m with the hottest VC team in town, Notion.
We know that Xero has a fund of $300m to spend on the best apps within its ecosystem and beyond … and that means that Intuit will not be far behind.
Oh, and I almost forgot that IRIS completed a deal with Hg Capital that was worth about £1.2bn. Sincere congratulations to you all.
So why, when we see the stories of doom about the future of accountancy, are all these investment funds ploughing money into the sector?
Because it’s booming and it’s here to stay!!
The above list is just a small part of the tale. Apologies to those firms that have been missed off the list, I’m sure there are many more and I’m sure of some additional funding to come in the short term, for those that are listed above and those not.
Yes, it’s a sector that is ripe for disruption and is being disrupted… but that’s great news. Technology is an enabler in this process, but what the above stories show is that accountancy and accountants are going to be around for a long time.
It’s great news and a great time to be an accountant.
Yes, you have to learn new tools and approaches, but funders employ the sharpest brains and these folks are showing massive faith in the sector.
Yes, there will be change – in some areas significant change – but that is happening in all areas of life. I’ve used the example of parking to illustrate change before. In my time we’ve gone from men, with a Woodbine hanging out of their mouths, sitting in a tiny office taking cash for the car-park to automatic barriers, to self-service machines, self service machines that give change, to phoning automated numbers, to texting, to apps, to automated number plate recognition.
In fact, park at Stanmore tube station today you have most of the above. But the man in an office, has been replaced by local residents encouraging you to park on their drives, if you haven’t pre-booked another service online.
If you need a hand to understand the modern world and the choices in it, then there is plenty of help. Accountex brings the whole industry under one roof for two days in early May, where you can meet friends old and new. And bring to life those that you only know through LinkedIn.
You’ll even get the chance to hear me speak about the Smart Digital Practice.
It’s a wonderful time to be an accountant, go make hay!
Feeling overwhelmed? Cloud, Apps, advisory, MTD and GDPR causing you headaches? Looking for a cure to the above issues and then grow your firm, whilst spinning all these plates.
I can be contacted via LinkedIn, @LangdonHamblin or [email protected]