Tech News: FinancialForce updates community hub

October 20, 2022 5:28 PM

FinancialForce updates its community hub; Right Networks and Tax Rep Network partner up to launch educational resources; and other news from the accounting technology world.

FinancialForce updates community hub

Cohn, Michael

Business solutions provider FinancialForce announced the launch of the newly upgraded FinancialForce Community, where customers can collaborate with peers and access to documentation, articles, video tutorials, on-demand training modules, and additional applications and extensions. They can also participate in monthly best practices webinars and collaborate with 21,000-plus customers and the entire FinancialForce team by asking questions and sharing tips and advice in discussion groups. Improvements include an updated color scheme and site navigation that offers a cleaner, more modern feel. There is also a new Training Center, where customers can access course catalogs and course schedules and get information about FinancialForce certifications. Customers can also now assign two users from every account as community admins.

Right Networks, Tax Rep Network, partner on educational resources

Cloud services provider Right Networks announced it has teamed up with professional education company Tax Rep Network to deliver an expansive array of educational tools and new growth opportunities for Right Networks customers. In addition to hosted sessions with the IRS, the partnership will enable accounting firms to explore adding new revenue streams to their practices with tax resolution services.

The partnership kicks off with a series of free virtual events that will help firms improve their understanding of IRS regulations and deliver better services to their clients as well as sessions that will help firms and small-business owners work with the IRS. All events qualify for CPE. The events include Straight Talk on Security Six: Securing Your Firm and Your Client's Tax Data (Oct. 25, 2022, 1-2 p.m. EST), IRS Update on Top Enforcement Priorities and the List of Action Items for Your Small Business and Self-Employed Clients (Nov. 8, 2022, 1-2 p.m. EST) and Working with a Resource-Challenged IRS (Dec. 16, 2022, 1-2 p.m. EST).

Bloomberg Tax introduces portfolio on employee benefits and bankruptcy

Bloomberg Tax and Accounting announced the release of a new Tax Management Portfolio: Employee Benefits in Bankruptcy. The portfolio addresses the interplay of benefits and bankruptcy law, and offers guidance for the frequent instances in which the goals of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 are in conflict with the goals of the Bankruptcy Code. It also addresses the impact of insolvency and bankruptcy on the termination of pension and welfare benefit plans and the treatment of pension and welfare benefit plans and claims in bankruptcy.

Biller Genie closes Series A round

Biller Genie, an accounts payable and B2B payments platform, announced it has closed on $5 million in Series A funding. Led by Henry Helgeson, former CEO and founder of Cayan, this latest round increases the company's total external funding to $9.5 million, doubling its valuation since their seed round only 14 months ago. Biller Genie will use the funds to further product expansion, automate onboarding, expand distribution channels, and develop new tools including APIs so its partners can embed the platform directly into their technology. Helgeson, who led Biller Genie's prior round, will join the company's board and serve as a strategic advisor to its executive team.

Vista completes Avalara acquisition

Vista Equity Partners announced it has completed its acquisition of tax platform Avalara, which it began this past August (see full story). The price was $93.50 per share in cash. With the completion of the transaction, Avalara shares have ceased trading and are no longer listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Avalara said it would remain focused on its vision to automate global tax compliance and will continue making strategic investments in its product, experience, and service to strengthen and advance its business.

Partnerships and integrations

The National Association of Tax Professionals announced a partnership with Verito, which offers managed hosting and IT solutions specific to tax and accounting firms. This partnership allows NATP members to receive discounted services from Verito. NATP members receive either a first-year 10% discount on managed IT or a waiver of the initial setup price for managed hosting ($150 value). … Enterprise cloud software firm Unit4 announced a partnership with Top 10 Firm BDO. Together, Unit4 and BDO will help organizations better manage their enterprise resource planning, human capital management, and financial planning and analysis needs. Specialized guidance in systems integration, change management, finance optimization, digital transformation, compliance, and business consulting will help drive greater mission impact through people-centric processes. ... Tax platform Blue dot announced a partnership with Yokoy, which offers spend management automation solutions. Blue dot's AI-powered automated tax compliance system will be integrated into Yokoy's spend management platform to facilitate the simultaneous analysis and management of enterprise spend, an end-to-end service that covers spend management as well as VAT recovery and TEB benefits in their entirety.