Tech News: KPMG hails ISO 42001 certification

November 21, 2025 11:51 AM

KPMG hails ISO 42001 certification; Schellman becomes first US-based body for MTCS certification; Intuit launches partnerships with Cherry Bekaert, Rehmann; and other accounting tech news.

Awards and honors

HubSync, a provider of cloud-based tax and accounting technology, announced it has been named to the 2025 Deloitte Technology Fast 500™ for the second consecutive year. The company ranked #159 among the fastest-growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences, fintech, and energy tech companies in North America—marking an increase from the previous year. …Top 25 firm EisnerAmper announced that, for the fourth consecutive year, partner Miri Forster has been named to the ITR World Tax "Highly Regarded" and "Women in Tax Leader" rankings. Miri is a partner and the national leader of EisnerAmper's Tax Controversy & Dispute Resolution practice. She specializes in providing tax dispute resolution services to public and private corporations, partnerships, and high-net-worth individuals on a wide range of technical and procedural issues. In addition, EisnerAmper has debuted on ITR's 2026 list as a "Notable Tax Controversy Firm."

New funding

Spend management solutions provider Ramp is now valued at $32 billion following a $300 million primary financing round and an employee tender offer. Lightspeed Venture Partners led the financing, with continued support from existing investors including: Founders Fund, D1 Capital Partners, Coatue, GIC, Avenir Growth, Thrive Capital, Sutter Hill Ventures, T. Rowe Price, Khosla Ventures, ICONIQ, Glade Brook Capital Partners, Soma Capital, Emerson Collective, 8VC, Lux Capital, Definition Capital, 137 Ventures, General Catalyst, Box Group, Kultura Capital, Pinegrove Venture Partners, Anti Fund, and Stripes. New investors in the company include: Alpha Wave Global, Bessemer Venture Partners, Robinhood Ventures, 1789 Capital, Epicenter Capital, and Coral Capital. … Asseta AI, a family office planning solutions provider, announced a $4.2 million seed funding round co-led by Nyca Partners and Motive Partners. The capital will be used to accelerate Asseta AI's product roadmap and team expansion as the company scales to meet rising demand among family offices managing complex, multi-entity portfolios. … Maxima, an agentic AI platform focused on accounting automation, has raised $41 million across its Seed and Series A rounds. The investment came from Redpoint Ventures, Kleiner Perkins and Audacious Ventures, alongside participation from finance and technology leaders including former BlackLine CMO and chief strategy officer Andres Botero, former BlackLine SVP of operations Eric Borrmann, Rubrik CFO Kiran Choudary, Vanta CFO David Eckstein, and Super Bowl champion and Liquid 2 managing partner Joe Montana. ... Numeric, an AI accounting automation platform, has raised a $51 million Series B round led by IVP, with participation from Menlo Ventures, Founders Fund, Alkeon, 8VC, Socii Capital, Access Industries, Friends & Family Capital, Long Journey Ventures, and others. This investment, which brings Numeric's total funding raised to $89 million, will allow Numeric to expand from close management into a broader compound startup model – delivering a unified data platform for enterprise finance teams.

New hires and appointments

Planful Inc., a financial performance management cloud software provider, announced the appointment of Richard Parke as Chief Customer Officer. This appointment comes as Melissa Dreuth transitions back to her role as Chief People Officer and Chief of Staff to the CEO. Dreuth had stepped in to lead the customer organization earlier this year while maintaining her responsibilities as Chief People Officer. Parke will oversee Planful's engagement with over 1,500 customers. … Trullion, an AI-powered accounting platform, announced the appointment of Doug Horne as Chief Financial Officer. A CPA, Horne brings deep expertise in accounting, finance, business operations, digital growth, and transformation. As CFO, Horne will oversee all financial operations and play a pivotal role in driving the company's corporate growth strategy and global expansion initiatives. … GRC solutions provider LogicGate announced two new C-suite appointments: Maureen Noonan as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) and Michael Schultz as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). Maureen Noonan joins LogicGate from Snowflake where she served as RVP of Sales and was instrumental in transforming the Central region. Michael Schultz most recently worked with Responsive.io, where he focused on product-led growth initiatives, pricing strategy, and advancing AI-powered solutions.

Partnerships and integrations

Embedded capital solutions provider Fundbox has partnered with financial management platform Wave which would have Fundbox's financing solutions directly integrated into Wave Perks, Wave's new hub for tools and services. By connecting Fundbox's embedded capital infrastructure with Wave's financial management suite, small businesses can now manage their finances and access credit from a single, unified platform. … GruntWorx, a provider of intelligent automation solutions for tax professionals, announces its new integration with Liscio, a client experience platform built for accounting firms. With this integration, documents uploaded by clients in Liscio can now flow directly into GruntWorx's automation suite where they are sorted, verified, and prepared for tax processing. This eliminates the need for manual downloads, reduces errors, and accelerates turnaround times during peak season. … Lease accounting and data extraction solutions provider Crunchafi announced a partnership with audit solutions provider Fieldguide. Through this partnership, Crunchafi and Fieldguide will be connecting structured, standardized client data with intelligent, end-to-end audit workflows. Firms using Crunchafi can quickly access complete, normalized data sets, including trial balances, general ledgers, AR, and AP, optimized for instant upload into Fieldguide.

RightRev expands to include lessor lease accounting functionality

Lease contract, close-up

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RightRev, known generally for its revenue recognition solutions, announced it has expanded its functionality to support lessor lease accounting as well. RightRev Lessor Accounting handles both lessor accounting and revenue accounting together, automating complex allocations for bundled contracts (hardware plus services) on one platform. This unified solution places complex ASC 842/IFRS 16 lessor accounting capabilities natively inside an ASC 606/IFRS 15 revenue engine, helping avoid material misstatements, failed audits, and extended close cycles. This means there is only one system of record for all revenue accounting on all contracts, including those with an embedded financing structure. The software also enables companies to innovate in their bundled hardware, software and service offerings with traditional lease agreements via a configurable rules engine. Further, by putting ingestion, accounting and automation for all lessor contract data and requirements in one system, revenue schedules are generated instantly, and journal entries can be reviewed and posted quickly.

Zeni announces agentic accounting automation

Zeni co-founders Snehal and Swapnil Shinde

Bookkeeping solutions provider Zeni launched its AI Accounting Agent automation solution, which reviews every transaction detail, including vendor name, memo, date, amount, and historical patterns, to determine the appropriate vendor, category, and class in seconds. It also explains its coding decisions, auto-approves transactions when highly confident, and only sends uncertain cases to users for quick review. Each user confirmation or adjustment helps the system learn, ensuring efficiency improves over time. Meanwhile, for reconciliation, Zeni's AI Accountant functions as a real-time engine that continuously synchronizes live bank and credit card balances. It compares ledger activity with raw statement data to identify missing, duplicate, or mistimed entries with line-item accuracy, aiming to maintain up-to-date and accurate records. The AI Accountant also automates receipt matching by collecting receipts from various sources, including cards, banks, bill pay tools, email, and Slack. After gathering this data, it matches receipts to the relevant transactions by checking vendor, date, and amount, attaching them automatically. If a receipt is not immediately available, the AI continues to search daily and matches it once found. Another feature is continuous flux analysis, which monitors financial records around the clock, flagging any unusual spending changes. The system breaks down month-over-month shifts by vendor, category, and class, providing explanations for each change.

Zone and Co announce end-to-end AP automation

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Zone & Co, an ERP-native financial operations platform, announced the launch of Zone AP Payments, an ERP-native global payment solution for end-to-end AP automation. Built in partnership with TransferMate, a provider of embedded B2B payments infrastructure, Zone AP Payments combines invoice and payment processing for domestic and international vendors, eliminating the patchwork of banking portals, manual steps, and compliance processes. Now, customers can automate the full procure-to-pay cycle - approve, pay, and reconcile any invoice worldwide, all within the ERP, with same-day settlement and total visibility. Zone AP Payments expands Zone's procure-to-pay suite, joining ZoneCapture and ZoneApprovals. The launch of Zone AP Payments marks the next evolution in Zone's unified global payments and treasury ecosystem.

Metronome launches new products for pricing, invoicing, transparency

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Monetization infrastructure platform Metronome announced new products within the platform for pricing, invoicing and data transparency. The new pricing support features are meant to help teams adjust pricing and test new models directly by combining seat-based access with usage or credit consumption so companies can align pricing directly to value delivered. It also supports an account hierarchy enabling enterprise-grade billing operations in support of multi-entity and nested structures. It also offers reusable plan templates to both experiment with and scale self-serve pricing. Meanwhile, the new invoicing capacities powers payments, generates contract-based invoices with native ERP sync for SLG, and supports marketplace integrations with GCP, AWS, and Azure. Finally, the data transparency features have Cost Preview API, in-product invoicing, and lifecycle notifications so customers can see live cost estimates before taking an action, pay invoices directly in-product, and receive proactive notifications on contract milestones.

Deduction comes out of stealth with "Taylor, CPAI"

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UK-based accounting software company Deduction came out of stealth with a $2.8 million pre-seed round, along with its Taylor AI product, also known as "CPAI." The solution executes compliant tax returns from start to finish, including IRS and state e-filing; proactively finds deductions, credits, and missed savings opportunities year-round; can answer financial questions phrased in natural language; proactively sources documents such as W2s and 1099s; can read forms ranging from receipts to miscellaneous PDFs, student loan forms and spreadsheets; keeps track of tax-related events such as options-exercises, required minimum distributions, and personal and business transactions; calculates taxes down to the dollar; and a "vault" for secure upload and storage for sensitive personal data. Deduction also mentioned that all filings and high-impact decisions reviewed by Deduction's human CPAs, as well as that there is a 100% guarantee against interest and penalties.

Coupa launches AI agents for autonomous sourcing, collaboration, and orchestration

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Spend management platform Coupa announced the release of new autonomous AI agents with predictive intelligence and orchestration capabilities. The Navi Cost Formula Assistance Agent for Coupa Sourcing Optimization (CSO) uses AI to transform plain language into accurate cost and scoring formulas; and Navi Request Creation Agent expands AI conversion to fully support complex Statements of Work (SOWs) and upload files; the Navi Supplier Assistance Agent automates instant, 24/7 responses to common supplier questions; and the Navi Supplier Discovery Agent uses natural language queries to help sourcing managers find the best-fit suppliers. Meanwhile, Coupa's expanded Supplier Workbench in its Customer Supplier Portal (CSP) centralizes all pending actions and allows buyers to configure rule-based tasks with priorities. Finally, the new Category Strategy Integration layer connects strategic planning directly to event execution within a single platform.

AuditBoard launches scenario planning tool

Daniel Kim, co-founder of AuditBoard

Audit and risk solutions provider AuditBoard announced the launch of Scenario Planning, a tool which enables risk teams to establish a universe of potential scenarios, which will serve to accelerate strategic decision-making by modeling the likelihood and impact of risk events. By leveraging these capabilities, leaders can effectively quantify risk, test thousands of potential outcomes, and gain clear visibility into a range of possibilities, thereby establishing a clear blueprint for how to respond if critical risk events unfold. This is meant to allow executive leaders and risk teams to shift their focus from reactive reporting to proactive anticipation.

Numeric announces new cash management solution, new funding

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Close automation platform Numeric announced the launch of a new cash management product that handles transaction matching. CEO Parker Gilbert said that it supports three unique AI-driven features meant to reduce manual effort for accountants. One is instant rule creation that lets the AI scan through every transaction from the moment it is connected to bank feeds and GL data and then proposes an initial set of rules engines; the other is a text to rule feature that, for any rules not immediately captured, users can type them in and the AI converts the text into a set of filters that can be run over transactions to confirm matches; and suggested rules, where any time a manual match is created that could have been captured via a rule, AI suggests a new rule for the future. The solution also supports automated journal entry drafting and posting to NetSuite based on rule sets, bulk approvals and audit reports for rule-making and JE posting, and integration with the broader Numeric experience, including its Close Checklist, Reconciliations, and Review Notes features. The integrations mean users can link their cash accounts and reconciliations to Numeric's entire Close Management product suite and completely automate month-end bank reconciliations while handling reporting and flux analysis in the same place. Integration also means cash accounts can be linked to any checklist item in the Checklist feature, the reconciliation status and balance of each cash account is shown in the Reconcile feature and enables auto-reconciliation of cash accounts every month, and if the user has any questions about a cash account, they are able to leave Review Notes the same way they can in the platform for non-cash accounts. Cash flow over time and reporting on cash are also included in the product.

Intuit launches partnerships with Cherry Bekaert, Rehmann

Top 25 firm Cherry Bekaert and Intuit announced a deal to deliver Intuit Enterprise Suite to the firm's clients. Cherry Bekaert will also upgrade its current QuickBooks clients and bring new businesses onto Intuit's business platform. Intuit and Cherry Bekaert will kick off their partnership in the coming weeks with a series of events in Chicago, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and Austin, Texas. The events are designed for CFOs, Controllers, and business owners. Intuit also penned a similar deal with top 50 firm Rehmann. With Intuit Enterprise Suite, Rehmann will streamline its clients' multi-entity accounting and reporting and support those currently on QuickBooks with an upgrade. The firm will also leverage the platform's advanced artificial intelligence capabilities to assist with routine accounting tasks and identify anomalies

Schellman becomes first US-based body for MTCS certification

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Top 50 firm Schellman announced that it has become the first US-based certification body accredited to deliver Singapore's Multi-Tier Cloud Security (MTCS) certification services. With this milestone, Schellman joins a group of only seven accredited MTCS certification bodies worldwide. MTCS, governed by the Singapore Accreditation Council and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), is the world's first cloud security standard with a multi-tiered approach. The standard enables cloud service providers (CSPs) to demonstrate their security posture in alignment with Singapore's regulatory requirements. By achieving MTCS certification, CSPs reinforce their commitments and validate robust cybersecurity controls, enhance transparency, and strengthen trust for organizations operating in or partnering with the Singaporean market. Schellman's ability to perform MTCS assessments broadens its international certification capabilities.

KPMG hails ISO 42001 certification

KPMG LLP signage is seen outside of the accounting firm's offices in Los Angeles, California, U.S. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg

Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg

Big Four firm KPMG announced it has achieved the ISO 42001 certification, an international standard for AI Management Systems. The ISO/IEC 42001 Standard, released towards the end of 2023, concerns artificial intelligence management systems; it specifies requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and continually improving an AIMS within an organization. Having developed the standard in response to the rapid development of AI technology, the ISO said it is meant to be applied to organizations of any size involved in developing, providing, or using AI-based products or services. It is applicable across all industries and relevant for public sector agencies as well as companies or nonprofits. This certification reinforces KPMG's credentials and capabilities in AI governance, risk management, and assurance, a necessary precursor to providing AI assurance services to its clients, according to a KPMG spokesperson. It provides independent validation that its internal AI management systems align with emerging global standards, something increasingly important for clients navigating complex regulatory requirements. The spokesperson added that ISO 42001 complements our AI Assurance work by demonstrating the same rigor and framework we bring to helping clients design, assess, and attest to responsible AI practices. KPMG said it is the first of the Big Four firms to achieve this certification.