CCH parent acquires governance, risk and control vendor Axentis
In a deal that bolsters its reach in the governance, risk and control arena, Wolters Kluwer Tax and Accounting, parent to the CCH brand, has acquired governance and risk applications provider Axentis Inc.
Terms were not disclosed.
Cleveland-based Axentis and its flagship Axentis Enterprise GRC software serve Global 2000 companies in 30 countries over a diverse range of regulated industries.
Wolters Kluwer said that the acquisition positions the company to offer an enterprise risk information platform that includes "best of breed" solutions across audit, risk and compliance.
"We've been building out our GRC strategy," said Kevin Robert, chief executive of Wolters Kluwer Tax and Accounting. "This gives us the expertise in that vertical and creates a unique differentiator in terms of depth and breadth of content that no one comes close to matching."
Axentis' portfolio of applications, which are Saas-based, includes: Corporate Integrity Agreement; Enterprise Risk Management; Ethics & Corporate Compliance; Financial Controls Management; IT Governance; Legal & Regulatory Compliance; Privacy & Security Compliance; Vendor & Supplier Compliance; and Compliance Office Manager.
Wolters Kluwer said that Axentis would continue to operate out of Cleveland as a distinct product line. The newly acquired unit will be overseen by Ian Rhind, president and chief executive of CCH Canadian.
Axentis is the latest in a number of recent audit risk and compliance acquisitions by Wolters Kluwer Tax and Accounting. In 2007, the unit bought PricewaterhouseCoopers' audit software suite TeamMate. That same year, it acquired health care compliance concern ComplyTrack as part of its MediRegs purchase, and one year later purchased risk controls provider Ci3, which has since been renamed CCH Sword, and recently has undergone an upgrade to its risk and controls assessment module. Enhancements to the Sword module include the addition of a risk manager's workbench that shows the status of risks, incidents, issues and control tests for each business unit.
Said Robert, "One of the challenges going forward for us is to build the interoperability of all these products into a complete integration suite for an audit, risk and compliance framework."
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