IRIS acquires KashFlow to extend its position as the UK’s premier cloud and desktop software provider for accountants and SMEs
IRIS World 2013, the annual conference series for the UK’s accountancy sector, has swung into action with a presentation from tax expert, Mike Warburton of chartered accountants Grant Thornton. Free to attend, the event, at London’s Twickenham Stadium, was specifically designed to inform and update accountancy practices across the UK on the latest developments in the market.
Keynote speaker, Warburton gave an illuminating summary of some of the main tax changes and tax cases over the past twelve months in the UK including the General Anti-Abuse Rule (GAAR); Statutory Residence and key changes in the Finance Act. He also outlined some planning ideas on Entrepreneur’s Relief.
Following the Twickenham event, the IRIS World conference series will visit the Ricoh Arena, Coventry (9 October); Salford City Stadium, Manchester (15 October) and Macdonald Inchyra Hotel, Falkirk, Scotland (23 October). This year’s conference series is expected to attract over 1,000 accountancy professionals, looking for the latest updates on technology, innovation and compliance.
New IRIS software solutions
Phill Robinson, CEO of IRIS Software Group, the UK market leader in accountancy and payroll software, also gave a morning keynote highlighting new products and new software functionality introduced by IRIS over the past 12 months. He focused on the growing portfolio of cloud-based accountancy solutions and growing base of over 40,000 end-users choosing to work in the cloud.
Highlights included the introduction of:
• IRIS Practice Dashboards – Instant graphical snapshots of key performance indicators (KPIs) direct from the IRIS integrated database;
• IRIS OpenWebsite – Takes the effort out of developing and managing an effective website for an accountancy practice;
• IRIS OpenTax – the UKs first professional personal, partnership and corporation tax return application for accountancy firms delivered as a service over the web;
• IRIS OpenAudit – Cloud-based financial audit solution, applying the market leading Mercia methodology for a wide range of business entities.
Robinson also explored key new capabilities that IRIS has added to other applications including: IRIS OpenSpace e-Approval; IRIS OpenSpace/IRIS Docs integration and IRIS Client Dashboards. In addition, he focused on integration, the foundation of IRIS accountancy software and explained how this approach is applied to every product the company’s designs and releases.
Robinson’s presentation updated delegates on the functionality of the company’s upcoming IRIS release v11.3, including details of new accountancy-specific, taxation and practice development functionality including accounts production for academies. This was followed by an ‘IRIS in Practice’ session, detailing the added value that accountancy practices can access directly by working with IRIS.
In-depth consultancy
The afternoon featured breakout sessions on topics including the IRIS future compliance roadmap and tips on making the most of the IRIS accountancy software, alongside detailed expert advice on areas such as how to “Transform auditing with the cloud”; “How to increase practice efficiency for the tax season and beyond”, “Maximising data and reporting in your practice”; and “How to market your practice online and win new clients.” The day concluded with a section, entitled Cloud computing and accountancy, with sessions devoted to: “leveraging the benefits of cloud alongside desktop applications” and “revolutionising the client accountant relationship with cloud bookkeeping.
According to Robinson, “In line with our own strategic focus on enabling practices to successfully navigate the changing accountancy landscape, IRIS World is packed full of useful ideas and information to help take advantage of the latest technological breakthroughs and drive enhanced profitability and competitive edge. It’s a must attend event for any forward-thinking practice.”
To register for forthcoming events or for more details about IRIS World 2013 visit www.iris.co.uk/irisworld
IRIS Software Group, an industry champion in accountancy and payroll solutions, is delighted to announce that it has agreed to acquire KashFlow, the cloud-based bookkeeping software developer, in a move that will extend its position as a leading cloud software and services provider for the UK’s 4.8 million small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), and 30,000 accountancy firms.
With a joint subscriber base of more than 60,000 accountancy firms and SMEs across the UK, the combined business leads the market in supplying cloud-based accountancy, payroll and bookkeeping solutions to SMEs and accountants. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
KashFlow is one of the UK’s most exciting and fastest-growing technology companies. Founded in 2006 by Duane Jackson, the award-winning company has pioneered the development and delivery of cloud-based bookkeeping software-as-a-service (SaaS) and is widely seen as a UK sector leader.
The combination of IRIS and KashFlow is compelling, with a uniquely integrated offering: KashFlow will provide IRIS with significantly enhanced domain knowledge in the fast-growing cloud-based bookkeeping sector, whilst KashFlow will receive the benefit of IRIS’s powerful nationwide sales, marketing and support teams. This will enable it to bring its products to a far wider audience, including 30,000 SMEs that already use IRIS payroll solutions, and half of all UK accountancy practices that rely on IRIS every day to run their businesses.
