Even for those without formal accounting training, a quick look at financial documents like a 10-K or 10-Q reveals just how intricate and labor-intensive preparing these statements can be. Existing solutions from established players such as Workiva and Donnelley Financial Solutions are designed to simplify reporting, but seasoned accountants Mary Antony (right) and Kelsey Gootnick (center) continued to face frustrating manual obstacles when using them.

The pair first connected seven years ago at Flexport, where Gootnick was controller and Antony served as assistant controller. They remained in contact as Antony moved to Miro and Gootnick transitioned to Hopin and later Thrive Global. Throughout their careers, they repeatedly encountered the same tedious, manual challenges.

This shared frustration led them to found InScope in 2023. The AI-driven platform assists companies and accounting firms by automating significant portions of the financial statement preparation workflow. The startup recently secured $14.5 million in a Series A round. The financing was led by Norwest, with contributions from Storm Ventures and existing investors Better Tomorrow Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners.

While InScope does not yet fully automate the creation of income statements and balance sheets, it handles a wide range of manual tasks—from checking calculations to standardizing formatting. According to Antony, InScope’s CEO, something as simple as ensuring consistent placement of dollar signs and commas can save accounting professionals up to 20% of their time.

In the past year, InScope has expanded its customer base fivefold, drawing major firms like nationally top-15-ranked CohnReznick. Antony notes that accountants tend to be risk-averse, so it may take time before the profession is ready to embrace full AI automation for financial statements. Still, that remains InScope’s long-term objective.

Jacobsohn believes InScope is distinctive because very few founders have the deep, firsthand experience needed to reimagine financial reporting technology. “It’s a very complex space, and you need to have been in the shoes of the buyer,” he remarked.

Antony acknowledges that accountants aren’t usually the ones starting companies. She and Gootnick, however, cultivated an entrepreneurial mindset through years of working in the dynamic environments of other fast-growing startups.