The implementation of cloud solutions have been a game-changer for many high growth industries today. And that should come as no surprise — cloud technology provides access to intelligent tools, real time data, and sharper insights to professionals from many industries. Cloud companies who understand the business and goals of their clients can be incredibly impactful by designing extremely efficient and purpose-driven platforms.
Sage Intacct is one example of how cloud organizations can help professionals increase efficiency and drive growth for their organizations. For Sage Intacct, their difference is helping finance executives make a difference. How? By automating their processes so they can run their day-today business better. And by giving them greater insight and flexibility—so they can make confident long-term decisions, then act fast to execute changes.
For nearly 20 years, Intacct – now Sage Intacct – has been focused on the key things needed to drive the success of a business: providing an innovative solution that delivers measurable results for customers, combined with unmatched levels of customer satisfaction, and a company culture built around happy employees.
The company was founded in 1999 and during its early days, it focused on providing a cloud Financial Management system for accounting firms to support their business process outsourcing solutions. The equivalent of “rent an accounting department or CFO.” The company signed up with hundreds of firms, but the firms faced various challenges in marketing the new cloud technology to their clientele. So, Intacct did not see economic success, even though the technology was very advanced. At one point, Intacct nearly ran out of capital, so Emergence Capital said they would invest if the company would augment their accounting firm strategy with also selling to small and medium sized companies. With new funding from additional visionary cloud VCs, including Sutter Hill, Sigma West, Bessemer Venture Partners, Split Rock, and Battery Ventures, the company’s growth accelerate and ultimately led to an $850 million acquisition by Sage Group just over a decade later.
More Innovation for More Productivity
With the infused funding and continuous innovation, the Sage Intacct platform has achieved a miraculous feat in the financial industry. The company has become the preferred provider for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the national trade group for the CPA profession. One of the primary reasons for the success of Sage Intacct has been the long-term vision and strategy of its founders and the leadership team. The company was envisioned in its early days as an innovative platform for the finance industry which had become static 20 years ago.
At the time, the existing on-premises software options were an expensive, hard to manage, and even harder to customize or deliver needed reports to run the business. Sage Intacct solved this problem with an original and insightful approach for growing midmarket companies. The Sage Intacct platform allows its customers to access efficient, fast paced, and flexible applications which stand out in a class of their own.
The success of Sage Intacct is underpinned by follows the Platinum Rule, which is based on a business philosophy by Dr. Tony Alessandra. The rule says that companies should treat their customers the way customers expect to be treated. The rule is an advanced derivation of the golden rule, which says one should treat other people the way one expects to be treated. Sage Intacct follows the core strategy of understanding the perspective of its clients through empathy, perspective, and having processes in place to leave no room for miscommunication — building an efficient and growth-driven future for its clients.
A Team Geared To Lead Perfection
Culture plays an important role in shaping individuals who are responsible for bringing dreams to life. The important aspect of culture was captured early by the Managing Director of Sage Intacct, Rob Reid. Rob said, “I used to think strategy, execution, and culture were a three-legged stool. Now I realize that if you create the best culture, the other two will follow. So, at Sage Intacct we really look for team-oriented and results-driven people who want to contribute and make a difference.” The aim of the developing team at Sage Intacct is clear and simple – be flexible and stay ahead of the curve. It is a competitive market and the company must provide more value every day. If you stay stagnate, the competition will figure out a way to be better. Every employee must be in a constant learning mode, and then have the responsibility to make sure the company is providing more value than any other vendor. Keeping this in mind, Sage Intacct was built by finance executives for their fellow professionals.
In order to build a world-class culture at Sage Intacct, the company has invested in a simple, yet profound, philosophy. Sage Intacct takes the approach that almost everyone goes to work to do a good job. And if someone is not doing a good job, most organizations step back and say, “I’m not sure they’re going to make it here.”
Sage Intacct takes the opposite approach — embracing the ideas that the company has done something to let the employee down. They either haven’t taken the individual through the right process, or trained them appropriately, or communicated the explicit objectives that are to be achieved. If somebody is not doing something as expected, Sage Intacct seeks to understand what’s going on and help them succeed. At Sage Intacct, an unspoken motto is, “You need to be better tomorrow than you are today, and you need to make Sage Intacct better tomorrow than it is today.” The company focuses on giving employees the tools needed to do just that.
A visionary approach to cloud technology, a perfectionist pursuit of execution, and a culture that encourages constant learning has made Sage Intacct a true contender for the top cloud solution provider recognition. The recognition has never been more deserving for a company which has set a benchmark for innovation in the cloud industry. The company was the first consolidation Financial Management system, the first to integrate with Salesforce, and the first cloud professional financial management system.
It is rare to witness how the clear vision for growth, perfection in execution, and innovation can make life easier for the sometimes cumbersome and jaded processes of finance. Meet Sage Intacct.