On-demand ERP vendor Intacct will announce next week that it has received the
coveted SAS 70 certification, internetnews.com has learned.
The company is confident that this accreditation will be a springboard for Intacct to win ERP deals with small and medium-sized
businesses (SMB) that link to larger companies’ supply chains.
“That part of the SMB market is ripe for Intacct,” CEO Robert Jurkowski told
internetnews.com.
The SAS 70 certification opens the burgeoning compliance market by
helping eliminate concerns some potential customers may have about adopting
an on-demand solution.
“It removes barriers of indecision for potential prospects who are
considering using that delivery model,” noted Beth Enslow, an analyst with
the Aberdeen Group.
Public companies regulated by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) must
prove that their internal controls and procedures are entirely reliable, and
technology infrastructure is a key component of that requirement.
“Public companies need the infrastructure to be certified. Otherwise they
face very expensive audits,” noted Jurkowski.
But Jurkowski said that Intacct is focusing on
privately held companies, even though they are not subject to the
requirements of SOX.
“A lot of private companies that are not yet public are interested because,
in a lot of cases, their exit strategy is M&A, and if that [merger] happens
to be with a public company, they will need the same due diligence,” he
said.
Moreover, private companies that bid for contracts with public companies are
increasingly being asked by their partners if they are SOX-compliant.
“Public companies are asking the same questions of suppliers that their
auditors ask of them,” Enslow told internetnews.com.
According to Intacct, it is the only on-demand ERP provider to have received
the Statement on Auditing Standards No. 70 (SAS 70) Type II Service
Auditors’ Report from Grant Thornton LLP.
The audit ensures that Intacct delivers its Web-based financial management,
supply chain, professional services automation, and business intelligence
applications in accordance with standards established by the American
Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).
Intacct has more than 2,200 customers and 7,700-plus subscribers.
SAS 70 is a widely recognized, third-party review standard developed by the
AICPA to allow service
providers to report on their control activities and processes to customers
and customers’ auditors.
A formal report, including the audit firm’s
assessment, is issued to the service provider at the conclusion of the SAS 70
review. Intacct intends to renew its SAS 70 certification annually.
