Not every big M&A deal involves flashy companies or trendy industries. Take last week, for example: software investor Hg announced it would shell out over $3 billion to acquire AuditBoard, an auditing platform provider. According to Crunchbase, this ranks as the biggest purchase of a U.S. private, venture-backed company in 2024, during a notably slow period for large transactions.
If you haven’t heard of AuditBoard, you’re not alone. This Cerritos, California-based company has kept a low profile despite its impressive track record. AuditBoard is profitable and rakes in over $200 million annually, yet it only raised a total of $43.6 million in funding over a decade, with the last round led by Battery Ventures in 2018.
AuditBoard’s low-key nature is partly because it operates in the auditing and compliance software sector—not exactly the stuff of household names. However, this niche has quietly attracted a lot of venture capital interest, particularly in accounting-focused startups that have seen significant funding this year.
Here are a few notable mentions in the auditing and compliance space:
- DataSnipper, from Amsterdam, offers productivity tools for auditing and finance. It raised $100 million in a Series B round led by Index Ventures in February.
- Supervizor, with offices in New York and Paris, provides a quality assurance platform for finance teams, including audit analytics tools. They just announced a $22 million round led by Orange Ventures.
- FloQast, based in Sherman Oaks, California, was co-founded by former auditor Mike Whitmire. This 11-year-old company, which automates accounting and compliance workflows, has raised over $300 million, including a $100 million Series E led by Iconiq Growth in April.
- Kintsugi AI, a San Francisco-based startup, raised a $6 million Series A led by Link Ventures. Their platform uses AI to simplify tax compliance.
In light of AuditBoard’s $3 billion exit, it’s worth noting the year’s second-largest venture-backed M&A deal: OpenGov, which provides software to streamline government operations, sold to Cox Enterprises for $1.8 billion.
What’s common between these acquisitions? They operate in less-than-glamorous industries—auditing and govtech. Most people want to avoid tasks like verifying financial reports or dealing with DMV processes. Companies that simplify these tedious but necessary jobs are hot commodities.
Public and private equity investors recognize the value here. Look at Intuit, a pioneer in tax and accounting software, now a $170 billion public company trading near its all-time high. In the M&A arena, tax compliance software provider Avalara sold to Vista Equity Partners for $8.4 billion in 2022 after a successful IPO.
These companies might not generate buzz, but in a quiet market for startup M&A, they’re proving their worth.
