The capital will help the company bolster its offering, which uses artificial intelligence agents to help accounting teams, according to a Tuesday (Nov. 18) press release.
“Despite decades of software innovation, accounting remains one of the most manual and error-prone functions in business,” the release said. “In the first 10 months of 2024 alone, 140 U.S. public companies were forced to restate their financials due to accounting errors, the highest number in nearly a decade.”
Maxima’s platform addresses the problem by automating “heavy lifting” when it comes to reconciliation, journal entries and close workflows, letting accounting teams focus on reviewing, validating and making decisions instead of “repetitive grunt work,” according to the release.
“I’ve seen too many talented accountants pushed to their limits, working 16- to 20-hour days for weeks on end just to get the books closed,” Maxima co-founder and CEO Yogi Goel said in the release. “Accountants are drowning in repetitive, manual work that leaves little time for the judgment, analysis and strategy their companies actually rely on them for. Maxima’s goal is to change that dynamic by giving accounting teams intelligent systems that can take on the heavy lifting while maintaining accuracy, transparency and control.”
Research has shown that AI can be beneficial to accountants, especially at small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs).
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A study from MIT and Stanford University found that accountants who used AI handled 55% more clients per week than those who did not use it. They also worked 8.5 percentage points less in data entry and transaction coding tasks, saving around 3.5 hours per week.
“In a sign that they didn’t use the extra time for idle activities, AI-using accountants also logged 21% more billable hours,” PYMNTS wrote. “This shows that they were engaged in activities that boost revenue.”
In practice, this means accountants could devote more time to advising clients, addressing complicated issues and examining work for accuracy.
Meanwhile, the PYMNTS Intelligence report “CFOs Eye Accounts Receivable as New Direction for AI Investments” found that accounts receivable is an especially promising target for AI investment, as 55% of chief financial officers at middle-market firms said they would be willing to spend on tools that would automate invoice approval and payment.
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