Pittsburgh company well positioned to help

by Harry Zimbler, Editor

International standards for accounting are emerging, according to Kirk Petula, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Confluence, a Pittsburgh-based software company.

Founded in 1991, Confluence is a global leader in investment data management automation. Offering the industry’s only unified platform for fund administration, the Unity™ platform, Confluence is relied on by more than 40 percent of the leading investment firms worldwide to solve a wide range of problems, from performance measurement to customized reporting for mutual funds, variable products, alternative investments, and other instruments.

“Asset managers pay for our services, with us serving as a conduit between funds and regulators,” said Petula. “We provide the tolls that allow the data to be reviewed.”

Confluence’s client base is global, with 60 percent of U.S. mutual funds and the leading global funds using its software. The company is hoping that the world will soon settle on a single set of accounting rules.

“Every country has a set of general accounting principals. This makes it difficult to manage across economies,” Petula said. “How likely is it that we’ll get a single set? I’d say that as with all government decisions, it will happen, but not the way we expect it to. There will be loopholes but I think it’s coming. We need transparency.”

Our region is impacted in few ways, according to Petula. Reports to investors and the work of local fund administrators need accurate data. “The entire value chain is represented in the central Pennsylvania market,” he said.

Confluence is privately owned with growth equity investment backing from Polaris Venture Partners. The company provides services in vital regulatory, financial and marketing reporting requirements.

By automating the accounting standards, Confluence reduces the risk of errors, lower operational costs, decreased reporting turnaround times, and the ability to deal with increased reporting frequency and additional funds without adding resources.