RIVIO Clearinghouse Addresses Key Need of Bankers and Investors for Validated Data Sources
NEW YORK (May 3, 2016) – CPA.com and Confirmation.com today announced the launch of RIVIO Clearinghouse, which delivers CPA source-validated financial documents such as audited financial statements to bankers, shareholders and other investors. These documents are available through a secure, cloud-based platform that offers stronger fraud prevention and more sophisticated controls than existing delivery methods.
Private companies are the backbone of the U.S. economy, making up the overwhelming majority of the nation’s 28 million businesses. Unlike with public companies, whose key data is accessible through the Securities and Exchange Commission’s EDGAR system, there is no central repository for private company financial information. As a result, many private businesses still rely on outdated methods to distribute financial statements, tax forms and other key documents, such as mailing or hand delivering paper copies or emailing unsecure files. Banks, private equity firms and other users of this information have little way of knowing if the data they receive has been altered.
The RIVIO Clearinghouse transforms how private company financial information is exchanged by:
- Validating that a financial document has been uploaded by a licensed CPA firm
- Eliminating the possibility that company management can change data once it is uploaded by the CPA firm
- Allowing companies complete control over who can view the information, so financial data remains private and protected
- Providing anytime, anywhere access to the information, which can speed lending decisions and other business transactions
- Protecting private company information with encryption and an IT architecture tested by rigorous security audits
“In today’s digital world, bankers and investors are expecting authenticated sources of data,” said Erik Asgeirsson, president and CEO of CPA.com. “The RIVIO Clearinghouse uniquely provides a system where only licensed CPA firms can upload audited and reviewed financial statements used by lenders, private equity firms and others.”
The online clearinghouse was developed jointly by CPA.com and Confirmation.com, a company that offers a market-leading solution for electronic audit confirmations and is well known in both the accounting profession and the banking industry. RIVIO—an acronym for Repository of Intelligent Validated Inputs and Outputs—has been in a pilot phase with leading firms for the past year and was named a 2016 Top New Product by Accounting Today. The clearinghouse does not replace or compete with firm or bank portals, since it was designed specifically for transferring information between three distinct user groups with features relevant to each. In time, the RIVIO Clearinghouse can be integrated into these portals.
“One of the key benefits of the new clearinghouse is fraud prevention,” said Brian Fox, CPA, president and founder of Confirmation.com. “It’s easy to alter a paper financial document or create a bogus PDF, but the RIVIO Clearinghouse prevents changes once a CPA firm uploads a financial statement. That provides piece of mind for lenders and other interested parties.”
For more information about the clearinghouse, please visit RIVIO.com
About CPA.com
CPA.com empowers CPAs and businesses for the digital age. The company offers a growing list of digital products and services that help firms succeed in practice management, client advisory services and professional development.
CPA.com is a subsidiary of the AICPA, the world's largest member organization representing the accounting profession. The company has its headquarters in New York City and offices in Silicon Valley, Calif., Dexter, Mich., and Durham, N.C. For more information, visit CPA.com.
About Confirmation.com
Confirmation.com is the world's leading provider of secure online audit confirmations. Today, 13,000 audit firms confirm over $1 trillion annually for 700,000 clients worldwide. Confirmation.com is used in over 125 countries by banks, companies, and law firm to respond to audit confirmation requests. For more information, visit Confirmation.com.
