Certent Helps Companies Manage Financial Compliance

By Zoe Francis, Hacienda Network Staff Writer

Growing companies can use Certent software to stay on top of financial compliance regulations in order to ensure their businesses are thriving.

Certent provides cloud-based software that makes it easy for companies to comply with financial regulations.

"We're a provider of financial compliance software solutions," CEO Mike Boese said. "You can try to (comply) using Excel spreadsheets, but very quickly companies outgrow those. They don't provide the ability to manage the complexity and the compliance requirements. Typically, very small companies will start there, but then they'll move to a full-blown solution."

Hacienda-based Certent provides services for two distinct areas of financial compliance - equity compensation management and reporting and disclosure management.

"For companies that issue equity as part of their compensation plans, we provide a software solution to manage these plans," Boese explained. "Many companies in the Silicon Valley issue stock options. We help both private and public companies here in the Bay Area and across the U.S. address the regulatory and accounting requirements associated with equity compensation."

Certent's disclosure management services help companies ensure they are complying with all Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing requirements.

"Companies have to file their financials with the SEC," he said. "You have to file them in a certain format. We help them with both software and services to complete their filings. We help ensure they meet their filing deadlines with high-quality submissions."

Certent was founded in 2002 as EASi, short for Equity Administration Solutions, Inc. The company started strictly as an equity compensation management firm.

In September of last year, EASi bought Rivet Software, which specialized in disclosure management software. The two companies merged and were rebranded as Certent in January.

"We look at both these markets from the perspective of being a great technology company, not a services company," Boese said. "We compete with many other solution providers, but we focus on how can we bring the best software to market."

Certent has been a cloud-based solutions provider long before other technology firms turned to cloud services.

"We've been in a cloud-based model pretty much for all of the company's history," he said. "It allows us to only manage one code base, so when we improve the software, it goes to all our customers immediately."

Certent has what it terms a partner-friendly business model, working closely with brokerage firms such as Morgan Stanley, UBS, TD Ameritrade and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

"(Customers) have a choice so they can pick the best broker that works for them," Boese said. "You ultimately need to buy and sell your shares, your stock. We provide the administration and the accounting, but ultimately you need to work with a broker. We integrate with eight brokers to give our customers a choice. That's a big differentiator for us."

The company has grown to have 170 employees who serve more than 1,300 companies nationwide, more than a thousand of which are publicly traded.

Certent plans to constantly improve its technology to stay ahead of the growing market it serves.

"We're looking to continue to grow fast, both organically as well as considering acquisitions," Boese said. "We think we've got the market momentum in both these areas to grow. We see the demand. We have the right solutions, and we have the right investors backing us."

Learn more about Certent at certent.com.

Photo: Mike Boese, Chief Executive Officer of Certent

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