Ones to Watch: Circit

Mariam Barakat, Lead Designer; Sean Kenny, CTO; Cormac O’Brien, ex-CTO (no longer with the company); David Heath, CEO, David O’Connor, Director/COO, Circit

In our Ones to Watch section, we highlight some of the top movers and shakers in Ireland. This week we feature Circit.

What is it?

Circit has fundamentally changed the way audit confirmation requests are made with its cloud-based platform that allows audit firms to obtain independent evidence, in a fraction of the time, while eliminating many of the fraud risks associated with the traditional process.

The platform connects all stakeholders involved in the audit, allowing the SME client to digitally authorise access to information held by third-party providers, including banks, solicitors and brokers, who can then easily respond to confirm any balances and arrangements held on behalf of the client.

Circit launched this year and has already signed a number of the big audit firms and banks in Ireland.

Who’s behind it?

Founded by David Heath, a former auditor, and David O’Connor with a financial technology background in banking, the platform was developed with a deep understanding of the benefits to participants on all sides of the audit process, having experienced the challenges first-hand.

How is it funded?

The company’s backers include Escher Group Holdings plc, Enterprise Ireland and a number of significant angel investors from the industry, having raised an initial seed round of investment.

Future plans?

The company is building the platform to connect to any data source where the true position of a client’s account can be verified instantly, where current processes can take months. In this regard, Circit is leveraging financial APIs as the fintech landscape continues to develop worldwide.