The AI-driven accounting software company Trullion has tapped former Gannett CFO Doug Horne to become the startup’s first finance chief, the company announced this week.

Horne, who served five years as finance chief at the media giant Gannett before stepping down from the post earlier this year, has also previously worked in finance roles at WeWork, Time Warner and as deputy CFO and CAO at AOL. A CPA, Horne began his career in assurance at Ernst & Young.

Horne’s appointment marks the second time in as many months that Trullion has added an AOL veteran to its C-suite. Last month the company named former AOL CFO Artie Minson as Trullion’s new CEO. 

Founded in 2019, Trullion serves more than 3,000 companies globally, including Big Four professional services firms and top accounting firms and that it has doubled the number of audit firm clients that use its platform over the past year, according to a release shared with CFO Dive. In a wide-ranging interview with CFO Dive last week, Horne spoke about the company’s business model, AI and the plan for his first 100 days as finance chief. 

The following Q&A has been edited for clarity and brevity. 

CFO Dive: When you think about it, Gannett was a company that was disrupted by technology. Now you’re part of Trullion. Would you say it’s a disruptor in terms of being a provider of AI-driven software that will change the accounting industry? 

Doug Horne: I don’t think there is a single company that is disrupting industry as much as technology advancements are naturally kind of disrupting and changing how work is done. I think Trullion has an opportunity to help shape what that looks like from an accounting and auditing perspective.

CFO Dive: Is the plan to put it on a path to go public?

Doug Horne: I think it’s too early to dictate a path. As stewards of the company we’re always open to strategic options that make sense for the shareholders.

CFO Dive: To go to the business model, can you tell me a little bit more about your software as a service product? What is it like and how is it different from ERP systems and other software companies already have?

Doug Horne: Our software performs unique functions not embedded in ERP which ensure compliance with lease standards, under U.S. GAAP and IFRS. Essentially it’s able to intake a lease and have information extracted and automatically populated in terms of accounting and entries and cash flows. There’s also the audit suite allowing folks to extract data and compare that with underlying source documents so essentially it’s doing that proof and comparison that all staff auditors find themselves doing. It does it very systematically and is fast and efficient and as such auditors are more efficient in their engagements, but importantly the accuracy overall improves generally than what you would get in terms of manual performance of that work.

CFO Dive: What are your priorities for your first 100 days as CFO? 

Doug Horne: I’m technically at about three and a half [days] right now. I think in the first 100 days it’s all about really assessing the current state with people, process and tech and coming up for a way to move forward with all of those...I’m big believer that when you enter an organization the team members generally know what needs to happen next and part of my job is listening, learning and giving voice to that in a really strategic way. 

CFO Dive: We’re coming up on the end of our time is there anything else you want to add?

Doug Horne: If anybody’s interested in how AI can influence their organization or want a thought partner to think through the AI impact on finance and accounting I would say Trullion stands ready to do that for CFOs and controllers and I think that would be a good conversation if folks are interested.

CFO Dive: In a follow on to that, there is a lot of trepidation about AI. What do you say to CFOs who are worried about the cost and the risks? 

Doug Horne: Broadly speaking I think the benefits outweigh the potential risks. When I think of AI and the technology advancement that we’re embarking on, it’s not a situation where you’re expecting something to completely replace that human judgment or that involvement…I think this is something that is so exciting and is evolving so quickly and I really do believe five years from now you’re going to look back and finance and accounting is going to be done differently, maybe more so than it has in anybody’s recent memory.  

CFO Dive: What do you say to young people you meet who are interested in being CPAs. Is there a future for them or will their jobs be taken away by technology? 

Doug Horne: I think there’s always a future for a CPA and I think it’s an excellent place to start a career but the important part is you have to marry that accounting expertise with technical expertise. I‘d tell somebody starting out right now to learn everything you can about AI.