Norway-based startup secures €5 million pre-seed to expand tech-driven audit services across Europe

Benford, a Norwegian audit firm, has raised €5 million in pre-seed funding. The round was led by firstminute capital, Global Founders Capital and Sondo. Individual backers include HSO founder Peter ter Maaten, Pennylane co-founders Arthur Waller and Quentin de Metz, Qonto co-founder Alexandre Prot, and the Spandow family of Amesto.

Benford provides end-to-end statutory financial audits using its proprietary platform, AuditOS. The platform connects to clients' ERP systems, subledgers, invoices, bank records and other operational systems to collect and organize audit evidence. It logs inputs, traces them to their sources and supports routine testing. Qualified auditors assess exceptions, make decisions requiring professional judgement and sign the final opinions. A shared interface lets auditors and client finance teams communicate, and the system is meant to cut preparation work and carry information forward between annual engagements.

The founders, Mads Bogen Øye, Thibault Mallion and Andreas Rystad, take a vertically integrated approach. Rather than licensing software to existing audit firms, Benford acts as the audit provider itself. Mallion said the company is not changing what an audit is, but how it is delivered.

Benford has 20 employees and is already conducting client audits in Norway. The funding will go toward expanding its London and Oslo offices, entering Sweden and other European markets, and hiring in audit and engineering.

Investors framed the opportunity around a market they see as neglected. Michael Stothard of firstminute capital said innovation in audit has meant selling tools to auditors, and that the Big Four are pulling back from the mid-market. The European audit market, especially for small and mid-sized businesses, faces rising costs, pressure to modernize technology and difficulty recruiting experienced professionals.