Workiva Explained

Workiva Inc.
Foundation:2008
Type:Public
Traded As: (Class A)
Russell 2000 Component
Location City:Ames, Iowa
Location Country:US
Key People:Julie Iskow (President & CEO)
Jill Klindt (CFO)
Brandon Ziegler (Legal) [1]
Services:Cloud computing
Revenue: $630m (2023)
Operating Income: $18m (2023)
Footnotes:[2]
Num Employees: 2,526 (2023)
Assets: $1,219,000 (2023)
Equity: -$89,3m (2023)

Workiva, Inc. is a global software-as-a-service (SaaS) company.[3] It provides a cloud-based connected and reporting compliance platform that enables the use of connected data and automation of reporting across finance, accounting, risk, and compliance.

History

Early history

2008 - 2014

In August 2008, Workiva Inc. was formed as WebFilings LLC in California by six entrepreneurs.[4]

Martin Vanderploeg was a co-founder of EAI and served as CTO and Executive Vice President until they were acquired in 2000 by UGS Corp,[5] [6] [7] and is now a division of Siemens, the German technology multinational.[1]

The Workiva Platform is a cloud-based enterprise software-as-a-service platform that enables companies to collect, manage, report and analyse critical business data in real time.[8] Wdesk also allows companies to manage and file financial and compliance documents to regulatory agencies.[9]

Workiva integrates information from disparate content formats, including spreadsheets, presentation documents, emails and other unstructured data, into a single cloud-based report.[10] [11]

In July 2014, the company's name was changed to Workiva LLC, and was converted into a Delaware LLC in September 2014.[12]

Recent history

2014 - 2019

The company went public in December 2014 and with an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: WK).[13]

Deloitte's 2015 Technology Fast 500 survey of fastest growing technology companies in America Workiva ranked fiftieth among all software companies.[14] In the DevOps Excellence Awards 2019, Workiva won Best Software-Defined Product.[15]

In May 2019, Workiva opened offices in Frankfurt, Germany, and Paris, France.[16] The company also has offices in Amsterdam and London, 12 U.S. cities, and two Canadian cities.

Workiva’s product Wdata allows users to connect large datasets of information to the Workiva platform.[17] It was designed to improve the usefulness of Wdesk.  Wdata connects data from enterprise resource planning, governance risk and compliance platforms, and other third-party, on-premise systems and cloud applications.[18]

Wdata was named the technical innovation of the year by The American Business Awards in June 2019.[19] In September, Workiva updated the Wdata platform to include automatic updates, approval workflows, finance and accounting connectors, risk and control integration, and improved controlled access tools. The company also integrated its platforms with BlackLine, a producer of financial close software.[20] [21] The integration allows accountants to connect and transfer data between the two companies. Later in September, Workiva established a partnership with FloQast, a financial close management software company. The two offer a reporting and compliance solution for private companies, as well as for companies to use before and after they issue an initial public offering of stock.

2020 - 2021

In March 2020, Fortune included Workiva on its annual list of “Best Workplaces in Technology”, making it the company’s third year on the list.

In April 2020, Workiva launched W for ESEF.[22]  It is a solution to help European companies comply with the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) requirements for European Single Electronic Format (ESEF) reporting. W for ESEF was made available in 23 European languages. Companies can use the solution to build reports, tag data, and compile the final ESEF submission package.

In November 2020, Workiva appointed COO Julie Iskow to the board. She was named one of the 50 most powerful women in tech in 2019.[23] [24] [25]

In May, the company updated its cloud platform to help companies with Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) reporting.[26]

In July 2021, the company became the first SaaS company to enter the United Nations’ Global Compact CFO Taskforce.[27] [28] A few months later, in August 2021, Workiva made its first acquisition when it acquired OneCloud, which provides integration platform as a service software.[29] [30]

In December 2021, Workiva acquired AuditNet, a global audit content and services provider.[31] [32]

In February 2023, Workiva announced that President and Chief Operating Officer Julie Iskow was appointed to succeed Marty Vanderploeg as CEO, starting April 1st.[33]

Applications

Workiva's first SaaS product was SEC reporting software designed to enable corporations to automate their SEC filings by using a proprietary system of document tags and linking. The platform also enabled companies to file electronically directly with the SEC, using the business mark-up language XBRL (Extensible Business Reporting Language), required by the SEC.[34] [35] A customer of Workiva's was the first company to file Inline XBRL with the SEC.[36]

The company has since expanded to include other corporate financial and compliance reporting functions, including:

Workiva's reporting software was created for executives that want to integrate data from different systems, and desire software that updates automatically.[38]

The majority of Fortune 500 companies use Workiva’s software.[39]

European companies use Wdesk to comply with European Securities and Markets Authority’s reporting mandates.[40]

Global Legal Entity Identifier (GLEIF) deployed the Workiva platform to create their annual report which was then showcased by ESMA as a paragon for European Single Electronic Format (ESEF)-compliance reporting.[41]

In September 2021, Workiva formed a partnership with Wilson Sonsini (WSGR), a premier legal firm, to automate the generation of the SEC Form S-1. The new application is known as the WS-1 and helps reduce the time needed to prepare IPO statements.[42] [43]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: About Us - Leadership Team . Workiva.com. 22 July 2022.
  2. Web site: Workiva 2021 Annual Report. S21.q4cdn.com. 2022-07-23.
  3. Web site: Why Customers Choose Workiva and the Cloud: Security | Workiva.
  4. Web site: ChartEXE: Market Data Aggregation Service. 2020-11-20. ChartEXE: Market Data Aggregation Service. en.
  5. Web site: SEC TENDER OFFER STATEMENT (c57319scto-c.txt). September 5, 2000. SEC.gov. Security and Exchange Commission.
  6. Web site: Martin J. Vanderploeg Ph.D. - Executive Bio, Work History, and Contacts - Equilar BoardEdge. people.equilar.com. 2019-03-22.
  7. Web site: Person. Bloomberg.
  8. News: Workiva Analytics. Reuters. 17 October 2014 .
  9. News: Workiva Announces 2019 Partner Award Winners at Amplify User Conference Financial Post. Releases. Business Wire News. Financial Post. 2019-09-09. en-CA. 2019-09-13.
  10. Web site: Magic Quadrant for Financial Corporate Performance Management Solutions. Van Decker. John E.. Iervolino. Christopher. May 2016. Gartner. 28 September 2016. ID: G0027739..
  11. Web site: Workiva Automates Composite Documents with Workiva. Kugel. Robert. July 2016. Ventana Research. 1 November 2016.
  12. Web site: Sparty S-1. 2019-03-07. Sec.gov.
  13. Web site: WORKIVA OF AMES PLANS INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING. October 19, 2014. Isupark.org. Iowa State University Research Park Corporation.
  14. Web site: Deloitte's 2015 Technology Fast 500. Deloitte.com. Deloitte & Touche LLP.
  15. Web site: DevOps Excellence Awards 2019 - And the winners are... Computing. 2019-03-20. Computing.co.uk. en. 2019-04-02.
  16. Web site: Workiva opens German, French offices. 2020-06-22. The Ames Tribune. en.
  17. Web site: Wildeman. Mary Katherine. Charleston outfit of software firm made tool to help companies wrangle big data. 2020-06-11. Post and Courier. en.
  18. Web site: 2019-09-10. Workiva updates Wdata platform, partners with FloQast. 2020-06-11. Accounting Today. en.
  19. Web site: Wildeman. Mary Katherine. Charleston outfit of software firm made tool to help companies wrangle big data. 2020-06-22. Post and Courier. en.
  20. Web site: 2019-09-04. Workiva and BlackLine create platform integration. 2020-06-30. Accounting Today. en.
  21. Web site: Brett. Charles. 2019-09-17. Workiva adds integrations with BlackLine and FloQast -. 2020-06-30. Enterprise Times. en-GB.
  22. Web site: 2020-04-09. Workiva launches W for ESEF to help European companies simplify compliance. 2020-07-27. Help Net Security. en-US.
  23. Web site: Julie Iskow 2019 Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Technology. Top50tech.org. 2020-12-08. en-US.
  24. Web site: Workiva benoemt Julie Iskow in de Raad van Bestuur. 2020-12-08. Techvisor.nl.
  25. Web site: Julie Iskow treedt toe tot Raad van Bestuur Workiva . 2020-12-08. Executive-people.nl. nl.
  26. Web site: Brooks . Steve . News from the week beginning 26th April . Enterprise Times . 9 September 2021 . 3 May 2021.
  27. Web site: Workiva's CFO on growth and ESG data. 2021-11-19. Fortune. en.
  28. Web site: 2021-07-17. Workiva becomes the first SaaS company to enter the UN Global Compact CFO Taskforce. 2022-02-10. SaaS Industry. en-US.
  29. Web site: 2021-08-02. Workiva buys OneCloud in first acquisition. 2021-11-19. Accounting Today. en.
  30. Web site: 2021-08-03. Workiva acquires OneCloud to expand data integrations for business reporting. 2021-11-19. VentureBeat. en-US.
  31. Web site: 2021-12-14. Workiva Buys AuditNet to Add Content. 2022-01-28. CFO. en-US.
  32. Web site: 2021-12-16. Workiva acquires AuditNet to empower internal auditors with more technology and resources. 2022-01-28. Help Net Security. en-US.
  33. Web site: 2023-02-22 . Iskow appointed to succeed Vanderploeg as Workiva CEO . 2023-02-24 . Business Record . en-US.
  34. News: Security and Exchange Commission. Final Rule: Interactive Data to Improve Financial Reporting . Companies will provide their financial statements to the Commission and on their corporate Web sites in interactive data format using the eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL). . Release Nos. 33-9002; 34-59324; 39-2461. January 30, 2009.
  35. Web site: Workiva on Inline XBRL and breaking down walls between finance and sustainability . Xbrl.org. 2021-10-22. en-US.
  36. News: Workiva product first to make Inline XBRL filing with SEC. Business Record. July 6, 2016. October 30, 2016.
  37. Web site: Compliance Week Blogs. Workiva Adds New Feature to Wdesk for Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance. Compliance Week. Wilmington Compliance Week plc. 30 October 2016. April 3, 2015.
  38. News: Shumsky. Tatyana. 2017-11-29. Stop Using Excel, Finance Chiefs Tell Staffs. en-US. Wall Street Journal. 2021-10-05. 0099-9660.
  39. Web site: Jett. Tyler. The secrets behind Ames company rated as having one of top tech workplace cultures. 2020-06-05. Des Moines Register. en.
  40. Web site: Workiva opens German, French offices. 2020-06-05. The Ames Tribune. en.
  41. Web site: GLEIF Deploys Workiva Platform, Expands into North America – A Team. A-teaminsight.com. July 2020 . 2020-07-13. en-US.
  42. Web site: Jain. Diksha. Wilson Sonsini Collaborates With Workiva To Automate Form S-1 JDJournal. 2022-01-21. Jdjournal.com. en-US.
  43. Web site: artificiallawyer. 2021-09-20. Wilson Sonsini Automates SEC-S1 IPO Registration Form. 2022-01-21. Artificiallawyer.com. en-GB.

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