Launching: CFO Techstack App Certification

Today we’re announcing the launch of CFO Techstack App Certification. From now on you’ll see a certified badge next to some of the apps on the app map. 

Why app certification?

Every week, members of the CFO Techstack community tell us how they are running their businesses via How I Stacked It. Our app map is built from that, it represents the apps finance leaders, like yourself, know and love. It’s important to us that the app map continues to be that, a reflection of all the great tools this community is using (and not a list of vendors who pay to be there). 

Knowing what your peers use day to day only answers some of the questions our community has when it comes to building their app stack. We know from feedback from yourselves as well as feedback from FLAC that choosing an app is so much more than simply seeing an app on a map. You need to consider a vast amount of different criteria including security standards, scalability, accounting system integration depth and so much more. 

We believe at CFO Techstack that you can run a large, complex business at scale without the need of an ERP. Apps are an important part of that however, not every app is built for a business like yours. 

That’s where The CFO Techstack App Certification comes in.

How does app certification work?

It’s a detailed assessment completed by our team, based on the criteria that you care about. 

We’ve looked at feedback you’ve shared directly with us and we sat down with members of the Finance Leader Advisory Council and learnt more about how they make decisions around selecting apps. The truth is, it’s a complex multi-faceted process. However, there are many things which stay true no matter what type of app you’re assessing. 

The certification process is built around a detailed application on the topics that you’ve told us matter. Where appropriate, apps are asked to provide evidence to back up answers. We look through their submissions in detail to validate their answers, just like you and your team would do, before they’re able to be successful in completing their certification. 

What does app certification assess?

We assess across 10 different categories of criteria: security, controls and access, audit support, integration depth, AI and ecosystem, scale, geography, implementation, commercial, and community evidence.

Transparency is a key part of app certification, you can read more about the criteria here.

What does this mean when you’re selecting apps for your techstack?

1. More confidence an app will work with the scale and complexity of your business
2. Faster procurement process, with apps that you know meet your security requirements
3. Less of your time spent checking the same information over and over again for different apps

The thing we can’t validate for you is if you’ll like using the app day to day or if it’ll work with bespoke requirements your business has. So, you’ll still need to demo and try the tools yourself. Certification does of course help you with the heavy lifting at the beginning of your app selection process.

How do you know who is certified?

Keep a look out for the certified app tick on the app map or the certified app badge which apps may share or use on their own websites and social media pages.

The first group of certified apps are: Mayday, Xero, Syft and Employment Hero.

We’ll be adding more over time, so keep an eye out for the badge when you’re looking at the app map.

Are you an app?

If you’re an app and would like to know more about app certification, you can learn more here.