In the world of AP and Financial Operations, M&A activity is not only limited to solution/service providers as is evidenced by the recent acquisition by The Institute Of Finance And Management (IOFM), a provider of events, peer networks, training, certification, information tools and resources for AP professionals. On December 9th, 2013, the IOFM announced the acquisition of the competition – The Accounts Payable Network (TAPN) as well as The Accounts Receivable Network (TARN).
To get some more insight into this acquisition, I interviewed RD Whitney, Executive Director of the IOFM unit of Diversified. Here is some of our Q&A:
The IOFM itself was recently acquired by Diversified Communications, can you tell us more about this organization?
Diversified Communications, based in Portland, Maine, USA provides information and market access through face-to-face events, publications and online communities, products and services. Diversified serves a number of industries including business management. Diversified operates divisions in Australia, Hong Kong, India, the UK and Canada. The Institute of Finance & Management (IOFM) is a business unit within Diversified Communications and is the leading source of events, peer networks, training, certification, information tools and resources for financial-operations professionals.
IOFM was originally part of another finance/management media company called IOMA which was owned by BNA, now BNA Bloomberg. A private equity firm called Greenhaven Partners acquired IOFM in about 2009 and sold it to Diversified in April of 2013.
What was the main purpose of acquiring TAPN and TARN and how do you see it benefiting the members and clients?
IOFM and TAPN were competitors in the accounts payable segment, each with different strengths serving this professional community. By acquiring TAPN, IOFM is able to develop closer relationships with a major segment of the market and offer TAPN members more diverse products, services and events such as conferences. The same strategy would apply to offering IOFM members some very strong membership content and training that TAPN specializes in. IOFM has a presence in the accounts receivable area and by acquiring TARN, strengthens its product line and expands its membership.
What particular expertise does the TAPN and TARN team bring to IOFM?
TAPN and IOFM have jointly run the AP Certification Program but each has certified its own customer base. Now those two customer bases are unified enabling us to offer a more complete program. TAPN and TARN have also developed other online training tools that can now be made available to IOFM customers and prospects.
Talk a little bit about what you have in store for 2014
2014 will be a very important year for the new IOFM. We will merge our product lines, marketing and sales operations and content and product development operations. We will develop a more diverse strategic and operational plan. But primarily we will expand our customer base and deliver great value to our corporate customers and sponsors.
What is the vision going forward of the IOFM (or of Divcom)?
Diversified Communications is very interested in expanding events, products and customers in its Business Management units. IOFM is seen as the catalyst for growth both internally and through acquisition. IOFM’s vision is to create a strong, multi-functional business media organization with a core company and talented team than can enter and compete in a variety of professional B2B markets.
