Matt Ford, Founder & CEO of Prism, a VC-backed booking software platform for music industry professionals, joined Rick Stefanone, Consero’s Senior Director of Sales, to discuss the company’s recent finance function transformation on its path to profitability.
As a founder-led business, Matt shared the challenges that led him to a partner like Consero, the operational and strategic benefits gained from outsourcing finance, and the tangible results that followed.
About Prism
What began as a college side-project grew into Prism, a SaaS platform for concert and festival promoters to manage events end-to-end and increase productivity and profitability.
Today, Prism serves about 400 customers, and targets growth to 440–500 customers this year.
With venture capital backing, Matt and Prism have shifted focus from growth-mode to profitability, and partnered with Consero and the Finance as a Service (FaaS) solution to power the back-office to get there.
Finance Before Consero
Before Consero, Matt was deep in Prism’s accounting, relying on a patchwork of tools and outsourced bookkeeping.
Matt was “closing the books every month myself… not even close to GAAP-compliant.”
- Unreliable timelines: Monthly close stretched 20+ business days, sometimes “well beyond that,” causing board-meeting scramble.
“I’d pull up the numbers last-minute and realize we were a couple months behind on reporting,” said Matt.
- System sprawl: Expensify, Bill.com and spreadsheets “were getting out of hand,” obscuring recurring vs. one-off expenses.
As Prism shifted from growth to cash-flow focus, the lack of visibility around “who’s paying annually vs. monthly” became critical.
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Schedule ConsultationChoosing Consero’s Finance as a Service Model
Introduced by an investor after Prism’s Series B in late 2023, Matt and Rick revisited Consero’s initial structured evaluation of Prism, which identified fragmented systems and processes.
Matt opted for Consero’s integrated systems + process + people offering, which included migrating to Sage Intacct and implementing the SIMPL platform, all supported by a dedicated VP of Finance:
Comprehensive Assessment
Consero mapped revenue flows and recommended Sage Intacct for the GL plus the SIMPL platform for approvals & analytics.
Dedicated Finance Team
A dedicated VP of Finance, FP&A analysts, accountants and AP specialists replaced a single bookkeeper.
Cost-Effective Solution
Software (Sage Intacct, Bill.com, SIMPL) and staff time roll into a single monthly charge, for “less than even one FTE.”
On the evolving partnership, Matt noted, “we’ve gone through many iterations and there’s always been a really positive attitude to keep making it better.”
People: The Impact of an Embedded VP of Finance
Matt highlighted the difference between his experience with basic bookkeeping vs. full Finance as a Service.
The proactive role of his VP of Finance and the FP&A team, who provided insights on trends, benchmarking, and model optimization, stood out:
On-call expertise
“He’ll jump on a call immediately and get into the weeds of the spreadsheet.”
Quarterly reviews and benchmarking
Comparing Prism’s spending to peers informs decision-making on product-development investment.
Guidance > bookkeeping
Regular reviews translate numbers into strategy, a “different level of service” from generic outsourced accounting.
“I realized that compared to other companies our size, we were investing disproportionately into product development, and that insight really helped guide our decisions.”
“Over and over I see that Consero is committed to handling my big challenges,” said Ford.
Systems & Processes Deployed
Consero replaced ad-hoc tools with an integrated tech stack and documented workflows.
“SIMPL is the engine running in the background—if I have questions on a P&L line, I dive straight into the details.”
Measurable Results
Within months, Prism saw faster closes and clearer metrics, freeing Matt to focus on strategic priorities.
Close time cut to 15 business days “without fail” (vs. 20-plus)
Near-real-time visibility into working-capital and payroll costs (20–30 FTEs)
Matt spends “a lot less time in things I don’t want to be doing”
Through accurate forecasting, flagging scenarios where spend could balloon
Full tech stack and accounting support comparable to one FTE
Advice for Other Founders
To fellow entrepreneurs, Matt advises: don’t delay building a strong finance foundation. As a company matures from growth mode to profitability, having reliable and strategic finance support is essential.
He highlighted delegating finance as both a cost-effective and culturally freeing solution, and emphasized how Consero’s service model has allowed Prism to stay true to its product-driven culture while avoiding the overhead of in-house finance.
Don’t skimp on rigor
Accurate, timely data is “a piece that shouldn’t be delayed.”
Weigh build vs. buy
Buying an ERP and staff internally is pricier than Consero’s bundle.
Keep core focus
Outsourcing freed Prism to “be a live-music software company, not an accounting shop.”
“It’s powerful to delegate finance so we can stay culture-aligned on building great product.”
Audience Q&A Highlights
Rick Stefanone also helped answer questions on accounting systems that Consero recommends, as well as costs and support included in the Finance as a Service rate.
- Recommended accounting systems: Consero implements Sage Intacct by default but can work with NetSuite, Dynamics, etc. and is a CRM agnostic partner. For example, Prism switched from Salesforce to HubSpot with no disruption.
- No hourly up-charges: VP of Finance access and team hours are covered in the fixed fee; it doesn’t matter if one week is five hours and the next is ten—there’s no additional cost.
Closing Thoughts
Matt and Rick underline that a maturing startup reaches a fork where finance must scale. By installing Consero’s people, process and platform, Prism transformed its back office for less than the cost of a single hire, freeing leadership to focus on growth in the vibrant live-music space.
Prism’s transformational experience provides a blueprint for any scaling software company seeking to professionalize its finance function. With the right systems, team, and processes in place, founders can unlock clarity, efficiency, and peace of mind.
Request a consultation for a tailored plan to transform your back-office into a strategic growth engine.
