Industry · Technology & media

Accounting and advisory for technology and media companies in Tunisia

Software publishers, SaaS companies, fintechs, telecommunications and media: a sector where value rests on intangible assets, recurring revenue and rapid growth, shifting the accounting issues towards revenue recognition and the treatment of development costs.

Reference valuation: 12× EBITDA (indicative median).

The sector's accounting and financial issues

Recurring revenue and deferral

Subscriptions, multi-year licences, maintenance contracts: spreading revenue over the term of the contract and the treatment of deferred income determine the fairness of the result. Premature recognition distorts both profit and valuation.

Development costs and intangible assets

Whether development costs are capitalised rather than expensed is a structuring question for software publishers. Capitalisation criteria must be documented, and intangible assets monitored, amortised and tested for impairment.

Management metrics and investor expectations

Annual recurring revenue, churn rate, customer acquisition cost, gross margin per product: these metrics, outside the chart of accounts, are required by investors and must be produced reliably and traceably.

How we work in this sector

Statutory and contractual audit

Our audits in the sector examine the revenue recognition policy and the deferral of subscriptions, the capitalisation criteria for development costs, the measurement and impairment of intangible assets, and the consistency between reported management metrics and accounting data.

Accounting and outsourcing

Bookkeeping, payroll, tax and social filings, structuring of management reporting suited to recurring-revenue models, preparation of investor reporting.

Transaction advisory

Valuation of technology companies, financial due diligence before a fundraising or an acquisition, preparation of investment documentation. The sector shows the highest multiples on the Tunisian market: around 12 times EBITDA as an indicative median.

Points of attention

  • Deferral of revenue over the term of contracts
  • Deferred income and advance invoicing
  • Capitalisation criteria for development costs
  • Impairment of intangible assets
  • Consistency between reported metrics and the accounts

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