Ascend named the Accounting Automation Partner for Combined Agents of America (CAA). Mar 03, 2026, 09:42 ET SAN FRANCISCO, March 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - Ascend, the comprehensive financial operations automation platform for the insurance industry, today announced a strategic partnership with Combined Agents of America (CAA), one of the nation's largest privately held insurance aggregator groups. This partnership designates Ascend as the Accounting Automation Partner for CAA's nationwide network of independent agencies. The collaboration is designed to modernize back-office operations for CAA member agencies, replacing fragmented manual workflows with end-to-end automation for both agency and direct bill processes. Eliminating the Back-Office Bottleneck As independent agencies scale, accounting workflows - traditionally manual and error-prone - often become a primary bottleneck. Ascend's platform removes these hurdles by automating the most time-consuming aspects of the insurance lifecycle: * Commission Reconciliations: Eliminating hours spent processing and matching policy commissions. * Billing & Payments: Streamlining premium collection for a seamless client experience. * Carrier Payables: Accelerating commissions and increasing speed-to-bind. "Our mission at CAA has always been to empower our members with the best-in-class tools they need to thrive," said A.J Lovitt, CEO of Combined Agents of America. "Ascend's innovative approach to automation allows our agencies to pivot from administrative tasks to high-value client service and strategic growth." Driving the Future of Accounting Operations This partnership arrives as the insurance industry increasingly prioritizes digital transformation and the integration of AI-driven financial tools. "CAA represents a leader for independent agency networks," said Amelia Lee, Head of Partnerships at Ascend. "We are thrilled to be their exclusive accounting automation partner and help provide solutions that support the growth ambitions of CAA's member agencies." About Ascend Ascend is the comprehensive accounting automation platform for the insurance industry, providing technology that automates payments, collections, payables, and reconciliation for agencies, intermediaries and carriers. To learn more about how Ascend can transform your business, please visit www.useascend.com. About Combined Agents of America (CAA) Founded in 1997, Combined Agents of America, LLC is a leading insurance network of independent insurance agencies. Committed to the evolution of the independent agency system, CAA provides its members with the leverage, resources, and scale of a national organization while maintaining local agency independence. Media Contact: Mike Nguyen SOURCE Ascend

Ascend launches Cash Application tool to address unapplied cash balances. New solution automates reconciliation to improve financial accuracy and compliance for insurance brokers. (Image source: Ascend Cash Application page.) Ascend (San Francisco) has launched Cash Application, a new component of its accounting automation platform designed to help insurance brokers reduce unapplied cash balances and maintain compliance with financial reporting standards. The solution automates accounts receivable reconciliation, enabling brokers to accelerate revenue recognition and streamline month-end processes. Cash Application tracks and categorizes client invoices, carrier commission statements, and return premiums, reducing reliance on manual workflows that often delay reconciliation and obscure financial performance. "A Top 20 broker facing compliance challenges with their unapplied cash balances partnered with Ascend to implement Cash Application," comments Andrew Wynn, Co-CEO, Ascend. "Since adopting the solution, they've cut their monthly balance of unapplied cash by more than half, and what previously took more than eight days to reconcile now takes just three." * Categorize all bank deposits in real time and assign them to the correct line items in agency management systems (AMS). * Automatically match and apply cash to statements and invoices by fetching relevant financial documents. * Improve revenue recognition and cash flow by reducing unapplied cash. * Support SOX 404 compliance through clear, audit-ready reporting. Cash Application joins Ascend's portfolio of financial automation tools, including its Direct Bill Reconciliation solution, and reflects the company's focus on increasing operational efficiency for brokers. "Our goal has always been to make financial operations as effortless and transparent as possible," adds Wynn. "With Cash Application, we're giving agencies the financial control and flexibility they've been missing."

Smart Inbox automates processing of documents for both agency bill and direct bill workflowsSAN FRANCISCO, April 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Ascend, the leading financial operations automation platform for the insurance industry, today announced the launch of Smart Inbox, an AI-powered email inbox that automatically reads, categorizes, and processes the full range of financial and policy documents insurance agencies encounter on a daily basis. Built for account managers handling invoicing or finance teams reconciling payables and commissions, Smart Inbox reduces clerical errors as well as time spent on processing documents and manually entering data.Key Features and Benefits:AscendCentralized Accounting and Billing Inbox: Agencies can forward any billing or accounting document—binders, quotes, invoices, or statements—into a single inbox. Smart Inbox serves as a unified hub for document intake across departments.Agencies can forward any billing or accounting document—binders, quotes, invoices, or statements—into a single inbox. Smart Inbox serves as a unified hub for document intake across departments. Faster Invoicing Workflows: Smart Inbox automatically extracts the necessary billing information from binders or quotes to create client invoices—reducing manual errors and allowing account managers to spend less time on invoice creation.Smart Inbox automatically extracts the necessary billing information from binders or quotes to create client invoices—reducing manual errors and allowing account managers to spend less time on invoice creation. Automated Direct Bill Commission Reconciliation: Smart Inbox analyzes commission statements, attributes them to the correct carrier, and automatically reconciles them with expected commissions in agency management systems—significantly increasing the accuracy and speed of month-end close."Smart Inbox has been extremely beneficial for my team to reduce manual data entry and clerical errors, by allowing us to use AI to make it even easier to process and invoice our clients," said Wade Millward, CEO of Rikor Insurance Consultancy.Smart Inbox is the latest addition to Ascend's suite of AI-powered automation tools—including AI-Invoicing and Direct Bill Automation