Accountancy and human capital management software provider IRIS Software Group, is today announcing it has acquired financial management software firm PS Financials.

Peterborough-headquartered PS Financials provides accounting, purchasing, budgeting and reporting software to more than 2,900 organisations. The acquisition brings 136 highly skilled and experienced staff into IRIS across two locations – Peterborough and London.

The company services a range of markets with its award winning unified ledger solution, including commercial, finance, hospitality, health & social care and not-for-profit. The business is particularly strong in the education sector where it has operated for more than ten years successfully selling on premise and cloud-based installations to primary and secondary school academies.

The acquisition reflects the IRIS strategic growth plan to extend its proposition through a broad portfolio of accounting, HR, payroll, budgeting and forecasting software to best serve the needs of a fast growing and dynamic UK market.

Kevin Dady, CEO of IRIS Software Group, says, “I am delighted to announce this acquisition of such a successful and well-respected business which will enable IRIS to further expand its service offering.

“It’s clear the educational technology market is undergoing substantial transformation. Despite a value of £130bn and UK schools spending £900m every year on education technology, there are 16,000 schools still operating under Local Education Authorities. With the Government currently driving the agenda to increase the rate of conversion of schools to academies, this acquisition represents a significant opportunity for IRIS to help oil the cogs of another critical UK industry.”

Richard Pierce, managing director of PS Financials, says, “The IRIS team impressed us with its deep understanding of our market and business. The core PS Financials solution has been long recognised as a market leader in the financial management software sector and this move will create a Group with unrivalled breadth and depth in its portfolio. We therefore very much look forward to working with IRIS during the next chapter of our growth.”