The comments were made during a webcast about financial results for the year ended December 31. Automation will take an increased role in deciding where companies should file returns, populating data and filing returns.

For its first year as a public company, Avalara ended on a strong note with the fourth quarter showing a narrower loss and accelerating revenue.

In 2018, Avalara lost $75.6 million, compared to $64.1 million for 2017. The company reported $272.1 million in revenue for the most recently ended year, an increase of 28 percent from $213.2 million for the prior year.

However, for the fourth quarter the loss improved to $18.4 million, from $22.4 million for the corresponding period in 2017. Revenue in the final three months last year was $76.9 million, an increase of 33 percent from $58 million a year earlier.

Bob Scott

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Bob Scott has provided information to the tax and accounting community since 1991, first as technology editor of Accounting Today, and from 1997 through 2009 as editor of its sister publication, Accounting Technology. He is known throughout the industry for his depth of knowledge and for his high journalistic standards.  Scott has made frequent appearances as a speaker, moderator and panelist and events serving tax and accounting professionals. He  has a strong background in computer journalism as an editor with two former trade publications, Computer+Software News and MIS Week and spent several years with weekly and daily newspapers in Morris County New Jersey prior to that.  A graduate of Indiana University with a degree in journalism, Bob is a native of Madison, Ind