Innovaatioiden mittaaminen: Laskentatoimen tuottaman tiedon merkitys poh-joismaalaisten venture capital -sijoittajien sijoituspäätöksissä

Evaluating innovative early-stage companies poses a fundamental challenge for venture capital (VC) investors: how should young companies or their innovations be evaluated with limited financial data? This thesis examines how Nordic VC investors interpret and use accounting information in their investment decision-making processes and how accounting metrics are complemented by non-financial information when evaluating innovative startups. This study is based on qualitative research using semi-structured interviews, where eight Nordic VC investors are interviewed. It analyzes the role, relevance, and shortcomings of traditional accounting information – especially financial statement information – across the VC investment decision-making process. The findings indicate that in the earliest stages of investing, accounting information plays a very limited but meaningful role, primarily serving as a tool for validation to help reduce information asymmetry, where such information is available. As investment target companies mature, financial and accounting data become increasingly important, especially from the Series A investment stage onward. Instead of accounting information, early-stage VC investing relies more heavily on a variety of non-financial metrics such as the founding team and market potential, alongside with investor expertise and VC market benchmarking, which all are tools to reduce uncertainty and information asymmetry between the startup and investor. Overall, while based on a limited sample, this study suggests that accounting information complements rather than determines VC investment decisions in a Nordic context.