CostPerform x Armada: Banking Profitability Experts

CostPerform recently announced the acquisition of Acumen Software from Armada. Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) have been front and centre in banking news in 2025. This CostPerform acquisition represents a trans-atlantic partnership, where costing software experts CostPerform team up with US banking sector experts Armada. Both parties aim to be greater than the sum of their parts. 
 
Armada and Acumen 

Acumen (the software product) was created by Armada (the American company). Acumen is a product specialized in cost and profitability management for the US banking sector, and represents the IP that CostPerform has acquired in this move. The deal represents not only a software acquisition but also marks the kickoff of a partnership between the teams at Armada and CostPerform. 

The Strategic Vision 

There’s no secret about it; CostPerform’s software is gaining market share and has been improving its capabilities each year. The sold-out Costing Conference in Amsterdam, and highly subscribed CostPerform user event in D.C are testaments to this. Much of this growth has also been organic and product-led, a testament to the quality of the product. The partnership with Armada now opens the door to streamlined implementation of CostPerform to banks in the US from CostPerform’s European headquarters, accelerating its mission of boosting cost transparency, insight, and profitability in the sector. 

Every Dollar Is a Decision 

Scott Wise, CEO of Armada, and Sander den Hartog, CEO of CostPerform, see eye-to-eye on the future of costing at the enterprise level. Wise’s decades of experience in the banking sector give him a wise outlook on financial firms in topics of profitability, costing, and transparency. Den Hartog’s vision, applied to sectors from government to telecoms and healthcare, is complemented by Wise’s sector-specific expertise. Den Hartog says, “Together we understand US banks’ challenges very well. It’s clear to us that banks that build cost transparency will win this next cycle in banking.”
 
Who will win this next cycle? 

Preparing for the next years is key. CostPerform, combining its costing knowledge with Armada’s insight, have created a banking cost optimization playbook detailing the strategy that will help regional banks to succeed in the years from 2026 to 2028. For those interested in the direction of AI investment in Europe, how expense ratios can be optimized in the United States, or the dual impacts of an M&A uptick, this playbook is a good read. It offers a roadmap for banks who want to count themselves among the winners of this period.