THE VALUE OF CULTURE: ONE OF THE MANY TOPICS AT FP&A FOR TECHNOLOGY SUMMIT

By Rick Weinberg, California Business Journal

Sitting on Skee Yagi’s desk in his office at Reddit Inc. in San Francisco is a daily reminder of the company’s values. “It’s there,” he says, “to ground me whenever there are critical decisions to be made.”

Yagi is the Director of Finance at Reddit, which has 330 million monthly visitors and ranks as the No. 4 most-visited website in U.S. Every day, he looks at the company values to remind himself of “the right way to approach whatever task I’m facing, good or indifferent.”

The list of company values include:

Evolve: “That means to always be ready to accept new challenges and to improve yourself based on always learning,” Yagi says. “We grow together towards the future because our business and the context in which we run it is constantly changing.”

Remember The Human: “That is to treat people as you want to be treated and to remember that our actions affect real people. At Reddit, we want to always play a positive role in people’s lives.”

Act Like An Owner: “No matter what you are trying to accomplish you should think of yourself as the owner of the business and act accordingly. Our mission is larger than what any individual can accomplish on their own. We are taught to think beyond yourself and your team. When making decisions, we put Reddit’s mission first.”

Keep Reddit Real: “This means to be yourself and encourage others to be themselves. Diversity and authenticity are what make Reddit work.”

Results Matter: “What matters most is delivering value to our clients. The balance between quality and speed is settled by what works best for your customer.”

Yagi will be discussing these values when he speaks at The FP&A for Technology Summit May 8 and 9 at San Francisco Marriott Union Square. The theme of the Summit is “Stay Ahead in an Ever-Changing Landscape.”

Reddit is among the companies that are “way” ahead in high tech’s ever-changing landscape, not only in Silicon Valley, but in the world.

The event is a platform for Financial Planning & Analysis executives to gain insights into the functions some of the most innovative companies like Netflix, Pinterest, Microsoft, Reddit and Nokia.

The event explores the unique challenges facing finance professionals in the high-tech industry, such as the high emphasis on R&D spend and the constant need for innovation. In addition to analyzing FP&A, there will also be a focus on financial leadership and transformation.

“The technology industry faces unique challenges and the finance function needs to keep up.” says Luke Bilton, VP Audience and Content for Innovation Enterprise.“What’s great about the Summit is that there are hundreds of like-minded finance professionals who are dealing with the same issues as you are. This means attendees will learn how other Fortune 500 companies stay ahead and discover how the industry’s finest are leading innovation.”

The themes of this year’s event include:

• How FP&A can help drive innovation;
• Integrating strategy, operations planning, and execution;
• Automation and simplification to drive process efficiencies;
• Reporting and forecasting during periods of sustained growth;
• Harnessing new technologies, such as AI, Blockchain, and data analytics.

“Financial forecasting & planning within the high-tech industry is no easy task in today’s economic environment,” Bilton says. “Due to the importance of investment in R&D and sales & marketing for high-tech companies, a huge amount of capital is required in advance. This creates unique challenges for the finance department.”

Other topics being discussed at the Summit include:

• Forecasting Methodologies
• Business Partnering
• Optimization
• Pricing
• Challenges for Startups
• Rolling Forecasting
• Fast-Growing Technology Companies
• Agile Planning
• Global FP&A

Yagi’s presentation is expected to be among the most compelling. “I’m going to focus on ‘Remember the Human’ and the ‘Role of Values in FP&A,’” he says. “Our company values, including to Remember the Human, have been at the very core of how the company operates and the importance of those values is only amplified with its continued growth. I will be sharing insights into my responsibility to build a Finance department that embodies Reddit’s company values and the number of ways we are building a Finance department that Remembers the Human.”

For more on the event, click here: https://theinnovationenterprise.com/summits/fp-a-for-high-tech-summit-san-francisco-2018

For the full schedule of the event, click here: https://theinnovationenterprise.com/summits/fp-a-for-high-tech-summit-san-francisco-2018/schedule

For the full list of speakers, click here: https://theinnovationenterprise.com/summits/fp-a-for-high-tech-summit-san-francisco-2018/speakers.