Meet Robin Wright, Director of Accounting at AdColony. When Robin isn’t working with auditors and tax consultants, she’s riding roller coasters, watching movies, or traveling with her daughter. Get to know Robin in this week’s AdColonized feature!
What exactly does a Senior Director of Accounting do at AdColony? What’s an average day like for you?
I manage the AP & G/L department. I work with all the regions to ensure a timely, monthly, quarterly or year-end close. I work with our auditors to schedule quarterly and year-end audits, work with the tax consultants to provide accurate financial information to assist them in completing our quarterly and yearly tax returns, and I work with senior management to address any queries they may have as it relates to the financials. I also mentor staff to ensure they meet their goals and projects are completed on time.
A typical day for me is meeting with internal and external customers, providing information to my team, working with the other finance leaders in the accounting department to address any issues that may affect reporting, and providing mentorship to them as needed. I also meet with my manager to discuss any close or business-related issues, work with the other regions to provide answers to queries, and assist those regions with questions or setup in our accounting system.
Tell us a little about your experiences prior to joining AdColony & how they have prepared you for your role here.
I worked in the tech world for ten years at Ask Jeeves before coming to AdColony. I started as an AP Manager and worked my way up to a G/L Manager. During this time, I had the opportunity to learn more about the business because I partnered with the VP of Finance to learn more about the different revenue streams and was able to create a tool to capture the actuals of each revenue bucket compared to the forecast and look at the trends. This helped with our standard month-end meeting with the FP & A team.
What makes AdColony the right fit for you?
I enjoy the autonomy. It helps me to keep striving to get things done and see things through to the end. I also enjoy the team I work with. We all work hard but also take the time to share life experiences.
AdColony values employee development. How do you keep growing & learning in what you do?
I am always open to learning new things. I’ll take on different tasks because my boss gives me the opportunity to make independent decisions. I keep myself informed by keeping up with the latest IFRS pronouncements and I go to leadership seminars to help in my continued growth as a manager.
How do you act as a resource for the rest of your team?
I work to share knowledge about what’s going on in the organization as it relates to areas that we may need to improve on or manage a process differently. I also meet with the other two directors in the finance team on a monthly basis to find out what areas our teams can assist each other with in order to streamline processes.
Is there someone you turn to personally or professionally?
On a professional level, I turn to Teresa Simms, director of credit and collections. She has been in the tech business for a while so I find myself doing sanity checks with her. I also turn to my manager Thomas Bullen to keep up on the direction of the business and what the plans are from an executive level and what we can do as the accounting department to strengthen our relationships across the organization. On a personal level, I turn to a really close friend of mine. He helps me look at things from a different perspective on those days that I get a little overwhelmed.
What are your hobbies or activities that you look forward to doing on the weekends or after work?
I love going to the movies. I enjoy watching football, basketball, and a good boxing match. When I am not yelling at the TV while watching the game, I enjoy spending time with family, going to theme parties, going out to dinner with friends or having dinner with my daughter when she is home visiting from college. I also love to travel and am trying to experience as much of the world as possible.
Which app is keeping you engaged lately? Why?
I am enjoying Linkedin right now because they have been having some really interesting topics on the tech industry, non-profit organizations and the happenings across the country.
Tell us one or two fun facts about you.
I am a huge roller coaster fan. It’s something about the anticipation of that first drop that gets me pumped up. My daughter looks for amusement parks in every U.S. we visit. We stay from opening to close riding the roller coasters. I also enjoy going roller skating at the roller rink.
What is your favorite moment you’ve had with the AdColony team so far?
During this past holiday season, I thought it would be good if the finance and programmatic teams got together for bingo. I was the bingo caller and we had so much fun with the programmatic team. Everybody enjoyed it and said they felt like we were a team by doing this activity because even though we sit in the same office we don’t get an opportunity to do a lot of activities together.
What are you listening to lately (music, podcasts, etc.)?
I have been enjoying listening to Ella Mai, an R&B songstress out of London, and I am just enjoying her vibe right now. When I am not listening to music, I am listening to a podcast called Paychecks & Balances, which is based on real financial situations to help millennials budget and save for retirement. I enjoy it because they have some interesting topics.
What are you looking forward to most in the next 5 years?
I am looking forward to my daughter graduating from college and traveling more to see other parts of Europe that I have yet to visit.
About AdColonized
Each AdColonized feature shines a light on a different member of the AdColony team. From favorite apps and hobbies to dislikes and odd secrets, we cover it all! Who do you want to see on the next AdColonized? Tweet it to @AdColony. For the latest AdColony mobile news and updates, follow @AdColony on Twitter, like us on Facebook, or connect on Linkedin.
