For the fifth edition of the employee spotlight series, we sit down with Andrew Fleet. A financial controller by profession, Andrew values challenges, relationships, and integration at work.
Gregarious and amiable, he also spearheads the social committee, organizing fun initiatives such as BBQ evenings and beery nights for our team in Montreal. In his spare time, Andrew likes to play sports, listen to music, read science fiction, and chill with friends. Fun fact about Andrew: Like a true accountant, he maintains a spreadsheet of all the artists he’s seen live. His tally stands at 233 live performances from 170 unique artists!
Read on to learn more about Andrew!
1. Let's take it from the top! Could you describe your role at the company?
My title is financial controller, which often elicits confused looks from people. Basically, our team collects and inputs financial data from multiple sources and departments. I supervise, review, and analyze this data input and present it in an understandable format, i.e., financial statements. These financial statements are critical to making informed strategic decisions.
In addition to producing financial statements, I have many other responsibilities which include systems implementation, fiscal matters, financing, process improvements, etc. Every day is a new challenge!
2. What skills/tools do you leverage in your day-to-day?
On the daily, I have to use my analytical/problem-solving skills (big surprise). Fortunately, this is a strength of mine. I am a bit of a perfectionist, which comes in handy when reviewing data or analyzing financials.
Another skill I have to leverage every day is communication. A big part of my job consists of training staff, explaining analyses that need to be performed, and vocalizing results generated or issues flagged to our CFO. Not a day goes by where I don't have to hop on a Zoom call, but I love it.
And my absolute FAVOURITE tool to leverage is all the staff here at Pixmob. Everyone's an expert at their jobs, and everyone hustles so hard. I know that if I ever have any questions, my colleagues will gladly take the time to help me out. It was Einstein that said, "A true genius admits that he/she knows nothing." I am definitely not a genius, but I know what I don't know, and more importantly, whom to ask.
3. What do you love about your role?
What I like most is the never-ending supply of new challenges. At times this can be very stressful, but it is very gratifying to overcome these challenges, and in retrospect, I always feel better for having faced them. I often reflect on my time at the company and find myself amazed at the extent of what I have seen and learned from the projects I have been a part of.
For example, I was involved in the implementation and now the continuous improvement of our ERP system. Initially, this was out of my wheelhouse, but now we're making significant headway on the project. This experience is memorable for me because the entire finance department is involved, and we're working with our lovely friends in IT. Everyone is bringing their unique skills to the table.
One of my key learnings from this experience is that you won't get something if you don’t ask for it. It has been helpful to keep the end result in mind when articulating expectations to the service provider's account manager and ask, 'This is what we want, how can we get this done?'
To sum up, working in a small to medium enterprise is very thrilling work. You are simply too busy to get bored.
4. You're deeply involved with the Social Committee. Could you share what that experience has been like for you?
The most critical aspect of my being happy at work is the environment in which I work. I could be facing all of the exciting challenges I have alluded to in the previous question, but if I was in a cold, impersonal, emotionless company, I'd be miserable. I value relationships, integration, and a sense of bonding.
It’s so much more pleasant working with people when you feel like they are a friend first and a colleague second. This may sound like a very idealistic thing to believe, and the simple fact is that we're not all going to be 'besties,' but at least we can try!
My involvement with the social committee is my attempt at creating an environment where people are happy to work alongside one another while also creating opportunities to know each other on a deeper level.
Simply put, this whole experience has been fun. I have many good (mostly hilarious) memories of the events we have hosted. I remember my first Christmas party at Pixmob. I wasn't involved in the social committee back then, and I had only been working at the company for 2 or 3 weeks, but I felt fully integrated by the end of that weekend. I remember thinking, 'Wow, these guys are nuts… I like it!'
5. Other than work, how do you spend your time? What hobbies do you enjoy?
I am an avid consumer of entertainment in all its forms such as music, movies, TV, and art. However, music is incredibly close to my heart, and I love discovering new artists and sharing playlists with friends.
I go to many concerts and, like any good accountant, maintain an excel spreadsheet of all the artists I've seen live! My current tally stands at 233 live performances by 170 unique artists. This appetite for entertainment manifests itself in what we do at PixMob too. There is something to be said about working towards a product you are passionate about.
I also stay active. Since I played many sports when I was younger, I am now decent at a lot of them. I enjoy snowboarding, soccer, basketball, and Crossfit. I read dorky fantasy/science fiction books, and I love going out to eat and drink with friends.