Welcome to the June 2022 edition of Kognizite Spotlight. This month, we’re excited to feature Philip Tang, who is the Controller on the Finance team at Kogniz. Everyone knows Philip, who is always looking for ways to help the company to optimize and evaluate our investments. Philip is an excellent, kind, and intelligent collaborator. Controllers don’t tend to be the most boastful crowd, but Philip’s influence on the company is far-reaching. Get to know a little more about Philip...
Tell us about yourself and what you love about your job at Kogniz.
How did you find out about Kogniz and what made you apply for your job?
Our CFO reached out to me about the open Controller position at Kogniz. He also shared details about the product and I was instantly impressed with the technology, as well as the people behind the idea of the product and company. At that point, I was highly interested in the position and it aligned with where I wanted to take my career. I also wanted a role that could make a difference and I thought the Controller position provided that opportunity.
What drove you towards Finance?
Finance appealed to me because I thrive on working with data. I enjoy making sense of the information because it helps me identify root causes and solutions. It also helps me to form sound and effective decisions for the business and my team. It is one of the more interactive roles where I get to work with different teams which I enjoy.
What's something that you learned from prior jobs that impacts your work at Kogniz?
Being able to pivot and being comfortable with ambiguity were two of the biggest things I’ve learned from past experiences that impact my work at Kogniz. I’ve worked at a couple of startups before, and I find that having confidence that things will work out even when companies go through those inevitable valleys before rising to the peaks is really important.
What's your favorite part of working at Kogniz?
My favorite part of working at Kogniz is being able to collaborate with all the departments in the company. I am also always working on ways to scale our accounting systems and find ways to cut cost, which feels good when we find ways to do more as a lean organization.
What are your most excited about for the future at Kogniz?
I am excited to see how our technology can be applied to new use cases that has not come up yet! I strongly believe that our product can offer many solutions that can benefit not only our customers but the world.
When you're not working, what do you like to do?
I enjoy spending time with my family and friends and participating in a basketball league when not working. Recently, I’ve found myself enjoying hiking with my very energetic dog, Kobe, in the Redwood Regional Park.
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Thanks for reading. Want to read more? Meet Catherine Banville from Engineering, Patrick Monteith from Client Success & Sales Engineering, or Whitney Heuer from Sales. We’ll be taking a break from Kognizite Spotlights as we work on other exciting developments at Kogniz, but we’ll be back again.
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