Meet Caroline, IRIS' Finance Director, and the latest IRISian to be featured in our I in IRIS series.
What is your role at IRIS?
I’ve worked as the Finance Director at IRIS for just over a year. It’s a wide-ranging role, so every day is different. I get involved with the business strategy, such as the best way to structure the company from a commercial and tax perspective and am responsible for forecasting and managing costs and cash flow. I produce monthly reports for the board so they can review company performance and forecasts. I help provide potential clients with compliance information they need before working with us, and then am involved with contracting with new clients, ensuring optimal payment terms. I also ensure the smooth day-to-day running of the finance department - making sure payments are made on time, taxes are paid and overseeing any Companies House filings and registrations.
What’s it like being the finance director of a fast-growing start-up?
It’s interesting and exciting because I’m having to design processes from scratch, and consider how they can continue to be effective as IRIS scales. I’m making the most of other SaaS products which integrate with each other to create efficiencies, including an expense management platform, equity management platform and subscription billing/management tool.
I love listening to music and going to gigs, and have worked in the music industry and for sound design/post production studios. I’m excited by the potential of IRIS’s immersive technology to revolutionise the music industry - the quality of music we listen to has deteriorated over the years, and IRIS makes such a difference!
We hear you’ve done some great travels. Tell us about what has been your best and worst experiences?
My best experience was driving through Botswana, being surrounded by such an abundance of awe-inspiring wildlife.
My worst experience was on the same trip. We broke down 40km away from a “main” road, where we’d seen just one other vehicle that day. We had no phone signal, and no idea what the problem was so we set up camp and spent the night worrying. The engine eventually started the following morning, just enough to get us back to the road where, as luck would have it, the same truck we’d seen the day before was coming back in the other direction. We flagged the driver down, and he helped fix the engine to get us to the nearest mechanic (another 100km away).
Some quickfire questions:
An app you couldn’t live without: Spotify
Best recent album: Once Twice Melody by Beach House
Least favourite noise: My toddler shouting for me in the middle of the night
Something your colleagues don’t know about you: I’m also a yoga teacher
What you’re most looking forward to about summer: Festivals and Aperol Sours