Venkatesh Ramanan

Lead and manage multiple portfolios within the Financial Risk Management (FRM) Team at Uber, encompassing diverse areas including:

• SOX Compliance: Oversight of Sarbanes-Oxley compliance efforts across all Business Processes (+20 Processes), managing over 350 controls, 190 projects, and coordinating with 350 stakeholders. Ensure adherence to regulatory requirements and maintain robust internal controls. Lead assurance services and internalization efforts.
• Risk Assessment for Revenue and Key Business and IT Processes: Conduct comprehensive risk assessments and develop the risk library to identify potential threats and opportunities within revenue streams, critical business processes, and IT processes.
• M&A Controls: Manage various M&A portfolios, establishing a framework for SOX compliance based on risk assessments and materiality. Responsible for ensuring seamless integration of acquired entities into Uber Technologies and alignment with organizational objectives.
• International Compliance: Ensure compliance with regional regulatory requirements including programs such as Uber India SOX Program (ICA), navigating complex legal and regulatory landscapes.
• Line 2 Programs Initiatives (Payment Compliance): Drive initiatives and programs to strengthen the 2nd line of defense around payment licenses, enhance risk management capabilities, and promote a culture of compliance
• Change Management: Review and address the impact of over 190 projects in 2 years on the overall control environment of UTI.

Key Accomplishment and Highlights

Financial Risk Management (FRM)

• Served as a trusted advisor and go-to person for SOX, FRM, and Payment Compliance issues, fostering a cohesive and collaborative work environment. Achieved a deficiency rate of 2.8% for UTI through stakeholder commitment and training.
• Spearheaded the formation and development of the FRM Team in India, focusing on key business processes, SOX testing, and compliance initiatives. Resulted in significant value added to the overall CAO organization, leading to approximately $1 million in annual cost savings for SOX and $500K to $1Mn. in savings for other compliance programs.
• Led the SOX implementation of Transplace entity ($6 Bn. revenue company), achieving a deficiency rate of 3.8%.
• Earned Uber India its first clean audit opinion in 2021, maintained for the past three years.
• Demonstrated strategic leadership and vision in guiding the FRM Team, consolidating the entire BP team under one vertical and achieving high pulse scores (90-100%).
• Continuously challenged external auditors on risk assessment, methodology & automation efforts to address problems beyond SOX.

CAO Organization

• Pioneered the launch of Line 2 Programs initiative, focusing on Payment Compliance for Uber entities (UPUK and UPBV). Convinced UPUK and UPBV leadership to in source compliance efforts from Deloitte, building trust and strong relationships.
• Identified broader pain points within the CAO organization related to STAT Audits. Collaborated with FRM verticals to automate archaic audit procedures, resulting in over $1M reduction in PwC audit fees.
• Led Postmates and Cornershop integration and closely collaborated on Uber Freight projects like One Tech and One Money. Collaborated with IT team to understand and interpret IT-related risks (SDLCs).
• Developed Revenue and Income Statement dashboards for visualizing and trending account balances for SAS 100 reviews. Currently, being implemented by the broader accounting organization.

Started with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP at the Little Rock office in September 2007. Since then, I have worked with a variety of clients based in Little Rock, New Orleans, Chicago, Helsinki, and Dallas.

Spearheaded as the lead director of an 110,000- hour audit of a global 50 priority client (Nokia), generating over $26 billion in revenue with over 9 component teams and +200 team members

across the world. Defended the audit through 3 PCAOB reviews.

Led local team discussions with the Chief Accounting Officer (CAO) on pricing and revenue issues, effectively addressing control gaps.

Conducted comprehensive market walkthroughs and design assessments across Nokia's regional locations spanning four continents.

Demonstrated a profound understanding of IFRS and US GAAP, successfully addressing complex accounting challenges in areas such as IAS 39, IFRS 15, ASC 606, and ASC 841.

Led the audit of ASC 606 and ASC 841 implementation in Nokia and McAfee respectively. Interpreted accounting standards and nuances in guidance, assisting clients in articulating and addressing financial statement disclosure requirements.