Cisco maintains a culture based on customer success and employee empowerment.
These two elements of the culture are key drivers for the innovative ways that Cisco Finance uses the Internet and web-based applications to speed processes and communicate key metrics to management on a daily basis. The use of technology in finance has provided Cisco a competitive advantage and has enhanced shareholder value. The need to successfully manage the rapid growth at Cisco instigated the aggressive goals that Larry set for his organization five years ago, to achieve a one-day close and cut finance costs in half. Five years later, Cisco's finance organization not only has the ability to close their books in less than one work day and cut finance costs in half, but they have developed applications to provide daily financial performance reporting to managers at all levels of the organization. Empowering decision-makers throughout the organization has helped Cisco remain agile in the marketplace and to scale productively.