Cross-functional integrity sets Doug up for success
Some things are just better together: pen and paper, coffee and donuts, peanut butter and jelly - and at Cummins, accountants and lawyers.
Just ask Ethics & Compliance Manager Doug Roolf. As a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Doug's brain runs on numbers and spreadsheets - but with a team half full of lawyers, he's come to appreciate complementary personalities and new ways of thinking.
Doug began his career at an accounting firm, working in consulting, tax and auditing. When he was ready to make a career chance, Doug made the first move and reached out to a recruiter.
When he was hired at Cummins, Doug started as a Senior Controls Analyst with the business process analysis group, focused on Sarbanes-Oxley compliance and internal controls. In this role, Doug focused on writing, maintaining and testing internal controls - essentially helping ensure that the company's internal finances were on track and in compliance.
Then, in late 2017, Doug decided he was was ready for another change. He transitioned to a different role as an Ethics and Compliance Manager within the CAO (Chief Administrative Officer) organization.
"I was looking for a significant change, trying something completely new and different," Doug says. "I knew parts of the new role would be similar to my previous experience in compliance, but I was so used to financial compliance and ready to expand my capabilities."
When he started his new position, Doug began to learn different aspects of Cummins' business, examining conduct, potential conflicts of interest and anti-bribery compliance.
A lot of people switch roles every few years - that's what I love about Cummins. You're not expected to stay in the same job for decades, even if you stay at the company for decades - which is also common!
Starting out in his new role, Doug reached out to other people on his team to help him get up to speed. With a bit of juggling and a lot of questions, Doug was up and running quickly as a valuable member of his team.
"I probably asked dozens of questions every day starting out," he claims. "But my manager was so helpful and proactive. She would bring me into a lot of meetings and calls so I could shadow and observe. And nearly three years later, I'm still learning new things each day."
One of the biggest changes in Doug's career transition has been his coworkers. "I'm actually one of the few people without legal training in my department," Doug says. "It's definitely not required that you're a lawyer with the work that I do, but I do collaborate with legal and the controls group all the time."
With new coworkers come new personalities. No longer surrounded by fellow accountants, Doug enjoys getting to know his team and learning the mindset of a lawyer.
"It definitely took some getting used to being around people who have a different way of thinking and working," Doug notes. "I'm more of a numbers person with an analytical mind, set on processes. The lawyers I work with are also analytical, but in more of a logical way rather than with numbers."
Together, our skills have great synergy for getting things done.
In 2018, The Ethics & Compliance group at Cummins conducted a voluntary, anonymous culture survey to evaluate the ethical culture of the company. Doug worked to analyze the data and crunch the numbers to understand trends. These results included trends and scores that would drive the company's focus on ethics and compliance, identifying both areas of success and room for improvement.
"Our overarching findings are that people want to do the right thing," he continues. "That shows us that we're on the right track with the type of people we're hiring, and that our code of conduct is more than just a document - it's a set of values engrained in our company culture."
It's the people that make Cummins a great place to work. As different as they are, Doug notes that the people he works with are the best part of his job. As a small but global team, their different personalities and experiences mesh to create a dynamic, collaborative work environment.
"My teammates in Ethics & Compliance are gifted with a voice for writing and a knack for communicating information. Whereas my writing... Well let's just say I was an accounting major," he jokes.
Our differences have been a good match. Our skill sets overlap and complement each other like yin and yang.
Doug hopes to continue to be an advocate for ethics and compliance, and help Cummins show other organizations what a responsible, ethical and successful corporation looks like.
"We all do better when companies are good corporate citizens. We want to be a prime example to show others that this is an approach they should take to create more trust and run businesses in a way that's good for everyone involved," he states.
Lauren Cole
Lauren is the Senior Digital Communications Specialist for Cummins Inc, where she focuses on social media, employee storytelling, and employer branding. Lauren joined the company in early 2017 and has a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Indiana University.
