I started off my career in consulting with one of the Big 4 consulting firms. I was fresh out of college and still absorbing everything that I could. One of the lessons that sticks with me is that the very best consultants are the ones who truly care about the client and don't stop adding value after their project hours end. When I interviewed with Resources (almost six years ago!), I was impressed that the concept of caring about your clients beyond the hours that are billable is not just a great idea - it's a part of the cultural fabric. Okay - it sounds cheesy, but I have examples.
Allow me to introduce you to Paul Brauweiler, just one of those consultants who is applying that principle every day.
I've had the pleasure of working with Paul Brauweiler on three policyIQ implementation projects in the Chicago area over the past year or so. Paul is a Resources Global consultant and a CPA with more than 20 years of experience in accounting and finance. Paul has worked with public companies, private companies, and even owned his own business. Paul has been with Resources for just over six years now, and I've had the pleasure of working with him directly on three policyIQ projects.
The first time that Paul and I worked on together was the implementation of the Great Lakes Dredge and Dock (GLDD) SOX program in policyIQ. After a single week, the GLDD implementation was virtually complete, leaving me incredibly impressed with both Paul and our client, Travis Heyer. I also remember thinking, "Boy, I hope Paul realizes that not all policyIQ implementations are quite so smooth!"
Almost immediately, Paul had an opportunity to learn that some implementations are more complex. He was engaged to lead an implementation for a client who was moving their internal audit process off of another product and into policyIQ. Because the client was moving from another large audit automation product, this project required additional work to assess the existing data and to determine what would be moved into policyIQ. The process was also evaluated to be sure that users remained comfortable, while creating efficiencies that the flexibility of policyIQ now allowed.
Some people never stop being "policyIQ consultants"
After this second project wrapped up, Paul was moved to another organization who was not using policyIQ - but that didn't mean that I didn't still hear from him. I could count on getting a call from Paul every few weeks with a question from one of his policyIQ clients - or to just check in and ask how they were doing if he hadn't heard anything recently. He was no longer engaged with those organizations officially, but he checked in and made sure that any of their questions were addressed. Working side-by-side with his clients meant that Paul had earned a level of trust, and although he could have easily simply directed those questions to our policyIQ support team, he never failed to follow-up personally to be sure that the answers were received.
Helping a client to expand and become a part of the policyIQ community
Just this past spring, I was thrilled to have another opportunity to work with Paul. An organization who already used policyIQ for their internal audit documentation needed to add more automation, workflow and control to their SOX documentation - and with policyIQ already in place, the expansion was a natural decision.
As it happened, while Paul was engaged on this last project, I had the opportunity to be in the Chicago area for another business meeting - and I suggested that perhaps I could take him and our client to lunch while I was there. Paul had a better idea. Travis Heyer, the GLDD Internal Audit Director, with whom Paul worked the summer before, was nearby; Paul was sure that Travis would have some great insights for his current client. He suggested getting the two of them together for lunch instead.
In just about an hour, our two policyIQ clients hit it off and shared a lot of great ideas - not just about policyIQ, but about SOX, Audit and favorite local lunch spots. (You can't discount the value of a great lunch recommendation!) Paul, Jim Giroux (our Client Service Director in Chicago) and myself were able to just sit back and relax as they shared their experiences.
But wait! There's more.
Just last month, another policyIQ client was reviewing their site and looking to better organize their SOX content to align with their changing business structure. Knowing that their business was similar to that of one of Paul's previous policyIQ clients, we asked him to join a webinar to talk to this client about his experiences - being able to talk through the projects that he has worked on and how he would approach their re-organization.
Want to have a Paul Brauweiler of your very own?
I asked Paul to comment on what it was that he liked about working on policyIQ projects.
It provides a great opportunity to work directly with each client's audit team, and get them thinking about the best ways to implement not only the tool but also their approach to implementing the solution. The business partnering is key, and each client has unique aspects that require the coordinated input of key stakeholders, consultants, and the pIQ team. The tool is standard enough to provide a consistent look and feel that can be leveraged across multiple clients, and yet flexible enough to deliver the functionality that meets the specific/unique requirements of each new client. It's like putting together a puzzle, and the end product is something that the client is really excited to put into use!
Trust me, he's a guy that you want to have on your team when you are implementing policyIQ - or doing any accounting, finance or audit projects in your organization. But don't expect to see the last of him when the project ends. That's just not his style!
If you are interested in learning more about consultants like Paul, contact us and we'll put you in touch with your local office. Whether you have a need in Accounting and Finance, Information Management, Supply Chain, Legal & Regulatory, Risk & Compliance, or Human Capital - there are thousands of consultants like Paul available worldwide, and we'd love to introduce you!