BKD Senior Manager Rachel Dwiggins is one of two recipients of the 2010 BKD PRIDE Award, which is given to individuals who exemplify passion, respect, integrity, discipline and excellence. Dwiggins, who works primarily with not-for-profit and real estate clients, was selected from among 2,000 employees. She has worked for BKD for 12 years and was nominated by her peers for the award.
Q: The PRIDE award is given to BKD employees who exemplify passion, respect, integrity, discipline and excellence in their jobs. What keeps you motivated? A: I love what I do. I love the clients who I work with and the industries that I specialize in. These are clients who want to make their communities a better place, which is also a passion for me, so it makes it a lot more fun to work with those individuals.
Q: Your colleagues say they often seek you out for advice on professional and personal matters. How do you foster good relationships with co-workers? A: I always have an open door and an open ear to listen. But the main thing, I think, is I always try to focus on a solution instead of the problem. I guess I’m invested in those around me because my success is somewhat dependent on the success of those surrounding me. … I also have two small children, so a lot of new mothers tend to seek me out and ask what it’s like coming back to work.
Q: One of the attributes highlighted in the PRIDE award is integrity. Can you give an example of a scenario where integrity came into play during your work? A: I think delivering bad news is never easy, and sometimes it’s part of the job. But if you do it early in the process and if you’re up front, it helps the process go a whole lot smoother. Q: What is one thing you wish all clients knew when they walk through your door for the first time? A: Be organized – just have the organization to the support behind all their financials. Usually, before I would really get involved in what I do, we would have preliminary meetings and they would have lists of what we were looking for. Generally, most of them know and have been through the process, but really, just the supporting documentation behind each individual line item on their financial statements, whether that’s bank reconciliations or fixed-asset reports.
Q: What’s one thing about you that most people don’t know? A: I decided that I wanted to be an accountant when I was in fourth grade. My mom had one of those books, where she asked me every year of school what I wanted to be when I grew up and starting in fourth grade and every year after, I said I wanted to be an accountant. I liked numbers.[[In-content Ad]]
