COMPANY NEWSLETTER ARTICLE - FINANCE DEPARTMENT

Lunch and Learn 9/26/13 Finance Department Lunch and Learn - Ins and Outs of the Finance Department Uline’s Chief Financial Officer Frank Unick presented at CORP’S September 26 Lunch and Learn. He gave an energetic overview of Uline’s Finance Department and discussed professional development and systems upgrades. With 165 full-time employees, Finance is the largest corporate department at Uline. Frank introduced each of the departments within Finance and gave some insights of what they do.

• Collections processes approximately 10,000 checks daily.

• Tax handles 700 tax returns.

• Financial Planning and Analysis is responsible for all financial analysis, budgets, forecasting and payroll.

• International handles the Mexican and Canadian financial operations as well as transfer pricing and statutory audits.

A major focus in Finance is to help employees expand their knowledge. To do this, he and other senior managers developed the Rotational and Mentoring programs. Sean Buchanan, a recent graduate of the Rotational Program, explained how the opportunity to explore different functional areas helped him grow professionally. “I have been able to gain lots of new skills and a better understanding of operations.” Christina Poland, a mentee in the Mentoring Program, explained that her mentor helped her grow her skill sets. “She provided feedback and helped me focus on improving upon my daily tasks.”

The mentor program not only benefits mentees but the mentors as well. Mentors step out of their comfort zones to teach, coach and help the mentees grow. Frank is also focused on preparing the department to handle Uline’s finances for when it becomes a $5 billion company. “Not many $5 billion companies have green screens and function keys. We need to modernize and we know that. The exciting thing is that we are working on it.” He highlighted several initiatives involving systems enhancements. These include:

• Kill the Green Screens.

• Modernize the Cash Application.

• New Employee Self-Service Benefits Port.

• New streamlined Compensation and Bonus System.

• Tax Revamp.

By helping employees develop their skills and automating the systems they work in, Frank showed his dedication and enthusiasm for preparing the department to reach future goals.