Exploring the profession together with a Mazars auditor

An auditor is a professional engaged in auditing and consulting activities related to setting up accounting processes. We asked Olga Shulga, Audit Department Manager at Mazars and an HSE alumna, to tell us how auditing works from the inside, who might be a good fit for this field, and whether working with numbers can ever be interesting.

• Let’s be honest: no 10th or 11th grader, when asked “What do you want to be?” will answer, “I want to be an auditor.” At what point did you realize you wanted to connect your life with this profession?

When friends or acquaintances ask me this, I always say I’ve dreamed of it since childhood. Of course, that’s a joke. Honestly, up until the moment I joined the company, I didn’t really understand what audit was. I thought it was more like consulting — that we would prepare the client’s financial statements rather than check them.

I heard a lot about audit while studying at university and attending job fairs. I was always interested in work connected with numbers, mathematics, logic, and financial statements. Although my university major was a bit different, I decided to give it a try. That decision came sometime in the second year of my master’s program. I thought: if I like it, I’ll stay; if not, I’ll keep looking for myself.

• How did you get into Mazars?

In my second year of my master’s, I realized it was time to look for a full-time job, and I decided to start with audit. I had heard that audit is a great stepping stone, because it provides very broad professional experience. I went through the selection process at both Mazars and one of the Big Four firms — PwC. I successfully passed the selection at Mazars, got an offer for a first-year junior position, accepted it right away, and paused my application with PwC.

• How many steps are there on the career ladder in audit?

In order: junior, senior, then manager. Above manager are audit director and partner. Typically, the first three years are spent as a junior, then the next three as a senior. If things go well and your work is appreciated, you’re promoted to manager. In my case, I became an assistant manager after four years at the company.

• So there’s no intermediate level between junior and senior? No “mid-level” after junior?

No, but juniors are divided into grades: first-year, second-year, and third-year juniors. The same grading exists for seniors. Third-year juniors are usually beginning seniors — so-called “in charge” auditors. They partly do junior-level work and partly begin to lead their own projects, preparing for the next step.

• Tell us, how does one’s path in audit begin, and how do tasks change from one level to the next?

It all depends on prior experience. You can start as an intern for 3 or 6 months and then become a first-year junior. But even if you intern for six months, it doesn’t mean you’ll spend a full 12 months as a first-year junior. You might work half a year and be promoted to second-year junior if you receive a good evaluation.

In the beginning, work is divided into sections. If you look at financial statements, you’ll see separate lines — for example, inventory, fixed assets, revenue. We call these lines “sections.” First-year juniors work on the simpler sections. Second-year juniors get more complex ones. Third-year juniors handle the most difficult sections and begin acting as “in charge” on projects, essentially doing senior-level tasks.

When you become a senior, you have your own team whose work you review. You also get more complex assignments such as the “Taxes” section, compiling the final file, gathering all adjustments to be agreed with the client. You act as the link between the team and the project manager, and you communicate more with the client. The difference between first- and second-year seniors isn’t huge, except that second-years have more experience and more is expected from them. Third-year seniors may get the chance to try out a manager role.

The manager’s work includes reviewing the entire team’s work, agreeing the financial statements with the client, signing contracts, and negotiating the audit cost. The manager is deeply involved in the team’s work and communicates with both seniors and juniors. Usually, the team’s work is presented to audit directors and partners at the final stage, but depending on the project’s complexity, the frequency of contact may vary.

I’ve been a manager for six months now, but I still haven’t clearly defined the exact boundary between the senior and manager roles — often their responsibilities overlap. I hope over time to make those boundaries clearer for myself.

• What does your typical working day as an Audit Department Manager look like?

A typical day definitely starts with coffee…

Because of COVID-19, it’s hard to describe a truly “typical” day. It used to be: home — metro — office. Now it might just be home. We switched to remote work two years ago and now only go to the office when necessary — for example, if a project is very complex and Teams calls aren’t enough.

Sometimes I go to the office simply to focus and work efficiently. My day usually starts at 9 a.m., when I check emails. I try to make a to-do list and stick to it, but unexpected urgent tasks often appear.

In the Audit Department, we have a shared schedule called “planning” — a live color-coded Excel table showing each employee’s weekly project assignments. Projects are scheduled in advance to avoid overbooking people. Managers usually juggle many projects at once, so it can be hard to strictly follow the plan.

If the workday starts at 9, it’s hard to say exactly when it ends. Our schedule isn’t fixed — no one punishes you for leaving at 6 if your work is done well and on time. But that’s not always possible, especially in busy season.

Right now, we’re in busy season — roughly from late autumn to late spring. Summer is lighter. In busy season, you often stay after 6 and sometimes work weekends.

• There’s a stereotype that audit is boring and routine. Can you disprove it?

I can’t fully confirm or deny it. I tell all our interns and first-year juniors: audit isn’t for everyone. Some of you will stay; others will realize after a month or more that it’s not for you.

For me, audit isn’t boring — otherwise, I wouldn’t have stayed for five years. But, as I said, it’s not for everyone. Some join expecting something different and later find working with numbers dull.

Sometimes juniors tell me everything’s great but they miss “movement.” They want less laptop time and fewer spreadsheets. But audit isn’t just Excel — it’s also about communicating with your team and the client, and working on diverse projects in various industries. We don’t do the client’s work for them, but we must understand their processes to prepare accurate financial statements. Interns and first-year juniors also often take part in inventories.

Inventory is a mandatory stage of audit: the client counts their stock, and we participate while performing our own procedures and tests. Sometimes it takes a day, sometimes a week. It might happen on weekends or at night because you can’t easily stop production or close a store during the day. Some people enjoy this process. Personally, I’ve traveled to many Russian cities for work. At first, I enjoyed these trips; now I’m glad there are fewer of them.

• How do you feel about audit memes?

Without humor, it would be hard. I enjoy reading them — it’s reassuring to know these challenges aren’t unique to you or your company. People all over the world work the same way and joke about it.

• How is Mazars different from the Big Four firms?

What I like about our company is the team. In the Big Four, there are many people and large projects. You might work with one team today and a completely different one tomorrow, never seeing some colleagues again — especially now with remote work. In Mazars, the team is smaller, and everyone knows each other.

Many of my close friends are Mazars colleagues. Even when I’ve thought about changing companies, I worried about leaving these people and this atmosphere. Our team is quite young, with little age difference between juniors, seniors, and managers, which makes the work especially enjoyable.

Auditor’s Glossary

Busy season — the busiest period of the year.
In charge — the lead specialist in an audit team.
Planning — an Excel table with weekly project assignments.
Grades — position levels based on certain factors.

Interview prepared with the support of our partner — Mazars.

Interviewer: Elena Markus

The logistics industry has undergone significant changes in recent months. The HSE GSB Career Center asked Oksana Debolskaya, an expert from an international logistics company, to talk about the transformations that Russian logistics will face in the near future, how this will affect students and graduates who are in the process of looking for a job in their field, and what competencies a logistics specialist should develop to be in demand in the changed conditions.

• How have recent events affected your field?

The sanctions imposed on major groups of goods and the withdrawal of the largest container carriers from Russia have led to a radical decrease in imports and a complete change in logistics. Manufacturing and distribution companies have been forced to halt or suspend production, look for new sources of goods and components for production, completely rebuild their supply chains, and reduce or eliminate import flows — all of which naturally affects logistics companies. Logistics companies engaged in international transportation are now experiencing great difficulties due to reduced volumes and the impossibility of delivering cargo. They are quickly reorienting to new routes and domestic logistics. In the domestic transportation and warehouse logistics market, there is a significant increase in the cost of vehicle maintenance and cargo handling in warehouses (rising spare parts costs, the introduction of advance payment by most suppliers of spare parts and equipment). Companies have faced a shortage or absence of equipment and an increase in leasing payments.

• Do you think logistics companies are now going through difficult times or discovering new opportunities?

Any crisis means collapse for some companies and opportunities for others. Those that quickly adapt to new realities and needs can achieve growth. The changes that have occurred have affected the activities of logistics companies in very different ways. Some international companies have reduced their business and investments in Russia. Some have lost key clients because they left Russia. Nevertheless, many international companies continue to operate. Russian companies will increase production volumes to replace imported goods. Freight flows are being reoriented to new directions. Logistics companies that can quickly adapt to the new reality will gain new contracts.

• What will be the near future of logistics in Russia, and how will supply chains transform?

The main task of manufacturers and trading companies now is to rebuild supply chains and create new routes for delivering goods. Manufacturers and logistics providers are reorienting from the West to the East. There is no doubt that Asian routes and transport infrastructure in the east of the country will develop.

• What competencies will help logistics specialists remain in demand? How will your field transform, and what specialists will it need?

We will certainly see demand for experienced specialists who can quickly adapt to change. The planning horizon is now minimal, and it has become difficult to forecast supply volumes. Employees need to work quickly, promptly develop solutions, and, of course, show a high degree of initiative. Specialists with experience in building supply chains in eastern directions will be in demand.

• What awaits graduates of the Supply Chain Management program in the changed market? Will it be difficult for them to find a job in their field?

The general trend we have observed for years is a decrease in the total number of young professionals in the labor market due to the demographic gap, so until recently competition for young specialists was very high. Now there is a decrease in employer activity in the labor market. Since the end of February, the number of vacancies has decreased in almost all sectors, including transport and logistics (according to hh.ru, by 17%).

A decrease in the number of vacancies, while the number of young specialists remains the same, will intensify competition between candidates. According to hh.ru, over the past month the number of resumes from young specialists per vacancy has increased (from 5.1 to 8.3). Since some foreign logistics companies have decided to leave Russia, employees of these companies will enter the labor market. An influx of candidates is expected within 2–3 months, so the remaining employers will have an opportunity to add qualified personnel to their teams. Theoretically, this could lead to reduced employer interest in young specialists and cost-saving on internship programs during the crisis period. What will actually happen, we will see later — at the moment, everything is too changeable and unpredictable.

One thing is certain: competition among job seekers will grow, and it is worth preparing seriously for employment — expanding knowledge of the market and developing self-presentation skills to successfully pass interviews.