Demystifying corporate governance: tackling business transparency and the role of a consultant at Forvis Mazars in Romania

Hello Arina, it’s nice to have you with us today, thank you for taking the time to chat with us! I’m sure your information, expertise, and insights will be of great help to our readers, adding more transparency to your job and domain of activity.

Hi, Alexandra, hello everyone! I’m glad to take part in today’s discussion, thank you for the opportunity! Hopefully, I can inspire some of our readers and offer them a bit more clarity on my role in the company, as well as my day-to-day activities.

Firstly, what is your current role within Forvis Mazars in Romania, and what does a day in your life look like? What are your daily tasks and responsibilities to be tackled?

I am currently a Manager within the Corporate Governance, Internal Control and Risk Management (GRIC) department of Forvis Mazars in Romania.

To give you a glimpse of a day within the GRIC department, we’ll start at the very beginning of the day. In the morning, we have our team meetings, where we align our strategies and workflow for the ongoing projects, meaning that we establish the timeline and tasks to be done, and we assign them to the person responsible. We continue with planned discussions with our clients, and, based on their respective conclusions, our team can then proceed with the testing.

We like to connect with our clients as much as possible and establish a working relationship based on trust and transparency. During our discussions, we identify their particular needs and propose personalised solutions. Our purpose is to always add value and improve the clients’ operation flows.

Let’s offer our readers some clarity: what does the term governance refer to? What are the elements that compose this notion?

As a definition, governance is the combination of processes and structures that the board of an organisation puts in place to inform, direct, manage and monitor its activities, with the goal of achieving its objectives, be them short-term or long-term.

To put it plainly, any successful organisation must establish a basic framework through which both long-term and day-to-day decisions are made. For that, it is important to first understand how organisations are structured and how they operate in order to achieve success.

For a better understanding, let’s envision a house with different functionalities. Every house needs proper governance, represented by the combination of processes and structures, in order to achieve its objectives. To reach the maximum level of efficiency, the foundation needs to be as strong as possible. We can therefore associate it with governance, given that a good performance will create favorable conditions for the risk management and internal control activities.

And although the actual organisational structure will vary from one company to another, each must establish an overall governance structure to ensure that key stakeholder needs are met. It is important to note that in most organisations, the internal audit works hand in hand with the governance procedures, being a key enabler for reaching that success.

What are the tools and instruments that help you complete your tasks every day? 

While we do not have specific tools and instruments in place other than the widely used Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), our focus is on the skills we can develop and turn into instruments for our work, while navigating the vast library of regulations in force, as well as the specific requirements of each business.

Here is essential to point out the importance of our attention to detail, analytical thinking, efficient communication and interpersonal skills, as well as our work ethic and commitment to a very well-defined code of conduct.

What is it like working closely with your clients? How do you manage that relationship, and what are some of the best practices that you can share when it comes to achieving an efficient communication?

Firstly, in order to build a close relationship with your clients, you must establish an open and honest communication. The key to that is to always be ready to adapt to their specific communication style and way of working. We are constantly trying to gain a deeper understanding of the client’s needs during our periodical meetings and we pay attention to any particularity that can help us during this process. Our end goal is to deliver added-value solutions, based on the needs identified through our constant communication.

For that, we work together with the clients to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the business processes, internal controls and corporate governance.

What are the opportunities in the governance area for future professionals? What does an ideal candidate for your team look like, whether we talk about attitude or skills?

Interesting question, and one that can be looked at from multiple perspectives. The main dilemma that I have personally encountered when taking part in the recruitment process, especially for my team, was represented by the following question: Should we hire candidates with the right skills or the ones with the right attitude? It is important to note that as a company, we support our people during every stage of their development, whether they already possess the skills or not to begin with. Nevertheless, this dilemma is always present, to a higher or lower degree.

Embracing a more simplistic approach, we can say that if we hire the candidates with the right skill set, we may save time and resources during the onboarding and training process. At the same time, someone with the right attitude toward learning, and wanting to constantly evolve, can be an amazing addition to your team. After all, our attitude is the way we approach and respond to life, and it can act as a dealbreaker in the process of achieving our goals.

From my point of view, a balance between the two is of course ideal. However, I have to admit that in more situations than others, the attitude of the candidate proved to be the more impactful aspect. A positive attitude can inspire and motivate other team members, boost performance and contribute towards a healthy work environment. Through my lens, a healthy attitude translates to adaptability, flexibility and willingness to learn. I have also found that the majority of people with this kind of attitude embrace teamwork and efficient communication, being able to self-motivate in challenging situations.

Lastly, our aim with these interviews is, among others, to offer guidance for the next generation of professionals when choosing their future careers. Given this, what would be a piece of advice you can give to the young generation that they can take with them as a lesson after reading your interview?

My advice to the next generation of professionals would be to stay open to new challenges and put in the effort to gain a deeper understanding of their chosen domain. It’s important to keep your composure and not panic if you discover that a role, company or domain of activity is not the right fit for you or does not line up with your expectations. If you find yourself in this situation, remember that all the variables of life can be changed and modeled into the perfect fit. For this, consider that change is not a problem or a bad thing. It’s difficult in the beginning but is also crucial to be set in motion as soon as any aspect that does not align with your attitude, beliefs or behaviour is identified.

It's important to know your values and priorities and to align yourself to those standards through your own actions, driven by high ethics and moral behavior.

Thank you, Arina, for your openness and valuable insights! Your experience, both as a manager and as a valuable member of the Forvis Mazars team shone throughout our discussion. I am sure this interview will inspire and offer some guidance for our younger readers, at the beginning of their careers.