Moscow Blog - Introduction

As an introduction I'm Keith McMillen, and no, I did not know one word of Russian before my first visit to Moscow. I went to Penn State Behrend as an engineering major and graduated four years later with degrees in Accounting and Finance. I began working at PwC in July 2004 in the Pittsburgh office and currently work in the Moscow office of the Russian Firm. I will try to update this blog regularly and will respond to any questions left in the comments section candidly and honestly.

When I began working in the Pittsburgh office I had an opportunity to work on a mining client we have which has operations in Guinea, West Africa (a French speaking country - no, I don't speak French). The audit was an incredible experience in which I spent one month twice a year for four years working in Guinea. As a result of working in Guinea and spending time with expatriate employees from the United States, Quebec, France, Morocco, and South Africa I knew that at some point in my life I was going to work overseas as an "expat."

One of my managers from the mining client had moved to Moscow in August 2007 to begin a two year secondment. Some of the "Africa Guys" as we are often referred to decided to take a trip in the following summer to visit our friend in Moscow. We didn't think it would be likely we would ever visit Russia without knowing someone there so it was the perfect opportunity. Leading up to the trip I began asking the manager (at this point a senior manager in Moscow) how everything was going and the challenges and benefits of working in Moscow. I also started talking with HR and one of the partners I worked very closely with who I have always considered a mentor. When I visited my friend on a summer vacation with the "Africa Guys" an informal lunch was arranged for me to meet with two partners in the Moscow office followed up with introductions to some of the expats around the office. I got a great impression from everyone, and each person I talked to was brutally honest in describing the perks and drawbacks of working in Russia.

PwC has several programs, depending on staff level, for international opportunities. As an experienced senior associate (four years of experience) the EPIC (Early PricewaterhouseCoopers International Challenge) program was geared towards staff at my level. Under this program I have the benefit of returning to my home office in Pittsburgh once per year during my assignment to meet with my partner mentor and another return flight home to attend training with the US Firm (the US Firm covers these costs). I also signed a contract which guarantees my job upon my return to the United States at the completion of my contract in Russia.

The EPIC program allows staff to select preferences for where they would like their international assignment to be located. After discussions with my partner mentor and my friend/former manager in Moscow we all thought it would be best for me to give Moscow a try as I would know someone and I had already met several of the people in the office. As I had met with some of the partners while on my vacation I did not have to interview anymore, but a telephone interview with the foreign office is usually performed in order for a decision on that office hiring the staff.

In September 2008 I finally moved to Moscow to begin a two year assignment within the Energy, Utilities & Mining practice as an assistant manager. (In the Russian Firm, as with the rest of the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region, the staff level of assistant manager is the equivalent of an experienced senior associate in the US Firm.) In Russia all of our workpapers are completed in English and all staff must pass English exams for employment. There are often several client contacts who also speak English, and for international companies a significant amount of their documents are maintained in English and Russian.

Everyday in Moscow brings a new challenge, an interesting story, and a rewarding experience. I hope to share all of these with you and answer any questions you may have. Auditing may not be the most exciting job in the world but it has provided me with more opportunities than I ever could have imagined and everyday I'm glad I chose to work at PwC.

Upcoming blog entries:

• Working in PwC Moscow vs. PwC Pittsburgh

• Business trips throughout Moscow

• Networking with other expats within PwC

• Social (Night) Life, PG-13 version

An International Experience

It all started during my time at Penn State over three years ago. Being fortunate enough to land an internship with PwC in the Pittsburgh office in the assurance practice and then full-time employment following graduation, I journeyed through my senior year looking forward to graduation and the commencement of my career. Throughout the year, I continued networking with several PwC professionals around the region as they visited Penn State for recruiting events through my involvement in Beta Alpha Psi. Two such alums, from PwC-Pittsburgh, approached me with an interesting proposition - the chance to travel to Guinea, West Africa for two months during the year to perform a financial statement audit for a client in the Pittsburgh office! Many thoughts jogged through my head during this time. Would it be safe? What would it be like? Would I miss the luxuries of home? After careful consideration, open communication lines and a little persuasion by my friends and the PwC staff I accepted the opportunity of a lifetime.

In November 2006, as part of a group of six PwC professionals, I left Pittsburgh headed to Paris, France were we met up with a colleague from PwC-Montreal. This would only be my second time outside the United States besides small trips into Canada. As it was and still is a fall trip tradition, our team used a week of personal vacation time to tour Budapest, Hungary and Vienna, Austria before commencing our work in Guinea. During this time I bonded with my colleagues as they quickly became some of my closest friends in the firm. Finally after a little fun and sightseeing we headed into Guinea.

We flew into Conakry, the capital city of Guinea. From here we had to fly on a small turboprop owned by the client to Kamsar an hour north of Conakry by air. What an experience! The poverty in this part of the world was unlike anything I had ever experienced before and is truly indescribable. The three weeks I spent there that first trip plus three more trips of a month each over the next year and a half would prove to be one of the most memorable experiences in my life. I met PwC professionals from Montreal, Canada and Conakry, Guinea. My client contacts consisted of individuals from Canada, France, Morocco, Tunisia, and South Africa who all had varying backgrounds and perspectives. What a truly Unique People Experience!

Although not the norm for first or second year associates within PwC, my international experience was the building block of my career with the firm. Similar opportunities have occurred for other individuals over the past few years. One of my closest friends in my start class spent a few weeks in Slovakia as part of PwC exchange program for his multinational client. Other professionals in my office have spent time in England, India, Italy, Brazil and many more far reaching locations within the global economy. One of my colleagues who I traveled with to Guinea and who started with the firm almost five years ago recently started a two year rotation in the Energy and Mining Group in PwC-Moscow! I talk with him on a regular basis through our internal instant messenger program to see what life and work is like in Russia.

At PricewaterhouseCoopers professionals from all lines of service are able to seek opportunities to rotate temporarily within the global network of PwC firms, usually in two to three year segments. The Early PwC International Challenge (EPIC) offers high performing professionals the chance to complete an international rotation early on in their career. The program presents our staff the chance to acquire and expand critical skills that will help them to succeed in a truly global firm while experiencing a new culture, making new friends and enjoying new life challenges. Those in the higher levels of management also participate in rotational programs. Several senior managers and partners from the Pittsburgh recently completed or started their international experience in places such as Russia, Budapest, Prague, and Germany.

We hope this attitude and approach to the global economy aligns with your professional and personal goals. Check out more about what PricewaterhouseCoopers has to offer at www.pwc.tv

Mentoring

As the end of another scholastic year approaches, the time comes to, as they say, 'pass the torch' to the next class of students and to look ahead to the future that awaits. An integral part of a successful transition in any organization - whether it be social or professional, is a prepared and informed successor leadership group that can step in to do the job without missing a step. In order for the incoming group to be in a position to take over, however, they must be provided with enough mentoring and counseling from the current leadership group to make an effective transition possible.

Take, for example, an outgoing executive board of one of Smeal's many business organizations. Throughout the year, the organization's leaders will develop a network of contacts, a plethora of experiences, and an abundance of insight that helped make the year a successful one. For the organization to be able to continue to grow, they must efficiently and effectively pass along this information to the next President and his/her fellow board. This process can occur formally at or near the time of the transition or informally at events throughout the year, but both serve their own important roles in establishing a confident leadership group that will be prepared for the upcoming year.

At PricewaterhouseCoopers, mentoring and information sharing are concepts that are at the heart of our core competencies. From the formal Mentoring and Coaching programs that are in place to help develop our Interns and New hires to the informal, everyday coaching that occurs in our audit rooms, Sharing and Collaborating is what allows PwC, and our people, to grow. As our experienced and senior associates and managers move on to new opportunities within the Company, they must be succeeded by colleagues that have been prepared to take over their responsibilities.

Now it's your turn to tell us what you think. Have there been any times or experiences in which Sharing and Collaborating has helped you through a difficult situation? What roles have mentors played in your lives?

Teamwork

The best solutions come from working together with colleagues and clients. As a first-year associate working in the Pittsburgh office I have experienced what teamwork is really about. I'm sure that most of you have worked in a team setting at Penn State during some point in your academic career. At PwC, teamwork is vital to an engagement team's success - this is why teamwork is one of the firm's core values. Effective teamwork requires relationships, respect, and sharing.

During your first engagement mostly every audit area you work on will be a new experience. Other colleagues on your team won't expect you to know everything. Your team will help 'coach' you through your audit work. One thing to keep in mind, try to be sensitive to the workload of other team members; for example, proactively use the firm's resources to try and find an answer to your question. If that still doesn't help, then reach out and ask a team member. Coaching is part of the culture at PwC and helps shape the development of our people.

During your time at Penn State make an effort to expose yourself to team experiences. Effectively being able to work on a team by incorporating your ideas, handling a disagreement, brainstorming, and building relationships will help generate creativity and ideas and ultimately lead to success of the team and your development as an individual. Feel free to comment on your team experiences at Penn State. Hopefully your experiences have been positive, but if not, how have you learned to adapt or manage your team?

PricewaterhouseCoopers is dedicated to helping address the challenges that you and recent graduates are facing in the wake of the current economic downturn. We hear your questions and concerns nearly every day on campus.

We teamed with Lindsey Pollak, career development specialist and author of "Getting from College to Career: 90 Things to Do Before You Join the Real World," to package an online toolkit of Career Resources that you can access right now at www.pwc.tv.

Regardless of your major, once you are on the site, you can find sound, objective, and actionable tools and information to help you with your job searches including:

• Answers to some of your most pressing questions,
• Highlights from the workshop, "How to up your chances in a down economy,"
• Job search worksheets to help you get organized and understand the action steps you can take,
• Must do's for landing a job,
• Interviewing tips, and
• A career advice blog where you can pose questions directly to Lindsey.

In this unprecedented economic time, we hope that you find these Career Resources useful. What you think matters to PricewaterhouseCoopers and we invite you to comment.