In many cases ethics seem to take a backseat when there is a lot at stake.

I have come across one

such instance during my stint in my old firm where I was involved in an auditing engagement.
Auditing is a tricky business since you are finding faults with people who appointed you and are
paying you. It becomes challenging not only due to pressure from the auditee’s management to give
a clean report but also to complete the engagement within a short span with a lot of unknown
variables.

In one such case, a large Financial Services provider (henceforth referred to as the client) had
enlisted our firm’s support to provide a system review report based on SEBI regulations that would
be circulated to various stakeholders. This assignment was high visibility as the report would be
submitted to the regulators and various other client stakeholders. The engagement also had strict
deadlines as the regulatory timelines needed to be adhered to. Due to the nature of the
engagement, the client would push back very heavily on the findings since it would result in sizable
financial penalties for the client. Although this was quite intimidating, I refused to back down and
decided to take up the matter with my higher-ups. I presented my case in a way that highlighted the
implications it would have on the client and the reputation of my firm. In the end, I was able to
convince all the involved parties and could conclude the engagement without giving up my values.

What I learnt from this experience is that it is important to stick to your values, back it up with facts
and not get swayed by external pressure. Work the problem and the results would show eventually.

In many cases ethics seem to take a backseat when there is a lot at stake. I have come across one
such instance during my stint in my old firm where I was involved in an auditing engagement.
Auditing is a tricky business since you are finding faults with people who appointed you and are
paying you.

In one such case, a large Financial Services provider (client) had enlisted our firm’s support to
provide an audit report based on SEBI regulations. I was tasked with leading this engagement which
had a lot of unknown variables. This project was high visibility as the report would be submitted to
the regulators and various other client stakeholders. The engagement also had strict deadlines as
the regulatory timelines needed to be adhered to. Due to the nature of the engagement, the client
would push back very heavily on the findings since it would result in sizable financial penalties for
the client. Although this was quite intimidating, I refused to back down and decided to take up the
matter with my higher-ups. I presented my case in a way that highlighted the implications it would
have on the client and the reputation of my firm. In the end, I was able to convince all the involved
parties and could conclude the engagement without giving up my values.

What I learnt from this experience is that it is important to stick to your values, back it up with facts
and not get swayed by external pressure. Work the problem and the results would show eventually.