When Wendy Khor joined EY more than nine years ago as an intern, she was impressed with how EY helps its people propel their careers to the next level. She then decided to join EY as a full-time auditor and is now a senior manager in Assurance. Wendy shares with us interesting stories behind her success at EY.
Choosing EY as the place to kickstart her career
After I graduated from high school, I enrolled for an accelerated Chartered Accountant program to qualify for the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW) certification. As part of the program, I was required to complete a three-month internship and was presented with the opportunity to apply to several professional services organizations. I applied to and completed my internship at EY, where the overall experience left a lasting and positive impression on me. Even though I did not study accounting-related subjects in high school, my senior colleagues at that time were very patient in guiding me and imparting their knowledge despite their hectic schedules. I participated in several live projects and learnt more than I could have ever imagined. The experience was truly exceptional and I was certain at that point that I wanted to start my career at EY.
The life of an auditor at EY
It has been nine years since I started my professional career at EY and I am not planning to put a halt to it, that’s for sure! I am currently a senior manager in Assurance and I still look forward to new experiences and challenges of working with a diverse range of clients and colleagues from all over the world. I am also one of the key liaisons for the EY Japanese Business Desk Team in Malaysia for Assurance-related matters.
What excites me about my job are the ever-evolving audit landscape and the implementation of digital audit which involves the use of big data and analytics. There is also a vast array of online learning platforms and training resources at our disposal, so the learning opportunity is immense!
Receiving support from EY for career development
The support system at EY has been instrumental to my career development and growth. Upon joining the organization, I was assigned a counsellor who provided me with strong support and guidance from both a professional and personal standpoint. My counsellor is someone I can talk to regardless of the time of day, and who always gives me advice on how to develop my career. The partners have also been incredibly patient and supportive whenever I made mistakes and in guiding me towards the correct solutions.
EY culture and its positive influence
I am truly grateful for the people that I have met throughout my years at EY and for their positive influence on the person that I am today. Many of my peers have become my close friends whom I can count on when times are tough. My senior colleagues have become close mentors whom I can look up to and always seek guidance from. In our day-to-day interactions among team members, the culture of teamwork and inclusiveness is very apparent to me. In such an environment, I always remind myself, as a senior manager, to fully engage on a personal level with all my staff and to create a team culture that is both supportive and fun.
Proudest moment at EY
One of my proudest moments was when I represented Malaysia at an EY cultural training event in Tokyo, Japan. I had the opportunity to meet and engage with EY colleagues from the Asia-Pacific, EMEIA and Americas. We were there to learn about the Japanese culture as well as each other’s cultures given the diverse representation. When I was there, I also had the chance to visit the manufacturing plant and showroom of a renowned Japanese piano manufacturer. It was so amazing to be able to personally witness everything and I was truly thankful to EY and the leaders for the opportunity.
