"What I personally find so exciting is that we have the freedom to affect massive change."

Describe what the Deloitte Ventures team do in Risk Advisory?

To use an analogy – imagine you wanted to make a film. If it’s low budget you’d do everything yourself – the scripts, the rights, directing and so on. If it’s big budget you have a cast of thousands to create that film. That’s what Ventures do for Deloitte. We are the cast of experts that get the blockbuster to market. We create the repeatable processes, and get the right people together, to make sure an idea succeeds. We introduce disruptors such as robotics and artificial intelligence. We find parts of the business that need these products and we create them.

A lot of ideas in Risk Advisory respond to what these disruptive technologies create, for example, how can we tell if what machine learning is churning out is correct? We need to find a solution to that. There are also a lot of Risk Advisory functions that can be automated, such as how technology can be used to respond to regulation, or to develop analytical insights.

What’s the most interesting project within Risk Advisory?

I’d probably say our voice analytics technology, TrueVoice. It uses AI, advanced cognitive technology and machine learning, to analyse a company’s interactions with its customers. Through listening to calls it can detect whether a customer is distressed, angry, or confused. It transcribes conversations and searches for words and phrases, to ensure your company isn’t using language it shouldn’t. It then flags all these things so you can take corrective action. It’s a fascinating project.

How does Deloitte differ from other opportunities in the market?

You’re surrounded by subject matter experts; industry experts, technology experts, and you can access that knowledge whenever you need to. You also have access to clients who understand what the problems are and you can validate what you’re thinking with them. Our relationships are established enough that you can do that without it being a risk. What I personally find so exciting is that we have the freedom to affect massive change. We’re changing how we go to market with our clients. That’s a huge thing.

"We have a great culture and the amount of opportunities here mean you can develop as an individual in the direction that suits you best."

Why is Deloitte a great place to work in Risk Advisory?

The opportunities to make a difference here are huge. We’re constantly encouraged to come up with ideas, so a lot of what we do to drive change comes from within our own workforce. Innovation is at the heart of everything we do, so we’re using the latest technologies to constantly improve how we deliver our projects and bring insights to our clients. It means I’m always learning. We have a great culture and the amount of opportunities here mean you can develop as an individual in the direction that suits you best. The people are amazing too, I love being part of a great team.

And what do you do?

I work in technology & digital risk, leading and delivering a range of technology risk projects. We help clients better understand and manage the risks that exist within their technology environment and how this impacts their business.

For example, I’m currently working with a leading online fashion retailer, helping them understand the risks they are facing as a company as they embark on a large digital transformation. It’s impacting the way they work, the way their customers interact with them, and the way they utilize technology. It’s fascinating being involved in so many areas of their business.

So, do you need to have a technology background to work here?

No, not at all. That’s one of the amazing things about Deloitte; you’re given all of the training, support and on the job experiences you need to equip you with the core skills and knowledge for your role. I’ve been supported in developing technical and leadership skills for example – both courses I’ve chosen myself and ones that I’ve been nominated for based on what’s needed for my personal development.

What’s your proudest work achievement so far?

One of my proudest moments was working on a project which involved supporting a new mobile operator in the Middle East three weeks prior to their commercial launch. The pressure of working towards such a pivotal moment for them I found exceptionally rewarding. I was reporting directly to the CEO and had to work with a range of global technology providers and specialists, bringing the value of Deloitte to the client through my industry knowledge and specialism. It was a huge challenge but so worth it.

Are you able to work flexibly if you want to?

Yes, absolutely, we have flexibility in our working arrangements and I am trusted to manage my commitments and meet my deadlines regardless of whether I’m working from the office, a client site or home. I have two young children and it’s really important to me that I’m able to spend quality time with them. The flexibility Deloitte gives allows me to make the time to do the school run once a week and go to events at school such as sports day and parents evening.

"For me it’s the people that make it. They are bright, supportive, interesting; we work brilliantly together as a team."

What’s great about working in Risk Advisory?

For me it’s the people that make it. They are bright, supportive, interesting; we work brilliantly together as a team. But it’s not just that, the number of opportunities you get working for such a large firm is amazing. There’s a huge range of clients and projects within every department – so there is always flexibility to move if you’re keen to work on something different. Having worked for a small geophysics company before I joined, I wanted to gain experience working for a large company with opportunities for professional development. Deloitte has certainly given me all of that and more.

Tell us about the most interesting project you’ve worked on

I think the most interesting project involved determining how to establish assurance for a sports organisation’s published rankings. I had to work with the client to understand and explore the processes and criteria being used to create the various rankings. It gave me a great insight into an industry I had no prior experience of, and I’m really interested in sport so it appealed to me personally too.

Another particularly memorable milestone was the first time I was involved in a project from start to finish. Seeing it through from the planning stage right up to sharing the final report with the client gave me a great sense of satisfaction, I learnt so much from that project that I’m now able to draw on for other work.

How are you supported to work flexibly?

I’m often based at the client site, but when I’m not I can work from home if I need to. As long as you get the work done, people are very flexible around your needs. I’m studying to become a chartered accountant and have done other training courses too and there is a great deal of support around study leave. I think there is a myth that working for a global professional services firm means working until midnight every night, that is definitely not the case!

"I love having the flexibility to make something a reality, and really contribute to growing the Cyber business."

How you would describe what Cyber at Deloitte does?

We advise our clients on how to protect their most critical information. This can include preventing cyber attacks (small or large), detecting security issues, recovering lost information or even how they can recover their business in some circumstances. It’s not all about specific attacks of course. A lot of our work is helping our clients create cyber security and risk management strategies, and developing their target operating models and processes to avoid any issues occurring in the first place.

What sort of projects do you work on?

We have all sorts of different projects on the go, across a huge variety of industries and sectors. I’m currently working on a large technology project for a global financial services organisation. My day involves understanding the solution architecture and security controls in place, advising on the implementation of controls, performing risk management activities and ensuring compliance with various regulations.

What’s different about working in Cyber at Deloitte?

Our size; we have one of the largest cyber practices and massive growth plans. We also have access to expertise from across the whole firm – that makes it a really exciting place to work.

What do you enjoy most about working in the Cyber team?

The amount of opportunities open to me here is amazing. Being able to create the career path I want, with the support to do that is really motivating. There are some incredibly talented people here and I get to learn from them every day. I love having the flexibility to make something a reality, and really contribute to growing the Cyber business. And above all else, the people are fantastic and the work is genuinely interesting and rewarding - it’s the perfect combination for me.