Chūfā (Departure)
Today marks my last day at PwC Beijing and with that my final blog post. Having reflected much already to date, I can now look back retrospectively on my secondment in Beijing, and compare this with my initial expectations. From my experience, which has been more challenging, and therefore more rewarding than I ever have imagined, I have gained an insight into the codes of Chinese social and business culture, a new sense of independence and confidence in everyday problem solving, and new friends whom I can call on during any future business/holiday travels, be it to Beijing, Singapore, Vienna or Paris!
My working life in China has been fascinating and challenging. Other than the most obvious and previously mentioned language barrier, the second greatest test I've encountered has been sourcing my own work. Given I'm a new starter here and that it is not peak season, I found that occasionally I was not booked on any engagements. This forced me to pro-actively and confidently introduce myself around the office and raise my profile in this unfamiliar environment. Indeed, many of my jobs here in Beijing have been a result of a multitude of elevator and coffee queue introductions!
These include working on a leading social gaming developer undergoing a US IPO, two multinational gas exploration and production countries, the first headquartered in Paris, and the second in Perth, as well as assisting the Corporate Responsibility team with launching their China and Hong Kong-wide PwC Champion Program and five-year strategy. The highlight was a business trip to Xian in the Shanxi Province with a friendly PwC engagement team, a welcoming client and an excursion to the Terracotta Warriors.
As the only foreign face in my division below Manager Level I’ve been able to befriend the locals, learn about the diverse range of provinces they have migrated from to work at PwC Beijing, the types of foods they are accustomed to and their favourite pastimes. Over the many lunches shared dining on a wide variety of local Chinese cuisines at local haunts around the office, I’ve also revealed to them what work and social life is like in Melbourne.
What’s obvious is that PwC culture in Beijing is for the most part consistent with that in Melbourne. The assurance division is inherently social given that client engagements are team based; there is also a strong coaching culture due to the hierarchical dynamic of engagement teams. In between jobs I’ve continued to enjoy quarterly social events, an annual ball and a town hall meeting, and even received a $30 Carrefour thank-you voucher (In Melbourne, we receive $30 Myer vouchers). I've had meetings and lunches with my local self-development partner/coach and assisted the local Corporate Responsibility team (my friend at work has also just returned from volunteering in a rural school in the Henan province), all of these things indicating a consistent emphasis on promoting work life balance and recognition and reward.
Specifically, in terms of work practices - methodologies, strategy formulation, procedures and templates are identical, although documentation requirements are somewhat fewer than those in Melbourne. (And all those rumours of overworked employees have largely stemmed from other offices in China, not Beijing!). Clients’ control frameworks are generally quite weak, be it due to many clients being newly established companies such as tech start-ups, or perhaps reflective of less stringent management across the board. (I was recently told about a loss of a client due to its management being non-contactable, i.e. their CEO and CFO "disappearing"). Of course, this requires increased tests of details and fewer analytical procedures.
Furthermore there's currently a push towards budgeting for engagements as this is still a practice rarely performed. A service delivery centre similar to that in Kolkata and Manila is also currently being established Chengdu (home to the panda sanctuaries) to support the PwC Beijing office.
In addition to the localization of audit firms, mentioned in a previous post (http://aburdinbeijing.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/burd-in-xian-few-weeks-ago-chance.html), a significant change to the wider audit industry recently implemented is the new audit standard whereby not only do new partners need to be re-appointed periodically (for independence purposes), but so do audit firms, meaning the loss and gain of many clients.
Lǎowài (Foreigner)
More generally, over the past three months I have found myself troubleshooting on a daily basis, be it lost in a taxi with no way to communicate to the driver, trying to buy phone credit in Xi’an with not a sole English speaker around, ordering food with no pork (a challenge given even tuna salad here comes with pork sprinkles!), dodging spit balls and bad smells, getting lost trying to find hidden boutiques and galleries in the maze of Hutong alleyways, or being rubbed up against in an overly crowded bus, elevator or ticket queue. With this I’ve accumulated an abundance of China “moments”, all of which have culminated in a love/hate with this wonderfully bizarre and brazen city:
I love that taxis rarely cost more than $5, but get frustrated that you can barely ever find a taxi.
I love walking the streets filled with snack vendors and jewellery stalls, but am petrified by the near death experiences crossing them.
I love the smell of incense wafting in the air as I wander past the many temples, but choke when this is disturbed by the stench of sewerage or stinking tofu
I love the fresh fruit vendors on every corner, but laugh when you order fruit salad in a café and are served cut-up apple with thousand island salad dressing.
I love the onset of summer which brings out local crowds singing, dancing and practicing tai chi, but cringe as the warm weather also compels men to walk around with their shirts rolled up or with no shirts at all.
I love that public restrooms are everywhere with automatic flushes, but hate that squat holes are often found in place of actual toilets.
I love the CCTV building also known as “the big underpants”, but surprised that liking it automatically reveals that I’m a foreigner – apparently most locals absolutely hate this mega structure, hence the nickname.
I love $10 impromptu massages, manicures and karaoke; there is no but for this one….
I love the friendly, smiling locals, but wish I could answer their curious questions about my Indian looks and why I have come to Beijing if not for my lack of Mandarin.
I am intrigued and impressed by all the fantastic and interesting people I have met, but am sad to say goodbye.
Zai Jian, Beijing!
