Emily in India

I got back to the hotel late on Sunday, August 6^th after a long day traveling back to Bengaluru from Chikkmagaluru. Everyone worked from home on Monday and being able to work from the hotel was so nice after such an adventurous weekend.

Tuesday was a day of much progress. It took 1+ hours to get to work in the morning – it’s only 10 km / 6 miles from the hotel. I had lunch with Rena, a colleague from the US who is here for a few weeks. I got my Indian SIM card + phone number which was stressful. All of my OTPs are setup to be sent to my US number so I’ve had to go back and forth between the two SIM cards to get my phone number updated everywhere. All is well now and I stayed calm but it sure kept me busy.

On Wednesday, I met with my boss (Chief Compliance Officer) who outlined the plans she has for me, projects I am to lead this quarter. It is very exciting and a little overwhelming!

• Develop quality/ performance metrics across the 4 teams. The each do something different and right now, the metrics don’t align properly. The metrics cannot be identical, but the scoring should allow for comparative analysis at end-of-year performance discussions.
• Expand service offerings and processes managed by 2 teams; build greater connectivity and collaboration with their US counterparts.
• Reimagine and write the personal independence policy for the Global Delivery Center. This means, looking at all levels and jobs at the GDC, determining who has the capability to impact an audit (in fact and appearance), and writing guidelines that protect the Firm but are not overly stringent.
• Transition all quarterly confirmations from the US to the GDC. This will be accomplished in stages, will require additional headcount at the GDC, and is very high profile as all of Audit and Independence leadership will be involved.

After the meeting, I got to work! For the rest of Wednesday and Thursday, I met with various team managers to talk about current performance metrics and what can be measured and fairly compared. I have many ideas to integrate the US and GDC teams, including monthly e-postcards with updates and facts from India, and a get-to-know-your-colleague section where individuals from the GDC will be highlighted. Today (Friday), I reached out to the manager in charge of GDC personal independence so that we can get working on the policy.

A few hours before work ended on Wednesday, two colleagues came to me to advise that we were having an Independence Day celebration at the office the next day and that we were all meant to where the colors of the Indian flag (saffron, green, and/or white). They asked if I had any ethnic wear yet, “I don’t but I have a green blazer I can wear” I said. My boss and counterpart overheard and quickly dismissed my outfit idea. They insisted on taking me shopping after work (we end at 8 pm!) to find a Salwar suit for the celebration. To be honest, I was a little annoyed, knowing I’d be tired after work, traffic is horrible, and I could easily where my green blazer. But as the day wound down, I got excited. My driver was happy to take me and my boss to 27^th Main – the big shopping street in Bengaluru. We arrived at 9 pm and the street was so lively! In the third shop, Soch, I fell in love with a dark green kurti with matching pants + a gorgeous gold-ish dupatta but they did not have my size and the tailor had gone home for the day (apparently, I could’ve gotten it tailored on the spot!). They had my size at another location so I paid and within 45 minutes, I was back at the hotel and my salwar suit was being hand delivered to me.

Thursday was a really neat day. I felt very special in my outfit but if I didn’t already stand out, I sure did on Thursday. Eeeeeveryone looked at me. In the lobby, elevator, office, bathroom, café, outside, etc. I’ve already gotten used to not even looking around (because everyone looks at me everywhere I go), just keeping my eyes on where I’m headed so as not to get anxious. The Independence Day celebration was an hour-long party where we were divided into groups for India trivia and a word scramble competition. My team won without any help from me. Then each team had to dress one team member in newspaper to resemble any famous Indian icon.

There were about 50-60 people in the lecture hall style room and boy was it different than it would’ve been in the US! There was so much talking, laughing, shouting, people up and moving. To the point where the organizers could hardly explain the games and award prizes. I got anxious and a little frustrated feeling like everyone was being rude and needed to calm down. I quickly reminded myself that this is their way and I just get to enjoy it.

It is Friday and I am looking forward to an evening chat with my rotation sponsor/ mentor from the US (KPMG partner, Julie). Then I’ll hop on a treadmill to do some walking while listening to Shantaram. I’ve planned a lowkey weekend in Bengaluru – sightseeing and a 2-hour massage (for $54!!). I’ll tell you all about it next week.