unilever
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unilever bookletTRANSCRIPT
Visit our portal: i.unilever.com/audit
Step up
to the challengeJob opportunities for all functions in Corporate Audit
“ Apart from providing an excellent training in business, which I still find valuable to this day, my abiding recollection of Audit is the fun and camaraderie which came from working closely with colleagues from many countries and many functions – it was Unilever team working at its best!” Jeffrey Allgrove, SVP Global Transformation
“ Corporate Audit plays a key role as a challenging partner in ensuring the very highest standards of corporate governance are adhered to by management.” Patrick Cescau, Group Chief Executive
“ Unilever’s Corporate Audit function provides the Executive and the Board with quality assurance across all areas of the business which is much broader than I have experienced in my previous roles. I am impressed with the quality of their work and insights they bring, as well as their dedication to the development of their managers.” Jim Lawrence, Chief Financial Officer
Over the past few years, the rOle Of
Corporate Audit has evolved from one primarily
focused on checking financial controls to one
where we provide broad-based reassurance to
the Board and the Audit Committee that risks
are properly identified, assessed and mitigated
throughout Unilever.
This means that Corporate Audit conducts reviews
not just in finance, but also across many other
strategically important areas of Unilever. In recent
years, we have conducted reviews in the areas
of customer management, brand development
and innovation, supply chain, implementation
of corporate policies and major business change
projects including Mountain/Sirius in Europe
and the global HRT programme. And one of the
most rewarding aspects of what we do is to see
our recommendations being implemented in the
business, and to see real tangible benefits accruing
to Unilever as a result.
Producing meaningful and insightful
recommendations requires managers with
expertise in these functions and this means that
we need managers with a proven track-record in
Customer Development, Marketing, Supply Chain,
R&D, HR and IT, as well as Finance, to join our
Audit teams around the world.
Many of you may only have had a fleeting
encounter with Corporate Audit – if at all – in
your careers to date. It is to you this booklet is
primarily aimed. It explains Corporate Audit’s
role and approach, how Audit relates to the
businesses that we visit, and how a 2-3 year
posting to Audit can be a really valuable part
of your personal management development. It
isn’t for everyone – the travel commitments in
particular are demanding – but it is worthwhile.
To quote a former Unilever Chairman: “Time in
Audit provides a crash course in business”.
Over many years in Unilever I have benefited
from a great deal of advice and guidance from
Corporate Audit. In turn I have always worked
hard to encourage our best people to spend some
time in Audit as I have recognised the benefit this
gives to the business in addition to the personal
development for the individual. Personally I
benefited from time spent in Audit early in my
career and I have no doubt this has contributed
to my own personal development over the years
and the confidence it gave me to take on many
challenging positions in the company.
I hope you enjoy reading the brochure, and if you
are interested in finding out more please make
contact through your line manager or the Audit
leadership in your region.
Happy reading!
Alan JohnsonChief Auditor
Welcome to the Unilever Corporate Audit recruitment brochure
I have always worked hard to encourage our best people to spend some time in Audit as I have recognised the benefit this gives to the business in addition to the personal development for the individual
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Tenwhy audit is good for your career
reasons
Unilever: Guide to Corporate Audit
1 Personal development Audit provides an unrivalled opportunity for personal development. Our auditors return to the business with sharpened analytical skills, enhanced core competencies, stronger knowledge of risk management and a greatly enhanced business understanding.
2 Exposure to Senior ManagementThe audit process involves frequent contact with senior management, providing an unrivalled opportunity to learn from and interact with some of the most experienced managers in Unilever. It also gives you the chance to expand your business network more widely.
3 Working in international teamsMixing the very best people from across the globe and across all functions forges a great team spirit which underpins everything that we do.
4 Cross-functional understandingBecause we cover every market, company, function and category that Unilever operates in, Audit provides an opportunity to broaden your understanding of our company, its products, processes and customers.
5 Functional understanding in depthBecause we audit all business processes, Audit provides the opportunity to deepen your understanding of the way your ‘home’ function works across the globe and the interactions it has with the other business areas.
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Time away from home Travel might broaden the mind, but for some people there is no place like home. Auditors have to be happy with extensive travel that can mean weekends away from home in some regions.
Working in different teams Every audit involves a different team in a different environment. You have to be able to integrate quickly into new teams to make sure the audits proceed efficiently and make sure the job gets done.
Analytical mindsetOur reports are based on analysis of data, structured interviews and background reading. Auditors need to be able to digest information quickly, analyse it in a number of different ways and draw insightful conclusions, even if that means challenging the status quo.
Tough feedbackSometimes our audit reports involve giving tough opinions. Presenting unpopular recommendations to senior management can be challenging but it is integral to delivering our independent opinion.
Time managementAudit fieldwork can be intensive, especially when following a line of enquiry which requires delving into past files and records. Yet our audits are finite in length and need to be completed on time, so you have to manage your schedule carefully.
a few reasons why audit may not be for you...
6 TravelEvery year we audit about 80 units across the globe, visiting more than 50 countries. Audit gives you the opportunity to travel across continents and be part of truly diverse multinational and multicultural teams.
The audit process involves regular contact with senior management, providing an unrivalledopportunity to interact with some of the most experienced managers in Unilever
9 Personal integrity The Code of Business Principles is scoped in all our unit audits, so auditors quickly become experts in the Code and how it should be implemented. As a core part of Unilever’s governance, this will give you a good foundation as you progress through more senior levels of management.
10 Our Independence Our independence guarantees the integrity of our work, which is based on an objective and unbiased view of the facts. The Chief Auditor reports directly to the Group Chief Executive and to the Chairman of the Audit Committee, which comprises 4 non-executive directors of the Board. This allows you and the audit teams to exercise your judgement without undue pressure.
7 Adding real valueWe aim to identify potential good business practices during our audits, and then share them whenever we visit companies across the world. We also share the best practices with the functional academies. This is well received by the companies audited and helps share knowledge throughout Unilever.
8 Rigorous methodologyWe use a well-defined methodology to conduct our audits, which ensures our audit process is consistently applied across the globe. Many of the techniques and processes that we adopt will be useful when you return to your operating companies.
Nancy Sullivan, USA Audit Manager Customer Development Americas
we’re lOOking fOr peOple frOm all functions and regions across Unilever. But while
our teams and people come from many different
cultures, countries and career paths, there are
some things that all successful candidates have
in common.
SO WHAT IS IT YOU NEED TO HAVE?
Experience: You’ll be an ambitious manager with typically
6 to 8 years’ work experience and at least two
management jobs under your belt. You’ll have
a good track-record in your operating company,
and a proven record of delivering top-quality work
as part of a team.
You’ll be able to demonstrate an ability to analyse
a situation or process, usually but not always
in your field of expertise, to work out what is
being done well and what could be done better.
You then need the self-confidence to propose a
solution and the personal ability to get others to
buy in to it.
Standards of Leadership: We look for visible progress in the following
Standards of Leadership:
Global Mindset
Real Accountability
Action Not Debate
Team Alignment
Evidence of Strategic Influencing and
Organisational Awareness are also helpful.
Functional background: A proven record of achievement in any business
function: Brand Building, Brand Development,
R&D, Customer Development, Finance, Supply
Chain, HR, Legal, Communications and IT.
General skills: Fact-based decision making
Proven analytical skills – the ability to draw
conclusions from complex information
Well developed function-specific skills according
to your professional background.
Personal: Professional attitude
Inquisitiveness
Self-confident integrity
Courage
Resilience
Languages: Excellent spoken and written English.
Other languages are an advantage and,
depending on the region, may be a prerequisite.
Unilever: Guide to Corporate Audit
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Makingthe gradeNow you know a little about what Corporate Audit could do for you. But what about the people that we’re looking for?
The audit process involves regular contact with senior management, providing an unrivalled opportunity to interact with some of the most experienced managers in Unilever
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From left to right
Caroline wullrich, swedenAudit Director Finance Americas
bernie Conyers, usaAudit Manager Supply Chain Americas
Unilever: Guide to Corporate Audit
8
From left to right
mennat allah sharkas, egyptAudit Manager Customer Development AsiaAMET
banjo Castillo, PhilippinesAudit Manager Customer Development AsiaAMET
Veronica rubio, mexicoAudit Manager Finance Americas
The Audit Plan We adopt a two-step approach to defining our
audit plan. The aim is to identify the major risks
facing Unilever, and by analysing this to define
the areas Audit will focus on in the next
12-18 months.
The first step is to review the risks for each
function in the business. We hold ‘knowledge
network’ meetings where auditors with a
background in each function meet with the
leadership of that function. “The aim is to get a
real in-depth understanding of the risks and issues
facing – say – HR,” says Ajay Adlakha, Audit
Director for the HR knowledge network. We then
prioritise the risks to create a shortlist of potential
areas for Audit to review in the following year.
The Audit Leadership Group then chooses
typically 3 or 4 themes to review in depth. In
recent years Audit has undertaken reviews of
Innovation Management, Pricing Excellence, S&OP
and Customer Service Excellence.
The second step is the ‘Unit Risk Profiling’, or URP,
exercise. All business units – countries, MCOs,
categories, pension funds, corporate centre
departments and major projects – are assessed by
the entire regional/category team and assigned
a ‘risk rating’. Those with the highest ratings are
proposed for an audit visit in the following year.
“You have to take inputs from many different
sources,” said Adrian Litmanovich, VP of Audit
in the Americas. “We talk to the leadership of
the units. We look at how the business unit has
performed, whether it regularly hits its plan, the
stability of management and whether change
projects have been implemented well. We also
look at the external environment – is the trade
consolidating, for example, or has the economy
had an impact on the business. The more robust
the URP, the more robust our Audit plan.”
By September, the two steps are merged together
into the Annual Audit Plan, which is agreed
with the Unilever Executive and approved by the
Audit Committee in October. This is the starting
point for preparing detailed plans which define
which auditors will visit which units and when.
In a rapidly changing environment it’s important
to be flexible, so the regional plans are updated
throughout the year.
The initial visitThe audit process starts with the Audit Director
taking one or two members of the team to
visit the unit to interview senior management
and carry out some basic testing – the Unit Risk
Assessment. Based on the outcome of these
discussions and tests, we define the detailed
scope for the audit, agree this with management
and issue the Audit Scope Document. This is
all done 6-8 weeks before the formal audit
fieldwork starts.
The actual Audit – described as ‘fieldwork’
– usually takes from three to four weeks, most
of which will be based in the unit’s headquarters
with the team staying in the same hotel and
spending most evenings together as a group. In
Europe it’s possible for Auditors to go home at the
weekend, but in Asia, Africa and the Americas this
is not always practical.
The Annual Audit Plan is the starting point for preparing plans which detail which auditors will visit which units and when. In a rapidly changing environment it’s important to be flexible, so the regional plans are updated throughout the year
“ You don’t simply follow a checklist and tick the boxes”Current and former team members reveal what it’s really like to work in Corporate Audit
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From left to right
mennat allah sharkas, egyptAudit Manager Customer Development AsiaAMET
banjo Castillo, PhilippinesAudit Manager Customer Development AsiaAMET
Veronica rubio, mexicoAudit Manager Finance Americas
This lifestyle suits those who like to experience
new cultures and absorb different working
environments. Nicolas Cochet, an Audit Manager
in Europe, said: “I’ve seen Carmen at the Opera
House in Budapest, a pop concert in Prague and
football league matches in other European cities;
for me the chance to travel has been fantastic.”
In the fieldAt the start of the fieldwork, the processes to be
covered will be allocated to different members
of the team to ensure the right mix of expertise.
Some will work in areas they are familiar with;
others will be developing themselves in new areas.
This opportunity for personal development is,
for many, the prime motivation for joining Audit.
David Addesse, an Auditor Manager in the
Americas, said: “This is what really makes the job
interesting. It gives you opportunities you wouldn’t
get in any other part of the business.” Ideally, you
will start by auditing an area within your expertise,
but if you want to acquire new skills you need to
put yourself forward.
Auditors begin by identifying from the meetings
with the local managers what information they
will need to do the Audit. “These interviews can
be quite challenging but they are a two-way
process for us to understand from management
what controls are in place and how they are
expected to work,” said Banjo Castillo, Audit
Manager in Asia.
Auditors then analyse the data over several weeks.
But there’s no danger that you’ll be cut loose
and left to drift. A buddying system ensures that
newcomers are coached by experienced members
of the team for at least their first two audits.
“You work very closely within your team. Your
colleagues with more experience in Audit help
direct you,” said Claire Connolly, an Audit
Manager in Europe. “Within the team there will
usually be a specialist from each area and there is
a constant exchange of knowledge.”
Auditors also have Audit Guides to help structure
the analysis and ensure consistency across the
globe. These contain lists of questions and testing
regimes to ensure that all the risks in the area
being audited are covered. “But you don’t simply
follow a checklist and tick the boxes,” said CM
Murugunand, an Audit Manager in Asia. “You will
have to present your opinions to the management
and you can only persuade them to accept those
opinions if you can demonstrate you know what
you are talking about.”
Findings and RecommendationsFindings are documented in working papers
and discussed by the whole audit team before
being presented to the management. If you have
unearthed potential weaknesses in the business,
your role as Auditor will be to convince the
management that there is a problem and get
them to accept your recommendations.
“Sometimes these discussions go very well and
are finished in less than an hour, but I have been
to some that have lasted for many hours,” said
Waqar Kazi, Audit Director in Africa/Middle East.
One of the most rewarding aspects of Audit is
when you find an example of good practice.
“It’s usually quite obvious,” said Gerry Hepburn,
“and you usually think ‘Wow, this is a great
example.’ When we find good practices, we
highlight them and pass them on to the functional
Academy to share globally. We also take
responsibility for sharing them with management
at subsequent audits.”
At the close of the audit, the unit commits to
implementing the team’s recommendations
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You need to develop a deep understanding of the business, because you will have to present your opinions to the management and you can only persuade them to accept those opinions if you can demonstrate you know what you are talking about
Unilever: Guide to Corporate Audit
an oPPortunity for you to go far
Travel is a fundamental part of life for our Auditors, who can spend up to 70 per cent of their time away from home, providing both opportunities and challenges for our teams. Business travel isn’t always glamorous: the reality can involve working long hours in demanding environments, and extended periods away from friends and family. But the chance to experience new cultures is a valuable part of the development path that a role in Audit offers. And because every member of an Audit team is in the same situation, a strong team spirit unites individuals drawn from different backgrounds with different areas of expertise. “Because we are all foreign to the country we’re in, we quickly develop a bond,” said Sandrine Conseiller, Audit Director Marketing AsiaAMET. “You become friends rather than colleagues ... it’s been one of the best experiences of my Unilever career.” The ability to adapt quickly is another key skill for a successful Auditor. “Every month you are working in a different country with a different company with different cultures,” explained Audit Manager Vladimir Badic. “It’s really diverse. Seeing so many companies being managed in different ways has been demanding but very rewarding.”
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within an agreed timeframe. In exceptional
circumstances, urgent remedial action will be
agreed with management. “It’s sometimes a
challenge to get agreement from managers on
how their business is going to progress into the
future,” said Stokes Moore, former Audit Director
in North America. “Every month you’re trying to
sell a different solution to a different management
team and it is rewarding to gain their commitment
to recommendations that will help their business.”
Presenting the results The last part of the process is to agree an overall
audit opinion for the unit. Most units come out
“satisfactory”, which indicates that their processes
are at an acceptable standard and well controlled.
Delivering a “seriously deficient” opinion can be
tough, but it will usually be accepted if it is well
presented, says Stuart Hill, Audit Manager for
Europe: “If you have well-documented facts to
support your findings it will be easier to justify
the opinion to management. It all depends on
your material.”
Six months after the Audit, the unit head must
report back through their Regional or Category
Line on progress made in implementing the
agreed actions. “When you see that you have
helped to effect a change for the better, it gives
you a big sense of satisfaction,” said Peter Vinnai,
Audit Manager for Europe. “In a big company you
might feel your opinion doesn’t count but being
in Corporate Audit is an opportunity to get your
voice heard.”
From left to right
dunke afe, nigeria Audit ManagerMarketing Europe
simone Casaglia, italy Audit Manager Finance Europe
I thought Corporate Audit is just for people who work in finance?Absolutely not! Auditing financial reports and
accounts is the responsibility of our external
auditors, PwC. Corporate Audit provides
independent reassurance that ALL risks are being
properly identified and managed across the whole
of Unilever. To give a few examples, over the past
few years we have reviewed (amongst others)
Innovation, Pricing, Third Party manufacturing,
HR Transformation, Supply Management and
Trade Terms Management. So we’re looking for
talented individuals from all functions and regions
to help us do the job.
I heard that Audit’s all about bureaucracy, rules and policies – isn’t the work boring?Like any business function, a well-defined
methodology helps us to guarantee the
consistency and quality of our work. Risk
management in its broadest sense doesn’t
mean not taking risks – merely that the risks
Unilever chooses to take are properly assessed,
understood and controlled. This requires a first-
class understanding of each functional area – be
it finance, marketing, IT, HR, etc. – after which we
hold discussions with the functional teams at all
levels of management. It’s definitely not boring!
The inside
As the “internal police” of Unilever, don’t you face a lot of resistance from local management?First of all - we’re not the internal police! It’s not
our role to investigate or to catch people out,
and we don’t work for the management. We’re
there to help local management do their jobs
more effectively and efficiently by offering an
independent, fact-based analysis of their processes
and practices, offering recommendations and
sharing best practice that we’ve found elsewhere.
And the standards and policies against which
we’re auditing are set and agreed by the business,
not by Audit.
What should I do if my line manager doesn’t see Audit as a valuable career step for me?We hope that this booklet goes some way to
explaining the valuable development opportunities
a role in Audit brings to managers from all
functions in Unilever. If you’d like to know more,
we’d be pleased to meet you and your manager
for a personal chat to see how a posting to Audit
can help you in your management development.
The skills and experience you gain during Audit will be well recognised and most auditors get offered a bigger role offering greater responsibility than the one they left behind
KnowledgeGot lots of questions? Here are some answers to the ones we get asked most frequently
Unilever: Guide to Corporate Audit
12
How much time would I be away from home?Travel is a fundamental part of life as an auditor.
The exact balance depends on the region you work
in, but on average you might expect to spend
between 50 and 70 per cent of your work time on
the road. We take work-life balance seriously and
help you develop techniques for managing your
time with the least disruption while delivering the
requirements of the job.
Will I have to move house to be based near my local Corporate Audit office?There’s no one answer that fits all countries and
regions. It doesn’t always make sense to move
your family – especially if it’s easy to travel home at
weekends. But if you are permanently based in a new
country or region, then it may make sense for your
family to move with you. We aim to provide as much
flexibility as possible for auditors to work from home,
using the latest technology, or from your nearest
company office.
What happens after my role in Audit is over?It’s important that your posting to Audit is
recognised as a valuable part of your overall personal
development, so we discuss this with you and your
line manager before you join, which means that a
re-entry after two or three years is already in the
company’s forward HR planning. We encourage you
to maintain contact with your home company, and
as the time to return approaches we will discuss
with you and your company to agree the timing of
the move. The skills and experience you gain during
Audit will be well recognised and the vast majority
of auditors get offered a bigger role offering greater
responsibility than the one they left behind. In
fact, you may have more than one job offer from a
number of sources!
In the first instance, find out more from your line
manager or local Finance Director, or check out
our portal: i.unilever.com/audit.
You might also find it useful to arrange an
informal chat with an auditor, or someone who
used to work in Audit – you’ll be surprised how
many senior managers in Unilever have had an
Audit role in their past. Your HR department will
help you find someone to talk to.
If you have any specific questions, you can contact
the HR Business Partner for Corporate Audit in
London.
You should also keep an eye out for Open
Job Postings – there are usually a couple of
opportunities being advertised in Corporate Audit
at any one time.
And finally, as with any job opportunity, please
keep your line manager and local HR department
informed of your intentions, as a move into
Audit must be an integral part of an agreed
development plan.
Good luck!
So what happens next?
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Is there such a thing as a standard day in audit?There are certainly things about my days that are
common but also things that are wildly different.
Waking up in a hotel is a fairly consistent theme,
but as for which hotel and which city … in the last
12 months alone I’ve woken up in Paris, Brussels,
Sydney, Mumbai, Budapest, Hamburg, Durban,
Rotterdam and Rome, which is variety that you
either love or hate. I love it.
So what is the biggest challenge you’ve faced?For me it’s finding an everyday routine whilst
being away from home. After piling on the kilos in
my first few audits, I’ve managed to develop
the mental discipline to avoid cooked breakfasts
and eating any meals on planes for that matter.
They just seem to become extra meals in the day
rather than substituting for what I would have
eaten anyway.
I hear that there’s a lot of camaraderie in Audit.My team mates inevitably end up having a laugh
and a joke over lunch (and breakfast, dinner…), or
hotly debating any one of a number of topics such
as what Unilever needs to do better in the future
to be more competitive. I’m sure you’ll hear from
many who’ve been through Audit talk about the
team ethic, but it really is true and because you
spend so much time away from friends and loved
ones, you do rely on your colleagues at a number
of levels.
Are there other upsides?I’ve never had a job before that has given me such
variety of experience and such an overview of
the business. I’ve audited corporate governance,
marketing, customer management, pensions, tax,
finance, innovation effectiveness, HRT, people
management and Foodsolutions. Seeing both
good and bad examples of business processes will
make me a better manager when I face similar
problems in future roles. Possibly the biggest
positive is the opportunity to be part of a great
multinational team. I also love the travel and I
try to spend at least one weekend in the audit
location and have had some truly memorable
experiences, such as visiting the Taj Mahal.
How much real responsibility do you get at audits?As a more experienced member of the
team I have performed the role of a ‘buddy’
which helps bring new joiners up to speed on
the area they’re auditing and the audit process.
This is a great people development opportunity
which helps compensate for having no formal
line management responsibilities. The other
key role is that of Team Leader, where you’re
responsible for maintaining the relationship with
management and delivering the outputs of the
audit on time in full. As Team Leader you are
also responsible for coaching, supporting and
challenging the team.
So to finish, what has been your best day in Audit, from a professional perspective?I’ve had many great days but the best would have
to be issuing the final report for the 2007 global
review of Innovation Management. It was the
culmination of a year’s work across the global
audit team and I felt the recommendations we
made will really make a difference to the quality
of Unilever’s innovation process.
Introducing...
Stuart Hill
Unilever: Guide to Corporate Audit
We grill a current team member about his time as an Auditor
I’ve never had a job before that has given me such variety of experience and such an overview of the business
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“ As Chair of the Audit Committee I am primarily concerned that controls in financial reporting are robust and that risk management across the business is effective. In a company such as Unilever, controls in the operational processes, such as supply chain, marketing, HR and customer development, are equally important as these processes underpin our competitiveness and thus secure future profitable growth. In my experience the breadth of Corporate Audit’s work is almost unique amongst internal audit departments, and is something I value greatly.” Kees Storm, Chairman of Audit Committee
“ With a career in finance, I have always regretted not having passed through Corporate Audit. It is clear to me that having an opportunity to peep in so many different kitchens so early in your career must make you into a better chef!” Frank Braeken, Group Vice President, China Group
“ It’s a real opportunity to exert influence with senior management that you wouldn’t otherwise have.” Mark Smith, SVP Finance, Asia/AMET