How volunteering and finding the right mentor can help you start a successful career: meet our colleague, Cătălin, Audit Analyst

• Publishing date: 30 November 2022
• Interviewer: Mădălina Lazăr, PR & Corporate Communication Executive
• Interviewee: Cătălin Culachi, Audit Analyst

Today, we invite you to get-to-know Cătălin Culachi, our second Interviewee, who is an Audit Analyst, with a passion for volunteering, video games, and space exploration.

Cătălin, tell us a little bit about yourself. What are you studying, and what made you want to pursue a career in Audit?

I am 22 years old, and at the moment, I am studying for a master's degree in Applied Finance at The Faculty of Finance and Banking, which is within The Bucharest University of Economic Studies. It might come as a surprise, but I did not find my love for audit at the university, but rather at the NGO in which I am currently involved, where professionals from Mazars came and delivered a training course. After the session, I felt inspired to learn more about auditing, and the industry overall.

Did you have a role model that influenced your decision to become an auditor or to pursue a career in financial services?

In my second year of university, I had the opportunity to join Mazars, as part of an internship programme, where I had the pleasure of meeting a wonderful team of people, to whom I am very grateful for having the patience to teach us the 101s of auditing and help me every time I was in need. Regarding the person who influenced me to choose this career, and also continue to work with Mazars, I can say, without hesitation, that it was my actual Manager, Ioana, who is my first mentor, and who inspires me to grow every day.

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How do you spend your free time, and what are you passionate about?

When I was little, I enjoyed playing the famous Tarzan and Hercules games, and ever since then, gaming became a huge passion of mine. I also love to volunteer, and I have been doing it since the end of middle school. Making a difference fulfills me, no matter how busy or tired I am. And finally, a hobby that I have developed in the past few years is watching movies and TV shows, and doing deep research on them. Films especially, can shape the way we're making sense of the world we're living in right now — regardless of the period they're set in.

So, you are studying, working a full-time job, and also have quite a social life. How do you balance everything?

At first, I thought it was going to be difficult, but all the years of volunteering taught me how to manage my time efficiently, and also how to prioritise my tasks. I know when I need to take a break, and also when I should work harder. But a very important element in keeping this balance, are the people around me, with who I interact. For me, this aspect is very important, and as long as I have quality time at work, at university, and in my free time, I don't feel overwhelmed by the number of things that I need to do.

What would you want your superpower to be? How would you use it?

Flying, without a second thought. But I wouldn't fly just around the Earth, I would travel the whole Universe. The reason why I would want to do that is because I enjoy admiring all the pictures taken by NASA satellites. To see all the planets, and stars with my own eyes will be a never-ending dream.

If you decided to write a book, what would it be about?

This is quite an interesting question. Given my liking for thrillers and psychological movies, I would write something similar. And also, being a huge fan of the True Detective series, the main theme would be the decay of humanity or something among those lines. I know, pretty dark.

It’s been lovely talking with you. Let’s end this interview the right way.Tell me your best joke.

A few weeks ago, I found a very good joke on social media, that goes like this: Why are auditors so calm, composed, and methodical? Because they have strong internal controls.

Thank you, Cătălin, for the discussion, and for sharing with us a glimpse of your life. Until next time!