Member story: Raj Balaraman, Senior manager at PwC

1. What does your current role entail?

Helping corporate treasury clients on their technology challenges and helping them obtain full benefit of the system functionality whilst maintaining adequate security and controls.

2. Why did you choose a career in treasury?

I come from an accounting background and I have a lot of interest in technology. Treasury, as a contemporary and evolving domain, offered me an opportunity to leverage both my technology skills and accounting knowledge.

3. What do you most like about your job?

The variety of projects and business issues that I get exposed to. Every day is just different!

4. What advice would you give to someone wanting to start a career in treasury?

Welcome to the dynamic profession with plenty of opportunities to lead and learn. Treasury is a safe bet to progress in your career!

5. As we approach 2017 what do you think the key challenges are for those working in treasury?

I see three challenges ahead of treasury professionals - keeping pace with changes in macro business environment, adopting regulatory changes and learning new technologies to streamline processes & enhance efficiency.

6. You received the Mentee of the Year award 2016. Why did you decide to be mentored via the ACT's Mentor Me scheme?

To be honest, it was a spontaneous decision when I read about this in an ACT email. Having benefited from coaching sessions in the past from my professional network within the firm, this was an excellent opportunity to get new perspective and inputs from some one senior outside my immediate network and benefit from their vast experience.

7. How has being mentored helped your career?

I sought my mentor's inputs on my plan to transition to Asia from the UK. I received answers to my obvious questions on the work environment, clarify generic queries about the region, enhanced my motivation for the move as well as the most important thing - knowing someone in the region on other side of the world even before I landed there. I am always thankful to ACT mentoring initiative for enabling this.

8. What advice would you give to anyone thinking of joining the scheme?

Be clear on the objective of the mentoring and be open to your mentor on what your goals and apprehensions are.

9. Any tips for getting the most out of the mentoring relationship?

- Identifying the right mentor is essential - choosing someone who aligns with the input you are seeking. It was relatively easy for me as my objective was transition to Asia I chose someone who have done this in the past.
- You need to be proactive in setting the objective and identifying the best way to have regular conversations. Consider time zone differences, suitable times for your mentor, and the intent for the chat. Dropping a note in advance of every chat reminding on the intent and the inputs you want to seek would immensely help the mentor and yourself to focus on the intended outcome efficiently.

10. What book at you reading at the moment?

I am reading “Getting to Yes”. It’s a wonderful read for sharpening one’s negotiating skills to get to win-win situations.