Bosses at Ernst & Young have opened a thorough inquiry into allegations that a young lady who died after falling from her building’s 11th floor was tormented at work and a victim of prejudice.
Around 12.20 a.m. on August 27, newlywed Aishwarya Venkatachalam, 27, died after falling to her death from the EY building’s rooftop deck in Sydney’s central business district.
The Indian national’s complaints to friends about the racial harassment she experienced in Australia and her “mean colleagues” at work were made public on Tuesday by Daily Mail Australia.
The financial services firm Ernst & Young, now known as EY, has committed to look into the claims and take whatever steps are required to put an end to them, pledging to have “zero tolerance” for such behaviour.
The firm “has a zero tolerance policy to bullying, harassment, and racism, and we treat any claims that relate to these concerns extremely seriously,” a representative told Daily Mail Australia.
It would be improper to speak more until the review, which we started last week in response to this tragedy, is finished, she added. “We continue to provide counselling and assistance to all of our employees.”
There is no evidence pointing to any involvement on the part of EY or the woman’s coworkers in her death.
Shortly after arriving home after a business event at the neighbouring Ivy nightclub, Ms. Venkatachalam, 27, passed away.
About 30 minutes before to the collapse, three good Samaritans told Daily Mail Australia they discovered her “sobbing her eyes out” in a neighbouring parking lot.
Neeti Bisht, a close friend, stated that Ms. Venkatachalam, a bridesmaid at her wedding, had experienced social isolation since arriving in Australia as a senior EY auditor in real estate assurance 11 months ago.
She was a joyful person who was settling in to life in Australia. She made reference to how cruel some of her coworkers were, according to Ms. Bisht, who spoke to Daily Mail Australia.
Ms. Venkatachalam, according to Ms. Bisht, informed her she was prospering in Australia despite coping with prejudice and bullying at work.
“I believe things had just begun to boil at that point… She said that the racist element and her coworkers were involved.
According to Ms Venkatachalum’s uncle, who lives in Canada, the family is having a difficult time processing her passing.
He said that before getting married, settling down, and moving to Australia in November of last year, his niece earned an accounting degree in India.
He said, “She was extraordinarily intelligent, gorgeous, and clever.”
She was a really nice woman who had a great upbringing.
I have no idea how this could have happened.
Her parents are incredibly kind and caring. Both of them and she were supporting each other.
The coroner’s report is still being written, according to a NSW Police spokeswoman, who was unable to comment on the timing of the body’s return to India.
In 2015, Ms. Venkatachalam graduated from Pune, western India’s Symbiosis College of Arts & Commerce with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance.
2019 saw her transition into the position of audit senior in the Bengaluru branch of American accounting firm Grant Thornton.
Before switching to EY, she worked at the firm for over three years.
Ms. Venkatachalam bragged of her ability to crunch figures and referred to herself as a “wonderful” colleague at work.
She said on the post, “Audit senior with competence in areas of auditing linked to Real Estate, Employee Benefit Plans, NFP, CIP and Retail.”
Since we don’t deal with statistics on a daily basis since that’s not what we do, I have worked in the audit industry for more than four years.
In addition to being the Auditor mentioned in this description, the person is a terrific teammate to work with both during hectic times and on regular days.
Former and current workers have spoken out about the stressful climate that is often encountered at the Big4 corporations, with some alleging that the majority of new hires only stay for two years.
Some claim that employees are routinely pushed beyond their breaking point in order to finish the meticulously comprehensive reports in a hurried manner, necessitating hours of purportedly unpaid and unrecorded overtime.
So-called survivors have taken to social media in droves to say they routinely pushed beyond the point of exhaustion to meet deadlines.
However, despite the fact that billable hours are only typically documented at 41 to 42 hours per week, the truth is supposedly often twice that amount or even more.
The top four multinational consulting firms in the world have employees who refer to their high-stakes workplaces as “The Meat Grinder.”
“The horrible workplace culture has to be called out and made the news,” one person said.
‘From my experience, working fewer than 10 hours a day at EY is career death. The truth. Not at least exaggerated.
The typical workday lasted from 8am to 7pm, although it may go as late as 9:30pm. I’ve heard that individuals stayed at other teams’ locations till two in the morning.
No one stays for the salary, either. All of the big 4 consulting firms’ pay is terrible.
One person said they were holding on but were soon going to give up: “I’m so psychologically weary and sick.”
However, they added several commitments to my full-time project.
“Partners won’t be concerned with you since they simply want to increase their profits and grab more money,” disgusting. I’m so prepared to go.
Another person said, “I know how stressful year-end audits can be as an auditor myself, working for a Big 4 and having worked for two other Big 4.
“I hope that this tragedy brings some clarity to this matter and that businesses provide greater assistance to workers, particularly at this time of the year,” the author said.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, EY has pledged to conduct a “full and wide-ranging internal investigation that will encompass health and safety, security, and social events,” under the direction of their principal mental health adviser.
PwC, KPMG, and Deloitte have been approached by Daily Mail Australia for comment on the allegations.