Tuesday, July 29 2014

More than thirty employees of Armenian ancestry from the
internationally recognized audit firm EY (Ernst & Young) recently visited Armenia in
order to enjoy both its natural beauty and rich cultural heritage—in essence, to become familiar with
the land of their ancestors. Some,  who were visiting Armenia for the first time, had identified
with the country although they’d  never seen the peaks of Ararat from the top of the Yerevan
Cascade. Here the city of Yerevan— the center of the Armenian world—spreads out before you.

 The idea of “returning to Ararat” was formed a couple of
years ago by EY top managers,   many of whom do not have Armenian roots. Karl Johansson,
former CIS Managing Partner   and a friend of Armenia who gave invaluable assistance
during the opening of the EY office  in Yerevan, spoke with Jay Nibbe, EY Markets Area Managing
Partner for Europe, the Middle  East, India and Africa. After a regular round of business
discussions, they started talking about Armenians in general and, in particular, those who work in
the firm’s offices worldwide. 

 While visiting one of the most picturesque corners of our
country, they said, “We know so  many talented Armenians in our company ... We wonder if all
of them have been to Armenia and if all of them are familiar with their roots. What if we
organize a meeting for them here, on your beautiful land?” No sooner said than done; now the
Armenian employees of one of the world’s most authoritative consulting firms have come
together in Yerevan for the second time.

 A special cultural program was organized for them.

 During the official reception for the event, Eric
Hayrapetyan, head of EY’s Yerevan office, told  ArmInfo’s correspondent that the guests came from various
countries of Europe, the Americas, and the CIS. Even though many Armenian colleagues were
unable to participate, the visit of a large group to Armenia became “the first item on the
agenda.” Armenians hold a variety of positions at EY, ranging from rank-and-file employees to top
executives. For some of them, it was their first visit to Armenia. “It is a unique chance for
them to visit their homeland, see the sites and return to their roots for a while,” said Hayrapetyan.
He added that the event would become a tradition, seeing as last year, when it was held
for the first time, many accepted the invitation, and this year the number of participants has
risen.

 EY’s Armenian employees visited Armenia to do more than
sightseeing.

 “Our colleagues are not only answering the call of the
motherland, but have also come together  to discuss interesting audit and tax consulting projects for
Armenia as well as issues related to the development of the local market of advisory services.
Consulting is always relevant for Armenia, because Armenians have an analytical frame of mind
and consulting comes naturally to us,” said Hakob Sarkissian, Managing Partner, EY CIS
Transaction Advisory Services. He pointed out that the demand for advisory services in Armenia
has grown with every passing year. EY Armenia meets the requirements of the market by
continuously expanding, increasing its staff and creating new jobs. According to Mr.
Sarkissian, the company does not suffer a shortage of personnel, due to the high level of personnel
training in Armenia. EY Armenia makes personnel management a high priority, since human
resources are unquestionably the key factor in development at both the micro and macro
levels.

  “I am confident that any sector of the economy has the
potential for development, but a sector’s development directly depends on how professionally
and actively people do their job.

Regardless of whether they work at a charitable or
commercial organization, the future of the field depends on how much they are devoted to the
general idea and how much they arei nterested in the common cause. The contribution made by
each of us, no matter how small, is conducive to overall progress. There are no miracles,
after all. A tree cannot grow by itself; someone has to plant it, water it and take care of it,” said
Sarkissian. He pointed to numerous Armenian entrepreneurs living outside their historical
motherland. “These people have done and continue to do a lot for their country, because they are
deeply convinced that their efforts are not in vain if at least one job is created thanks to
their work,” he said.

Our discussions also covered the Armenian Government’s
elimination of the statutory audit requirement for financial statements of large Armenian
companies. Mr. Hayrapetyan pointed out that the company is not overly concerned with this
issue, since he believes that sooner or later “companies interested in expanding their markets
and building their reputation and a successful business need skilled audit services. Such an
audit is simply indispensable.” The head of EY’s Yerevan office also said that large audit firms
would like to see a fair and natural demand for audit services rather than an artificial one
formed as the result of a requirement.

“If an audit is based on the needs of ultimate
beneficiaries, business owners and contractors, the quality of the audit will be entirely different,” said
Hayrapetyan. In general, he said, the demand for audit services has risen since the launch of the
firm’s operations in Armenia. “I can’t say that we are observing an intensive dynamic in the
demand for services, which in no small degree is due to the presence of all of the Big Four
in the Armenian market. Everything  takes time, and things are moving forward,” said
Hayrapetyan. In the meantime, he pointed out that the transition of Armenian companies to International
Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) is successfully under way. He believes that the decision to
introduce IFRS is one of the most useful initiatives of the Armenian Government. “At least in
the companies we are working with, the process has been very successful,” he said.

EY Armenia provides the full spectrum of EY services:
assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. Unlike many other companies, EY Armenia makes market research a high priority.

For the fifth year running, the company has been widely
analyzing salaries, compensation, personnel management and the labor market. This year, the
analysis will continue. Hopefully, it will show us the state of affairs regarding business
entities and give us hope that Armenia will remain interesting not only for tourists but for serious
investors as well.