MGC Global

MGC Global Risk Advisory LLP (‘MGC Global’ or ‘the firm’) is a risk advisory services firm which was founded in 2015. At a time when stakeholders of corporates were demanding enhanced transparency and accountability in the public, private and government sectors, one of the most reputed professionals in the field of risk advisory in India, set up MGC Global in September of 2015. Monish G Chatrath established MGC Global as a focused risk advisory services firm to provide reliable assurance over the governance, systems, controls, policies, procedures, practices and risks of organizations to their stakeholders. 

The firm was formed with a vision of being ‘the best providers of risk advisory services, wherever it operates’. While external forces and market opportunity play important roles in creating an industry leader, in the case of MGC Global, it has been the unrelenting determination, firm resolve and inspirational leadership of its revolutionary founder, backed by teamwork and cohesive working that has been at the core of its success. 

In its 2nd year of operations, MGC Global was recognized as being one of the 10 most promising risk advisory organizations in India. In its 3rd and 4th years both, MGC Global was also recognized as being the risk advisory services firm of the year by two different creditable agencies. This clearly demonstrated that to be recognized as a leader, more than the size of an organization, what counts is its ability to make a marked difference through passionate, innovative and superior customer orientation and focus on identifying and putting their assets (which MGC Global believes are its people) to their most effective use. Consequently, it was not surprising to note that across levels, all members of this high charged team share a common belief of MGC Global being the best place to learn and grow. 

A Recognized Business Leader 

Monish G Chatrath, the Managing Partner of MGC Global, is a 3rd generation chartered accountant who chose not to start his career in an established CA firm that was founded by his grandfather in India - simply because he wanted to learn, grow and rise from the ranks while working with the best known global consulting firms and in the industry. It was only when he had acquired 25 years of experience in consulting firms like Arthur Andersen, KPMG, Grant Thornton and Mazars; apart from his experience in the industry (as the CFO of Barista Coffee, Financial Controller of Schlumberger and VP Finance at EXL Services), that Monish felt it was time for him to create an organization that would stand out as a leader in the specialised field of risk advisory services and make a difference. 

Monish has been recognised amongst ‘India’s 50 fastest growing CEOs’ in 2017; and ‘India’s 30 Most Trusted CEOs’ in 2018; however, he believes that great organizations are not about what their leaders accomplish, rather what their leaders enable others to accomplish. His dynamism, professionalism, work ethics, commitment to his clients and ability to get the best out of every member of his team, make Monish a true mentor. 

Monish has been an office bearer on the Board of Governors of the Institute of Internal Auditors of India (Delhi Chapter) in 2005 and was also on the Board of Governors of the Doha Chapter of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India in 1998. He is the current serving Chairman of the Corporate Governance Council of the CMAI and is an active position holder on the prestigious EMEIA Membership Committee of Allinial Global. 

As a member of the Delhi Premier Rotary Club and a past member of the Delhi Mid Town Rotary Club, where he has served as the co-chairperson of their committee overseeing CSR initiatives, Monish has organized various charitable drives where he has given back generously to the community.  

Delivering Operational Excellence to Drive Innovation 

The core elements of MGC Global’s culture and the qualities that run through its DNA are respect, transparency and equal opportunity which makes it a unique organization, where teamwork is the mantra and operating in silos is not an option. 

One of MGC Global’s key partnerships is with its people who, while possessing diverse skill sets, experience and qualifications are bonded by a common vision, mission, goals, values, principles, beliefs and expectations. As part of his role as the Managing Partner, Monish takes a personal interest in the professional growth of each member of the team and plays an active role in the early identification and addressal of conflicts. 

According to Monish, the firm’s leadership along with its HR function takes special focus on developing policies relating to employee relations, health benefits, and career development and in providing a safe and secure working environment. They work relentlessly to recruit good talent and keep it, while continuously investing in training, improving skill sets, developing new products and staying current with industry developments. 

MGC Global ensures that each member is kept enthused through initiatives such as celebrating occasions (personal birthdays and client recognitions) and places special attention on recognizing the efforts of each member of its team. At the end of every month, the firm lauds the outstanding work done by one or more of its people by conferring upon them the ‘First amongst equals’ award that not only recognizes achievers but also gives them visibility on various social media platforms thereby showcasing their potential to the larger industry.  

Regular team get-togethers (virtual and otherwise) are the norms where each team member is encouraged to discuss his/her thoughts and perspectives freely. MGC Global enhances interaction by engaging its people on a common group chat and having monthly town halls that ensure that the entire team is apprised of the latest developments within the organization. 

The firm has instituted two-way performance reviews, which ensure that members of its team not only receive regular feedback about their performance but are also given the opportunity to provide feedback to their supervisors, anonymously if they so choose. MGC Global’s policies encourage members of its team to set aside time to focus without interruption on their most important priorities, including long-term projects, strategic training and creative thinking. 

In these challenging times of the Covid-19 pandemic, when members of MGC Global’s team were not physically together, its leadership and HR function ensured that the bond between all team members remained as strong as ever by being in touch with each member over video calls daily and organizing fun chats and training sessions with the entire MGC Global family on a weekly basis. While it is easy for organizations to get disoriented and disorganized whilst facing the current uncertainty, MGC Global has ensured that members of its team have complete clarity on the way forward through the ongoing communication and engagement of its leadership with each member of the team. Its internal communication that has been consistently positive has showcased a culture of resilience and action and such communication has focused on stabilizing the hearts and minds of its team members with hope and confidence.  

The second layer of partnerships is with its clients, where MGC Global stands for aspects and values that are beyond simply enhancing its profits. The firm has delivered significant financial value to its clients through internal audits and enterprise-wide risk management engagements, unearthed frauds in special investigations, proactively established best in class frameworks for governance, risk management and controls, delivered qualitative international IT services (in GDPR and SOC readiness & compliances) and created innovative products when its clients have needed them the most. Such products include a comprehensive checklist-based and macro-driven propriety tool (referred to as the 'MGC Global Business Continuity & Resumption Barometer’) that provides guidance and seeks to measure the efficiency of organizations and various functions therein in the context of business continuity through remote working and thereafter their ability to restore operations once the lockdown had been lifted.  

MGC Global has provided this complimentary for its clients and the same has 45 practices relating to business continuity in the current times and 40 practices/requirements relating to business resumption. The tool also has a real-time dashboard of the ever-changing/dynamic status in the context of the implementation of progressive measures that are applicable to a diversified set of industry sectors.  

Another key partnership is with US$4.2 billion, Atlanta headquartered Allinial Global which is currently the world’s second-largest member-based association that has been operating since 1969. Effective May 08, 2019, MGC Global became a direct and independent member firm of Allinial Global which currently has member firms in 76 countries, who have over 28,373 professional staff and over 4,000 partners operating from 592 offices across the globe.  

Apart from the above, MGC Global participates as knowledge partners for various thought leadership events arranged by reputable industry bodies and forums.  

It is through such initiatives that MGC Global has shown that it serves causes that clearly add value for its stakeholders and the society, while making it possible for each member of its team to derive a sense of meaning from their work, and to feel good about the clients on which they are assigned. 

Remarkable Feedback That Paves the Path to Success 

MGC Global’s clients have, from time to time and on an ongoing basis, showered several mails of appreciation for the efforts and value being delivered on engagements undertaken by the firm. The best illustration of the role played by MGC Global has been when one of its clients stated “… because of MGC Global, we are able to get a sound sleep”. 

Overcoming Business Complexities and Challenges 

One of the key challenges, before MGC Global from the time of its inception, was the prevalence of large global organizations that apart from audit, tax and consulting were also providing risk advisory services. To establish itself in this competitive landscape and to do so with finesse and class, MGC Global needed to attract the best from the talent pool and penetrate the market to demonstrate its unique value proposition to its clients. This required investments in people, tools, technology, infrastructure and support systems - aspects that have been and continue to be at the core of MGC Global’s focus. 

According to Monish, ‘Having a clear vision is extremely important. However, what is most important is to align all stakeholders while inspiring confidence in them in the benefits of the strategic play out.’ 

While this was only one part of the story which related to the people, the tougher part for MGC Global when it started in 2015 was to inspire confidence in its clients that this newly launched Firm had the means to meet and exceed the standards of quality of work and value that were being set by competitors. What added to the complexities in mitigating these challenges was that the firm was viewed as a startup, with no past track record, apart from the experience of Monish himself, when it commenced its operations. Cut to the present and with over 50 internal audits and over 100 other clients across sectors and scale of operations, MGC Global is the first port of call for the risk advisory services requirements of organizations in India. 

Envisioning the Future 

Having embarked on the next phase of its global expansion, the current situation as a consequence of COVID-19 is a temporary setback to MGC Global, which had been making its presence felt in the far east Asian markets with specialised service offerings and the US with data protection and control assessment services. The strategy that the firm has successfully implemented in its pilot projects continues as compelling propositions for its clients in these regions and MGC Global expects to see the benefits of its investments in global growth play out over the medium to long term.  

Back in India, MGC Global continues with its impressive growth march with ongoing innovation in developing products and services that are catering to the specific requirements of its clients in these testing times. It has been remarkable to see the firm benefit from the investments that it had made in aspects relating to protecting the security and confidentiality of client data on secure cloud platforms and ensuring the availability of its state-of-the-art IT infrastructure and systems through remote working. These investments not only serve the firm well in situations where the movements of its human resources are restricted due to the lock down, but more importantly are able to ensure business continuity in the context of the delivery of its client commitments. Several of its clients have been able to provide the last mile connectivity to their data to MGC Global, while leveraging on the skills and techniques being offered by the firm's IT team. Most importantly, the firm has taken the lead in developing SOPs and facilitating the transition of its clients' operating environments to enhanced digitization, which could well be the new normal.  

The industry will need specialised risk advisory services going forward, which are distinct from audit and tax services, and consequently best serviced by specialist risk advisory services firms. In this context, MGC Global is best positioned in terms of its structure, operating model, focus and competence to leverage on the current and emerging market potential for its services.