What it means to be a manager in Risk Advisory at BDO

Career growth as a manager in Risk Advisory

There is no single, pre-defined route in a management role at Risk Advisory: back when the department barely existed, Wim started in financial audit and made the switch to Risk. Elise likes to focus more on the people aspect rather than the technical parts. Bianca began her career at BDO South Africa, moved to Belgium and switched from the audit team to risk advisory. Her people manager played an important supportive role in this switch. “He asked me what I was truly interested in. Together we checked if there’s a role within BDO in which I can chase these ambitions.” she recalls. “That conversation changed everything.”

What connects these stories is the freedom of choice. Whether you want to focus more on people management, client development or deep technical work, you get to pick the direction that fits you and your ambitions. As Wim states: “Some managers started as generalists and narrowed their focus over time. Others joined laterally with specific expertise in areas like Application Security or GRC solutions to broaden what our department can offer. Growth here is shaped by who you are, not prescribed by BDO as an organisation.”

People development: the most rewarding part of being a manager

Even though working on challenging projects and with exciting clients keeps the job rewarding, all four managers highlighted another aspect: watching the people around them develop. As a manager, that’s a hands-on yet highly rewarding responsibility. You get to coach juniors on more than technical work: giving them the chance to prepare a proposal, lead a smaller project, or sit in on a client meeting and learn how to read the room. “It’s not just about what you deliver,” Elise explains. “It’s about how you grow as a person while doing it.” For her, that’s the core of being a manager: creating the conditions for people to take steps they didn’t think they were ready for.

Wim has been doing this long enough to see the full arc. “People we hired back in 2015 have taken so many steps since then. It’s wonderful to see them grow into managers themselves and taking the lead in their careers, that’s what we do it for.” Kevin recognises this from the client side too: “the moment an engagement shifts from formal to personal, when you know what’s going on in their lives and they tell you your work made a difference. That’s a great feeling.”

The key values of a manager in Risk Advisory at BDO

Helping people grow only works if the culture supports it. When we asked what defines a good leader in Risk Advisory, the same three values kept coming up: ownership, team spirit, and leadership. Taking full responsibility for your work and your people. Staying connected to what happens on the ground. Being an inspiring role-model, providing the support needed and staying honest enough to admit when you’re wrong. 

As a manager within Risk Advisory, you set the tone for how your team works together. Regular team buildings, shared lunches on office days, and a genuine focus on getting to know each other beyond the work. These are small things, but they build the kind of trust that carries a team through busy periods.

That doesn’t mean you need to be a big extravert. Sure, it can be fun to be the life of the party, but it’s far more important to have strong social skills to build that personal relationship with your clients and in the team, whatever personality you have. This is what sets us apart at BDO.

Work-life balance as a risk advisory manager

That trust also extends to how managers get to organise their own time. Balancing an ambitious career with personal life goals such as parenting can be challenging. That’s why having that freedom of choice and flexibility is so crucial. 

A real-life example? Bianca works four days a week, with Wednesdays fully reserved for her children. When a client schedules a meeting on that day, the partners are glad to step in: “They clearly explained I wasn’t available. That kind of support makes it real.” Kevin puts it simply: Autonomy and the opportunity to shape your own schedule matters. It means you can structure your week around both your team’s needs and your own, without having to justify every hour.

How AI is reshaping the role of a risk advisory consultant

That freedom to manage your time well becomes even more valuable as the tools evolve. BDO was one of the first consultancy firms globally to adopt Fieldguide, an AI-powered audit platform. It automates documentation and preparation work that used to eat up hours. The repetitive and tedious parts of the job are moving into tools. What consultants get in return is more time with clients, to interpret results, and to give practical advice.

That shift makes people skills more important. For managers, this means spending less time reviewing documentation and more time interpreting results with your team, coaching colleagues on their client skills, and being present where it counts. AI is something to embrace, but critical thinking stays at the centre.

Why stay at BDO?

All four managers have built their careers at BDO. When we asked what keeps them here, the answers were different but pointed in the same direction. “BDO is big enough to be relevant, but small enough to be personal,” says Bianca. “You get to work for large international clients, but also the smaller companies where you build something from scratch.”

Kevin values that growth isn’t capped by hierarchy. “You grow based on what you bring. That’s your only limit.” After close to 20 years, Wim still finds new energy. “No two days are the same. And we’re doing this on our own terms. That makes me ‘BDOProud’ to work here.” Elise also adds, “I enjoy what I do. I keep learning. And I can have a career without giving up the rest of my life.”

Frequently asked questions about working in Risk Advisory at BDO

Questions? Ask our colleagues