Johannes
Johannes Dippel
Senior, Audit Banking
Mazars in Switzerland
An unexpected start
What was your experience joining Mazars like?
After studying in both France and Germany, I was keen to kick-start my career in the audit department of Mazars in Zurich in early 2020. I learnt a lot about Mazars while living in France, so I was excited to join this European-rooted company in my favourite city and finally get to deploy my skills and know-how.
I arrived in Zurich fuelled with energy and enthusiasm and was looking forward to my first day of work: 16 March. As I’m sure most of you remember, this was in the beginning stages of Covid-19’s rapid spread across Europe. So, the day after joining the team and having a great ‘apéro’ with my new colleagues, HR announced that we would be working remotely from 17 March onwards. This meant that my first day was also my last in the office for months, which made for a memorable start!
What a start! How did your journey at Mazars shape up from there?
My journey at Mazars began right after completing my master’s degree in finance. I already knew that before joining the firm, I wanted to combine my interests in languages, finance and interdisciplinary work; and Mazars was the perfect place to combine not just some of my interests, but all of them.
I initially joined the team as a junior in the industry audit team, and after four months, I switched to the banking & asset management audit team. For the last three years, I have had the opportunity to perform financial, prudential and internal audits for our banking & asset management clients in the German- and French-speaking parts of Switzerland while also accompanying colleagues for industry mandates from time to time. It’s the diversity of tasks that makes working at Mazars a very interesting experience.
Developing a strong support system
What is the most valuable lesson you’ve learnt throughout your experience at Mazars?
One of the most valuable lessons I have learnt at Mazars is that even though situations seem difficult sometimes, you can rely on each other here. When I had to spend my first months of my professional life in a home office setup, I was overwhelmed and grateful for the support I received. From my direct peers to superiors and the management team, I was impressed by how much everybody helped each other. For me, this is the definition of putting people first.
What is the best part about working in a team?
What I like most about working in a team at Mazars is that my colleagues are competent, kind and reliable. I really value knowing that difficult tasks can be resolved, and that I can not only trust my peers when it comes to all work-related topics, but I can also have a great time with them!
Building relationships beyond the office
You actively participate in career events. Why is this important to you?
I really enjoy participating in career events because I’m convinced that personal connections with potential future colleagues really do matter. Being able to have a direct discussion with people and share my ideas and enthusiasm with them allows me to show them what is so special about Mazars.
We also hear that you have bi-weekly squash games. Can you tell us more?
Doing sports has always been important to me – it’s a great opportunity to decompress and meet new people. When I heard that a few colleagues from other service lines share my interest in squash, we decided to reserve a court for the four of us to play and had a great first match! We then continued to organise squash matches and spread the message around the Zurich office. Now we have a group of around ten people who regularly play squash together, and we are happy to welcome more!