Katarina is a Manager in Asset Management at PwC Switzerland. A true 'PwC baby' as she calls herself, she joined the firm just two days after completing her Master's in Accounting, Control and Finance at HEC Lausanne, and hasn't looked back since. Over five years, she has grown steadily within the same team, earning her Swiss CPA qualification along the way. Read on to hear how her journey has unfolded so far.
1 Tell us about yourself and your journey at PwC Switzerland so far.
Born and raised in Geneva, I've always been drawn to the world of finance. I pursued my Bachelor's degree at HEC Lausanne, followed by a Master's in Accounting, Control and Finance (MCCF) at the same university. This programme truly sharpened my analytical mindset and confirmed my passion for audit and financial reporting.
I graduated in January 2021 and didn't waste a second: two days after my final exams, I walked through PwC's doors as a new joiner in the Asset Management team. Five and a half years later, I'm still here, now as a Manager, and every step of the journey has confirmed I made the right choice. You could say I'm a true PwC baby, and I wear that badge with pride!
2 For someone who doesn't know much about asset management, how would you describe what you do on a day-to-day basis, and how did you find your way here?
In a nutshell, asset management is about managing investments on behalf of clients, whether individuals or institutions, to help them grow and protect their wealth. At PwC, we audit the key players in this ecosystem, ensuring transparency, compliance, and trust in the financial information they produce.
What makes our position unique is that PwC holds a leading market share in French-speaking Switzerland, with an incredibly diverse client portfolio: collective asset managers, traditional investment funds, real estate funds, and fund management companies (FMCs), of all sizes and complexities. This diversity is precisely what makes the job so exciting: no two days are ever the same, and that's what makes it constantly challenging and stimulating.
My passion for asset management started early. During my Bachelor's, I had the opportunity to intern at an asset manager in London, and I was immediately drawn to this fast-moving, ever-evolving industry. I knew I wanted to be part of its transformation, and auditing was the perfect way to gain a 360° view of the sector.
3 You have grown from Associate to Manager within PwC's Asset Management team. What has that progression looked like, and what were the defining moments along the way?
As an Associate, curiosity was my greatest asset. It gave me the confidence to ask questions, to discover new topics, and to build strong technical foundations across a wide range of areas. I was lucky to be mentored by senior associates and managers who were both demanding and genuinely invested in my growth. During my second year, I took the initiative to develop several Alteryx workflows (tools which help to clean, combine, and analyse data, without writing any code) to automate and optimise recurring audit tasks on one of my clients — an experience that opened my eyes to the power of digital tools in audit.
As a Senior Associate, the game changed. I had to develop entirely new soft skills — time management, learning how to coach associates, reviewing their work, keeping managers and engagement leaders informed, and strengthening client relationships all at once. During my Assistant Manager year, a period of leave within the team gave me the opportunity to step up and take on the Manager role on several engagements. The trust placed in me by my engagement leaders and by PwC as a firm was a defining moment, which truly prepared me for the next step.
In 2025, I was promoted to Manager. This year has been a real turning point: I've genuinely enjoyed developing my skills in project management, coaching, and people leadership.
"PwC has supported me at every milestone of my journey, and I'm incredibly grateful for that."
4 What skills or qualities do you think are essential to thrive in asset management, and how has your time at PwC helped you develop them?
To sum it up, thriving in audit asset management is a bit like being a Swiss Army knife: sharp, versatile, and ready for anything. The qualities that make the real difference are flexibility, curiosity, team spirit and time management.
"Every client has a strategy, a story, and an ecosystem to understand. If you're the kind of person who asks "but why?" one too many times, you'll feel right at home. At PwC, that curiosity isn't just welcomed, it's expected."
5 You completed your Swiss CPA qualification alongside your work. How did that shape your expertise and open new doors in your career?
What made the journey manageable was the incredible support from PwC. The firm gives you real, protected study time (which, when you're preparing for exams of that calibre, feels like gold). On top of that, PwC organised Q&A sessions with senior colleagues, targeted technical workshops, and even mock oral exams before the big day. Those mock orals were a game-changer: nothing quite prepares you for the real thing like sitting in the hot seat with people who've been through it themselves.
And the payoff? Enormous. Beyond earning the title of "licensed audit expert", the Swiss CPA reshaped the way I think. My knowledge in accounting, audit, and tax reached a whole new level, and I could feel it almost immediately in my day-to-day work.
To illustrate: about a month after passing my exam, I found myself in a meeting with an important new client. Being new, they came armed with a list of very technical questions, which could easily catch you off guard. But instead of panic, I felt this quiet confidence settle in. Question after question, I had the answers. I walked out of that meeting silently high-fiving my past self for surviving the Swiss CPA, because that moment made every late night and lost weekend absolutely worth it.
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