Gifts of mentoring

Natasha Williams, CFE, CIA, jumped at the chance to mentor a colleague in the ACFE Mentoring Program. “I had to learn [in my career] the hard way through a lot of trial and error,” Williams says. “So, if I can assist someone to move their career to the next level more easily and help them to avoid making the same errors that I made on this path, I thought that would be great.”

Mariam Afzal, CFE, CPA, says she wanted to expand her professional horizons. She requested a mentor in the Mentoring Program who worked in a different industry and location, had a strong technical skill set, had been in leadership positions and had global work experience.

“When I came across Natasha’s profile, I was beyond impressed,” says Afzal, an audit manager at United Airlines. “She not only had extensive experience working in many countries, but she was also a subject matter expert in anti-fraud and corruption audits. This is an area that interests me immensely.” Williams, senior manager, global compliance, at Bio-Rad Laboratories, has more than 20 years combined experience in auditing, banking, compliance and accounting. She’s managed audits across the globe throughout Europe, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region.

During their “discovery call,” Williams knew right away that Afzal would be the right mentee to work with. “Our personalities are similar, so we had great communication,” Williams says. “Most importantly, she had a ‘can-do’ attitude. … You must stretch yourself if you want to grow. Stretching often requires venturing outside of your comfort zone, which also brings along its best friend, fear. I told her to fight the fear and do it anyway. She listened, she did it, and I think she’s going to get some good results."

Afzal says she’s grown in many areas but especially her confidence. “Natasha has helped me create a map to take my current accomplishments and start building my areas of specialization,” she says. “I have a passion for sharing knowledge with others, and she has advised me on the steps she took to become a speaker and be more involved in the anti-fraud community.”

Williams says the profession needs more longtime fraud examiners to share their failures and successes. “If I had a mentor along my career path, I truly believe I would have gotten a lot farther faster,” she says. “However, all the stumbling blocks helped build my character and build the skills and tools needed to succeed. Now, I am able to share those experiences with others.”

“Natasha has helped me create a map to take my current accomplishments and start building my areas of specialization.”
Mariam Afzal, CFE, CPA

“You must stretch yourself if you want to grow. Stretching often requires venturing outside of your comfort zone.”
Natasha Williams, CFE, CIA