Inspiring our people, changing lives

"We value our partnership, which is making a significant difference to our efficiency and outcomes, and indirectly benefitting thousands of people in poverty."
Audette Exel, Co-Founder, ISIS Group

In 1997, finance lawyers Audette Exel and Sharon Beesley were at the top of their profession and enjoying the benefits of their career success. But these talented women wanted to have a broader impact in the community, and their travels had opened their eyes to the daily struggles faced by children in poverty. So they struck an idea to use their business backgrounds to make a difference in the world and established the ISIS Foundation (ISIS), dedicated to improving the lives of women and children in Nepal and Uganda.

The foundation is part of ISIS Group, which works to ensure 100 per cent of project donor funds are directed towards community needs, making it one of the earliest examples of social entrepreneurship. Today, the support ISIS provides is immense. From helping improve health outcomes by providing clean drinking water, smokeless stoves and pit latrines, to rescuing trafficked children and supporting people living with HIV, the organisation works across a spectrum of needs.

PwC employee Petronela Kizekova is seeing firsthand the impact ISIS has on communities. She is our most recently selected PwC ISIS Ambassador, joining the ISIS team in 2011 as the senior accountant and working with the foundation on a range of financial management projects.

PwC’s five-year partnership with ISIS creates value for both teams: it equips the foundation with a senior accountant to support its finance team and engages PwC ISIS Ambassadors in a unique work experience – while helping to touch the lives of more than 11,000 people each year.

For our people, the PwC ISIS Ambassador program is the very essence of agility. It presents opportunities to hone existing skills, learn new ones, experience new cultures, and see the world in new and different ways. And our people are realising this value, with the number of applicants growing every year.