Perun Consultants Rolodex: Meet Nataliya Shokurova

The lover of linguistics keeps our wheels churning on a daily basis

Here’s how it usually goes: Accounting graduates typically start their careers working for one of the Big Four firms, or other major corporations. I took a different route.

Growing up on the Russia-China border was pivotal to my education and career trajectory, as well as my ever-growing global cultural curiosity.

After studying at Beijing Language and Culture University and Far Eastern Federal University, I started my career in the mainland as a bookkeeper for a small group of logistics companies, before moving on to oversee the finance department for a global business development firm. After a two-year stint as director of administration and finance for an Italian-Chinese IT consultancy firm, I relocated to Hong Kong to return to school and receive a master’s degree in Accounting from Hong Kong Baptist University. 

In January 2019, I joined Perun Consultants, where I currently serve as Manager in Hong Kong office. I’m also a member of ACCA, and I was recently awarded two of their top honors: Top Affiliate and Outstanding CE Student.

Having spent the entirety of my career working in diverse international environments in numerous functions, this varied background gave me an intimate understanding of the broad skill set and expertise needed for our team of professionals to fully understand our clients’ needs.

Recently I’ve been involved in different work cases across various jurisdictions, including litigation support, forensic investigations, and business valuations. I even had a chance to attend one hearing in person. And while most of the work we do is completely confidential, I can say it was very exciting to provide litigation support during an arbitration hearing to a team of brilliant solicitors and barristers.

One thing to note: While most people think accountants are just plugging numbers into the correct columns, I see my colleagues as being more like business partners who create liaisons between different functions, translate financial documents and explain the reasons behind the numbers to provide solutions. Here at Perun Consultants, we’re more like a rapidly-expanding family, and we don’t consider ourselves to be just accountants. We wear many hats. We are accountants that collaborate interchangeably with different departments and goals, accountants who understand our client’s business and the environment their companies are operating in, and accountants who can be the link between the puzzle pieces.

That’ll prove to be imperative in the near future. My wide breadth of experience is also incredibly beneficial in a world that will be recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic for many years to come. Many of our clients have been thrown a proverbial curveball, but thankfully our team has the ability to see beyond the crisis and help steer Perun to rise to the challenge.

FYI, numbers aren’t my only delight—I also love languages! Ukrainian and Russian are my native tongues, and I speak Mandarin, French, and English fluently. I’m currently learning Cantonese. And when I’m out of office and offline, I love practicing yoga (helps me to stay energized), exploring the outdoors, and spending time with my family.