This role requires the candidate to conduct research and execute global Independence and procurement processes aligned with EY Global (EYG) policies. These processes aim to safeguard EY by assisting professionals in complying with the firm's business relationship Independence and procurement policies. The candidate will gather and perform secondary research to get the third-party ownership, affiliations and financial relationships for internal review and approvals to meet Independence, Anti-Bribery & Corruption, Supplier Assurance, Data Protection, etc. guidelines/policies. Additionally, this role involves providing coordinated support to EY professionals by answering their inquiries and questions on business relationship-related topics.The opportunityRisk Management Services (RMS) is an internal function within EY GDS (Global Delivery services), responsible for protecting the organization from the risks that may arise from its professional practice. We work closely with all parts of the organization to identify and manage risks, providing coordinated advice and assistance on suite of services like Independence, Conflicts, Compliance, regulatory, policy and security issues as well as dealing with claims and queries regarding ethics. Formed in 2007, the RMS team is growing rapidly as a Center of Excellence for all standardized quality/compliance related activities.This role will be part of the largest sub-service function, i.e., Independence within Risk Management Services (RMS) responsible for assisting EY professionals to maintain auditor objectivity by identifying and mitigating any potential conflicts of interest that could compromise an auditor's independence. This includes gathering third-party ownership, financials, statement of work and submitting requests in internal tools, conducting secondary research, reviews, etc. to get final approvals to proceed with the third-party relationship.RMS Independence team is currently 950+ people strong, operating from 3 countries and 5 centers’: India (Gurugram, Kochi, Bengaluru), Poland (Wroclaw), Philippines (Manila). The team is closely integrated with Global Independence and has been involved in development of key business relationship processes.This role offers the opportunity to contribute to EY's reputation as an independent auditor by supporting niche third party risk management/business relationship profiles within a dynamic and growing environment. You'll work closely with EY professionals to mitigate their business relationship-related risks. This will involve collaborating with senior team members and stakeholders to resolve queries and gather information, ultimately positioning you as a subject matter expert in third party risk management/business relationship processes.Key Responsibilities:An associate analyst/analyst in the team will be primarily responsible to develop working knowledge of firm level business relationship and procurement concepts. The individual will be performing work procedures as laid down in the EYG business relationship Independence and procurement policies along with attaining hands-on experience in research/analysis and making updates post review by project managers to various EY tools and databases, thereby helping client serving/audit teams in mitigating business relationship-related risk.In this role, candidate will be required to perform a secondary research, gather required information from vendor (such as their ownership, affiliations, financials, etc. for different risk management review submissions), provide the process and tool related consulting support to EY Professionals, coordination with different risk management departments (Independence, Anti-Bribery, Supplier Assurance, Legal, Supply Chain Services, etc.) for approvals. The individual will be required to communicate with project managers and team members from audit/pursuit teams for completion of procedures.Technical Expertise:Build good understanding and ability to interpret Vendor’s company structure, affiliations, ownership, and relationships in accordance with audit client and affiliate definition as per EYG Independence and Global Procurement policies. Perform secondary research and analysis on third parties’ financials, ownership and affiliations after gathering required information, to determine the permissibility of the business relationships Actively participate in knowledge calibration sessions by asking relevant questions and highlight any process understanding gaps timely. Learn and become proficient in internal process and tools to provide consultative support to EY professionals Perform reconciliation, research, and draft recommendations for review by project managers as part of the procedures Understand and work towards meeting and exceeding the defined individual KPIs for the role. Maintain a proactive approach to follow-ups, ensuring all approvals are obtained and projects reach successful closure Compile and submit detailed research reports, ensuring they meet the standards for review and approval.