EY Connection 2014Leading change together

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We are pleased to bring you our

EY Connection publication that will bring you up-to-date with the latest news from EY Romania, while also inform you on our ongoing exceptional activities, projects and events.

Welcome

ContentWelcome

What is new at EY Romania

Meeting with our Alumni

Who is who and who is new

What have we been doing lately

Stay connected with EY Romania

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At EY, we ask ourselves what we can do to make a difference — not just for our clients or our own business, but for our employees, our communities and the greater good of people everywhere. As an organization and as individuals, our actions affect the world around us. That’s why it’s important that we combine our energy and enthusiasm with our professional skills to make a difference.

Our people are the heart and soul of EY. We provide our members with an opportunity to meet and learn from other high-growth leaders, share experiences, identify new business opportunities, receive support and gain valuable insights. With support from our organization, they volunteer their time and experience, making a difference in their communities and building valuable leadership skills along the way.

We were only a handful back in 1992 when we started. Today, we have an extraordinary team of over 500 professionals. We are already proud of our people culture, and we are committed to doing even more. Our people tell us that our culture of global teaming and our focus on building a better working world make EY a great place to build their careers. Our clients tell us that in recent years we have improved the effectiveness of our teams, our relationship building and our provision of high-caliber people.

On these pages, we want to share with you the experiences that make up our life at EY. You’ll also read how we engage with our communities to drive change and improvement. Our goals are straightforward — to recognize the contributions of our people and to inspire others to ask: “How can I make a difference?”

Welcome, you’re in great company!

Bogdan Ion

Country Managing PartnerEY Romania and Rep. of Moldova

Several significant changes have taken place at EY in the past year. We have a new visual identity, a new office headquarters in Bucharest and a new vision for the next decade.

Refresh and rebrandingLast year, we announced our global rebranding and unveiled changes to our brand name, logo and tagline. From now on, we will be known as EY and our tagline will be the same as our purpose: Building a better working world. We’re making these changes because, while we have always had a strong brand, we recognize that it must continue to evolve. We are living in a digital world and we already use “ey” for our digital footprint. Shortening our brand name provides consistency and ease of use for EY practices around the world.

Moving up: Our new Bucharest officeOn the same day we changed our name and logo, we moved up the Bucharest skyline to a new headquarters in Bucharest Tower Center, where EY occupies the top 5 top floors. The new facility was specially designed to enable the implementation of an innovative concept of work and use of space that fosters collaboration, flexibility and responsible use of resources.

Meet Mark Weinberger: our new Global CEOMark has previously served as the Global and Americas Head of Tax. He has been a senior advisory partner for many of EY’s largest clients and also served on the Global Markets Executive and Global Public Policy Committees. Mark was the Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury under President George W. Bush and he was appointed to the US Social Security Advisory Board by President Clinton.

What is new at EY Romania?

The concept, named Workplace of the Future, will gradually be implemented by EY worldwide, at present being operational in the U.S. and in several major markets in the world. Romania is the first country in Central and South-Eastern Europe, where the company applies this new way of using the working space.

Our new office in Bucharest includes mobile work stations to accommodate employees with flexible work programs, informal meeting spaces and IT solutions to stimulate collaboration and connectivity between teams from Romania, employees traveling outside the office and those in other countries.

EY Romania average age of employees is 30. As generation Y, those who were educated in the 2000’s and grew in an environment with rapid cultural changes, gains a growing share in the number of employees, we try to meet their needs and expectations of flexibility in working time and space, virtual collaboration and interaction.

Vision 2020: Building a better working worldWe have launched Vision 2020, our purpose, ambition and strategy for the next seven years and beyond. Every day, thousands of EY professionals – and people from other organizations around the world – engage in an extraordinary range of activities that grow businesses and economies. In a better working world trust increases, so capital flows smoothly and investors make informed decisions. Businesses grow sustainably, employment rises, consumers spend and governments invest in their citizens.

A better working world also develops talent in all its forms and encourages collaboration. The insights and quality services that EY delivers help build trust and confidence in the world’s capital markets and economies. We develop outstanding leaders team up to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. By doing so, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, our clients and our communities.

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EY Romania organized the 2013 edition of its alumni community meeting on 15 November, with 30% more alumni attending the party. It was the third such meeting organized by EY in Romania, a good opportunity to remember the times spent together as a team. It was an electrifying event, where we relived great memories.

Meeting with our Alumni Alumni event 2014We are already looking forward to our 2014 gathering in November. Our annual EY Alumni Party is a wonderful opportunity to network with your former colleagues and to find out more about the innovative changes we are implementing in our company at the moment.

Who’s who and who’s new Important changes have also occurred in our local leadership. As our leaders take on new regional roles, other colleagues, who have constantly grown and expanded their skills and responsibilities, have been appointed in new partnership and leadership positions.

Assurance leaderAnamaria CoraEY partner - was appointed leader of the Assurance department starting with 1 July 2013. Anamaria takes over the leadership of the largest department in the company from Garry R. Collins, who will hold the position of Country Professional Practice Director for Romania and Rep. of Moldova.

“My career at EY has evolved continuously with the new roles, projects and experiences that the company has offered me. My appointment as the head of the Assurance department is a new stage and challenge in my professional career. The mission I have received and committed to for the next years includes specific objectives for attracting new clients from key industries, consolidating the new services we offer in Romania and developing the teams that we have formed locally”, explains Anamaria.

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Emanuel Băncilă joined the EY team as Executive Director and will coordinate projects related to the management of tax dispute resolution and litigation. Emanuel is a member of the Bucharest Bar and has offered tax and legal consultancy for over 15 years.

Partners and Executive DirectorsMihaela Sandu has been named Partner in the assurance team of EY Romania, the number of partners that are women currently representing 25% of the total number of partners at the local level.

Andrei Benghea-Mălăieș has joined EY Romania as Executive Director and Head of the Performance improvement team. In this role, Andrei will support the company’s efforts to expand the client portfolio and range of services offered by the Advisory department. Andrei has 10 years of experience in professional services.

HR leaderAndreea Mihneais the new HR Director at EY Romania. Andreea takes over the HR leadership from Alexandra Bebu, who has recently joined the regional team of EY Talent Management in Central and South Eastern Europe. Andreea joins us from Tchibo, where she held the role of HR Director. Her professional experience includes client serving and HR roles, local and regional responsabilities in companies like IBM and PayPoint.

Adrian Bunea was appointed Executive Director in the Assurance department at EY. Adrian joins the company’s management in Romania and strengthens the executive team of the largest department developed locally by EY.

“The role of a HR Director in the professional services area in Romania is particularly complex, especially in the current market conditions and for a company with a portfolio of services like EY. Recruiting, training and motivating 500 of the best professionals in business consulting in the country is a true challenge and a reference project in my career, one that I wish to successfully carry out”, explains Andreea. “Accounting assistance is a service

requested by advisory clients as part of advisory projects. My role at EY will focus on increasing the visibility of this service as part of our offer and also on strengthening EY’s customer portfolio, given that both Romanian entrepreneurs and multinational companies on the local market need integrated services to make a difference.” said Adrian Bunea.

“My appointment as a partner in the company where I became a trained professional is an important milestone in my career. My new role means responsibility in reinforcing the team, widening customer base in key industries and improving the quality of services for our customers” says Mihaela.

“Romanian entrepreneurs and multinationals operating on the local market require integrated tax and legal services, based on experience and practical solutions, especially in this economically difficult period. I am glad that, by joining

the EY team, we will be able to bring new advantages for clients by the addition of tax controversy assistance”, declared Emanuel Băncilă.

“I am glad to return to the professional services field and I am looking forward to help EY deliver outstanding value to its partners in even more and diverse topics. The experience I have gathered so far, in management consulting and executive/non-exec positions, will offer an enriched perspective for the business advisory services we offer on the local market”, Andrei said.

Felicia Gavrilă has been appointed Executive Director in the Assurance Department, after seven years during which she has constantly contributed to the development of the department’s portfolio.

Gabriel Şincua leading tax advisor in Romania, has joined EY Romania as Executive Director in the Tax department. He has over 16 years of experience in tax advisory, accounting, and payroll outsourcing for various big companies.

“This new role in the executive team represents a new professional stage and a vote of confidence from EY and from my Assurance colleagues. I am happy to be able to further contribute to our practice’s growth, through value-adding services for our clients”, explains Felicia.

“The Romanian fiscal framework has continuously changed and evolved, and this has prompted the need for growth and diversification in tax advisory services. Growth companies, foreign investors and entrepreneurs need expert counsel as their activities become more complex. I am glad to join EY’s tax team and contribute to reinforcing our tax assistance services on the local market,” states Gabriel.

70 new-joiners in 2014 EY Romania started this spring’s recruitment campaign, through which 70 young graduates across the country will be hired, beginning their activity in September. They will join the 500 employees who are part of the EY team, in 5 offices in Romania and Moldova. Most of the new hires will join the Assurance department, as well as the Tax & Legal, Transactions, and Advisory departments.

The whole process will run for two months - during this time, graduates can apply online, accessing the link: http://www.ey.com/RO/en/Careers

EY Connection 2014

“Armed with the international platform that EY provides, the law firm can grow exponentially in the medium and long term. We are now working on growing the legal areas that have potential, considering the demand in the market and from our existing clients. Business law went through several interesting stages in recent years, of which the most important saw firms moving from a “one-stop shop” model to hyper-specialization in few limited areas. The financial crisis has shown up the weaknesses of being too niche, too focused on a few areas, and clients are seeking out law firms which can provide a broader range of advice, like EY”, Dragos said.

Law practice leaderDragoş Raduone of the leading Romanian lawyers in M&A, Private Equity, Real Estate, and Corporate Law, has joined EY as Partner and Head of the Legal Services practice. In this role, Dragoş will lead our company’s efforts to expand market share, client portfolio and range of services.

EY Connection 2014

What have we been doing lately?

A vision for growth – Business Barometer

The Romanian Business Outlook Barometer 2014

The Romanian Entrepreneurship Barometer 2013

Innovation in Romania as strategic driver for business development

Entrepreneurs Speak Out 2013

A vision for growth – Mid-year Business Barometer

Corporate Social Responsibility Survey 2013

Capital Confidence Barometer for Romania 2013

Social media and the local business environment 2013

Institutional Investors Survey 2013

Romanian entrepreneurs access to financing 2013

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EY local studiesSo far, it has been our busiest period for local studies and surveys. We have positioned EY as a valuable source for market insights, by developing 11 local surveys in 2013 and early 2014:

This effort will build up throughout the year and we will continue to bring unique and timely information about the local economy. You can access these valuable research studies by subscribing to our marketing communication, at office@ro.ey.com

EY brings Entrepreneur of the Year to RomaniaEY Romania announced its affiliation to the international program Entrepreneur Of The Year (EOY), developed by our company world-wide. Starting with May 2014, EY provides the opportunity for entrepreneurs in Romania to participate in the largest and most prestigious global business project dedicated to entrepreneurs.

CSR projects and initiativesEY has become an active contributor to the local CSR culture. This translates not only in the traditional partnership with prominent NGOs and charity organizations, but, most importantly, in our commitment to play a leading role in assessing the Romanian CSR environment.

EY is the only company that has designed a study which positions CSR as strategic component on the local C-suite agenda. This is why, we commit to developing the CSR survey annually, so that we can present local CEOs and CFOs with a relevant tool for including CSR in their business model.

However, CSR is ultimately not about donations and reports. It is about people getting involved in social causes and volunteering for what they believe in. We have initiated an internal group that our people can join and help develop EY’s CSR activities. The committee has 13 members gathers periodically to brainstorm ideas about how we can best get involved in the community life.

“Entrepreneur Of The Year is our global program designed to recognize and reward successful entrepreneurs. Moreover, it is an approach that enables EY to provide a framework in which entrepreneurs, consultants and specialists from around the world bring together ideas and insights about

entrepreneurship and the creation of an environment where innovation and creativity can produce prosperity. It fosters ideas, it creates a network of future business opportunities to which Romanian entrepreneurship will also contribute.”

Bogdan IonCountry Managing Partner, EY Romania

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EY Connection 2014

Charity “Craft the Joy – Enjoy sharing”Craft the Joy was the EY CSR program that showed all of us that auditors and consultants are the most creative and generous people. They have taken the time out of their busy season and personal lives to craft Christmas decorations and bring the Holiday spirit to vulnerable children. We designed Craft the Joy in two stages:

Stage 1. 40 EY people took part in two crafts workshops, where they learned to create Christmas decorations from wood, napkins and acrylic paint. Over 300 decorations resulted from these workshops.

Stage 2. The EY hand-made Christmas market opened between 11 and 14 December. All EY people in the Bucharest office visited the market and bought the products of their colleagues’ work and creativity. Over 120 people visited the market and on the third day it was sold out, with a turnover of RON 3,750.

The money collected were donated together with a Christmas tree to the children at “Buburuza” orphanage in Bucharest.

Craft the Joy brought us a lot of wonderful things, but, most importantly, it offered us:

▷ The occasion to contribute in a time when everyone feels the need to be more generous

▷ The chance to help vulnerable children by rediscovering a simple pleasure from our own childhood

▷ The context to create something tangible, as a diversity from our profession, where we deal with abstract concepts

Sporting competitionsEY has build a solid partnership with Hospice Casa Speranţei, through which we contribute to a variety of charity sporting events every year, such as the karting competition, the charitable football championship and the table tennis one. For the past two years, the EY team has had outstanding results at the Football Cup. Furthermore, Our Assurance colleague and Balkans swimming champion, Cătălin Cosma, represented EY at Hospice Ultra Swim Challenge. Additionally, 12 EY colleagues from all service lines have brought impressive results from the International Half-Marathon in Bucharest.

Following these successes, we have established the EY sport “tribes”, through which our colleagues can get involved in many sporting and social initiatives, promoting a healthy life-style and a responsible civic conduct. Therefore, during the last few weeks colleagues from different departments joined sports like soccer, running, tennis, boating or cycling:

▷ Soccer: Our team proudly represented EY in the ‘Cornel Dinu’ Footbal Cup competition, that scheduled the first round of games on 8 September 2013 and lasted until the beginning of November.

▷ Running: Colleagues from Advisory, Tax & Legal, and Business Development participated at the Casiopeea Cross which every year brings to our attention the breast cancer issue.

▷ Dragon Boat: The EY Vikings team, consisting of 14 of our colleagues, participated at a traditional Chinese boat racing on lake Herastrău, winning the third place in the 1000m long course and the fifth place in the 250m and 500m short courses.

▷ Cycling: Our team participated in a mountain-bike relay competition organized at the Comana Natural Park, consisting of a 3-lap relay, each lap having a length of 8.5 km and ranked in the first half among the 30 teams that participated.

EducationGrowing a new generation of business professionalsEY has committed to supporting the growth of a new generation of leaders and business professionals. As part of this commitment, we develop strategic programs and initiatives with students associations, NGOs and universities.

The initiatives we developed with partners such as ASE Bucharest, Emanuel University in Oradea, West University Timişoara, Babeş Bolyai University in Cluj, VWI Estiem student association, Junior Achievement and many others, we were able to interact with over 2,000 students and young professionals in the entire country. Our colleagues volunteered their time and knowledge to offer them interactive training sessions, workshops and internships. As the new academic year begins, we will further expand and build on these successful education programs.

EY and Publica book launchesAt its third collaboration with Publica, EY Romania supports ongoing book launch projects in an effort to give readers from Romania the opportunity to scroll through some of the most important texts on personal development written in recent years.

With books like “Stand Out” by Marcus Buckingham, “How will you measure your life” by Clayton Christensen or Sir Ken Robinson’s “The element”, EY also took this approach as a means to interact with Generation Y, as the volumes are offered at the many events we organize during the recruitment campaign.

EntrepreneurshipEY has committed to a strong evolvement in building the entrepreneurship culture in Romania, by powering strategic programs in partnership with major professional associations and business leaders:

Ubercool AntreprenorEY is playing an active part in Romanian Business Leaders’ (RBL) Ubercool Antreprenor program, raising the awareness among high-school students regarding entrepreneurship as a career alternative. This spring, the program included a road-show in 10 major Romanian cities, where our leaders participate in:

▷ local press conferences

▷ informal meetings with local entrepreneurs

▷ interactive sessions with 200 high-school students in 10 cities

1001 Start-upsThis is another high-level RBL program, in which EY has taken an active role. The program aims at improving the legislative process through which young entrepreneurs can access state subsidies for starting a business. Program partners are working closely with various state institutions by offering insights and support, in order to improve entrepreneurs’ access to financing under GD 6/2011.

The Family Business NetworkWe are talking the first steps to strengthen our ties with the renowned Family Business Network, which has recently opened a chapter in Romania. This could be a relevant partnership since EY has a well established Family Business Center and set of services.

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RecognitionsEY marks a staggering growth in the Trendence Graduate Barometer 2013EY is the 3rd top employer in Europe in terms of employer brand attractiveness. In Romania, EY recorded a staggering growth in 2013, from the 28th to 11th position. We’re exceeding popular local employer brands, such as Vodafone, Petrom and Apple. Furthermore, Trendence ranks EY as third employer of choice for Romanian graduates with outstanding academic results.

Trendence Graduate Barometer is the largest, most comprehensive employer branding study: over 300,000 students at 1,000 universities across Europe took part in the survey this year. The selection process and cooperation with partner universities has transformed Trendence into the most important measurement of employer branding in Europe and Romania over the past 13 editions.

ITR names EY the Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year in RomaniaErnst & Young was named Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year in Central and Eastern Europe (Romania , Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic and Slovenia) by the International Tax Review (ITR) - one of the world’s leading magazines dedicated to international tax strategy. The prestigious 2013 ITR European Tax Awards was held in London on 15 May, demonstrating excellence and innovation in tax work across Europe.

EY is no. 1 on FacebookWith over 19,500 fans on our Facebook page in Romania and an impressive engagement rate, EY is currently ranked as the no.1 consulting company brand on Facebook in our country.

EY Connection 2014

People programsEY Soft Skills AcademyTo help maintain a healthy and smooth working environment, we launched a new personal development program for our people at EY Romania, called EY Soft Skills Academy. During May and June 2013, our colleagues were invited to take part in a diversity of soft skills sessions that offered them first-hand tips and applications on how to shape the building blocks of our personal brand.

Over 200 people have participated in the Soft Skills Academy sessions - from communication patterns, to time management, motivation, leadership and presentation skills - acquiring informative knowledge in the purpose of self-enrichment and dealing with the external world of clients, working in a collaborative manner with their colleagues or even improving communication in their personal life.

We are pleased to let you know that during the busy season EY Soft Skills Academy program is also available for clients and targets. The conferences are designed to open your eyes to the possibilities that a powerful set of soft skills can offer as well as the opportunity to learn, develop and grow. We took this initiative because we realize that understanding the art of communication and interaction is more than a good idea — it’s good business.

You can request more information about accessing the EY Soft skills Academy at elena.badea@ro.ey.com.

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EY BeatsWhether it’s our high-caliber workforce, recognition programs, company events or rocking out to our company singing band, at EY we strive to surpass expectations while celebrating everything that makes us unique. EY Beats, as the band was named following an internal name contest, had their debut last year with an electrifying concert at Puzzle Pub.

Colleagues in Bucharest know them as EY consultants, they have seen them sing together just for fun at our Summer and Christmas parties. What no one knew is that for several months they had been renting a studio and rehearsing every weekend to put together EY Beats:

▷ Lead singer: Roxana Prisăcaru, FIDS Senior

▷ Lead guitar: Andreea Bendovschi, Advisory Senior

▷ Keyboard: Oana Ciurez, Tax Senior Associate

▷ Drums: Răzvan Ungureanu, Tax Senior

Since then they went back in the studio rehearsing and being the perfectionists they are, they surprised us once more with great performances at our Alumni and Christmas parties.

We eagerly look forward to their next stage concerts!

Stay connected with EY Romania

If you would like to keep up with our latest activities we invite you to connect to our local Facebook page: www.facebook.com/EY.Romania

Please contact:

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Elena BadeaHead of Market EnablementEmail: elena.badea@ro.ey.comTel: +40 21 402 4000

Andreea MihneaHR Director Email: andreea.mihnea@ro.ey.comTel: +40 21 402 4000

EY | Assurance | Tax | Transactions | Advisory

EY Romania

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About EYEY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities.

EY refers to the global organization of member firms of EY Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. EY Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. For more information about our organization, please visit www.ey.com

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