EY Ernst & Young vow to end racism after Sydney death of Indian newlywed Aishwarya Venkatachalam

Ernst and Young bosses have launched a major investigation into claims that a young woman who fell to death from the 11th storey of her building was bullied at work and a victim of racism.

Newlywed Aishwarya Venkatachalam, 27, plunged to her death from the terrace deck of the EY building in Sydney’s CBD around 12.20am on August 27.

Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday revealed the Indian national had complained to friends about the racist abuse she suffered in Australia and her ‘mean colleagues’ at work.

Financial services company Ernst & Young – now known as EY – has vowed to probe the accusations and take whatever action is necessary to stamp it out, promising ‘zero tolerance’.

A spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia the company ‘has a zero tolerance response to bullying, harassment and racism, and we take any allegations that relate to these issues very seriously.

‘The review we launched last week following this tragedy is ongoing and it would be inappropriate to comment further until it is complete,’ she said. ‘We are continuing to offer all our people counselling and support.’

There is no suggestion EY, or the woman’s co-workers, were in any way responsible for her death.

Ms Venkatachalam, 27, died shortly after returning from a work function at the nearby Ivy nightclub. 

Three good Samaritans earlier told Daily Mail Australia they found her ‘crying her eyes out’ in a nearby car park about 30 minutes before the fall. 

And close friend Neeti Bisht revealed Ms Venkatachalam, a bridesmaid at her wedding, had struggled to fit in since moving to Australia 11 months ago as a senior EY auditor in real estate assurance.

‘She was a happy soul and was finding her feet in Australia … She mentioned how mean some of her colleagues were,’ Ms Bisht told Daily Mail Australia.

Ms Bisht said Ms Venkatachalam told her she was dealing with bullying and racism at work, but she was otherwise thriving in Australia. 

‘I think things had just started to brew then… Her colleagues and the racist angle was at play,’ she said. 

A ‘doting’ husband and friend who was like a ‘sister’ 

Ms Bisht said Ms Venkatachalam was ‘like a little sister’ to her, describing her as a ‘very good friend’, ‘career-driven’, and a ‘breath of fresh air’ who was ‘impossible not to love’. 

Ms Bisht said she was in a loving relationship with her husband ‘who absolutely doted on her’.

‘She was also career-driven and balanced her personal and professional life pretty well,’ she said. 

While her death has left corporate Australia reeling and sparked debate about work hours within major consulting firms, Ms Bisht said her friend was not concerned about putting in overtime because ‘she used to work longer hours in India’.

She said Ms Venkatachalam seemed to be ‘more settled’ in Australia the last time they spoke on July 30, when Ms Bisht phoned from the airport to say goodbye before leaving for the US, where she now lives.  

However, Ms Bisht said their conversation was brief, that she seemed happy and they ‘didn’t get much time to discuss work’. 

Just over a month after their final conversation, she was devastated to learn her friend’s life has been cut short.

‘She was a very good friend,’ Ms Bisht said.

‘I absolutely loved how innocent she was. She was a breath of fresh air and adorable. I am so shocked and so saddened.’

Recent wedding, then tragedy

Pictures have emerged of Ms Venkatachalam’s traditional Tamil Brahman wedding in Chennai, India, in January 2021 when she married her husband, Nakul.

He was on a flight from Singapore to Sydney when she died and learned of the tragedy when he stepped off the plane.

Ms Venkatachalam wore a sari and Nakul a cowl kurta as they beamed for the camera at a Mehendi party – a pre-wedding ceremony in which the bride’s hand and feet are painted with henna to bless her before the big day.

Other pictures show the couple standing side-by-side, smiling at loved ones at Avigna Hall on the second day of their three-day wedding celebrations for a Vratham function.

Ms Venkatachalum’s uncle, based in Canada, told Daily Mail Australia the family is struggling to come to terms with her death.

He said his niece gained an accounting degree in India before marrying, settling down, then relocating to Australia last November.

‘She was very educated, beautiful and brilliant,’ he said.

‘She was a very good lady, she was brought up very well. I do not know how this could happen.

‘Her mother and father are very caring and kind. They were supporting her, and she was supporting of them.’ 

A NSW Police spokesman said a report continues to be prepared for the coroner, and was unable to comment on when her body will be repatriated to India.  

Ms Venkatachalam completed a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance in 2015 at Symbiosis College of Arts & Commerce, in Pune, western India. 

She then took on the role of audit senior at American accounting firm Grant Thornton in their Bengaluru office in 2019.

She spent almost three years with the company before moving to EY. 

Ms Venkatachalam described herself as a ‘great’ peer in the workplace and boasted of her prowess in crunching numbers.

‘Audit senior with an expertise in areas of auditing related to Real Estate, Employee Benefit Plans, NFP, CIP and Retail,’ she wrote on the page.

‘Been in the field of Audit for 4+ years and there hasn’t been a day where I really had a tough time dealing with numbers, because that’s not what we do.

‘Apart from being the Auditor this profile speaks about, also a great colleague to be around with during the peak busy seasons and also during normal days.’ 

Staffers, both past and present, have lifted the lid on the stressful environment often experienced at the Big4 firms – with some claiming the majority of new employees only last two years.

Some say workers are frequently pushed to their limits to complete the scrupulously detailed reports in a very short turnaround time, requiring hours of allegedly unpaid and unrecorded overtime. 

Social media has been inundated with so-called survivors claiming they regularly worked around the clock to the point of exhaustion and beyond to hit deadlines.

But while billable hours are recorded at average levels of just 41-42 hours a week, the reality is allegedly often double that – or even more. 

Employees at the world’s top four international consulting companies have referred to their high-stakes workplaces as the ‘The Meat Grinder’. 

One wrote: ‘The cruel working culture needs to be called out and make the news.

‘From personal experience, it’s career suicide to work less than 10 hours per day at EY. No joke. Not exaggerating at all.

‘Average work hours were 8am – 7pm, sometimes until 9:30pm. In other teams, I heard people were there until 2am in the morning.

‘Also no one stays for the pay. The pay is s*** at all of the big 4 consulting firms.’

One admitted they were still hanging on but ready to quit any day now: ‘I’m so mentally exhausted and unwell.

‘[But] they put me on so many engagements on top of full-time project. 

‘Partners won’t care about you as they only want to make more revenue and take more money. Disgusting. I’m so ready to leave.’

Another added: ‘As an auditor myself working at a Big 4 and having worked for two other Big 4, I definitely know how stressful it is during year end audits. 

‘I hope that this tragedy sheds some light on this issue and that firms provide more support to employees especially during this time of the year.’

EY has promised a ‘comprehensive and wide-ranging internal review that will include health and safety, security and social events’ led by their chief mental health advisor in the wake of the tragedy.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted PwC, KPMG and Deloitte for a response to the claims.