Mina Matti is the Managing Director of Citywide Consultant, an Australian-based consulting firm focusing on management system standards.
Matti is an Exemplar Global-certified lead auditor in ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 45001. She is also an honoree in Exemplar Global’s newly announced Community Recognition program.
In this conversation, we discussed how Matti started in her career, why trust and loyalty are imperative personal qualities in her success, and the advice she would offer to those starting out in a career in auditing.
EXEMPLAR GLOBAL: Tell us a bit about your background and how you found yourself in this interesting industry of ours.
MINA MATTI: My career started almost 16 years ago in construction. I joined a team of builders and assisted them in management system development, documenting specific information and procedures to streamline their business. About six years after that, I found myself developing management systems as a consultant, predominantly for construction-based clients. I built a really good network and a great portfolio within Sydney. After a few years, I earned my Exemplar Global certification as an auditor for ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 45001. I partnered with Equal Assurance, an Australian certification body, and I conducted a lot of their external audits. Over time, through that experience conducting audits, I learned how to help develop systems that actually work for organizations. After all, it’s great to have a system, but if you don’t use it, there’s no point.
Eventually, I went out on my own and started Citywide Consultant in February of 2022. We are so thankful for all of our clients who have supported us.
EG: Do most of the standards in construction revolve around sustainability and environmental concerns?
MM: Much of it is actually occupational health and safety standards. Residential and commercial builders in Australia have a requirement to comply with the Work Health and Safety Act, and part of that is ensuring that their occupational health and safety processes are in place. Many organizations can’t even tender for any work with the New South Wales government if they aren’t ISO registered.
I often ask companies, “What are you doing this for? What’s the reason? Why do you need this system?” And nine out of ten times, the business will tell me that it’s a requirement. So, having an efficient ISO management system is a great benefit for these businesses.
EG: At what point in your 16-year career did you first encounter Exemplar Global?
MM: When I completed my first lead auditor training course with PricewaterhouseCoopers, one of the trainers highly recommended that I pursue Exemplar Global certification. I did so and haven’t looked back. I’ve received really good feedback from everyone associated with Exemplar Global, and it’s a great recognition to have not only on one’s C.V., but also throughout social media.
EG: In conjunction with our ongoing 35th anniversary celebration, we rolled out our Community Recognition program, in which members of our community could nominate professionals to be honored. I’m happy to say that you received the greatest number of recommendations of anyone in this year’s cycle. To what do you attribute your high regard from fellow professionals?
MM: Trust. Having a trusting rapport with my clients plays such a significant role not just to my business, but personally as well. I live by trust, and it’s very important to have that kind of relationship with my clients. Seven years ago, I had a builder that I worked with quite closely. Once he found out that I went out to do my own consulting, he specifically reached out to me and said, “You conducted an internal audit for us and the clarity and insight you provided has gone a long way toward improving our management system. So, we want to thank you for our business growth. More than that, we want to come to you directly going forward.”
Loyalty is another big factor. Once your clients know that you’ve understood their entire framework and how their business operation works, and you’re loyal to that customer, I assure you they’re not going to be looking elsewhere.
EG: It’s interesting to hear you talk about helping businesses grow. There’s been a real shift in attitudes about management system standards and the auditing function over the years. In the past, the auditor was considered to be a “bad cop;” today, companies use auditors to identify where they’re falling short and use that feedback to improve. What’s your perspective on that, and how do you try to bring that forward to your clients?
MM: In terms of growth, when we sit down and do an internal audit or a management review for a client, we look at the objectives and targets for the business. From there, you can help them set higher goals that are sustainable given the right resources and the presence of the right system to manage that growth. As consultants, we go in and make what are often very slight tweaks, adjusting certain elements to the help the business flow better. The clients really appreciate that we can look at their business from a fresh perspective and see things that they may not.
Those little tweaks can create some really dramatic changes for the business.
EG: Auditees often feel that they need to change what they’re doing to fit a standards, as opposed to making the standard work for them. There’s this idea that a standard is one size fits all, and that shouldn’t be the way it is.
MM: True. Every business is different. They all do something slightly different in terms of their vision, their objectives, or their scope. Whatever it might be, there’s always some sort of differentiation between businesses. As a consultant and as a leader, when I get the chance to look at a client’s entire organization and provide my opinion, and then watch them take those insights onboard and make some really good changes, it’s a proud moment for me.
EG: What advice would you give people who might be new to auditing in terms of what this career can be and what it takes to succeed?
MM: For me, and I think for many people who would love to get into this kind of work, this career has been a game-changer. Once people understand the ins and outs of auditing, they can work from anywhere around the world. Once you’ve done your site audit, you can follow up and consult for your clients from anywhere around the world. The financial flexibility and the lifestyle flexibility is really great, so for people who have attention to detail, I would definitely say this career is for you.
I consider myself a private investigator when I’m consulting or auditing a client because that’s exactly what you’re doing—you’re investigating and finding the gaps to close so that you help the business grow over time. But without closing off those specific gaps, the business is going to stand in the same position for many years to come.
So, my advice to anyone that’s looking to come into this position, or this role, or as a career change, is to make sure that you have attention to detail and patience. But more than that, you’ve got to have people skills. You have to be loyal, and if you are, any business will trust you going forward.