Poland proves to be fertile ground

Poland's entrance to the EU and the growing influx of foreign investments into the country have opened up bright prospects for advisory companies.

Polish companies looking to expand into new markets are now hiring external experts to help them assess the market and potential targets. The same applies to foreign investors who are now more keen to invest in Poland.

The arrival of structural funds has sparked interested in advisory services among both the private sector aiming to increase its competitiveness, as well as the public sector, which will receive the bulk of the funds.

"The quality of consulting services has grown as a result of the clients' growing expectations," said EVIP Business Consulting Group president, Wiesława Ewa Plucińska, said.

However, the market is still relatively young in comparison to the more mature western markets. The managing partner in PriceWaterhouseCoopers' Advisory Department, Olga Grygier, has observed a variety of ways in which applicants employ advisors.

She notices that although large Polish companies' behavior in relation to advisors and consultants is very similar to clients anywhere else, people who hire advisory firms for the first time often have different expectations.

"Often the expectation is that the advisors should find a solution to the problem on their own and bring them the ready made answer" she said.

While using consulting services is standard practice in western countries, entrepreneurs in Poland are only beginning to appreciate the importance of these services.

"But more and more often they understand that it gives them security, a chance to use global experiences and achieve a more effective realization of undertakings through outsourcing these tasks to professionals, who will do it faster and better," Plucińska said.

PriceWaterhouseCoopers' Grygier notices changes in this field, too. "The trend we are seeing is that companies are now beginning to use advisors even for domestic-based transactions.

"They are beginning to understand that there's no point in re-inventing the wheel," Grygier said.

According to the European Federation of Management Consultancies Agencies (FEACO), the consulting market in Poland will grow by five to six percent in 2005 - and Plucińska expects the trend to continue. "As the economy grows and the companies on the Polish market develop, the demand for consulting services will increase as well," she said.

Grygier sees two tiers on the market. "The first segment is the international advisors, large network firms who tend to advise large Polish companies or international companies coming into Poland," she explained.

The second tier is very fragmented, as masses of companies and so-called 'boutiques' fall into this category. "These companies are either established by people who came out of larger companies or by local people with knowledge of local market," she continues. "Instead of having an international branded name and access to international expertise, their strenght is the knowledge and trust of the companies hiring them" Grygier explained.

The price difference between the services offered by the two tiers is huge. "At times the difference between the highest and the lowest price can be 100percent or even 200 percent" Grygier said.

Plucińska concludes: "A consulting company gives the client an objective evaluation and an in depth analysis of a problem, provides complex services and allows the company to save time, costs and reduce the risk of a wrong decision."