PwC chooses Krakow for center
Other Big Five accounting firms in Poland have chosen to approach outsourcing on a decentralized basis, using small offices close to clients to provide services such as invoicing and payroll.
PwC is looking, however, to provide value-added back-office services to clients not just from Poland, but around the region and in Europe from one location. And technology allows it to provide those services despite distance, said Andrew Friars, head of PwC's business process outsourcing in Central and Eastern Europe.
"When outsourcing began, people outsourced things like cleaning and building maintenance," Friars said. "But with today's technology, the focus has moved up the value chain and we can provide accounting, HR, etc., from anywhere in the world."
In Krakow, PwC is considering doing back office work for companies in Caracas, Venezuela, and another potential client is considering outsourcing the back office for its entire European operations to PwC's Krakow center, Friars said.
Krakow was chosen over other cities such as Prague, Plzen, Brno and Budapest, Friars said. The city lured PwC because of its many universities that turn out a large, well-educated and multilingual labor force, he added.
"We couldn't do this in Warsaw; there the demand for this kind of labor outstrips the supply," Friars said.
In addition, costs in Krakow are lower than in other cities in the region, he added.
The center will initially have 50 employees and will focus on providing client services in the areas of finance and accounting, human resources, procurement, real estate, tax compliance, and internal auditing activities, Friars said. But the company expects a rapid staff expansion and is currently looking to hire 200-300 new accountants by the end of this year or early next year to staff the center, located on ulica Slowackiego near Krakow's Old Town, he added.
Other firms that do outsourcing agreed that Poland is an expanding market, but questioned PwC's strategy of consolidation.
"Right now most of the outsourcing in Poland is what we call 'partial outsourcing,'" said David O'Connor, a partner at Arthur Andersen in Wroclaw. This type of outsourcing includes basic functions such as invoicing and payroll, O'Connor said. More comprehensive outsourcing, like that being attempted by PwC's Krakow center, is less common, he added, but he also said "in the future there will definitely be more of that kind of outsourcing."
Arthur Andersen has only 20 people doing outsourcing in Poland, O'Connor said. In contrast to PwC's strategy, Arthur Andersen has chosen to decentralize its outsourcing operations, and does the work out of four offices in Warsaw, Wroclaw, Katowice and Poznan.
PwC's center in Krakow will be one of nine such centers the accounting firm runs worldwide. PwC is already providing services to three clients from the Krakow center: BP Amoco, Citibank and General Motors, and aims to have five or six "in the near future," Friars said.
PwC is looking, however, to provide value-added back-office services to clients not just from Poland, but around the region and in Europe from one location. And technology allows it to provide those services despite distance, said Andrew Friars, head of PwC's business process outsourcing in Central and Eastern Europe.
"When outsourcing began, people outsourced things like cleaning and building maintenance," Friars said. "But with today's technology, the focus has moved up the value chain and we can provide accounting, HR, etc., from anywhere in the world."
In Krakow, PwC is considering doing back office work for companies in Caracas, Venezuela, and another potential client is considering outsourcing the back office for its entire European operations to PwC's Krakow center, Friars said.
Krakow was chosen over other cities such as Prague, Plzen, Brno and Budapest, Friars said. The city lured PwC because of its many universities that turn out a large, well-educated and multilingual labor force, he added.
"We couldn't do this in Warsaw; there the demand for this kind of labor outstrips the supply," Friars said.
In addition, costs in Krakow are lower than in other cities in the region, he added.
The center will initially have 50 employees and will focus on providing client services in the areas of finance and accounting, human resources, procurement, real estate, tax compliance, and internal auditing activities, Friars said. But the company expects a rapid staff expansion and is currently looking to hire 200-300 new accountants by the end of this year or early next year to staff the center, located on ulica Slowackiego near Krakow's Old Town, he added.
Other firms that do outsourcing agreed that Poland is an expanding market, but questioned PwC's strategy of consolidation.
"Right now most of the outsourcing in Poland is what we call 'partial outsourcing,'" said David O'Connor, a partner at Arthur Andersen in Wroclaw. This type of outsourcing includes basic functions such as invoicing and payroll, O'Connor said. More comprehensive outsourcing, like that being attempted by PwC's Krakow center, is less common, he added, but he also said "in the future there will definitely be more of that kind of outsourcing."
Arthur Andersen has only 20 people doing outsourcing in Poland, O'Connor said. In contrast to PwC's strategy, Arthur Andersen has chosen to decentralize its outsourcing operations, and does the work out of four offices in Warsaw, Wroclaw, Katowice and Poznan.
PwC's center in Krakow will be one of nine such centers the accounting firm runs worldwide. PwC is already providing services to three clients from the Krakow center: BP Amoco, Citibank and General Motors, and aims to have five or six "in the near future," Friars said.
