What to do when it comes to role play
One of the most common questions clients ask me is whether we can recommend a good chief accountant or finance director. After 12 years of Poland operating as a market economy and now in the middle of a realignment (not allowed to call it a recession), one would have thought that it would be simple to fulfil the client's request. The reality is somewhat different.
When confirming with the client what it is that he is after, it soon becomes clear that based on his home country experience he wants someone who can fulfil a traditional financial controller or finance director role and is looking for a person capable of both running the accounts department and also, more importantly, providing value added to the company by taking part in corporate decision-making.
Here the usual western skill set comes into play. In Poland, however it is very rare to find someone capable of fulfilling both requirements. Why should this be? Well, the answer lies, as usual, in vested interests.
At the time of the economic transformation the country possessed an august body called the Polish Association of Accountants (SKwP) whose membership was predominantly qualified chief accountants of state-owned companies, some of whom were also authorised auditors as well as lower ranks from the profession. In the early 1090s, the auditors were transferred to a separate body - the Polish Chamber of Auditors (KIBR) - which for a long time shared the same management as SKwP.
Poland being Poland, the KIBR missed the opportunity of ensuring that the auditing profession was seen as the classic training ground for CFOs, which it is in the West. The opaque examination system ensured that only a few students signed up, whilst most individuals intending a career in finance did not see the need to gain a formal professional qualifications. It is true that many went some way to gaining the UK-based ACCA qualification, but in many cases completion of one year's study and failing the examinations seemed to entitle the individual to claim full qualification on his CV. One would have thought that SKwP would fill the void left by KIBR and would reintroduce a chief accountant qualification, but this has not happened.
The only possible conclusion can be the fact that both bodies either misunderstood their roles in a modern capitalist economy or, far worse, had a vested interest in preserving the status quo either because doing nothing is always easy, or to protect the interests of existing members. It is interesting to note that it is only recently that the major global audit firms have started putting their staff through the Polish audit qualification.
What does this mean in practise? Well, first an employer has in most cases no practical way of checking the abilities of the candidate, which would be in part confirmed by a professional qualification. Second, many of the people offering their services do not have any formal training and are not subject to professional standards of service performance, honesty, knowledge and continuous training requirements. Last, there is in most cases no professional body to which the misconduct or incompetence of the individual can be reported and disciplinary action taken.
Going back to the difficulty of finding an individual capable of combining technical skills with analytical and forecasting abilities, the fault lies with the Polish system. As I have previously written, the country possesses a very short accounting law and no accounting standards. In the past, Polish accountants were used to following strictly regimented German-style solutions where creative thought was not required.
This attitude remains for the most part and in turn engenders a mind-set in the chief accountant, who after a while stops arguing with his accounts staff and accepts the perceived wisdom of some professor who has published a standard chart of accounts. An individual who, on the one hand, can convince the accounts staff that his solution is correct and, on the other, get the same staff to provide data which could be of some value to the business in the planning process, is a genius. And we all know what happens to geniuses. Which is not to say that there are no good people available in the marketplace.
But please don't under any circumstances expect me to divulge who they are!
Confidential advice from Andrew Kinast, managing partner of Grant Thornton Poland.
When confirming with the client what it is that he is after, it soon becomes clear that based on his home country experience he wants someone who can fulfil a traditional financial controller or finance director role and is looking for a person capable of both running the accounts department and also, more importantly, providing value added to the company by taking part in corporate decision-making.
Here the usual western skill set comes into play. In Poland, however it is very rare to find someone capable of fulfilling both requirements. Why should this be? Well, the answer lies, as usual, in vested interests.
At the time of the economic transformation the country possessed an august body called the Polish Association of Accountants (SKwP) whose membership was predominantly qualified chief accountants of state-owned companies, some of whom were also authorised auditors as well as lower ranks from the profession. In the early 1090s, the auditors were transferred to a separate body - the Polish Chamber of Auditors (KIBR) - which for a long time shared the same management as SKwP.
Poland being Poland, the KIBR missed the opportunity of ensuring that the auditing profession was seen as the classic training ground for CFOs, which it is in the West. The opaque examination system ensured that only a few students signed up, whilst most individuals intending a career in finance did not see the need to gain a formal professional qualifications. It is true that many went some way to gaining the UK-based ACCA qualification, but in many cases completion of one year's study and failing the examinations seemed to entitle the individual to claim full qualification on his CV. One would have thought that SKwP would fill the void left by KIBR and would reintroduce a chief accountant qualification, but this has not happened.
The only possible conclusion can be the fact that both bodies either misunderstood their roles in a modern capitalist economy or, far worse, had a vested interest in preserving the status quo either because doing nothing is always easy, or to protect the interests of existing members. It is interesting to note that it is only recently that the major global audit firms have started putting their staff through the Polish audit qualification.
What does this mean in practise? Well, first an employer has in most cases no practical way of checking the abilities of the candidate, which would be in part confirmed by a professional qualification. Second, many of the people offering their services do not have any formal training and are not subject to professional standards of service performance, honesty, knowledge and continuous training requirements. Last, there is in most cases no professional body to which the misconduct or incompetence of the individual can be reported and disciplinary action taken.
Going back to the difficulty of finding an individual capable of combining technical skills with analytical and forecasting abilities, the fault lies with the Polish system. As I have previously written, the country possesses a very short accounting law and no accounting standards. In the past, Polish accountants were used to following strictly regimented German-style solutions where creative thought was not required.
This attitude remains for the most part and in turn engenders a mind-set in the chief accountant, who after a while stops arguing with his accounts staff and accepts the perceived wisdom of some professor who has published a standard chart of accounts. An individual who, on the one hand, can convince the accounts staff that his solution is correct and, on the other, get the same staff to provide data which could be of some value to the business in the planning process, is a genius. And we all know what happens to geniuses. Which is not to say that there are no good people available in the marketplace.
But please don't under any circumstances expect me to divulge who they are!
Confidential advice from Andrew Kinast, managing partner of Grant Thornton Poland.
