What’s your pre-education? My name is Niels Broers, 26 years old, and have been living in Tilburg since I was born. After high school I started with a Bachelor in Business Economics at Tilburg University, after which I continued with a Master in Accountancy. When, after one year of a master’s degree, I still hadn’t passed all the courses and I also became very interested in Finance, I decided to start a second Master’s degree. However, I never finished this, because during my internship at WVDB I found out that working in Accountancy is a lot of fun. I am now working within the audit practice of WVDB and I try to further develop myself via the Post-Master Accountancy. How did you get in touch with WVDB and why did you choose WVDB? During my Master’s I started to orientate myself on the job market, among other things by visiting organised days at Tilburg University, having a lot of conversations with fellow students and people in my network already actively working in Accountancy. Soon I got the feeling that working at a Big Four wouldn’t suit me and I would rather work at a medium-sized office. Through a friend I came into contact with WVDB for an exploratory interview. I immediately got a good feeling during this interview and then decided to do a six-month internship at WVDB. My wishes were taken into account carefully and I was able to work for three months in the control practice and three months in the compilation practice. Afterwards I made the choice for the control practice and I still enjoy working at WVDB. How does your workday or workweek look like? WVDB offers a wide range of activities. I myself spend a lot of time on site at customers’ premises and have a lot of customer contact. This allows me to negotiate with my team and the client about the various business processes and the annual figures. Furthermore, my clientele is very diverse, I can be allocated to a trading company one week, a production company the next week and a real estate company the following week. This ensures the necessary diversity of activities and makes the work extremely interesting and educating. I also regularly work in the office to seek cooperation with the tax practice within the WVDB. ”I would describe the atmosphere as informal, sometimes even ‘brabants cozy’ and in addition, everyone in the organization is willing to help me.” What opportunities does WVDB offer you? Within WVDB, a great deal of value is attached to personal development. For example, sufficient time is freed to be able to follow the Post-Master Accountancy, without having too much work, and many training days and courses are offered in the office. Not only in terms of professional content, but also in offering trainings given by fellow tax specialists with relevant and actual topics I might encounter during my work. This means I am offered a wide-range of education and sufficient diversity in work-related activities. How do you experience the culture / atmosphere within WVDB? I got the feeling that the atmosphere within WVDB was good from the first conversation. This was one of the main reasons why I chose WVDB and I still enjoy working there. I would describe the atmosphere as informal, sometimes even ‘brabants cozy’ and in addition, everyone in the organization is willing to help me. This way, all managers are very accessible and I can walk in for a chat. In addition, there are plenty of team activities and, in addition to hard work, we also do plenty of other activities outside of work. This way I get to know my colleagues in a different way. What would you recommend students who have to decide on an office? Especially, I would advise you to look around as much as possible. Ignore the Big Four for once and take a look at the medium-sized offices as well. Participate during inhouse days, visit days organized at the university and also do (thesis) internships if you have the opportunity. Talk to others already actively working in Accountancy, ask about their experiences and at the end make a well-considered choice.
Working At KPMG
In this edition of “Working At…” Anke op de Woerd (Senior Manager Audit FS) and Jeroen Gossewehr (Trainee Audit FS) tell all about their experiences at KPMG! See the video below.
Working at Koenen en Co
What I really like, and what makes me enthusiastic, is that everyone at Koenen en Co wants to make the best of it together. The best for the customer, relating to both the content and the relationship. More fun leads to a better result. It reinforces each other. We really want to get things done well together, every day and for each customer. That is what makes me proud to work here. I studied accountancy at Fontys Eindhoven. Quite soon after my graduation I started at Koenen en Co. I was looking for an open organisation, with a nice working environment and a lot of opportunities to grow. I can be myself here and I can learn a lot. After a bit more than a year I started the post-‘hbo’ study “mkb-accountant”. This is really nice: I can integrate all the assignments in my job. I learn fast, especially because there is time for answers. I have a personal mentor, who is my first contact, but I can also go to other people for help. When I do so, I don’t get the answer straight away, but a conversation that gives me more information about how you can find the solution. I work here for 2,5 years now and the assignments are getting more and more challenging. We are together in an HPO-project. This means that we are growing towards a high-performance organisation. This stimulates us to action. It is a chance to show what we are standing for. The organisation is viewed from all perspectives, trust, open-minded and solution-oriented. That is what I like, because I think that is the way to build on a sustainable success. Or like we say it: “Suczes”. Pick an employer that picks you! It doesn’t matter if you are the accurate accountant or the commercial suczesmanager to be, at Koenen en Co the most important thing is that you can be who you are. At that moment you are at your best. We love it when you say what you think, when you are involved in the maximum result and when you are critical about yourself and your environment in a positive way. We offer you a workplace where working together in an open way, results and fun are the conditions for suczes from yourself and from our customers. It’s not just for any reason that we write suczes with a Z. To achieve the maximum result, we advise organisations in six (zes) dimensions: Strategy, Management, Innovation, Staff, Processes and Financials. The dream of the entrepreneur is the central point, with a broad perspective. The Koenen en Co view: enthusiastic, no-nonsense and full of courage. We work everywhere where the customer is, with offices in Maastricht, Roermond and Venlo. Are you joining us? Koenen en Co is looking for trainees and starters who dare to be themselves. Who stand for something, even without shining cars or shoes. Who understand that the outside is nice, but that the content is what really matters. We expect 100% effort and 100% you. Because only you can do what you can do. Because honesty takes the most time. Because stupid questions don’t exist. That’s the way we work on your suczes and the suczes from our customers. Together we let entrepreneurs practice Suzces. Just do it.
Accounting Insight 2018: Improvements in Accountancy
The 21st of November Accounting Insight 2018 took place, an interactive symposium in which different accounting related subjects were debated by a omnifarious speaker panel. By means of this event we tried to cross a bridge between the lectures at the Tilburg University and the ever changing and criticized profession of an accountant. Since February, our committee has been actively engaged with the organizing of Accounting Insight. Fairly quick there was a realization that we had to change the concept of this event. In the past debates were discussed by all the members of the speaker panel, this year we held one-on-one debates with various point of views from the debaters. That way, there were lots of appealing discussions with enough opportunities from the crowd to ask questions. First of all, we needed to choose a suitable topic and to find adequate speakers based on that topic. The topic ‘Improvements in Accountancy’ was formed by the current events that were aimed at improving the profession of accounting. Arranging appropriate speakers was not always easy because Accounting Insight was planned the same day as the NBA day of accountants. Still, even after an unforeseen cancellation, we managed to get an interesting speaker panel. At the same time, we also secured a good location, remained in close contact with the partners and took care of promotional material. Soon, it was the 21st of November: first the partners of the event came into the building to make everything ready, after that the participants. The event was guided by Margreet Kloppenburg, a professional speaker who introduced all of the subjects. The debated were then held between Robin Litjens (lecturer Tilburg University), Wytse van der Molen (partner PwC), Marion Denis (external accountant WVDB), Arjan Hassing (partner 3Angles) en Barbara Majoor (AFM). The first debate of the evening was focused on the future of an IT-auditor. Arjan Hassing and Robin Litjens argued on this. The outcome of this debate was that an increasing part of IT-systems in accounting could cause that RE-accountants take over the role of RA-accountants. After this subject, there was a debate about the current way of testing by the AFM. Wytse van der Molen and Barbara Majoor spoke about this. This subject occurred as a result of contradictory findings about audit quality from the Dutch supervisor (AFM) and the English version (FRC). — Thereafter, there was a debate about the revenue model of accountancy firms that was held by Arjan Hassing and Barbara Majoor. Different remuneration structures were discussed. What would happen if all accountants would be paid from a joint bill? “Recently there was a lot of hype about young accountants that are opening up about a workload that is too high” Also, the work-life balance came up. Recently there was a lot of hype about young accountants that are opening up about a workload that is too high. This is due the increased regulatory pressure, shortages in personnel and the tight schedules. During the symposium various solutions came up. The last debate was about the audit-only model. This is often cited as the way to go to increase audit quality. Still, every model has a downside. To get a good overview of the pros and cons of this model, more research is necessary. The audience was in for a treat with all kinds of different insights in the world of accounting. Later on, there was the opportunity for a closing drink. Afterwards, we can look back on a successful event. This evening would not be possible without our partners, who I want to thank again! Also, I want to thank all the speakers of the evening. Lastly, I would like to thank the members of the committee: Luc van den Hurk, Simone Snel, Wouter Janssen and our coordinator Steven Stroo for organizing this event. I hope to see you all next year at a new edition of Accounting Insight!
Working at EY
Who am I? My name is Diede Hoenderboom. 22 years ago I first saw the light in the Achterhoek, in Aalten to be exact. After getting my VWO diploma (Economics & Management) I moved to the oldest (fact) and most beautiful (opinion) city of the Netherlands: Nijmegen. There I graduated from the bachelor’s Business Economy at the Radboud University in three years, after which I started my master’s Accountancy in Tilburg last year. I am pleased to take you along my story with EY! EY Experience My very first contact with EY was in the beginning of 2017 during an In-house day at the office of Arnhem. This resulted in an informative afternoon and a great dinner. Half a year later I got called by a recruiter with the question whether I was interested in applying to partake in the Business Course. Four days with EY and 25 students from the whole of the Netherlands to a (back then) unknown location, that really interested to me! After an application round at the office in Amsterdam I got called with good news: I was selected to partake in the EY Experience. A month before we left the destination got announced: Paris! In a hotel with a view on Arc de Triomph and a fantastic group the days were over before I knew it. The days were well-filled with working cases at the office and many informal activities to get to know each other and EY better. A good example is the concluding partner dinner in Rotterdam, where twenty partners of all offices in the Netherlands came to answer our burning questions. What I can recall to great extent about these days is the nice and accessible atmosphere that surrounds EY. ”During my thesis internship I tagged along when visiting a large retail customer and a local government. These weeks gave me a good image of the work and duties of an Auditor and then I knew for sure: I want to be an Auditor at EY.” Thesis internship at EY During the Master Accountancy in Tilburg there is a lot of room for a thesis internship at an accountancy office. I wanted to use this opportunity, preferably at EY. When this option got offered to me, I took it with both hands and that’s how I started at EY Eindhoven at the start of this year. There is a great deal of advantages of writing a thesis at a company. We get an extra mentor from EY, we got offered the opportunity to go along towards customers and experience what working in audit is like, got to know more about EY and even got a generous monthly compensation. During my thesis internship I tagged along when visiting a large retail customer and a local government. These weeks gave me a good image of the work and duties of an Auditor and then I knew for sure: I want to be an Auditor at EY. Before I could realise this, I still had to graduate. Thankfully, also due to the good mentoring from EY, I managed to do this after completing my master thesis. I still had a few months left to enjoy my last summer as a student before my working life began. EY Induction My career could not have started better: A week with the starters of EY Netherlands and France to Greece during the EY Induction. This week was filled with trainings to train us for the first customers that would quickly follow. The evenings consisted of informal activities like a partner presentation, a Mr & Mrs EY election, EY’s Got Talent and different theme parties. An intense, but wonderful week. My first month Back in the Netherlands with a backpack of new knowledge I started as an auditor. I positively look back at the first month, where I met my first customers and teams. My customers for the coming year are very different, from large listed corporations to small care-institutions. The reason for this is to gain as much knowledge as possible and to see what is best suited for me. Because I started my Post Master Accountancy (PMA) at Tilburg University, I work from Monday until Thursday. Fridays are filled with working groups and colleagues at the university. This will continue until January when busy season begins: The busy season for auditors, when studying is put on hold for a while. Support from EY Just as with my thesis internship, as fresh new employees we get a lot of support from EY during our career. Everybody is divided across Development & Learning Teams (DLT): five people from your year and a senior that gets together four times a year to discuss experiences and challenges in an informal matter. Besides that, everybody gets assigned a counselor. With this counselor a study-plan is devised and discussed to help your career at EY. My advice Just like you probably noticed, I’m extremely happy with my choice to work for EY. During my orientation period I have been in contact with different Big4 offices. From my surroundings I often got the advice to pick ‘something that feels good’. Back then that was a tough choice. When is your feeling good enough? Now that I’m looking back at the past time, I can surely say that I chose based on feeling. In essence the jobs at different Big4 offices are very similar, which is why the company culture and its employees became more important in my choice. Within EY I appreciate the accessible culture that prevails amongst employees. My advice to students that still have to make a choice: Choose what feels best for you! How can you find out? By visiting different companies and their employees during in-house days, business courses and/or (thesis) internships.
Being active at Asset | Accounting & Finance – Column Stan Paau
My name is Stan Paau, and I am 21 years old. Recently, I obtained my BSc in Business Economics, and have been a member of Asset | Accounting & Finance for two years now. In this column I will explain what it is like to be an active member of Asset Accounting & Finance. In June 2016 I started with the Investments Committee. I felt drawn to this committee, as it puts the theory of the subjects Finance 1 & 2 into practice. A&F Investments is an investing club where about 25 members manage a portfolio. As analyst of this committee you pitch your ideas to invest in funds, in order to gain experience in investing and to learn about investing strategies and valuing companies. After being active for two years I am now fortunate enough to hold the position of External Affairs officer in the board of the committee. While this sounds fairly specific, I quickly started getting involved in the activities that Asset | Accounting & Finance organizes. The informal activities grant you the opportunities to get to know a fun and diverse group of people who share the same interests as you. During a casual drink or formal activity, an active members day where we all do something fun together, or during a cantus where the association is present, the mood is always good, even if you know few people! Through committee members or the board, you start getting to know people quickly. Asset | Accounting & Finance is an open organization: everyone is welcomed with open arms on the casual drinking nights and cases of hierarchy, prominence or hazing do not take place. The combination of a fun, informal group and building your future, is a combination that creates value for every active member!” Obviously, partying is not the only thing we do in this association. Asset | Accounting & Finance grants you various opportunities to become active next to your study, and to become familiar with companies that might become your next employer. Examples of such activities are the Accounting Expedition, the Financial Business Dinner and the FinanceDay. As a result of attending such activities, you get an insight in the fields of the companies are operating in, and whether it interests you or not. And the companies are definitely interested in you as well! Companies such as Duff & Phelps, Rabobank, First Dutch or Deloitte, are waiting for you. In addition, it is possible to obtain an internship or starting job as a result of the foundation you build by attending these events. Even more fun is to organize an event like this. Next to being External Affairs officer at Investments, I am active as Vice- Chairman of the Finance Expedition Committee. This committee organizes a three-day event in Amsterdam, which deals with the pillars of Finance: Risk Management, Corporate Finance and Asset Management. Two companies a day are visited by students selected by the companies based on their CV. Even though this might sound specific and formal as well, the vibe within the committee and during the meetings is informal. We discuss the important affairs seriously but like to enjoy a drink together and don’t say no to a committee-event. The responsibilities you have as an active member vary, depending on the committee you join. However, in each committee it is important that you complete your tasks as discussed, and that you actively participate in delivering quality during the activities. This way you can make a difference in a fun way by doing something enjoyable, fascinating or interesting for yourself, fellow students and other members of Asset | Accounting & Finance. In the two years that I have been member of A&F, I have learned that it has been an excellent decision to join this association. It opens doors to the student life with a fun group of people while you are doing something that interests you. In addition, I have learned how to work together with other people, and how to put your knowledge into practice. In short, on the one hand I see Asset | Accounting & Finance as an awesome group of students who want to make the most out of their time at university by becoming active and go on a journey together. On the other hand, I see Asset | Accounting & Finance as a huge first step in getting in touch with the countless employers that are waiting for you. The combination of a fun, informal group and building your future, is a combination that creates value for every active member! Are you interested in becoming active at Asset | Accounting & Finance? Have a look at the website or send a mail to vice-chairman@asset-accountingfinance.nl!
