“An accountant used to be somebody who checked people for possible involvement in financial malpractices. Nowadays, accountants are mostly wily people who devise tricks in an obscurely illuminated twilight zone. On the edge of the cliff bloom the most beautiful flowers.” A quote by Youp van ‘t Hek in his column on the last page of the Saturday edition of the NRC Handelsblad, early September 2017. Regarding this picture: the role of the accountant as confidential agent of social traffic, as independent controller, as the person who provides assurance with (financial) data, is far from reality in Youp’s opinion. Is the comedian alone in his view? Unfortunately not. In the same week that this opinion was published, several members of the Dutch House of Representatives railed against the Minister of Finance about accountants. “When I think of accountants, I think of scandals”, stated Renske Leijten, MP for the Socialistic Party. As an example, she enumerated a series of fraud scandals which involved accountants. Pieter Couwenbergh, columnist for the Financieel Dagblad, described failing audits as “rituals associated with daily life.” In most cases, accountants perform excellent, their clients are satisfied, they deliver demonstrable added value for companies and add certainty to financial information. And that year after year. They are appreciated for their expert judgment, their independent view and their knowledge of figures and organizations. But one case of fraud mentioned in the Financial Times or the Guardian, with an accountant of the Big Four who did not do enough to prevent it, and the goose is cooked. Then, accountants are ‘wily types’. And we can’t but confess honestly that too much went wrong in recent years. If too many incidents occur, we may speak of a structural problem. Interests were too big, bills were too high and clients were suddenly named ‘blue chip clients’. Auditing firms became service providers and provided non-stop shopping. The accountant was more and more seen as a flexible account manager, who had to guide his advising colleagues inside. Sometimes, audits were deliberately sold with a loss. The consultancy revenues would compensate for this loss. ‘Applause for the audit team that brought the prestigious assignment in this way!’ Yes, eventually this will go wrong. The basis for the problems that the profession still has to deal with, originates in the two decades before the Enron Scandal in 2001. Which does not mean that everything went well after that. Audit firms are currently working hard to improve the audit quality. The measures from the sector improvement plan (the report ‘In the public interest’ from the Institute of Chartered Accountants) are neatly implemented. But according to the latest analysis, the core of the problem is deeper: lack of knowledge of the rules and regulations, too tight deadlines, partners who are not sufficiently involved, unbalanced teams, lack of a professional-critical attitude. Unruly problems, which require a real change of culture. That is a lot harder than installing a decent board of directors or taking an oath. But this has to be; change has to come from within. “You can’t present junk as a gem, even if you present it bright.” It’s due to communication, claim some accountants, if they feel that society does not understand them. But communication cannot justify things that are crooked. You can’t present junk as a gem, even if you present it bright. Doing your job well, that works. The good news is that the youngest professionals has been raised with these issues from day one. That they grow in a profession which changes its focus from commerce to quality. So now, accountants sometimes make the headlines because they refuse to sign for a client. ‘No, I do not sign, because it is not alright.’ One can hope that we will read similar stories in the future. Trust can be earned back with proven quality. Then, that reputation will eventually be okay. Be good and tell it – in that order.
Working at PwC
My name is Jordi de Oude, I am 24 years old and live in Eindhoven. I have been working at PwC for 2 years now, first as an intern, and later as an Associate in the Assurance department within PwC Eindhoven. Simultaneously, I am finishing my last course of the Post-Master Accountancy in Tilburg. Next to my studies I enjoy spending my weekends with family or riding my motorcycle. After high school, in 2012, I moved from Apeldoorn to Tilburg to study for a bachelor in Business Economics. Despite the fact that I was an active member of Asset | Marketing, I quickly discovered that Accountancy-related courses inspired me the most. Crunching numbers and the story behind the figures I found most interesting. This interest became extra clear because of the Inhousedays of several accountancy firms I enjoyed. As a result, I started with a Master in Accountancy after graduating in the Bachelor Business Economics. During my Master I did an internship with PwC and wrote my thesis here. Why PwC? During my studies I had the opportunity to look around several offices, both in the Big-4 and smaller offices. Ultimately, I chose to join one of the Big-4 office, because I believed I could develop myself optimally there. Of course, that led to the question: Which office? I decided based on my gut feeling. I have been to a lot of events, like the Inhousedays, BBQ-nights and case-days. As a result, I became more familiar with 3 of the 4 major offices. Therefore, I went into job interviews with multiple offices, but during these talks my preference for PwC became clear rapidly. “Go to as many of the events organized as possible to get a good impression of the culture at the companies.” I immediately felt at home, connected with my colleagues and experienced the most informal vibe here. Also, I had the impression that PwC was really willing to invest in me, in order for me to develop myself. In addition, you are placed in a 2-year development program of Pwc, The Associate Academy, where you get to develop yourself with the assistance of a coach, a lot of work experience, training and social events. Experience so far Within PwC I am in the final phase of the Associate Academy. During this program I had the opportunity to gather experience within almost every department, something that distinguishes PwC from the other firms. Next to that, I had the opportunity to develop myself within the program because of the great guidance of a coach, the multiple trainings that are organized, and sparring during the training days with other Associates of my year. In addition to the work and training, a lot of activities are organized where you can get to know your colleagues in a different way. For example, I went on a weekend trip to Cologne with fellow Associates of the office in Eindhoven, every year we go on a ski trip, and multiple team outings are organized, which vary from a diner to a trip to the Efteling. In addition, sports events are regularly organized, like an indoor football- or tennis tournament. Soon, PwC will be having its 125 anniversary and to celebrate there will be a big party for all the offices in the Netherlands. In short, a lot of opportunities to get to know colleagues in an informal way. In conclusion, PwC offers you the room to develop yourself in other areas than Accountancy, as I am involved in the recruitment team of the south region of the Netherlands within PwC, and I am part of the Connected Running. Through Connected Running me and a couple of colleagues organize jogging work-outs for colleagues and clients. My tips for students Go to as many of the events organized as possible to get a good impression of the culture at the companies. Ultimately, all the offices have the same type of clients and same working activities, and the difference is made by the type of people that work there and the culture of the firm. It is a search for the place that makes you feel at home. In addition, I made the right choice to write my thesis at an Accountancy firm. This kind of experience offers the opportunity to have an insight in a company where you might end up working, a look at the kind of activities you might be performing, and most of all, to get to know the people. I can recommend you to do this. Try to join a team during an internship, so you get a good impression of the work.
Working at Joore
My name is Marieke Haans, I am 23 years old and living in Tilburg. After finishing high school, I graduated for my bachelor Business- and Consumer studies at Wageningen University. During my bachelor I discovered I was more interested in subjects as for example business economics and mathematics than I expected.. During my bachelor, I moved to Amsterdam to study for a minor in Accountancy at the University of Amsterdam. For me, this was a confirmation to start the master Accountancy. Momentarily, I find myself in the graduating phase at Tilburg University, while working 2 to 3 days a week at Joore. In September I will continue with the Post Master Accountancy. Other than studying and working, I like to play hockey, have a drink or go to dinner with family and friends. In February 2017 I started my master in Accountancy. Usually the lectures are scheduled on two weekdays which creates the possibility of gaining work experience next to your master. – In March 2017 I started working for Joore as a working student assistant-accountant , and I definitely do not regret the decision. Joore especially appealed to me because it characterizes itself as a young, ambitious organization with an open and personal approach. Moreover, I thought it was important to choose for an office with a good vibe and a firm I felt comfortable with. The major advantage of working at Joore is the intensive collaboration with colleagues, both chartered- and assistant-accountants and tax specialists. I have experienced that we can learn a lot from each other. In contrast to other small accounting firms, we serve many audit clients. Moreover, I have the chance to develop myself internationally. Joore co-operates intensively with a Romanian accounting firm. Many of our clients are internationally oriented as well. Joore is very flexible about the number of hours I can and want to work. It is completely fine to work only one day or not at all during my exams, and usually three days during other weeks. When I started working at Joore, the focus was on compilation work. . I have experienced that learning how to book and compile an administration is a solid base for further growth. After a short while I started visiting clients, for both auditing and compilation assignments within a team. Nowadays, I generally work for a client for several days and I work as a full-fledged team member in various assignments. Joore is very flexible about the number of hours I can and want to work. It is completely fine to work only one day or not at all during my exams, and usually three days during other weeks. I also appreciate the monthly evaluation about my progress. This allows me to discuss personal and business related topics with my direct colleagues. Do you want to know more about the possibilities for you at Joore? Visit our site for more information or contact Britt Donkers (britt.donkers@joore.nl – 013-5900017). Joore is always looking for motivated colleagues!
Working at Joore
My name is Marieke Haans, I am 23 years old and living in Tilburg. After finishing high school, I graduated for my bachelor Business- and Consumer studies at Wageningen University. During my bachelor I discovered I was more interested in subjects as for example business economics and mathematics than I expected.. During my bachelor, I moved to Amsterdam to study for a minor in Accountancy at the University of Amsterdam. For me, this was a confirmation to start the master Accountancy. Momentarily, I find myself in the graduating phase at Tilburg University, while working 2 to 3 days a week at Joore. In September I will continue with the Post Master Accountancy. Other than studying and working, I like to play hockey, have a drink or go to dinner with family and friends. In February 2017 I started my master in Accountancy. Usually the lectures are scheduled on two weekdays which creates the possibility of gaining work experience next to your master. – In March 2017 I started working for Joore as a working student assistant-accountant , and I definitely do not regret the decision. Joore especially appealed to me because it characterizes itself as a young, ambitious organization with an open and personal approach. Moreover, I thought it was important to choose for an office with a good vibe and a firm I felt comfortable with. The major advantage of working at Joore is the intensive collaboration with colleagues, both chartered- and assistant-accountants and tax specialists. I have experienced that we can learn a lot from each other. In contrast to other small accounting firms, we serve many audit clients. Moreover, I have the chance to develop myself internationally. Joore co-operates intensively with a Romanian accounting firm. Many of our clients are internationally oriented as well. Joore is very flexible about the number of hours I can and want to work. It is completely fine to work only one day or not at all during my exams, and usually three days during other weeks. When I started working at Joore, the focus was on compilation work. . I have experienced that learning how to book and compile an administration is a solid base for further growth. After a short while I started visiting clients, for both auditing and compilation assignments within a team. Nowadays, I generally work for a client for several days and I work as a full-fledged team member in various assignments. Joore is very flexible about the number of hours I can and want to work. It is completely fine to work only one day or not at all during my exams, and usually three days during other weeks. I also appreciate the monthly evaluation about my progress. This allows me to discuss personal and business related topics with my direct colleagues. Do you want to know more about the possibilities for you at Joore? Visit our site for more information or contact Britt Donkers (britt.donkers@joore.nl – 013-5900017). Joore is always looking for motivated colleagues!
Accounting Expedition 2018: Experience the Expertise!
February 28, time has come for the Accounting Expedition of 2018 to kick off. For months the committee worked their fingers through the bone in order create a successful event. The hotel was booked, the students were overloaded with the well-known AccEx-tea and the participating companies could not wait to open their doors for the participants. Students gathered on a Wednesday afternoon at 15:30. With a brief welcoming message and introduction the expedition got underway. Then it was time to go to the station and catch the train to Eindhoven. So far everything went smoothly: We were half an hour ahead of schedule and had lost no one. Once arrived in Eindhoven we checked in at Hotel Glow, put all of our luggage in our rooms and had time for a cup of coffee in the lounge of the hotel. Around 19:45 we left for Eetcafé Spijker to have dinner together in order to get to know one another. With a few drinks after dinner a friendship was established. With the thought in mind that we had two long days ahead of us we left at a reasonable hour in order to get some necessary shut-eye. “We had an interactive case about internal processes, risk and control measures of a real customer.” The first alarm clocks went off around 6:30 that Thursday morning. The shower was turned on, the business casual outfit was laid out and at 7:15 the first participants trickled into Vascobelo to enjoy a lovely breakfast. Everything was still going smoothly until someone lost their bag at the cafe. He sprinted back to fetch it and with the whole group still together we left in time to the next company: Joanknecht. Against all odds we defied cold and harsh weather conditions due to strong eastern winds from Russia and were happy to arrive at the office to warm up. Here at Joanknecht, we received a word of welcome from one of the partners, played a quiz and the winner was rewarded with the Joanknecht-Mini for a week. After this small introduction it was time for more serious business: An interactive case about internal processes, risk and control measures of a real customer of Joanknecht. Time flew by and before we knew it we were already having lunch at Plein 4. After the delicious lunch it was time for our next visit to EY and the program was opened in their panorama bar with a spectacular view of the skyline of Eindhoven. We continued the program with an interactive quiz after having asked all sorts of questions to the partner and (senior) staff. Who would have thought the quiz would end in a tie with 3 teams, it all came down to which team came closest to guessing the correct circumference of the earth. Team ‘Plein 4’ came closest and left the two losing teams ‘Bij twijfel C’ and ‘EWives’ in their wake. In the meantime everyone had gotten hungry again and together with some of the staff from EY we left for Plein 4, where we have now become regular visitors. After an enjoyable dinner it was time to call it a day but not without having a drink in our favourite pub Spijker. “The enthusiastic and driven students in particular made the Accounting Expedition a success.” On Friday morning we were allowed fifteen minutes of extra sleep and just like yesterday we were well in time to catch the bus to our next firm: Baker Tilly Berk. After being welcomed, receiving a cup of coffee and a tour through their recently refurbished office it was time for a workshop in integrity given by a partner. This broached a completely different subject of the accountancy world which gave us insight into a different aspect of the profession. Subsequently we were treated with a wonderful homemade lunch and because of this we lost track of time and had to hurry to get to the last firm of the expedition. In retrospect, that was not necessary because the bus had a delay. In an overcrowded bus we went to Eindhoven Central to catch the train back to Tilburg. With a few minutes to spare we were all able to get on the train and take a seat in a completely empty compartment. It turned out that the electricity was not working and with that our hopes of warming ourselves up was crushed. Nearly frozen to the bone we arrived in Tilburg and took the bus to BDO and to make matters worse the bus driver never showed up resulting in us arriving 10 minutes late. Nevertheless we were welcomed with open arms, could listen to a partner who enthusiastically told about the company and afterwards left with bus driver Wesley to one of BDO’s more interesting customers: Willem II. At Willem II we were welcomed by the general manager to whom we could ask all our (football-related) questions. After the question round we worked on a client-specific case and ended the day and expedition with a drink in one of the business rooms at Willem II. Unfortunately this time not with the catering from Plein 4 but with a delicacy from Tilburg, namely ‘broodje Jantje’. And so forth the expedition came to an end. All in all the expedition was educational but above all pleasant. The enthusiastic and driven students in particular made the event a success. During the expedition we did not lose anyone, only arrived late once and everyone learned the ins and outs of the accountancy profession in order to be able to orientate themselves towards their future. Finally I would like to thank Steven, Daan, Nadia and Kirstin for their hard work within this committee. Of course, an honourable mention goes out to our coordinator Sanne. Through the efforts of everyone we have managed to realize this beautiful event. I can proudly say that the Accounting Expedition 2018 was an overwhelming success!
Working at Van Oers
Can you introduce yourself? My name is Thomas Oomen, 25 years old and originally from Breda. Currently, I’ve been working as Assistant Accountant at Van Oers in the Audit department for over 2,5 years. Van Oers is a large regional firm with 5 branches in West-Brabant, with about 300 employees and is targeted at the SME sector. Other than work and studying I enjoy occasionally drinking a specialty beer with friends and closely follow football. During my high school career, I was most interested in subjects like M&O and Economics, and discovered quickly I would like to do something in Economics. More specifically, the numerical aspect was the most appealing to me at the time. After graduating with a VWO diploma I started my bachelor in Business Economics in 2011 at Tilburg University. During the bachelor I had affinity with subjects in the field of accountancy and after graduating in Business Economics I continued with a Master in Accountancy, also at Tilburg University. Currently I am in the concluding phase of the Post-Master Accountancy. How did you end up at Van Oers? During the third year of the bachelor Business Economics and the master Accountancy I came in contact with multiple Accountancy firms, particularly Big4 firms. After a couple of conversations during, for example, workshops at the university, I didn’t feel like I had a good connection with any of the companies. Therefore, I continued looking in the Breda region and after a short search, a phone call, and a couple interviews I ended up at Van Oers. Ultimately, I chose a smaller regional accountancy firm, since these are more compact in size. Because of that, there are shorter lines of communication and I experience it as a more personal and more informal environment. Also, firms like these are more focused on the SME sector. Organizations in the SME sector are smaller in size than listed companies, so it’s easier to get a clear view of the whole organization and administration. “At Van Oers there is an informal, open and personal environment and I can describe Van Oers as a Burgundian organization.” What are your duties at Van Oers? Working at Van Oers is very diverse. Van Oers is mostly focused on for-profit clients in various sectors, like production, trade and service companies in, for example, transport and logistics, construction and agricultural industry. Because organizations in the SME sector are limited in size, we deal with a lot of different types of companies. This results in a lot of variety: one week a production company, the next a service-oriented company with completely different characteristics and concerns. The activities are conducted in varying teams, tailored to the client. The team consists of a group of colleagues coming from different hierarchical levels and together they perform the audit procedures. As a starter, the learning curve in the first period is almost vertical, and there is a lot to learn from more experienced colleagues. Working in an accounting firm comes with a lot of responsibilities, which requires high involvement from the employee. Besides the Audit department, Van Oers has, among others, a payment-, fiscal-, and consultancy department. Because employees work together in an informal way, it’s easy to gather advice from colleagues if something more complicated comes up during the audit. This ensures that next to development in the area of auditing, employees also gather basic knowledge in, for example, the fiscal area. How would you describe Van Oers? At Van Oers there is an informal, open and personal environment and I can describe Van Oers as a Burgundian organization. Every team member gets their own responsibilities within an assignment, depending on his or her position. This supports personal development, which prepares you swiftly for the next step in your career. In addition, it ensures a high level of involvement from colleagues in the assignment. Besides development on the practical level, Van Oers emphasizes development in the theoretical area. Practically all colleagues in the Audit department are currently enrolled in either the pre-master, master or post-master to become a register accountant. What are your ambitions? My ambition is to become a register accountant. Until then I want to develop myself as much as possible, which is certainly possible at Van Oers. Development is possible in both the professional and personal sense. Van Oers offers, besides professional training and gatherings, an internal educational path on a personal level, like behavior and management. Often this takes place with colleagues from other departments. Do you have any advice for students? I would like to advise students to look at the full picture and to learn more about the company you want to work for. Think about the type of clients you enjoy working with, what work environment and culture suits you and ask for the experiences of people working there. After all, you spend a significant part of your week at the job with your colleagues. Make sure that you have the right connection with your future employer.