2013.05.07 The 3rd meeting of the Polish-German Work Group
2012.06.21 New Country Delegates
Volkswagen Poznan is new ICV company member
Exchange views and make interesting contacts
IV. CIA Controlling Intelligence Adventure in Poznan
Polish-German work group meeting
Study: Remuneration Eastern Europe 2010
Work group leaders of ICV Poland
Work groups leaders' meeting 2009
II. CIA Controlling Intelligence Adventure - Poznan/Posen (Poland)
International controlling - Poland
The 3rd meeting of the Polish-German Work Group
We are pleased to invite you to our 3. Polish-German workshop. The PDA Polnischdeutscher Arbeitskreis ICV (Polish-German Work Group) was founded in February. The workshop on the topic "Controller Shared Service Center" will take place on May 24-25 and is organised by Polish-German teams. After the last meeting at Falkenhagen in Brandenburg/Germany we meet in Poznan this year. The language will be English and German.
New Country Delegates
Poland has its new Country Delegates now. After Andrzej Derkowski became Country Delegate we were looking for his Deputy. A perfect candidate was Małgorzata Podskarbi from Volkswagen Poznań Sp. z o.o. - a company member of the ICV. She's also active in the Work Group Poznań - Berlin Brandenburg.
Małgorzata Podskarbi was one of the speakers on the 6th International Controller Congress in Poznań (April 26-27, 2012). She talked about cost and investment awareness in her company. The leitmotif was the thesis that a good firm has more enterpreneurs in the enterprise - that's why there is an educational program in Volkswagen with the aim to build economic attitudes.
Andrzej Derkowski
Małgorzata Podskarbi
Meeting of the Work Group Gdańsk
On March 29-30, 2012 there was a meeting of the Work Group Gdańsk. The meeting took place on the new stadion in Gdańsk prepared for UEFA Euro 2012 and the participants could see the building with a tour guide. The controllers talked about the role and responsibilities of controllers on the example of Stokvis Tapes Polska Sp. z o.o.
More: http://www.controllerverein.com/AK-Portrait.138775.html
Work group Poznan met
„The great day – when the information for solving a management problem is only a push button away – is closer than you think.”
Business Week [1963]
The participants of the Polish work group Poznan met on November 16-17, 2011 to discuss the problem of successful reporting – the subject of the first part of the meeting was “Manager’s cocpit”, the topic of the second part - “How to speak correctly”.
The two-days meeting started with the dinner on the Wednesday evening. The ICV members could “catch up” – it has been a few months since the last meeting in the spring. On Thursday, after dr Dariusz Gulczynski welcomed the participants, the first speaker was Jakub Tomaszewski from Hansgrohe. He spoke about the cocpit of a manager – he showed how controllers from Hansgrohe prepare reports and what information they choose. His speech was also a chance to present the philosophy of the company – to visit “Aquademy” – where you can see the products of the firm and some bathroom stylizations and to present the understanding of the controller’s function and how it has changed since 1993.
After dinner dr Justyna Gulczynska had her speech – she taught the participants how to stand and breathe correctly, how to modulate our voice in conversations, how to use our voice in negotiations and how to recognize the partner’s intentions only observing the way he’s speaking.
The next meeting of the work group Poznan is planned for December 15, 2011 – it will be a “Christmas meeting” – more with the aim of spending some time together than to work. The next work shop of the group takes place in February 2012.
Reports for decision makers
At their meeting in September 2011 the members of the ICV work group Szczecin talked about "Reports for decision makers". Here you can see what questions they were dealing with.
Volkswagen Poznan is new ICV company member
„Excellence, then, is a state concerned with choice, lying in a mean, relative to us, this being determined by reason and in the way in which the man of practical wisdom would determine it”.
Arystoteles
Company membership
in the International Controller Association
It is out great pleasure to announce that
Volkswagen Poznań Sp. z o.o.
has joined the ranks of companies working together as members of the International Controller Association. We’d like to thank them for their already lasting cooperation and the Controlling Department staff’s commitment towards it. The International Controller Association has gotten a competent Partner, whose vast knowledge and experience resources are priceless for current and future ICV members. We are certain that through our mutual values: openness for new challenges, enthusiasm in actions, as well as through knowledge and experience, we’ll be able to create a new quality of controlling in Poland and everywhere else in Europe, which we all wish for each other.
Szymon Trzebiatowski dr Adrianna Lewandowska
Chairman for Finances & Organisation Chairman
Volkswagen Poznań Sp. z o.o. Int. Controller Association e.V.
Exchange views and make interesting contacts
The omnipresent changes more and more clearly create a new vision of a financial controller who is close to business, problems and hard decisions. He is reliable and objective, notices risks and points out opportunities. He is a partner with whom it is easier to go through turbulences and storms, gaining new customers and new markets. Read more here (Download PDF)
IV. CIA Controlling Intelligence Adventure in Poznan
On 27.-28. May 2010 Poznan became a capital of Polish controlling. As every year there appeared controllers from leading Polish and foreign companies to take part in the 4th International Congress of Controllers: Controlling Intelligence Adventure (CIA).
This year the participants came in large numbers not only to exchange experiences, get to know new trends and raise their references, but also or mainly, to estimate what is the real picture “after storm”.
The results, which are possible to define after numerous discussions and presented lectures are unambiguous, the last crisis again very strongly defined the role of a controller in a company. Without doubt, in a contemporary situation, a controller must be close to business, close to market problems and often difficult decisions. They need to have not only analytical skills but also must interpret market relations, competition context and define strategic scenarios better than before.
To be a real management partner, a controller must be himself a leader of changes, a creator of new challenges, increase his self confidence and communication skills. They have to change from hermetic structure of the language of numbers, charts and tables into the world of business, relations, links and also emotions, which accompany these changes.
The borders of the responsibility scope enlarge, the endless work on relations between finances and business is obligatory so as mutual understanding could help in gaining competition advantage in future.
However, there is an optimistic idea from the picture shown by spokespeople as well as from backstage conversations that many Polish controllers have been ready to accept this challenge and take up a role of reliable and objective partner, who points at risks, notices chances and can not only define them but also interpret in a wider business context.
They definitely stated that they became partners for the boards, who were more helpful to go through storms and turbulences. Boards’ Presidents taking part in the Congress emphasized the necessity of this direction and tight cooperation in the scope of creating a strategy, setting new business frames and defining business together.
Backstage conversations and evening integration meetings proved again that apart from substantial development, taking part in the CIA Congress is a great chance to exchange views and make new, interesting contacts.
Polish-German work group meeting
- The two organising groups first met in January 2010 in Poznan in order to set up the framework of the joint meeting. Thereto the report by Kerstin Hoffmann and a video at ControllingTV.
- The return visit followed at the beginning of April in Berlin. Here you can download Marian Kubiak's review of the meeting and watch the respective video.
- Castle Lagow - geographically situated exactly between Poznan and Berlin - hosted our common meeting. A report by Darius "Darek" Gulczynski will follow soon. The video offers an impression of the meeting. Different presentations mirror the topics discussed.
Study: Remuneration Eastern Europe 2010
The financial and economic crisis has an effect on the job markets in Central and Eastern Europe. Nevertheless, basic salaries are continuing to grow. Although altogether, annual salary increases are more moderate than in previous years at an average of 4.5 percent. It is above all the variable payments that have been significantly reduced. In the salary rankings in Central and Eastern Europe, Russian executive managers earn the most, closely followed by Poland, the Czech Republic and Croatia. In a business with more than 500 employees, a Russian CEO earns an average of EUR 189,258 per year. His colleague in Romania earns just under a third with EUR 57,322. In comparison with Austrian and German CEOs who earn between EUR 305,000 and 328,000, the countries in Central and Eastern Europe are still a long way behind. These are the results of the “Remuneration Eastern Europe 2010” study, drawn up by Kienbaum management consultancy. Data from 52,150 positions in 446 businesses was evaluated for the study. The survey encompasses results from Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russia and Slovakia.
Highest remuneration in Russian and Polish companies
Across all positions and business sizes, Russian and Polish companies pay the highest salaries, followed by the Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary and Slovakia. Romania brings up the rear.
Variable remuneration is noticeably lower than in previous years
While in previous years, salaries in Russia and Romania increased on average by up to 20 percent, they rose by only around ten percent during the last year. Although the fixed salaries increased in line with the inflation rates of the respective countries, variable payments dropped noticeably: If they came to an average of 24 percent of the total salary in Poland in 2009, in 2010 they constituted only 17 percent. “It is indeed in difficult economic times that variable remuneration models have a high significance: They offer businesses the possibility for personnel costs savings without having to immediately announce redundancies”, says the Kienbaum remuneration expert Maria Smid from Vienna.
Additional benefits are an important part of remuneration in all countries
Eastern European businesses retain additional benefits even in times of crisis, in order to keep good employees and recruit qualified personnel. The type and scope of additional benefits vary in the countries covered in the survey: While pension benefits are very popular in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and in Hungary – depending on the position, between 33 and 76 percent of employees in these countries receive old-age provisions from their company – this form of additional benefit does not exist in Russia and Romania. Company cars for the upper levels of management are, however, well established in the large internationally operating companies in all countries. More than 90 percent of CEOs receive a company car worth EUR 35,000 to EUR 40,000. Middle management, above all in the fields of finance and sales, are provided with a company car worth EUR 20,000 to EUR 25,000. In addition to this, further training, private medical insurance and corporate lending are used as additional benefits.
Considerable relief on the job markets
Whilst companies had to compete for personnel across all positions and industries in 2008, the situation on the job markets has significantly relaxed as a result of the bad economic situation. The number of applications has considerably increased in 2010 in comparison to 2009: Two thirds of the companies interviewed in Hungary and 52 percent in Russia registered an increase in the number of applicants. Despite this, qualified personnel are still in demand. Retention of good employees also remains a current topic. “In economically difficult times, it is easier for companies to retain their workforce because the security of a job gains even more importance in the eyes of most employees. It is especially in Russia and Romania, where employees change their work place very frequently as compared to the rest of the world, that this change in attitude could in the future provide for lower fluctuation and greater loyalty”, says Smid.
Kienbaum is the market leader in Executive Search and HR-Management in German-speaking Europe and it is one of the leading management consulting firms. On the basis of its integrated consulting approach Kienbaum accompanies enterprises from the main economic sectors during their processes of change from the concept to its implementation. Kienbaum unites verifiable personnel expertise with deep knowledge of strategy, organisation and communication.
For further information please contact:
Mag. Maria Smid, MBA
Tel: +43 1 533 5188-22
Mail: maria.smid@kienbaum.at
Work group leaders of ICV Poland
Under my umbrella
Work groups leaders' meeting 2009
The Polish ICV regional leaders met on March 6th and 7th 2009 in order to discuss the rules of the workgroups in Poland.
The main objective was that of finding methods for reinforcing the prestige of the ICV. All members agreed to the fact that the most important advantage of the ICV is the possibility of exchanging international controlling know-how with other ICV members. A high demand of best controlling practices can be noticed in the CEE countries. The ICV in Poland intends to turn the controllers' meetings into the exceptional way of solving every day business problems of financial controllers with the help of international experts' knowledge and experience.
II. CIA Controlling Intelligence Adventure - Poznan/Posen (Poland)
The 2nd CIA Controlling Intelligence Adventure in Poznan / Posen managed to gather 30% more participants than last year and this in spite of the rather unfavourable meeting date in October. Thus the ICA*-conference has already turned into the market leader for controlling meetings in Poland.
It was the first time that the conference spread over two days. The meeting was organised by Dr. Adrianna Lewandowska, member of the ICA-board. Controllers from all the parts of the country reported on their controlling experience. Among this year's speakers counted also Dr. Jablonski, the head of the ICA-work group Kattowitz, and Tomasz M. Zielinski who is going to found an international oriented ICA-experience work group on the topic "Activity based costing" (ABC) in May 2009.
The 3rd edition of CIA in Poznan / Posen will take place already in June 2009, in order to give much more controllers the opportunity to inform themselves about the latest controlling trends.
* ICA = International Controller Association
Initial point of the ICV internationalization
Controlling in Poland has grown up - it was born in the 90s when a great deal of political and economical transformation in this country had taken place. Until then controlling had not been required and only control had existed, without being submitted to any economic reason. Simply the opening of the markets has created demand for this kind of knowledge as potential support for corporate management.
(Participants of the 3rd work group session in Poznan (from left to right): Ewa Kedzia, Dr. Adrianna Lewandowska, Dr. Pawel Kuzdowicz and Juliusz Kolasinski)
Who are exactly the "founding fathers" of controlling in Poland? There exist many people having forwarded and accompanied this development. One of them is special: Dr. Stefan Olech. 18 years ago he had felt the need for knowledge of controlling and had contacted the German controlling godfather Dr. Albrecht Deyhle and the Controller Akademie Gauting/Munich, Germany. As a consequence, a complex educational controlling program in Poland has been established offering seminars, controlling academies awarding diplomas and controlling translators, as well as genuine technical literature.
The importance of the fast development of controlling derived from markets prospering with high speed. Not only many Poles have taken great advantage of the new market chances but also foreign companies. By the end of 2006, for example, 5,718 German companies have invested more than 13 billion dollars in Poland. Nowadays Germany is the most important investor in Poland related to number and amount of investments, including many small and medium-sized companies placing investments in Poland. These investments and the dynamic growth of domestic companies have also induced the training and practice of new management methods. As a consequence many highly qualified employees in Poland have discovered new and very target-oriented tasks: how to think strategically, how to act respectively and also how to report on the proceedings.
This way the controlling philosophy spread. Today an increasing number of controllers exist, strengthening corporate management. The "controlling child" has grown up. Moreover, many changes have taken place: in the course of time controllers have asked more and more concrete and practical questions, as for example "How can the management process be accompanied in practice?" How are we able to prepare and interpret respective information better and faster? How can we organize our work more efficiently and effectively? For answering these questions appropriately only few "support centers" exist. Read more or download this article.
Dr. Adrianna Lewandowska,
Member of the ICA-executive board
adrianna.lewandowska@icv.pl