KSeF is another big challenge for accountants and new responsibilities, which were already numerous in the past. This is also reflected in the labor market.
— KSeF did not have such a strong impact on controlling or financial directors, but when it comes to accounting, it did Big changes are now visible – admits Michał Kłak, director at Michael Page, recruiting managers and directors for finance and accounting in an interview with Business Insider. The expert explains that companies want to employ a “modern” chief accountant, and there is one This is one of the biggest challenges for recruiters.
Michał Kłak explains how KSeF influences the labor market, what are the expectations of candidates and companies, and why it is so difficult to recruit an employee who is they offer up to 35 thousand PLN salary per month.
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It is about responsibility for company finances and settlements
— KSeF is a challenge mainly for accounting departments – says Michał Kłak. It is not that important for candidates in controlling. It significantly influences financial directors, but it is the chief accountant (because the profession is dominated by women) who is operationally responsible for tax settlements, financial statements, contacts with the tax office, and she is the one who signs the documents.
– There is also another perspective – adds Michał Kłak. He explains that most employees who decide to change companies are interested in promotion opportunities, the desire to prove themselves in new challenges, the opportunity to acquire new competences or increase responsibility. — In accounting, it's the other way around, says the expert.
Chief accountants exceptionally look at aspects of potential risks, e.g. whether it will be necessary to straighten out tax settlements from the past, whether the company has any arrears in terms of financial reporting, how well the financial systems are implemented.
— Accountants are therefore interested in how well the company's processes are organized, what technological solutions the company uses and whether they make accounting work easier or more difficult. Finally, the question arises at what stage the KSeF implementation is – says Michał Kłak. The expert adds that this is a topic that keeps accountants awake at night, because in the end it is the chief accountant in each structure who will be operationally responsible for implementing this project for the company.
This is also the expectation in companies.
— Nowadays, systems and technologies play an increasingly important role. That's why expectations to hire often come up when talking to clients chief accountant, but with a modern approach to running finances – says Michał Kłak.
What are the expectations of companies, i.e. who is a “modern accountant”?
Companies typically expect the chief accountant to have extensive substantive knowledge.
– Besides, more and more What counts is competence in system implementation, process optimization and automation, and broadly understood change management. Over the last year, it was these design competencies that were able to make the biggest difference in recruitment processes – says Michał Kłak.
Are accountants able to meet companies' requirements?
The problem is this – our interlocutor adds – That very often the expectations of company management boards are unrealistic. Accounting they don't want to work in companies that have messy processes, billing irregularities or arrears – it often turns out to be too much pressure and responsibility. — We are observing a new trend of more than in previous years, chief accountants who worked in large, complex organizations prefer to move to smaller companies, earn less, but also have a calmer and more comfortable job – explains Michał Kłak.
Accountants who in previous years focused on organizing processes and introducing numerous improvement projects (which is often associated with working after hours) are difficult to convince to change their job and accept an offer with a similar specificity. – Such people most often decide to take advantage of the opportunity to continue their career in a structured and stable work environment – admits the expert.
Accountants' salaries are growing the fastest on the market, but does it bring results?
Chief Accountants are not motivated by remuneration alone to change jobs. Although, as Michał Kłak admits – current remuneration of chief accountants are growing the fastest among all financial professions. This is related to the great responsibility of accountants. Moreover, many of them believe that this profession has been greatly undervalued for years.
— I agree with that. In recent years, the remuneration of chief accountants has been disproportionate to the responsibility. This is why current trend the salary increase is fair in my opinion – says Michał Kłak.
A few years ago, the salary of a chief accountant was around PLN 20,000. PLN per month. The peak salary was PLN 23,000. zloty. Currently 23-25 thousand PLN is standard, and very large organizations offer salaries of PLN 30,000-35,000. zloty. Moreover, as Michał Kłak admits, many people prefer B2B cooperation rather than full-time employment. The increase in wages is also associated with higher expectations of companies, which is natural.
— We are not only talking about the implementation of KSeF, but also the implementation of the ERP system, broad optimization and process automation. The highest salaries are awarded to candidates with additional experience in working with international accounting/financial reporting standards and preparing consolidated statements. – The problem is that such expectations are met by a very small group of candidates, and even fewer are interested in changing jobs – explains Michał Kłak.
Take care of your chief accountant
— Companies should value their chief accountants – advises Michał Kłak. Why? Because finding a person with analogous or similar competences for this position turns out to be difficult, and sometimes impossible. Especially if the company is not ready to offer remuneration adequate to today's dynamically growing standards of expectations of chief accountants.
— We always try to advise the client as best as we can and show various alternatives in relation to the market and the competences sought. For some companies, this means two options: they can reduce their accounting competence requirements or increase their salary budget. Unfortunately, there are no intermediate solutions, says Michał Kłak.
The expert emphasizes that a chief accountant is one of the most difficult people to find on the labor market today.
Author: Łukasz Zalewski, journalist of the Law section of Business Insider Polska
