We are not self-sufficient
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INTERVIEW WITH ALICJA KORBECKA, TAX ADVISER AND FOUNDER OF ACCO ACCOUNTING & CONSULTING OFFICE.
Interview by Iwona Pełszyńska
IP: “The most important ingredient in the recipe for success is the ability to cooperate” – these words by Theodore Roosevelt are your company’s motto. What, in your view, does ideal cooperation involve? What do you place particular emphasis on at your firm?
AK: Our industry is exceptionally demanding and specialised. It requires the parties working together to establish appropriate procedures for joint action as they work towards the most important element of cooperation: trust. We handle sensitive business data, most of which is confidential and provides a picture of the client’s operations. Because our work, the data we provide and our advice have a direct bearing on the consequences of our clients’ short-term and long-term business activities, we bear an exceptional responsibility. The trust we build over years of cooperation is therefore the result of applying continually updated knowledge, gained over many years of working with a wide range of industries, in our daily work with clients. It can only be achieved when we put the client’s values and expectations ahead of our own priorities, by listening to their needs while analysing the information and data we encounter in our day-to-day work with them.
IP: You have forty years of experience in accounting and, during your long career, have served on the supervisory boards of listed companies. Has the position of women in business changed, and if so, how? Are we doing better and better? If so, what do you think might explain this?
AK: Women in business today act with much greater confidence and speed than they did a dozen or several dozen years ago. An obvious factor is widespread access to high-quality education, opportunities to travel, discover the world and learn foreign languages, and access to information in general. Today’s women want to fulfil themselves not only as mothers and life partners, but above all to build on these values, which remain so important, through their knowledge, experience and skills. With the independence they have gained, they want to create lasting foundations and relationships based on partnership, enabling success in both their professional and private lives, which is so important to women’s way of thinking. Yet intuition, traditionally seen as a female strength, and a greater sense of perspective on what is happening around us, combined with the ability to analyse situations and available information as they unfold, still give us a considerable advantage over men’s approach to business.
IP: Your company is an established brand and has been in business since 1995. What were the main factors behind the success of ACCO Accounting & Consulting Office? During that time, many companies in this industry have come and gone. How can such success be achieved? What are you most proud of?
AK: I think it was precisely the female intuition I mentioned earlier that enabled us to pursue the company’s plans and goals consistently, at a steadily accelerating pace. A firmly individual approach, remaining a family business while avoiding the pitfalls of corporate structures, and the combined efforts of employees, clients and management brought the results we wanted. They enabled us to remain in the market during times of crisis and even revealed new paths for further development.
IP: What should an entrepreneur and a good manager remember when running a business?
AK: Certainly that, as a wise English saying puts it, in business “you are as good as your worst employee”. This means remembering that we are neither self-sufficient nor all-knowing. One of the most difficult skills for a business owner to master, and a mark of wisdom, is recognising that, much as we may wish to, we cannot achieve all our plans on our own when an organisation grows substantially, without the involvement of capable and trusted partners or colleagues. The greatest success of a good entrepreneur or manager is therefore the ability to bring together people who see meaning and opportunities for their own improvement in developing and pursuing, with passion and commitment, the principles, goals and ambitions of the company they work for.
IP: Is it harder today to start a business and remain in the market than it was in the 1990s, or is the opposite true? Perhaps market conditions, politics and other external circumstances do not matter when work is a passion and the manager is continually developing not only the company, but also themselves and their employees?
AK: It is certainly harder. Young entrepreneurs face the demanding task of breaking through intense competition, market saturation and tax and other compulsory financial burdens. Passion, consistency and perseverance, regardless of the obstacles and limitations encountered, are therefore essential to achieving success today. You need to observe the market closely, choose partners carefully and listen to consumers’ needs as well as the problems they face. You need to analyse competitors’ strengths and weaknesses in order to provide a better or different product or service that meets the expectations of today’s clients. We should remember that they, too, face the problems of the current market situation and are looking for solutions that will help them operate as effectively as possible and make the best decisions.
IP: Someone once said, “Success is only the beginning.” What, then, are ACCO Accounting & Consulting Office’s plans for the future?
AK: As usual, the plans are very ambitious. We are currently undergoing significant changes. The company is changing its legal structure, and a group of connected businesses is being created, effectively forming a holding structure. Individual specialisations will be established within ACCO Group so that the best specialists can share their knowledge in their own fields of expertise. Within the group, clients will receive a full range of services, from business and tax advice to the outsourcing of individual business processes such as accounting, controlling, HR and payroll, as well as access to various forms of finance, including grants. New technologies will of course be involved, such as specialist platforms connecting clients with outsourcing providers. Despite this extensive, comprehensive structure and these plans, our central principle remains that the business should stay a family organisation. This gives clients reassurance and confidence in the continuity of our work and in the commitment of both management and owners to the best interests of the organisations we serve.
Today’s women want to fulfil themselves not only as mothers and life partners, but above all to build on these values, which remain so important, through their knowledge, experience and skills. With the independence they have gained, they want to create lasting foundations and relationships based on partnership, enabling success in both their professional and private lives, which is so important to women’s way of thinking.
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