We don’t follow the traditional route of the market, in order to meet existing market conditions and play along. Rather we’ve been creating our own standards, while we’ve stayed entrepreneurial, remained bold, excelled in quality and aligned our pricing policy with these principles. This is what distinguishes us from others
The core business activity of the company is accounting, including the preparation of financial statements and management reports. The company additionally focuses on services related to corporate income tax and VAT returns, payroll compliance and tax advisory.
“This means that not only do we provide tax planning services and excel in tax ruling negotiations, but we are equally efficient in handling the day-to-day accounting and tax requirements of everyone form medium-sized companies to large global corporations and high net worth individuals,” says Ekonomik Accountants Owner Jacco Landsmeer.
“It may sound like a cliché, but what our customers are truly after is a high level of security, assertiveness, responsiveness and, most importantly, the quality of work that we deliver on a daily basis. We breathe the same air as our customers.”
You were recently awarded by the “Best Performing Companies in Montenegro” and officially became a market leader in the auditing & accounting industry during 2020. What is the secret to your success?
-Allow me to explain how we decided to build up Ekonomik Accountants about eight years ago. We literally drew a linear graph on a small piece of paper. It showed what a single new contracted customer per week for the next five years would mean. On top of that, we added estimates of the revenues, costs and gross profit margin. We decided quality must rule, in every sense of that word, on a permanent basis.
It is worth mentioning that we launched this firm with just one customer and one employee. This employee still works with us today and now has his own team, which he manages excellently and with the same enthusiasm as when he started. We’ve contracted over 500 companies since then (which is more than one per week over an eight-year period). These were mostly good deals, though some were not so good. And the not so good ones teach you how to improve.
The key is to believe in your own values and your own strength. We didn’t follow the traditional route of the market, in order to meet existing market conditions and play along. Rather we’ve created our own standards, while we’ve stayed entrepreneurial, remained bold, excelled in quality and aligned our pricing policy. It sounds simple, but almost no accounting firm did that at that time. Everybody was (and often still is) just price fighting. I believe that’s mistaken. It’s not what the customers are after: they want quality for their money.
How do you envisage the development of accounting business climate in Montenegro, in terms of your longterm market goals?
-You ask me about the future of the accounting industry and what the market expects from us as a service provider? It’s clear what needs to be done: it is time for a higher level of standardisation, better formalisation and the categorisation of accounting firms.
It is important to customers that accounting firms are audited regularly; that they satisfy all criteria in terms of liabilities, level of knowledge of legislation and the proper data security protocols. Workflows, information security and AML protocols are also equally important. Certain certifications and regular controls have to become mandatory for every market player. This will engage the industry to achieve higher professionalism throughout the entire accounting sector, equating to the better performance of services.