Hana, Senior Payroll Consultant in ASB, talked to us about what the payroll agenda means for her. Before joining ASB, she had gained her experience in a bigger corporate payroll team as well as in a smaller one, in in-house payroll accounting and also as a payroll consulant of an outsourcing company. Why has she been working in this field for so long and what does she like about her job in ASB?
How long have you been working for ASB and how long have you been working in the payroll business?
I have been working 5.5 years in ASB, all the time in the Payroll team. I have been working in the payroll services for 20 years, so I had had experience from a similar position when I came here. Nevertheless, due to frequent legislation changes we have to adapt to ever emerging new things. It is not that unusual in this field, as our agenda is influenced by many other aspects - tax news, occupational safety, social and health insurance and the legislation - not only the Labour Code, but also related legislation. These constantly changing factors, due to which one is constantly learning and adapting, have actually been the reason why I have been working in this field for so long. At the same time, getting oriented in this ever changing environment is the most challenging part of payroll services we provide. Sometimes, it is difficult to guess what changes are expected and what changes have been actually passed by the legislator. The reason is also frequent time delays between the moment when respective changes start to be discussed and the moment they are finally approved by the parliament. Unlike the common bookkeeping, the payroll agenda is also about the communication with people rather than just about numbers. During my career in this field I therefore had the opportunity to meet a great number of inspirational persons from various fields.
Could you please describe your current job and its scope of activities?
Now, I already work on a senior position. My main task is the agenda and care for key clients, to whom we provide services in full (often including the HR agenda associated with the administration of employment contracts), care for clients, who are specific in terms of the range of provided services, as well as the support and leadership of junior team members and the mutual coordination with colleagues in team. I like mentoring junior members of the team. It is definitely due to the fact that our team has been “refined” over time and we employ smart people, who are responsible and not afraid to ask if necessary. Of course, this contributes to their professional growth. Currently, the growing number of team members also means more space for working with juniors. Also the fact that our agenda has multiplied several times and that its diversity enables to educate our younger colleagues better has contributed to this.
What is the biggest challenge for you in this position?
Sometimes: the communication with clients in a situation we are really busy and have to meet strict deadlines. It also requires a great deal of experience to understand what is the level of the payroll knowledge of the client, and to set up a cooperation with him pursuant to this. Some clients need more support in the payroll field, while some clients are really knowledgeable in this respect (except for the payroll calculation and accounting) and they know very well what inputs need to be provided to us. Therefore, the payroll agenda and the gradual setting of a cooperation with the client also includes his education. It is not generally known that the service we provide to our clients is really complex. In this respect, it also includes the responsibility we assume herewith. As far as the already mentioned need for constant orientation in legislative changes is concerned: it is up to us to monitor ongoing changes in the legal regulations and evaluate what particular impact they have on a client and his activities and to inform the client about the changes in a reasonable time. For example: currently we are dealing with final cancellation of super-gross salary which is expected to be signed by the President.
How about the cooperation with colleagues from other teams on your common clients?
This is where the wide scope of ASB outsourcing services is very visible again. Thanks to this, we are able to communicate within the scope of one our company and thus provide the complex solution of the payroll financing and accounting in the client's double-entry accounting, or the audit.
What, in your opinion, is a difference between ASB and other companies of a similar type?
ASB is much more flexible compared to the situation in rigid corporate structures and the cooperation between people takes place on a very friendly level. Anyway, our system of benefits is one of the best in the industry in our opinion – taking in account my background I know something about this. Our system of benefits is arranged so that everyone can choose what suits them best (cafeterias, meal vouchers, snacks at the workplace, one home-office day a week from September, etc.)
What would make applicants interested in sending their CVs to ASB?
A comparison with Big4 occurs to me – with us, newcomers have the opportunity to do a far more interesting and more complex work from the very beginning. ASB is smaller and cooperates with clients, who are not financially interesting enough for Big4. First, we encompass wider range of provided services with such clients as a contractor and second the composition of clients is more varied. Thanks to this variability juniors are able to gain lots of experience they can capitalize on for a long time. With us, they start to learn very quickly and therefore can get a certain level of independence quicker in their field.