Author: kancelaria

In early August, the accounting department at ALTO welcomed four new accountants of various levels. These individuals bring with them extensive experience, particularly in serving real estate companies. This allows us to provide even more comprehensive and specialized services to clients in this sector, as well as expand our services for the renewable energy sector. The addition of new team members is not only in line with ALTO’s long-term development strategy but also addresses the current demands of the market.

 

As of August 1st, the ALTO accounting team has been bolstered by the following professionals:

• Julita Bogucka: Senior Accountant. With over a decade of experience, she has been providing accounting outsourcing services to the real estate sector.
• Maciej Wilkos: Independent Accountant with extensive professional experience. He provides comprehensive support to companies with foreign capital, mainly in the commercial real estate industry.
• Karolina Jurek: Senior Accountant. She has gained several years of professional experience in a rapidly expanding tax and accounting group in Poland and the CEE region.
• Aleksandra Rakowska: Accountant with years of experience acquired from various industries.

 

We are delighted that these individuals have chosen to join ALTO and continue their career growth within our team. The addition of new members to the accounting department is a vital part of ALTO’s strategy for years 2023-2026, which includes further dynamic strengthening of the accounting area, both in terms of team size and the scope of services provided. Our aim is to promptly respond to all market needs and propose innovative solutions tailored to our clients’ evolving businesses. This reinforcement marks one of the initial steps in that direction, with more already in progress.

 

“This is an encouraging sign that our company is an attractive employer and a place where employees are keen to develop their skills and recommend us to others – as has been the case here. I believe that both our organization and its people, along with our clients, will benefit significantly from the contributions of Julita, Maciej, Karolina, and Aleksandra. Their expertise will enable us to offer even better accounting support to companies in the real estate and energy sectors, where we currently see great potential. It shows that we are moving in the right direction, solidifying ALTO’s position in the market, and we have no intention of stopping!” – says Dagmara Witt-Kuczyńska, Managing Director of ALTO Accounting.

 

“I warmly welcome all four individuals, especially as they are joining my own team directly. They are highly competent specialists, and their knowledge together with past experience will be invaluable in our daily work! I believe that both professionally and personally, this is a beneficial step for our department. I also have confidence that we are an appealing organization for our new colleagues, and together, we will find areas for further professional development and harnessing our potential” – comments Lidia Grzyb, Head Accountant & Team Leader at ALTO Accounting.

 

At ALTO, we appreciate unconventional thinking and strive for dynamic growth. Just like our clients, especially those in rapidly developing real estate and energy sectors, we are aware that technological advancements and evolving regulations demand innovative approaches to various issues while ensuring business security. However, with the right team and technological support, it is possible to keep pace with these trends and even anticipate them partially. Hence, experts play a crucial role, and we prioritize their recruitment and competence development within our organization. Acquiring and retaining talents is of utmost importance to us, as, in business, people genuinely make a difference.

We have just congratulated our Litigation team on its nomination for the ITR EMEA Tax Awards 2023 as “Firm of the Year” in the Tax Disputes category, when it became clear that there are many more reasons to celebrate.

The just-announced results of the ITR World Tax and ITR World TP 2024 rankings earned us honors in as many as three categories:

• General Corporate Tax
• Transfer Pricing
• Tax Controversy

What’s more, the ITR World Tax 2024 ranking also recognized the individual expertise that our experts demonstrated during the course of their projects – in the General Corporate Tax and Tax Controversy categories.

• Sylwia Kulczycka, ACCA (Partner & Tax Advisor) – Woman in Tax Leader, Highly Regarded, General Corporate Tax
• Aleksandra Bońkowska (Partner & Tax Advisor) – Notable Practitioner, General Corporate Tax
• Karolina Mazurkiewicz-Grzybowska (Senior Manager & Tax Advisor) – Rising Star, General Corporate Tax
• Łukasz Kalisz (Manager, Tax Advisor, Advocate) – Rising Star, General Corporate Tax
• Dominik Niewadzi (Manager & Tax Advisor) – Rising Star, Tax Controversy

 

Congratulations to our tax teams, and at the same time to each individual awardee, on this extremely valuable honor to their work. You guys have the power!

We know that behind every success are great people and their hard work. We also know that such moments motivate us all to reach for the stars and set even more ambitious goals, so we wish you more great projects to work on ALTOgether.

We also remember our clients, whom we thank for their trust and constant presence, and the entire ALTO team for their unwavering commitment.

Since the beginning of our operations, we have considered ALTO’s role to be that of a trusted partner to our clients. In this spirit, we are constantly seeking new and more effective solutions, exploring ways to change ourselves and our organization to better meet your needs.

ALTO’s strategy for the years 2023-2026 defines our further development. One of the elements we want to inform you about is restructuring of our legal service line, previously operated through ALTO Legal. The change will involve separating our capital markets law team, led by Piotr Orczykowski, and our VC/M&A team, led by Rafał Kozłowski, from our current structure. These teams will continue serving clients in other law firms.

Legal advisory services, in all other areas, will still be provided within ALTO. Our team of lawyers will continue to advise you on civil law, corporate law and labour law matters, while a dedicated team within our accounting outsourcing department will support you in the field of corporate secretarial services.

These changes will be implemented starting from September 2023. Throughout this process, we will ensure uninterrupted legal advisory services, maintaining ALTO’s highest standards. All active projects will be continued and completed in accordance with individual agreements with clients.

The mentioned change aligns with ALTO’s strategy, which emphasizes the dynamic development of two service lines: tax advisory and accounting. In the coming years, our plans include, among other things, tripling our operational scale while significantly enhancing the client experience. We recognize that these objectives are challenging, but ambition in goal setting and commitment to achieving them have been with us from the very beginning.

On this occasion, we would also like to express our gratitude to Piotr Orczykowski and his team for their six years of joint work and their contributions to establishing ALTO’s position in the professional services market. We wish them success in their new business endeavours.

The transaction team of ALTO advised Coat-it sp. z o.o. and its founders Alicja Stankiewicz and Katarzyna Zielińska on the EIT InnoEnergy fund investment.

Coat-it is a producer of innovative additives based on nanomaterials used to obtain protective coatings.

EIT InnoEnergy is an organisation committed to supporting pioneering technologies in sustainable energy, and a leader in the drive to decarbonise Europe by 2050.

ALTO provided transaction services by negotiating the transaction documentation and supporting the closing.

ALTO’s legal team was led by Rafał Kozłowski (Counsel & Attorney-at-law) supported by Szymon Tyniec (Senior Associate & Advocate) and Bartosz Nawrot (Junior Associate).

In order to meet the expectations of its clients, ALTO is launching a Banking department within its accounting business line, which will provide outsourcing of payment-related processes and thus increase the financial security of its clients. It will be headed by Olga Mochocka, a Treasury Manager with many years of experience in business support, who has recently joined the team.

The dedicated team will handle liaising with banks, making all payments and much more. Separating it from the general accounting team will provide clients with even greater financial security, better relationships with banks and significant relief during time-consuming processes.

– At ALTO, we focus on the continuous development of our services – so that we can continually adapt them to the needs of modern business. I am convinced that the cooperation with Olga and the separation of the banking process outsourcing department from the general Accounting department are a step in this direction. The separation of competences and strengthening of the banking area will allow us to better use the potential of this area for our clients – comments Dagmara Witt-Kuczyńska, Managing Director at ALTO Accounting.

Support in the area of banking and payment processing is of great importance for both companies entering the Polish market and those with an established position on it. Particularly as liaising with banks, opening and closing accounts or administering banking privileges is a tedious process, even more so for people who do not deal with this on a daily basis. Hours on the helpline, complicated internal procedures and ICT systems do not make things any easier. To an even greater extent, this applies to foreign companies, for whom this kind of paperwork is further complicated by the communication barrier.

– It is precisely in such situations that specialists who know the subject “inside out” come to the rescue. In addition to knowing the ins and outs of banking procedures, it is important to know who will be able to help with the topic and how. And we, as a specialised department made up of people with years of experience in the industry, are able to solve them efficiently, using long-standing relationships. I am delighted that I will now be able to develop this kind of service within ALTO by creating my own department. I think this is the right direction, and the market demand for this kind of support is really high, especially among those companies that do not have their own extensive accounting departments. Our clients receive professional support from a dedicated team – comments Olga Mochocka, Treasury Manager at ALTO.

Taking on the role of banking systems administrator from clients, ALTO also handles payroll and employee issues. The banking team prepares all transfers within the company – including payments for contractor invoices, employee and Board salaries, social security contributions and taxes.

In addition to facilitating the day-to-day liaison with banks, the new banking department will also provide risk management – including by supporting KYC identification and verification, FATCA or CRS (Common Reporting Standard) reporting. It will also take over seamless communication in the process of confirming bank balances during audits. In addition, it will assist in the analysis of bank charges incurred and the negotiation and renegotiation of bank agreements to best safeguard the interests of our clients. In addition to providing full cash management, the new department can negotiate favourable bank rates on behalf of clients.

Thanks to good and well-established relationships with banks, ALTO is able to support companies where standard procedures fail. This not only streamlines transfer activities and saves time on the client’s side, but also minimises the risk of mistakes and soothes the nerves associated with incorrect accesses, incurring unjustified charges, transferring funds to the wrong addressee or in a way that potentially exposes them to financial repercussions. External support is therefore both effective and allows for significant improvements to existing controls.

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Olga Mochocka, Treasury Manager in ALTO’s accounting department, supports Polish and foreign clients in their daily work with, among other things, payments, account opening and access administration, as well as ongoing contacts with banks. She also manages projects and additionally has extensive experience in process optimisation.

Olga graduated from the Warsaw School of Economics with a degree in international relations and from the University of Economics and Humanities with a degree in finance and accounting. Prior to joining ALTO, she gained her many years of professional experience in one of the world’s best-known companies in the FMCG sector as well as an international law firm and a European tax and accounting group.

ALTO has joined the Pro Progressio Club, which brings together a range of entities from the modern business services sector (BSS) and their environment.

Pro Progressio is a unique organization in Poland that combines consultancy, knowledge sharing, and media in the BSS industry. Since 2012, it has been creating products and services that also support communication and relationship building. Within its framework, the Club gathers companies providing services in areas such as BPO/SSC/GBS/CoE-type operational centers, call centers, advisory, consulting and analytical firms, real estate agencies, recruitment agencies, law firms, as well as public institutions.

As part of its ongoing activities, Pro Progressio prepares newsletters and reports on the current market situation, drawing on the experience and knowledge of experts from various fields. It also conducts research, publishes benchmarks, and presents infographics with up-to-date information on industries related to the BSS market. It is also the operator of the online platform FOCUS ON Business, and the publisher of the bi-monthly magazine under the same title, which is the only industry publication in Europe for the modern business services sector with a regular publishing cycle. Pro Progressio is also the organizer of many events, both in the form of breakfast meetings and conference series, as well as the annual Outsourcing Stars gala and BSS Forum, which involve participants from several countries.

Through our presence in the Club, we hope to become a valuable part of this organization and contribute to its development by supporting educational activities, report creation, and the organization of industry events. Membership also provides a unique opportunity for networking and expanding business relationships.

The ranking season is not slowing down, and we are nto doing that either. This time we have been nominated by EuropaProperty.com for the Baltic Real Estate Awards – in the Professional Services Provider category.

This is the first edition of the EuropaProperty Baltic Real Estate Awards and Investment Forum, where more than 250 guests will discuss the state of the real estate industry: especially in the context of ESG principles, which are starting to become a permanent part of the market’s ambitions. These not only have an impact on environmental issues but also have a direct bearing on purely commercial aspects.

The Baltic Real Estate Awards will focus on honoring the best projects, developers, investors, and other industry-related companies operating in the Baltic Sea region. The countries included in the competition are Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, and Finland.

The forum and award gala will take place on 25 May at the Radisson BLU Sopot Hotel.

Thank you for the award and congratulations to all the nominees. May the best one win!

The ranking season, just like spring, is booming! More successes are also blooming: the 17th Ranking of Tax Advisory Firms Rzeczpospolita 2023 brought individual recommendations for:

• Sylwia Kulczycka, ACCA (Partner & Tax Advisor) – in the category: Compliance Advisory,
• Daniel Banach (Partner & Tax Advisor) – in the category: Transaction Advisory,
• Rafał Tołwiński (Partner & Tax Advisor) – in the category: PIT.

We also received an award for a prestigious win before the courts in landmark tax cases in the CIT category – congratulations to Łukasz Kalisz (Manager, Tax Advisor, Advocate) and the Tax Litigation team at ALTO.

We would like to congratulate our award-winning experts and the entire Tax team, as all successes are achieved #ALTOgether and it is together that we are extraordinary.

We would like to thank our Clients for their trust and continued presence, the entire team for their commitment as well as our industry colleagues for their recognition!

Without all of you, we would not be celebrating!

 

ALTO has advised Gleevery, a startup which has successfully completed its second investment round. Since its establishment, Gleevery has already raised more than PLN 7 million in funding, among others from individual investors.

Gleevery is a cutting-edge platform operating in the field of new technologies and circular economy. The startup, working with employers, provides their employees with the opportunity to rent thousands of products through an attractive platform. It also cooperates with retail chains, manufacturers and distributors enabling them to offer their product range on a rental basis. Gleevery services are already being used by companies and individuals in more than 50 Polish cities.

The investment in Gleevery stood out process-wise compared to others of this size, and yet with ALTO by my side I felt very comfortable. We managed to smoothly reconcile the interests and visions of almost 20 parties. In addition, just hours before the closing of the second investment round, the corporate governance of the company changed due to the involvement of another investor. We are very pleased that Adam Radzki, a former board member of Benefit Systems, has managed to join us. However, gathering the consents of all our shareholders scattered all over the world in such a short period of time was quite a challenge, which together with ALTO we successfully met – comments Jakub Buga, founder and CEO of Gleevery.

ALTO experts provided legal advisory services in the course of the investment. We supported Gleevery in the preparation of transaction documentation, negotiations and coordination of the signing and closing of the transaction.

The team of ALTO lawyers was led by Rafał Kozłowski (Counsel & Attorney-at-law, Head of M&A/VC), supported by Szymon Tyniec (Senior Associate & Advocate) and Aleksandra Traczuk (Junior Associate).

At the beginning of April Dagmara Witt-Kuczyńska joined ALTO as a Managing Director and will be responsible for operations and the development of the accounting and HR & payroll outsourcing service line. Dagmara strengthens ALTO’s management team at a key moment of strong growth of the company’s portfolio of foreign investors (e.g. from the real estate and RES sectors) and the development of a “smart BPO” service model dedicated to these entities, which allows for the provision of a combined package of services from all ALTO Group business lines (i.e. accounting, HR & payroll, tax advisory, legal and technology in finance).

– I am happy that Dagmara, by choosing ALTO, believed in our company and the direction we intend to go as a Group. It is a sign to me that we are a viable competitor to the biggest: both as an employer and as a provider of professional services. Dagmara joins us at the most exciting time, when we are observing tremendous technological advances driving almost all business sectors, with the consequent rise in expectations from global investors and an emphasis on high performance and quality back office processes. I am convinced that a person with the kind of business experience that Dagmara has is the best choice to follow the technological progress to an even higher level of development in the area of professional services outsourcing and, consequently, to support our clients in increasingly complex processes. Dagmara has the full trust and support of the entire ALTO team, and we – already today – are confident that a person with the right values and competences as a Team and Service Line Leader is coming on board – comments Paweł Fałkowski, Co-founder and Managing Partner of the Accounting Outsourcing and HR & Payroll practice at ALTO.

– The acquisition of Dagmara and her valuable managerial experience in companies from the consulting and BPO providers sector is one of the elements of ALTO’s development strategy, which, in the long run, will allow us to effectively achieve the set business goals and be even more competitive on this market – adds Paweł.

In her new role, Dagmara Witt-Kuczyńska will also be responsible for the implementation of internal solutions aimed at optimising the service delivery model and its development towards global trends in this market (automation, high level of data protection, development of back-office specialists and tools enabling the delivery of outsourcing services remotely).

– I am close to both ALTO’s values and the long-term vision for the organisation’s development. Today’s business is undergoing a huge technological transformation, while at the same time there is a growing awareness in the area of sustainability. Customers are increasingly interested in what values a company represents, what reputation it has in the market and whether it treats them as its business partners or rather sees them as just ‘another source of revenue’. I make no secret of the fact that the operating model and the way ALTO is perceived in the market were important from the perspective of my decision to join the team. I am also looking forward to leading such a dynamic and competent team. I believe that our cooperation will be a field for growth for all of us and together we will be strong both externally and internally. We cannot forget how important relationships and mutual trust are – I think that together we will be able to build a space where everyone will feel comfortable and is able to develop their talents – this is how Dagmara Witt-Kuczyńska comments on her joining.

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Dagmara is an expert with over 17 years of experience in major international companies operating in the accounting industry, having recently managed a global team dedicated to serving multinational corporations, operating in over 80 countries around the world. Previously, she has been responsible for the development of accounting in the CEE area and, prior to that, for managing the firm’s Polish practice. At the same time, she implemented a number of internal projects focused on organic and external growth, setting up or optimising processes and improving operational efficiency and quality.

She was also part of an international group of experts working on accounting process optimisation projects, including accounting book closing. Since the beginning of her career, she has held positions in global companies. In its early stages, she focused on specialised, substantive advisory work at one of the so-called ‘Big Four’ companies, where she was responsible for, among other things, auditing the financial statements of companies listed on the WSE, mainly in the fuel and energy, real estate, media, telecommunications and IT sectors. She also advised in the area of complex business transactions.

Dagmara is an author of articles and commentaries in industry media on trends in the outsourcing sector. She is also the winner of the 2019 Business Tigers award granted by Pro Progressio for those who make a significant impact on the development of the modern business services sector.

She graduated from the Warsaw School of Economics. She is a chartered accountant and a member of the prestigious ACCA organisation.