Accounting in Poland, business venture

My wife is chief Accountant in a public institution in Warsaw, so I already have some knowledge.


Certificates are needed just for some of employees who make decisions and sign the documents, simple clerks who just insert data to system can be less educated. Still a lot of young people (mostly girls) choose Economic High Schools (Liceum Ekonomiczne), but in most cases can not get a job, so then start studying "to do something useful". That can be an explanation of higher percent of employees with a University degree in Poland.

I think you should read this document also: egospodarka.pl/pliki/CBRE-Poland-Office-Destinations-2012.pdf

@delphiandomine #36. Cms has superior knowledge of this, and I trust what he says. What you wrote in #33 was that it could get people at 3700 PLN stating the reason that first jobs payed badly. Therefore I said that I wasn't interested in the «first jobs and that's it people». So, what's irrelevant is fining out what to pay people to stay for a short term. And if they were educated for being a bookkeeping clerk (and not overeducated), why bring up the «first job» stuff... Having knowledge of how the progress often goes, with how it rises, is well, and I appreciate the input cms gave on that.

So you want people with experience now?

I don't quite follow what you're looking for - are you looking for people with experience, or do you want to train people from scratch? It's pretty unlikely that you'll find someone with experience and ability to learn difficult foreign languages who doesn't have a university degree, for instance. And if they don't have (or aren't working towards) a degree - then you're not going to get very good candidates.

Also - it's worth pointing out that for instance, Danish speakers will command much higher salaries than 3700PLN a month. Have you considered that they may leave for a far better paying position once you teach them the language to a high enough level that they can work in it?

Szczecin is slightly cheaper than the rest... but overall the main division in Poland is Wrsaw and the rest of the country... places like Szczecin are better not because people make there so much less money than in Kraków or Gdansk but because there are fewer employment opportunities, so staff rotation is less frequent... in Kraków a university graduate fluent in 2 foreign languages has dozens large foreign companies to choose from, It's nothing unusual that people get employed and after 6 months says "not bad but let's try another one" and that of course is very problematic for the employer...


It's not that it is necessary... It's just the way it done here... all non-idiots/not interested in office jobs (because for example, their parents own a small bakery, which they are going to take over soon) are getting at least BA, in most cases MA. You will have to hire such people and they don't have (unless it is some elite school like WSE) some huge financial expectations. Having MA is basically a norm here.


Sorry but this is a really strange approach. Which young person is interested in anything for life ? Who is honest during recruitment process, especially when unemployed/looking for the 1st job ? These are not medieval times with land owners and their peasants, If the business goes wrong they will simply lose their jobs and you won't give a damn, If they find more interesting/better paid opportunities, they will leave without giving a damn about you. Such is life.

I also don't understand why you focus so much on clerks. In my opinion, key people needed for this kind of business are: 1. accounting expert 2. someone to manage people/run the office 3. business developer with good knowledge of the market 4. good IT guy 5. CEO to put it all together. Then goes the clerks. You need to get them "operational" as quick as it is possible, within weeks, 2 years is madness, majority will be leaving after 2-3 years anyway because they got bored, found much better job, decided to move to London to see how life there and a 1000 other reasons. Outsourcing is a huge sector in Poland, It's not some virgin market, just take a look how others do it and think how you can do it better/cheaper. Doing it the way you think about, you will simply fail.

You dont need masters staff to do that work -

my own accounting team is

- 3 qualified - all paid PLN 10k plus
- 4 others with degrees - mostly doing treasury/forex type things - paid 4-8k
- 5 interns (paid about 2000 per month but you could get them for a bit less)
- 7 with only secondary education but most who have been on a bookkeepers course (which I think is a few months). These are the people that do most of the actual booking and those are the people I think you can get for less than 3k

15 women. Occasionally some of them get pregnant but thats life and no babies eventually means no customers for anyone. Of the others I would say that if you can provide flexible time for people with kids and are understandng when their kids are sick you would probably get people willing to work for a few hundred zlots left.

szczecin would be cheapest place of the ones you mentioned also for office space etc. I think you might find it more difficult to find people at the higher competency level however.

anyway, thats enough free advice ! good luck with your venture

How old are they? I would bet +40. The problem is that such people are usually not good at foreign languages.

Actually no idea - one is definitely way over 40 but the rest between 20 and 40. I would put their average age around 30.

I've just recently got time to take a read. :-) Thanks for the link. The available offices and general prices in Lodz is an advantage.


This is just great information. Everything makes much more sense now.

So, if I've understood it correctly, here's how the systems is:
 ACCA/KIRB people, don't normally work with bookkeeping.
 Masters degree (or other tertiary degree) in bookkeeping makes them licensed bookkeepers, they don't have to do the test, and often heads a bookkeeping company.

 People with high school education in bookkeeping, or practical experience, works with lower tasks (if they can get a job).

Are the salaries in the excellent article you provided about the people doing the simple work or the ones with the certifications?


Thank you for your post. I think there's a little misunderstanding here. Sure there are people who are interested in doing what they chose for either the long haul or life when they begin. I know of many bookkeepers/dentists/veterinarians who have been in their profession and position ever since they were educated. Interests may change (yes!), but if the interest is stepping stone from the beginning, then we've got the wrong people. I don't want to open a discussion about who says what on interviews and that people may lie (sure - that's pretty much stating the obvious). It would be our task to find out people's motives, and we would spend money on _heavy_ advertising and marketing until we'd get several hundred applicants for each available position (getting the right people, with the right demands, expectations, attitudes and personal abilities are alpha and omega). I wouldn't want to act like a medieval vassal, if I can't contribute something positive to the place, I wouldn't want to be doing it. If people thinks the jobs I'd offer are s**t, I'd rather go someplace where they would be sought after.


Thanks for the input. I know where I would find people for 2-5. But about 1, do you define accountant experts by having a normal BA, MA or education from a specific school only? Please do tell more about types of non-clerk tasks the expert should/would perform which the clerks wouldn't.

@delphiandomine, We can take the discussion about motives, people who might screw other people over another time, or in a PM. I'll get back to post #40 later.

Can anyone make an educated guess as for how many percent whom work as bookkeeping clerks have these educations?
1) No education when beginning
2) Liceum Ekonomiczne
3) Short tertiary education
4) BA/MA in bookkeeping
5) ACCA/KIRB

I can tell that in my country it's, (1) Around 15%, (2) bookkeeping in high school doesn't excist, (3), around 50%, (4) doesn't excist when it's only about bookkeeping (but there's a MA for auditing), (5) around 35% (because the laws state it must be like that).

Does the people who've taken the Liceum Ekonomiczne/High schools normally have enough knowledge of bookkeeping to pass the four hour certification test when they're done?

@CMS. That's very useful. one quick question; the qualified, are that people whom are ACCA/KIRB certified, or is it another type of BA/MA desgrees?

Hi W75.
If I understood you well you are looking for economists, and you are from Norway.Would you be able to give me some info aboutpossibilty to find this kind of job in your country . We are coming back from US next year thinking of heading to Norway, we do some reaserch but its not that easy. I have BA degree in Polandaccounting and finance major. Please let me know if you would be so kind. Thank you.

I would be glad to get any info about it

I'm affraid it is nearly impossible. High staff turnover is a norm in entry level jobs. Especially in the outsourcing sector.


To be honest, I've got not much idea about actual accounting, I know a bit about SSC/BPO sector in Poland, how such companies are organized, working conditions etc. so I can tell you that for example your 2 year training plan is very unusual and personally I very strongly doubt It will work out... generally I'm not sure what kind of services you want to provide... in #43 cms posted different levels of accounting staff and more or less their salaries... the thing is that in offshore outsourcing of accounting services you hardly ever can find those +10k people... typical accounting SSC/BPO in Poland look the way that ~15% of staff are managers and specialists (4-8k level) and the rest are simply clerks doing payrolls, booking payments, type data into the system from paper based documents and other similarly fascinating tasks... Do you want to set up something like this ? Or provide "full accounting" services ? The latter would be extremly difficult I think... there are some international accounting standards but a lot of regulations are local... how would people here learn all of that ? It would take years and once they get that knowledge, they will simply leave to that country to work for several thousand EUR instead of the same here but in PLN.

I would doubt it - these schools are only "profiled" that way, which means they have extra hours of study in "economics" subjects such as mathematics and less hours in unrelated things.


I find Poles to be quite ruthless in this respect, actually. it's one of the things I admire, too.

Is it even feasible to be spending huge amounts of money on recruiting/training such workers?

I can say only by my experience (10 years of work in Polish economy and struggling and fighting with fiscal system :-) , 3 years in American system :-) ), after liceum you know basic, no practical info you will get there, after BA wasn't much better. I've start working as an accounter than chief of accounter, than financial CEO during my BA study, but nothing prepare me better than real live practise and help of experienced people I've met on my way, specially CPA's . After BA I've actually started MBA in Warsaw School of Economics, but I've dropped before thesis - I went to US. Anyway my professors at SGH gave me a lots of breaks since I have a lot of practise, and they told me straight to my face that this school is for me only for prestigenot for knowledge I've already posses. So no matter which level of education you choose there will be same amount of work and time to put into training of your candidates. Sorry for my misspeling tablet convenience :-) :-)

I am looking for a certified Polish accountant in Poznan for a start up business with wine, but the accountant has to be Asian background or other country, thanks to contact me asap Tel : +48 792 798 758