None of us was trained for how to live and work in times of war. But almost every Ukrainian company was forced to adapt and fight, since, unfortunately, there was no other choice.
Vira Savchenko, CEO of BDO in Ukraine, shared during the meeting how to keep your team without layoffs and salary cuts, and how to keep supporting the country's economy by paying taxes and even creating new jobs. Vira has 18 years of practical experience at BDO in business development, strategic communications, digital transformation and sustainable development of the company.
Key issues discussed during the meeting were:
- Why is it important to keep in touch with the team, be transparent and keep calm and positive in the team?
- Support in deeds and not in words.
- Job search for employees in Ukraine, involvement in projects abroad (experience of BDO in Ukraine).
- Expansion of the service portfolio and creation of new jobs for Ukrainians.
- Why is it so important for Ukrainian companies to work for the Ukrainian economy?
- What professions may become extinct in Ukraine?
- Problems of double taxation in EU countries and their consequences.
- How to motivate people to return home? Solutions to the problem from the initiative group of BDO in Ukraine.
Experience of BDO in Ukraine confirms that even in super-extreme circumstances it is quite possible to work and even increase the scope of activities. In this, at first, we were greatly supported by the Ukrainian tax system. After all, the first thing we tried to do was to reach the international market with our services. And no matter how qualified our experts were, the key argument for cooperation with us was the rather low taxes for cooperation with a Ukrainian company.
One of the most successful projects for BDO in Ukraine after the outbreak of a full-scale war in Ukraine was the launch of Recruitment of IT specialists for the BDO network. This cooperation is aimed at supporting the economy of Ukraine, as we offer work to Ukrainians, who were forced to flee from Ukraine and moved to other countries, with the possibility of employment in BDO LLC or BDO Consulting LLC, so even being in another country, an expert will work for the economy of his/her country. We provide remote work in the country where the expert is temporarily located, and pay salaries in UAH to the Ukrainian bank cards, so you can feel financial stability.
We are well aware that Ukraine is fighting on two fronts and we can do everything we can to further contribute to the successful functioning of our economy.
Certainly, there are some aspects that complicate the possibility of long-term sustainability of such an initiative. Namely, double taxation in the EU countries. Therefore, we need to think about motivating people to return home. But this is, of course, a personal choice of everyone. Employment is not the main thing that can influence the decision. However, from our side, we see the following options for solving this issue: tax reduction, provision of comfortable working conditions at home, financial and moral support for employees.
Our recent survey regarding the situation of Ukrainian accounting, auditing and finance experts during the war, confirms that these professions may extinct in Ukraine, as the majority of experts in these fields are women, who have gone abroad. Our goal is to create favorable conditions for their return.
To do this, we have introduced a mental health program in our company, where we care about the psychological state of our experts, provide hot-line psychological support during the war, train on safety in the current dangerous conditions in Ukraine, ensure the smooth operation of our employees, caring for trouble-free access to satellite Internet and electricity.
We are well aware that Ukraine is fighting on two fronts and we can do everything we can to further contribute to the successful functioning of our economy.
For more information about the solutions we can offer for your business in these challenging times, WRITE US and we will advise you in detail.