Rantalainen Accounting Services expands its operations to Russia

Rantalainen Accounting Services is the third largest accountancy-chain firm in Finland. With over 530 employees, it serves around 11,000 clients and is regarded as the biggest family-owned company in the accountancy industry in its domestic market.

This strategic business expansion was a logical step for Rantalainen due to the company’s strong expertise in serving customers who operate both in Finland and Russia. “We have already been serving this group of customers with our Russian speaking accountants, of whom we have more than twenty in the Helsinki metropolitan area, and numerous others in our regional offices,” says Risto Iivonen, CEO of Rantalainen Helsinki Ltd.

Rantalainen wanted to establish a local subsidiary in Russia which could offer financial administration and legal services for international customers in order to help them to establish or expand their operations in Russia. The core idea behind this was to offer foreign companies the opportunity to deal with a trusted Finnish accountancy firm that is able to handle their financial administration in Russia.

According to Jussi Ala-Risku, Business Director at Rantalainen Helsinki Ltd, “This gives our customers the opportunity to receive all the financial reporting and consultancy on their Russian operations in their preferred language (Finnish, Swedish or English) with financial accounting standards adapted to suit the IFRS or their local accounting system.”

Rantalainen and its legal partner have developed a solution for companies who are on the cusp of starting their operations in Russia. This accounting and legal service package was developed to overcome challenges which companies often face when they enter the Russian market. “Thanks to this solution package we can pay attention to all critical matters in advance,” says Jussi Ala-Risku.

There are many reasons why companies are interested in expanding their operations to Russia. According to Natalia Nikiforova, Director of their St Petersburg subsidiary, “Due to the difficult economic situation in Russia, the currency is weak and wage levels are low, which makes Russia an extremely attractive market for foreign companies. In addition, St Petersburg is a metropolitan city with huge business potential even in the current challenging economic times.”

The entire team at Rantalainen is highly motivated and the strong ties to Russia will enable them to serve their clients even better.

There is no financial administration question in the world that Rantalainen’s international team won’t solve.