National Institute of Economic Law – Security in business. Interview with Waldemar Sokołowski, President of KIPG
What were the underlying principles behind the establishment of the National Institute of Economic Law? What problem is your work addressing?
The National Institute of Economic Law (KIPG) was founded 8 years ago with the aim of creating a safe and transparent environment for entrepreneurs.
For years, it has worked to improve the quality of relationships and increase trust between entrepreneurs. KIPG’s mission is to build the foundations of ethical business by verifying the trustworthiness of counterparties, both by assessing financial risks and non-financial factors. We have been recognised for the successful implementation of this mission on several occasions, including receiving the Expert Laurel.
KIPG’s activities focus on several key areas. The first of which is providing business operators with advanced risk assessment tools.
Another area is the promotion of transparent operations and ethical standards of business through numerous informational campaigns, the organisation of events and the provision of legal and business support with regard to the applicable legal regulations and the interpretation of regulations.
KIPG is also involved in educational activities in the broadest sense of the term, organising conferences, seminars, training courses and workshops to raise the competence of entrepreneurs. The Institute helps businesses diagnose market trends and adopt appropriate strategies in their business activities.
What are the evaluation criteria for a given company? Do companies with a poor rating still have a chance to rebuild their reputation?
At the moment, we are integrating 73 sources to assess both financial and non-financial risk factors of a potential contractor. Work to implement more and improve the current ones is ongoing. This allows our clients to gain a broader perspective before deciding to engage with the verified entity. The number of sources is important as certain data is available late or does not provide a complete picture. For example, the previous year’s financial statements are filed with the relevant court registry by 15 July, which means that in June we are looking at data from a year and a half ago, which in today’s dynamic business world is a period in which a lot of significant variables may have emerged.
Furthermore, data visible on the debt exchanges, may not be visible in the BIGs and vice versa. Hence the integration of multiple sources. Whether or not a company can improve its rating depends on the factor we have identified as questionable. If it was due to financial data or payment culture, which, by the way, we are comparing within a given economic sector, then, of course, by improving its financial performance, the company will get a better rating in our ranking. On the other hand, if the warning relates to too many personal and capital ties, this information will be visible for life. However, with knowledge of the business in question, it is the user who sets the alert values with the consultant during implementation. A different indicator of personal and capital ties will be considered alarming for the construction industry and another for an accounting office.
In addition to your informational activities, you are also involved in debt collection. Does this industry still have a negative perception in Poland?
Among people in debt, certainly. However, jokes aside, the increasing scale of late payments caused by the pandemic and its economic consequences, which often turn into hard debts, means that entrepreneurs themselves come to us for help, so that they can concentrate on developing their business.
There is also no shortage of stories with serious undertones, where someone’s faith in good intentions has been abused. Although our business focus is on preventing the need for debt collection, we are in the business of helping to recover debts. Initially amicably, because we know that it is better to preserve our client’s relationships, but sometimes litigation becomes a necessity. Under the law of 8 March 2013 on the prevention of excessive delays in commercial transactions, we recover most debts at the debtor’s expense.
You also run numerous training courses and workshops. What knowledge can be gained from them?
Yes, this is something that is not primarily associated with the National Institute of Economic Law, but we are responding to the needs of our clients and we see an increasing need in terms of maintaining liquidity. Therefore, even though it is not the core of our business, we support our clients in managing their companies, handling costs and also building stable revenues, through both consultancy and training. Our clients can benefit from our longstanding business experience through both online consultancy appointments and long-term consulting projects, during which we go deeper into processes and help remodel them.
We also run closed workshops. It is worth noting that training and workshops can be tailored to specific company needs and challenges, allowing us to more effectively deliver knowledge and skills that make a real difference to the development of the company and its employees. During the training courses and workshops organised by our company, a variety of know-how and skills can be acquired, depending on the topic and purpose of the training. Workshops can focus on the development of interpersonal skills such as communication, negotiation, time management or conflict resolution. Training on leadership, team motivation or presentation can also be provided. A new feature for our clients is recruitment support – with training provided by the HR Director, the client’s internal recruiters can learn new skills, techniques and best practices in recruitment. This will enable them to carry out recruitment processes more effectively and efficiently within the organisation. Clients can also use our services to carry out the entire recruitment process. This includes not only the search and selection of candidates, but also the analysis of employment needs, creating advertisements, conducting interviews and assessing candidates. Thanks to Ms Beata Sosnowski’s knowledge and experience, clients can save time and resources that they can dedicate to other priority activities within the company. Professional support can also speed up the process of finding suitable candidates.
Companies with an impeccable reputation are awarded with your Trusted Contractor status. Is this distinction or, alternatively, a negative rating, actually reflected in the position of the company in question on the market?
The Trusted Contractor status is a response to the need of customers, who have often experienced the phenomenon in which a company, positively verified in one source, turned out to be an unreliable payer.
Hence, in order to obtain such status with us, it is necessary to go through rigorous verification in all the sources at our disposal. On the one hand, we regret to say that only 3 out of 10 companies pass this verification. On the other hand, we are happy to be able to help normalise the Polish business environment through a diligent approach. The growing awareness of business risks makes the status of a Trusted Contractor more and more valued by the market and we are pleased to observe that companies awarded with this status raise their credibility and at the same time increase their number of customers. We believe that one can be a Trusted Contractor only when the business is run based on measurable processes and we know that ‘in the end, there is always a number’.
Waldemar Sokołowski, President of the National Institute of Economic Law, a recognised expert in promoting ethical business practices. Specialist in change management and management competence development. Effectively leads KIPG, launching innovative solutions in the field of business information, debt collection and contractor verification.
Last Updated on July 4, 2024 by Krzysztof Kotlarski