Reanda Netherlands has been ranked among the top thirty of audit firms in the Netherlands. A remarkable achievement for an audit-only firm, that distinguishes itself through a strong company culture, an international focus, and collective growth.
An audit only strategy that works
No tax advice, no consultancy, no legal services. Reanda Netherlands intentionally chooses to fully focus on audit. “We are an audit only firm for large international companies that have branches in the Netherlands,” says Gerard Uijtendaal, managing partner at Reanda. According to Uijtendaal, Reanda distinguishes itself because the firm combines focus with scale. Reanda has a clear niche and a growing market share.
Diversity as its DNA
With employees from over thirty nationalities, diversity is a given at Reanda. “We prefer to speak of cultural backgrounds rather than nationalities,” says Yannique Wentzel, people and culture manager. “Some of our colleagues blend multiple cultures and because of that they have unique perspectives to offer.”
Many of their employees have come to the Netherlands as expats or because of their partner. “They made the choice to build their life here and that is reflected in their commitment,” Wentzel says. Reanda supports them actively by offering Dutch language courses and assistance with the studies to become a Dutch chartered accountant (RA – registeraccountant), and also recognises their international qualifications such as ACCA and the CPA title.
The division within the team is remarkable as well: 65 percent of the employees are women. Besides that, there is a large variation in age and experience levels. “This diversity is an enriching factor, but also requires a certain awareness. We encourage open communication and want to emphasise that it is okay to agree to disagree. That is what really boosts our development.”
“We encourage open communication and want to emphasise that it is okay to disagree.”
– Yannique Wentzel, People and culture manager.
The power of diversity in audit
The strength of Reanda’s diverse team isn’t only expressed in its internal collaboration, but also and essentially in their contact with international clients. Uijtendaal: “We were built as an international team from day one. It’s in our DNA.” As many of the employees are from abroad, they know what it’s like to work with a different culture and in another language. “It instantly creates a sense of trust,” he explains.
Reanda’s team covers many languages and cultures, meaning that the firm can easily switch tracks and offer a smooth collaboration with its international clients. “We don’t just offer international audits. We are an international team and that makes the difference.”
“We is better than me”
Sharing knowledge is deeply embedded into Reanda’s culture. Employees are actively stimulated to help each other and learn from each other. “Which is how our Bi-weekly Study Club was formed, an idea from our own people,” Wentzel says. And the internal ACCA group, where colleagues help and support each other with their studies, also came from the team itself.
To reinforce this spirit, Reanda has specific training programs, such as ‘Leading the way to collective wisdom’. “We ensure that knowledge doesn’t remain in the mind of a single person, but flows on to the entire team,” Uijtendaal explains. “That calls for a certain style of leadership that facilitates rather than controls.”
“We ensure that knowledge doesn’t remain in the mind of a single person, but flows on to the entire team.“
– Gerard Uijtendaal, Partner.
Room to grow
Personal growth and professional development go hand in hand with Reanda’s culture of collaboration. “Our employees experience a steep learning curve, because of the complex international clients we manage,” Uijtendaal says. And the mutual ambition to grow creates internal career opportunities as well.
The culture is very clear: ambition is appreciated, but never at the expense of the collective. “We employ people who fit with Reanda’s culture. We are looking for people with a collective mindset, who are always open to improvement,” Wentzel emphasises. That’s one of the reasons there is a low employee turnover at the firm.
Preserve culture during rapid growth
Reanda’s growth comes with challenges, such as preserving their culture and onboarding new employees. “We ask our new joiners to communicate their observations during the first two months,” Wentzel says. “After that, we discuss that during an evaluation. That’s how we stay sharp and continue to improve.”
Conflicts or disagreements are not avoided. “We believe that differences in working methods and communication lead to a better collaboration,” Uijtendaal says. “We prefer to have a fiery discussion rather than have tensions remain lingering beneath the surface.” That’s why during the onboarding trajectory and during team evaluation, a lot of attention is devoted to psychological safety.
In-depth expertise over expanding
Other firms may expand what they have to offer with additional tax or legal services, but Reanda opts to deepen its expertise in audit practices. “We add specialist fields that further strengthen our audits,” Uijtendaal explains. Such as ESG assurance, IT audit, data analysis, and possibly in the future forensic audit or valuations.
Consulting services have been deliberately excluded. “Once you start giving advice, you lose your independence. We choose to be a partner for other firms as well.” This position leads to larger firms to often call for Reanda’s assistance as well when there is a capacity shortage or when they want to avoid a conflict of interest.
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