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Mirosław Sędłak, the advisor for strategy and management, participated in the discussion. Mr Sędłak spoke about the substantive support offered by various international, national and local institutions, such as: the Polish Chamber of Commerce, the Polish Investment and Trade Agency, the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development, and the Polish Development Fund. - The latter offers for example, the Foreign Expansion Fund, which co-finances foreign investment projects through loans or the acquisition of minority shares with repurchase option - he said, encouraging entrepreneurs to use this and many other forms of support.

If you want to enter a foreign market, it is also worth establishing cooperation with entities which have already operated in this market;  one of them is an accounting and tax office managed by Elżbieta Lewandowska. The co-founder and board member of the Polish Chamber of Commerce in the Netherlands specialises in delegating clients to foreign markets, to the Netherlands in particular. Accounting, tax and payroll services are also a part of the portfolio.

Anita Gołebiewska, operational director of CashDirector SA and the originator and managing director of the National Network of Certified Accounting Offices OSCBR, has been into international accounting for over 20 years. Recruitment and management of the accounting team has also been a part of the professional involvement. - It is worth joining the OSCBR and becoming a community of over 2,000 accounting offices. Take advantage of the package of opportunities and tools offered by the network. The partnership is very important. It is worth using the services of other entrepreneurs because this makes our offer complementary - she argued during the panel when presenting the author's case study. Many Polish offices already cooperate with foreign partners because they provide services to Poles working abroad, e.g. in Germany or England. However, in order to talk about partnership and aid programs, it is essential to disseminate information among entrepreneurs.

International cooperation brings many barriers and fears. The participants of the next debate have successfully overcome those hurdles. The most common, according to Michał Cecerko, are the language and cultural barriers, the lack of faith in one's own abilities and the fear of reaching foreign customers. - I know from my own experience how important in building international relations is the awareness of cultural differences, which can have a significant impact on cooperation. Looking at this year's data, we see that the number of foreign investments is growing, which means that entrepreneurs deal with various types of barriers -  legal counsel and restructuring advisor at Domański Zakrzewski Palinka.

- Until now, I have usually served foreign clients who came to me, but after this congress, I am even more encouraged to cooperate with them on a larger scale - said Joanna Nguyen, owner of the SOLITAX accounting office. In her opinion, cooperation with foreign companies is the result of a generational change. - Younger entrepreneurs enter the business. They travel around the world, and they have a good command of foreign languages. Thus an international environment is something natural for them. The foreign cooperation market is developing and going in the right direction -  said a strategic organisation management specialist. Empathy is a tool and practice, she complimented.

The moderator of all panels of the International Congress of Accounting Offices, Wiktor Doktór - Head of Pro Progressio, concluded the discussion by advising not to be afraid to inquire and search for knowledge, talk and move forward while developing your company.

(ŁK)