First, a company aiming abroad should choose a model that best fits its current and future businesses in its target markets and countries. Therefore, it is essential to plan, for example, what kind of group structure is suitable for both its business and expansion plans. When internationalization is approached through acquisitions, the acquisition process must always be thoroughly planned out, from screening properties to integration. The valuations and the Due Diligence assignments of companies internationalizing by acquisitions should be executed carefully. Having a partner with experience in internationalization and the preparation of acquisitions often improves the results. Our CFO and tax consultants will be happy to help your company plan the big steps.

From the financial administration and accounting perspective, an important strategic choice is whether accounting is handled locally abroad or centrally in Finland. The accounting of foreign companies can be managed in the target country using a local financial partner from the MSI Global Alliance, or the accounting of the entire Group can be done centrally from Finland using Greenstep's “shared service center”. As our partner, you will access Greenstep's proactive team of financial experts and the teams of global experts from the MSI Global Network. While our MSI Global partners offer excellent local knowledge from their countries' financial regulations and practices, our team specializes in Group accounting and "the shared service center" to ensure that the financial administration is always as easy as possible for you.

On the eve of internationalization, it is also good to consider introducing IFRS standards. Especially if you plan on enlisting, as reporting by IFRS standards is mandatory for listed companies. Voluntary reporting by IFRS standards should also be considered, for example, when there are or are intended to be international investors. The financial statements prepared by IFRS standards are designed to promote the international comparability of the companies' figures. An excellent way to start adopting IFRS is to apply IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers early. We are happy to help introduce IFRS standards and enlisting planning.

Going global requires solid HR skills by the organization. Whether a foreign company has been established or acquired, labor law issues of the target country need to be scrutinized. Especially in situations where workers are relocated abroad, harmonizing the terms of employment between new and old workers is a good idea. In these cases, the employment contracts and terms must be thoroughly reviewed to take due account of local labor law. Uniform employment contract bases are often created for international groups.

Once the decision to internationalize has been made and the target market is clear, the company must find the best possible talent to run the business. Recruitment already needs work in the domestic market, so success abroad requires special attention. Successful international recruitment takes a lot of effort, utilizing networks, trusting your intuition, and a touch of luck. Read in our Notes article how Quuppa and Budbee have managed to tackle the problem of international recruitment.

Finding a common language for an organization requires a strong culture. With help from an HR partner that understands your business practices, a common way of operating can be created within the company whether your office is located in Asia, Europe, or Kainuu. Our experience has shown that internal training is a great way to help employees internalize culture. That is why we have launched our own Greenstep Academy. Its purpose is to serve our employees to develop their skills while embedding a common operating culture. Greenstep Academy also helps our clients with topics related to internal training, from building paths to implementing the training.

Whether a system or an outsourced service, scalability is the keyword of internationalization. Even an effective ERP system will not help if it cannot scale to the needs of an internationalizing company. They might even slow down the process. Besides, the system needs to adapt to the business, not the other way around. Our NetSuite team has helped numerous successful Finnish companies (e.g., HappyOrNot and Oura) to scale their businesses to the international markets. NetSuite is a cloud-based business management system tailored specifically to you to support your business's unique needs. Projects include evaluating and adapting entire financial processes to suit scalable operations.

As your business expands, reporting should be in order from the very beginning to stay aware of all your activities. A transparent and adaptable reporting system helps the company follow its situation in real-time, thus enabling the development of operations with the help of data instead of a hunch. BI Book is a clear and visual reporting system that supports Group reporting. This way, you constantly stay aware of the situation of your entire company in the different markets.