Aiven

Founded in 2016, Aiven is a software developer that hosts and administers open source databases and communication systems for corporate customers around the world on all the most important cloud platforms. Aiven takes care of infrastructure management by offering practical, reliable, relevant, and safe solutions for their customers and developers.

In accounting period ended in March 2020, Aiven’s turnover was about 9 million, while employing over 50 people. At the beginning of 2020, Aiven received a 35 million euro growth funding pot, which will see them grow further. 

Before he joined Aiven, Timo Ala-Kokkila had already had several years’ experience of working together with Alder & Sound in other companies. “Originally we started working together when I needed a quick answer to a tax question. They were so efficient and flexible, that I’ve stuck with them ever since”. These days Ala-Kokkila works with A&S even more closely, as he feels they are the very best option for a small company like Aiven – moving quickly into international markets. “Business agility is the most important thing here, and Alder & Sound have plenty enough, as their processes are lean. We need the kind of partner where I can easily get hold of the right person quickly and things move forward smoothly”. Thanks to A&S, for example, Aiden now take a couple of weeks to carry out transfer pricing rather than several months. 

In Ala-Kokkila’s opinion the best thing about working with A&S is that they really want to understand the customer’s business. “It started with them getting to know our business, and people at Aiven were already saying after the first meeting how nice it was that they showed a genuine interest in what we do”, maintains Ala-Kokkila.

The conversation didn’t just deal with the intricacies of tax, which can often be quite confusing. Instead, they were able to steer the conversation in such a way that we could all get onboard and understand everything that was being said without any trouble. That is a very important skill.

This clear way of communicating is what Ala-Kokkila thinks makes communication with A&S especially effective and working together so easy.

Ala-Kokkila sees A&S as a resourceful and versatile company to work with: “We utilize Alder & Sound’s international network to help us with landing to new countries. They could tell us what we need to take into account when workers move from one place to another.” Ala-Kokkila also mentions their punctuality and reliability, which means there have been no unpleasant surprises over the many years they’ve now worked together. He appreciates both the expertise and global partner network that Alder & Sound have access to. He would also “without any reservations, recommend Alder & Sound for anyone needing help with transfer pricing questions. Their concept is really effective”. 

“Agility and practicality have always been a central part of the A&S service promise”, agrees Petteri Rapo, partner and head of transfer pricing services at A&S. “With a growth rocket like Aiven, promptness of service and smooth cooperation between teams are especially important, because we as advisors need to be able to provide all the support their business needs, and exactly when it is needed. I am very proud that our team has many talented experts genuinely interested in the business of our clients. A very important role is also played by the contact person at the customer’s end. Our long shared history with Timo is a brilliant example of how knowing one another helps us to be on the same page as each other when situations are changing rapidly.”

This interview was conducted in March 2020 by the communication agency, Aava & Bang.

Our transfer pricing team will help our customers grow, communicate, internationalize, plan, succeed, control their risks, and take care of their compulsory obligations. Together with our global partner network we make sure that our customers can focus on their international business free of any unnecessary worry or unreasonable bureaucracy, and in the knowledge that they are not taking any risks. At the same time, we make sure that there is a suitably effective and meaningful internal process set up to address every situation.

Our tax & legal team will provide a full range of high quality integrated tax and legal services to our clients. From planning to implementation, our experienced professionals serve clients of all sizes and forms by delivering turnkey solutions to serve their specific needs.

How may we help you? Read more about our services here.  

We want to be a partner and a trusted advisor for our customers on all the important questions. Assignment teams are always set up to meet the individual needs of the customer, so you will have a named contact person to provide you with access to all of our wide-ranging services and our global partner network.