YIT is a major project developer and construction company in Northern Europe, and the largest in Finland. The company aims to create a better living environment for their customers through the development of private housing and public commercial buildings that are both functional and sustainable, and which are part of an infrastructure that allows people and businesses to be more socially mobile. YIT operates in ten countries, employing 7,400 people. The company’s turnover in 2020 was approximately 3.1 billion euros.
YIT’s partnership with Alder began in 2011, when the group was looking for a partner to help them with the documentation for transfer pricing. As a growing construction company in Northern Europe, and the largest in Finland, YIT now has operations in ten different countries, which means the group’s tax director certainly has their work cut out for them. A smooth partnership has ensured that YIT has received much needed help in managing the documentation.
‘Alder have provided us with the means to continually keep our transfer pricing documentation up-to-date (with TP|BackOffice), which frees us up to have more time to work on our core competencies instead’ says Santeri Kääriäinen, YIT’s tax director. ‘Due to their service offering, they are the perfect partner for us.’
‘Our transfer pricing documentation requires data for the entire group – for each individual company to be reported on a country-by-country basis’, notes Kääriäinen, who is sitting at a desk with the tax issues for the entire multinational group before him. ‘So, to carry out the transfer pricing documentation for a large group takes the time and resources of at least one employee’.
“A service that keeps your documentation continually up to date frees up time to get other work done. This external team of specialists is a resource we can use as and when needed.”
Kääriäinen only became YIT’s Tax Director in 2018, but he felt there was no need to change the company’s transfer pricing partner at this point. ‘Naturally, we continued to work with Ader’, notes the tax director, ‘since we work so well together and get everything we could possibly hope for’.
Fluent dialogue is vital to working well together, as transfer pricing issues can, at worst, slow down the growth of an international group. YIT also know that, if necessary, they can ask Alder’s experts about any other international taxation matters too – such as establishing subsidiaries. ‘Alder help us with the everchanging demands of international taxation. They will actively monitor projects and discuss them frequently with the team’.
‘This external team of specialists is a resource we can use as and when needed. We work smoothly together and are in frequent contact with each other. As a consequence, we haven’t had to recruit our own transfer pricing documentalist, What’s more,’ adds Kääriäinen, ‘the Alder newsletter often covers interesting topics that I can also use in my own work’.
‘We started working with YIT back in 2011’, says Petteri Rapo, responsible for customer accounts.’ That was when they were setting up an internal tax management system for the whole group. Since then, we have been closely involved in helping them build effective transfer pricing models which meet compliance – such as helping prepare transfer pricing documentation,’ he adds.
‘The cornerstone of effective cooperation is an open and uncomplicated discussion. As a respected and highly experienced tax manager, Santeri guides matters with admirable efficiency and pragmatism, leaving us with the clear role of providing deeper expertise and support when needed. During our regular discussions, we also get valuable information about the needs of international groups and feedback on our own success in meeting these needs’.
The communications agency Aava & Bang carried out this interview in 2021.
Photo: Harri Hykkö, Shutterstock
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