FSR Forum 14-03

Corporate SocialResponsibility

14th VolumeMarch 2012issue #3

Interview prof J.P. BalkenendeExpert on CSR

Strategic Implications of Corporate Social ResponsibilityArticle

Column J. G. GroeneveldThe Vestia case

p32p17 p38

Ondernemers helpen groeien

met jouw cijfermatig inzicht?

ACCOUNTANTS EN BELASTINGADVISEURSwww.werkenbijbakertillyberk.nl

Financieel talent Sta jij aan het begin van een carrière als

accountant of fiscalist? Dan is het goed om jezelf af te vragen waar

jouw financieel inzicht het best tot zijn recht komt. Bij Baker Tilly Berk

controleer je niet alleen het verleden, maar adviseer je ook over de

toekomst van een bedrijf. Baker Tilly Berk combineert een landelijke

aanwezigheid en een internationaal netwerk met kleinschalige kantoren

dichtbij onze klanten. Die jij al snel persoonlijk kunt adviseren. Je werkt

bijvoorbeeld mee aan de uitbreiding van een transportonderneming,

de fusie van twee bedrijven of een audit in de publieke sector.

Om ondernemers te helpen groeien zoeken we medewerkers die zelf ook

ondernemend zijn en zich continu willen ontwikkelen. Denk jij dat de rol

van adviseur bij jou past? Dan hebben we voor jou ook een goed advies:

werkenbijbakertillyberk.nl.

BERK-085-02-opmaak-210x297-v15.indd 1 17-02-11 11:31

© 2011 PricewaterhouseCoopers B.V. (KvK 3412089) Alle rechten voorbehouden.

www.werkenbijpwc.nl

Soms weet je precies welke smaak je wiltSoms wil je eerst nog van alles proeven

Kom verder met het Financial Traineeship

Financial TraineeshipStart september 2012Evi van Splunder088 792 73 [email protected]

Sta je op het punt je fi nanciële master af te ronden, dan ligt de wereld bij ons aan je voeten. Want als talent met een stevig fi nancieel fundament kun je proeven aan alle smaken van je vakgebied tijdens ons Financial Traineeship; een tweejarig coachings- en opleidingstraject. Wil je meer weten, neem dan contact op met Evi van Splunder. Of kijk op werkenbijpwc.nl/fi nancialtraineeship

4694-76 PwC RC FT A4 FSR Forum.indd 1 12/2/11 2:20:27 PM

Corporate Social Responsibility

Preface

Dear readers,

I present you the third edition of the 14th volume. The central theme of this edition is Corpo-

rate Social Responsibility (“CSR”). When I selected this theme my knowledge of the practice of CSR

was less developed than it is today. In my view CSR was a side activity, a PR instrument and a

practice that you would only invest in in times of economic prosperity. After reading this edi-

tion it will become clear to you that this view has become outdated. Nowadays the general con-

sensus is that our responsibilities are not restricted to our immediate vicinity but extend to

global issues as well as future generations. For that reason businesses incorporate CSR in their

main business strategies and don’t treat it as a side activity.

As in previous editions this edition includes three scientific articles. These articles provide you

with a theoretical framework on CSR. The first article, by Archie B. Carroll and Kareem M.

Shabana, explains why firms should engage in CSR practices and what the benefits are of these

engagements. By means of a business case, arguments for and against CSR practices are set

out. Furthermore the researchers provide you with an overview of the history and background

of CSR.

The second article is a summary of the research paper by McWilliams, Siegel and Wright.

According to these researchers, engaging in CSR practices is beneficial for companies. However,

the definitions and measurements of CSR should be defined more profound. Since there are no

accurate models available to managers, it is difficult to develop a concrete CSR strategy. Based

on several theories, such as the stakeholders’ theory, the researchers provide you with an over-

view of the theoretical perspectives on CSR since 1970 and subsequently propose an agenda for

future theoretical and empirical research on CSR.

The final article written by Karen Maas en Frank Boons approaches the CSR practice from a

strategic perspective. For CSR to become a strategic activity two conditions have to be met;

CSR has to be implemented into the strategy of the firm and secondly the value that the firm

adds to its environment has to be measured. The researchers first define three strategic CSR

activities, after which they develop a method to measure the firm’s contribution to its environment.

As I have mentioned before the articles provide you with a theoretical framework. In an interview

with Jan Peter Balkenende, our former Prime Minister who is now Partner at Ernst & Young,

gives an insight into how CSR has become a main activity in doing business. Furthermore he

links the practice of CSR to the financial crisis and he states the differences between countries

globally. Personally, for me interviewing Jan Peter Balkenende was truly inspiring, and I now

realize that we as students need to recognize the importance of CSR. Hereby I would like to

thank Jan Peter Balkenende for his contribution to this FSR Forum.

As in every edition a teacher has written a column especially for the FSR Forum. This time

Karen Maas has written the column in which she states the latest developments in the field of

CSR, both from a research and a firm’s perspective. She concludes her column by mentioning

the importance of teaching students about the practices of CSR and that CSR is no longer a

hype.

fsrforum • volume 14 • issue #3

2 • Preface

In the remainder of this edition you will find the column of Mister Groeneveld, who has dedicated

his column to Vestia, a housing corporation that recently got in financial trouble. Naturally

this edition also includes the FSR News; among which the News Update, the Former Board

Member column and the FSR Member column. The Former Board Member column is this time

written by Gideon Sternfeld, who was a member of the fifth FSR Board. Throughout the years

Gideon has gained work experience at several companies, which I found truly interesting to

read. Don’t forget that his career actually started at the FSR.

Finally I would like go through our activities calendar. Last edition I mentioned that we are

already looking for our successors. For this reason we are going to organize a social drink especially

for those who are interested in a board year or in participating in one of our committees next

year. The drink will take place on April 12th. The exact location and time will be announced

shortly on www.fsr.nl. Go to page 54 or to our website where you can find an overview of the

possible board functions or committees.

I hope you will enjoy reading this FSR Forum and that it will enrich your knowledge about the

practice of Corporate Social Responsibility.

Sincerely,

Anne van Driesum

Editor in Chief FSR Forum

FSR board 2011-2012

Preface • 3

Table of contents

ColofonFSR FORUM appears five times a year and is an edition of the Financial Study Association RotterdamKvK Rotterdam no: V 40346422VAT no: NL 805159125 B01ISSN no: 1389-0913

14th volume, number 3, circulation 1550 copies

Editor in chiefAnne van Driesum

Editorial department Jeroen van Oerle

Editorial advisoryDr. M. B. J. SchautenDr. W. F. C. VerschoorDrs. R. Van der Wal RA

With the cooperation ofA. B. Carroll K. M. ShabanaA. Mc WilliamsD. S. Siegel P. M. WrightJ.P. BalkenendeK. Maas F. BoonsDrs. J. G. Groeneveld RA RV

K. MaasD. Smits

Editorial addressEditiorial office FSR Forum, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam Room H14-06Postbus 1738, 3000 DR RotterdamTel. 010 408 1830E-mail: [email protected]

The business case for corporate social responsibility: a review of concepts, research and practiceBy Archie B. Carroll and Kareem M. ShabanaThe business case is concerned with the primary question: What do the business community and

organizations get out of CSR? That is, how do they benefit tangibly from engaging in CSR

policies, activities and practices? 8

Strategic Implications of Corporate Social Responsibility: Review and AgendaBy Abagail Mc Williams, Donald S. Siegel & Patrick M. WrightThis is a summary of McWilliams, Siegel and Wright (2006). It describes a variety of perspectives

on Corporate Social Responsibility from which we develop a framework for understanding the

strategic implications of CSR. Based on this framework, an agenda for future theoretical and

empirical research on CSR is proposed. 17

CSR as a strategic activity. Value creation, redistribution and integrationBy Karen Maas and Frank BoonsCSR has potential to become a strategic activity adding value on different dimensions if two

conditions are met. The first condition for strategic CSR is that CSR needs to become integrated

with the strategy of the firm. The second condition for strategic CSR is to measure and monitor

these new or additional values. We distinguish three ways in which CSR may provide value to a

firm, society and ecosystems: value creation, value integration and value redistribution. 22

Corporate Social Responsibility

4 • Table of contents


SubscriptionEUR Students through membership FSR; costs e 5,00. Others through subscription. To obtain information, contact the editorial department; costs e 27.50 (including VAT and postage).

Bank

ABN-AMRO 50.15.61.331

Address ChangesSend an e-mail to [email protected] or fill out the form on www.fsr.nl.

Graphic Design and printingHaveka the graphics partnerwww.haveka.nl

Photos and illustrationswww.istockphoto.com

Advertising acquisitionGerbert Bos

No portion of the information in this magazine may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the editorial board. Although the information is with great care collected, the correct functioning is in no manner guaranteed.

AdvertisersBaker Tilly Berk

www.werkenbijbakertillyberk.nl

BDO

www.werkenbijbdo.nl

Grand Thornton

www.carrierebijgt.nl

Deloitte

www.werkenbijdeloitte.nl

Ministerie van Financiën

www.werkenvoornederland.nl/minfin

NIBC

www.careeratnibc.com

Philips

www.philips.nl/carriere

PWC

www.werkenbijpwc.nl

Ernst & Young

www.ey.nl/carriere

Interview J.P. Balkenende 32

Expert on CSR

Column Joost Groeneveld PhD 38

Vestia; sociaal onverantwoord

Column professor 41

Karen Maas

FSR News

Word of the Chairman 43

News update 45

FSR former board member 46

FSR member 47

Activity reports 49

FSR Activity Calendar 60

Company Presentations Ernst & Young 6www.ey.nl/carriereOptiver 14 www.optiver.comGrand Thornton 36www.carrierebijGT.nlMinisterie van Financiën 50www.werkenvoornederland.nl/minfin

Table of contents • 5

Deze bedrijfspresentatie is gericht op het specifieke Corporate Responsibility beleid van Ernst & Young. In het onder-staande interview met de heer Van de Loo zal uitgebreid ingegaan worden op hoe dit CR beleid is ingericht en hoe dit tot uiting komt in de algemene bedrijfsvoering van Ernst & Young. Tevens kunt u op pagina 32 het inter-view met de heer Balkenende vinden, die net als de heer Van de Loo werk-zaam is bij Ernst & Young.

Zou u zich kort kunnen introduceren?Mijn naam is Paul van de Loo en ik ben sinds juli 2011 partner bij Ernst & Young. Tijdens mijn

studie Bedrijfseconomie aan de Erasmus Universiteit heb ik mij gespecialiseerd op het gebied

van Corporate Finance, waarna ik in het bedrijfsleven ben gaan werken. Na verschillende functies

te hebben vervuld bij bijvoorbeeld KPN, heb ik in eerste instantie de telecom adviespraktijk

opgebouwd bij Ernst & Young.

Sinds juli 2011 ben ik binnen Ernst & Young België en Nederland verantwoordelijk voor Climate

Change and Sustainability Services, ook wel Corporate Responsibilty and Sustainability Services

genoemd. Dat houdt in dat wij vanuit Ernst & Young diensten leveren aan organisaties zoals de

overheid en het bedrijfsleven op het gebied van klimaatsverandering en duurzaamheid. Deze

dienstverlening heeft betrekking op de gehele breedte van ons bedrijf: Assurance, Advisory, Tax

en de M&A afdeling. Specifiek ben ik verantwoordelijk voor de coördinatie van het contact met

onze klanten en de coördinatie van de verschillende opdrachten binnen Ernst & Young.

Zou u het CR beleid van Ernst & Young uit een kunnen zetten?Het CR beleid van Ernst & Young bestaat uit de vier E's: Environment, Employees, Entrepreneur-

ship en Community Engagement. De eerste twee E's hebben voornamelijk betrekking op ons

eigen productieproces. Wij als service gerelateerd bedrijf hebben feitelijk gezien een vrij een-

voudig productieproces. De benodigdheden voor het verlenen van diensten zijn een kantoor-

gebouw, kantoorartikelen, transport en bekwame werknemers. Wanneer je ons productieproces

vergelijkt met een industrieel bedrijf dan is de impact die wij hebben op dit proces relatief

beperkt. Het beleid rondom Employees richt zich bijvoorbeeld op een divers werknemers-

bestand, flexibele werkplekken en de gezondheid van de werknemer. Bij het Environment

beleid worden maatregelen getroffen om de impact op het milieu te beperken, zoals een auto-

kostenregeling die niet alleen ingesteld is voor de medewerkers maar ook voor de partners.

Daarnaast is het van belang hoe er met onze keten wordt omgegaan. Er worden bijvoorbeeld

ook eisen gesteld aan de partners binnen ons inkoopproces.

De grootste impact hebben wij echter op het gebied van Community Engagement en Entrepre-

neurship, wat tevens veel raakvlakken heeft met ons kennisgebied. Het meeste kunnen wij wat

betreft CR dus betekenen in het contact met de samenleving en met de organisaties waar wij

mee om gaan vanuit een kennis perspectief. Wat betreft Community Engagement hebben wij

gekozen voor een aantal partners die zich manifesteren op het vlak van CR en duurzaamheid,

waaronder Urgenda. Urgenda houdt zich bezig met de mobiliteitsagenda van Nederland in de

toekomst. Vanuit de kennis en kunde van onder andere Ernst & Young kan daaraan worden

bijdragen door het uitvoeren van scenariostudies of door kritisch te kijken naar het belasting-

plan van de toekomst. Dit soort projecten behandelen wij als zijnde commerciële projecten terwijl

het in feite pro bono-werk is. Tenslotte refereert Entrepreneurship naar het proces waarin wij

onze klanten begeleiden in het ontwikkelen van hun eigen CR strategie. Dit is tevens het gebied

waarin ik voornamelijk actief ben.

Hoe begeleidt Ernst & Young klanten in het ontwerpen van een passende CR strategie?Wij hebben voornamelijk contact met bestaande klantenrelaties, waardoor wij al weten of de

klant actief is op het gebied van CR en waar de problemen ontstaan bij het ontwikkelen of uit-

werken van de CR strategie. Vervolgens zal onze Client Service Partner contact opnemen met

de algemene directeur of de CEO van het desbetreffende bedrijf. Uit dit contact zal blijken of de

Ernst & Young

Company presentation

6 • Company presentation


klant behoefte heeft aan een verdere ontwikkeling van hun CR praktijken, maar ook zal blijken

wat de belangrijskte reden is van waarom CR belangrijk is voor het bedrijf; dit kan zijn vanuit een

algemene overtuiging of doordat de afnemer het eist. Uiteindelijk wordt er dan een project gefor-

muleerd en zal er advies uitgebracht worden aan de klant. Hierbij zien wij vaak dat een bedrijf

weer dichterbij de core business komt door het heroverwegen van de algemene strategie. Op de

lange termijn leidt dit tot concrete voordelen, bijvoorbeeld richting de kapitaalverschaffers, de

supply chain of in ‘the war for talent’.

We doen dus als het ware een scan waaruit blijkt waar het belangrijk is en waarom de klant het wil.

Mocht een klant nu geen behoefte hebben aan de ontwikkeling van een CR strategie, wat doen jullie dan?Als een partij het echt niet wil dan gaan we daar ook niet op in, want dat heeft gewoon echt geen

zin. Het is belangrijk om je te realiseren dat daar waar wij de klant kunnen helpen om te ver-

anderen, we een grotere impact hebben dan als wij de klanten gelijk de rug toe keren.

Wij hebben echter wel criteria voor klantacceptatie. Indien een partij zich bijvoorbeeld schuldig

maakt aan kinderarbeid of verkeerd omgaat met hun personeel, dan zullen wij daar niet snel

een opdracht gaan doen. Tenzij wij dus van mening zijn dat we een gesprek kunnen aangaan

om dingen te veranderen, want dan heb je de grootste impact.

Hoe groot is de omvang van de CR praktijk binnen Ernst & Young?De CR praktijk van Ernst & Young zal op de korte termijn nog sterk gaan groeien. Momenteel

kijken wij voornamelijk vanuit een assurance perspectief naar maatschappelijke verslagen.

Ongeveer acht personen richten zich volledig op de controle van deze verslagen. In totaal contro-

leren wij 60 tot 80 assurance verslagen per jaar, waarbij de grote verschilt van C02 verfificaties

tot uitgebreide duurzaamheidsverslagen. Daarnaast worden er mensen vanuit de standaard

financial assurance teams betrokken bij specifieke opdrachten. Op den duur willen we deze

samenwerking gaan intensiveren voor zowel non financial als financial audit.

Als je kijkt vanuit een adviesbeleid dan zitten we daar echt nog aan het begin. Ik werk momenteel

met ongeveer zes anderen samen, sommigen die echt alleen met CR bezig zijn en anderen die

daarnaast ook werkzaam zijn binnen de algemene adviespraktijk. Een verdere uitbreiding kan

op drie verschillende manieren: we kunnen mensen trainen, recruiten of we kunnen een stra-

tegische samenwerking aangaan met andere partijen. We willen uiteindelijk op een praktijk

uitkomen van ongeveer 30 tot 40 personen.

Is er ruimte voor starters binnen deze CR praktijk of is enige ervaring op het gebied van CR een vereiste?Op het moment zijn de starters die CR gerelateerde opdrachten uitvoeren afkomstig vanuit de

standaard afdelingen, zoals assurance en advisory. De mensen waar ik intensief mee samenwerk

zijn dus over het algemeen mensen met ervaring op het gebied van CR en sustainability. Op den

duur willen we naar een normale pyramide structuur toe, waardoor we dan ook op staff en

senior staff niveau mensen nodig zullen hebben. De exacte vormgeving is echter tot nu toe nog

onduidelijk. Dit is met name afhankelijk van of we een samenwerkingsverband aan zullen gaan

met een derde partij. In de zomer verwacht ik daar meer duidelijkheid over te kunnen hebben.

Het CR beleid van Ernst & Young bestaat uit de vier E's: Environment, Employees, Entrepreneurship en Community Engagement.

Paul van de Loo - Partner Ernst & Young

Company presentation • 7

The business case for corporate social responsibility: a review of concepts, research and practice

By Archie B. Carroll and Kareem M. Shabana (2010)

IntroductionToday, one cannot pick up a newspaper, magazine or journal without encountering some discussion of the issue, some recent or innovative example of what business is thinking or doing about CSR, or some new conference that is being held. For all practical purposes, however, it is largely a post World War II phenomenon and actually did not surge in importance until the 1960s and beyond. Therefore, it is largely a product of the past half century.

8 • The business case for corporate social responsibility: a review of concepts, research and practice


»

The term ‘corporate social responsibility’ is still in popular use,

even though competing, complementary and overlapping

concepts such as corporate citizenship, business ethics,

stakeholder management and sustainability are all vying to

become the most accepted and widespread descriptor of the

field. At the same time, the concept of corporate social per-

formance (CSP) has become an established umbrella term

which embraces both the descriptive and normative aspects

of the field, as well as placing an emphasis on all that firms

are achieving or accomplishing in the realm of social respon-

sibility policies, practices and results.

In this review commentary, the primary subject is the ‘busi-

ness case’ for CSR. In short, this refers to the arguments or

rationales supporting or documenting why the business

community should accept and advance the CSR ‘cause’. The

business case is concerned with the primary question: What

do the business community and organizations get out of

CSR; that is, how do they benefit tangibly from engaging in

CSR policies, activities and practices?

Background and historical perspectivesIn the 1950s, there was some limited discourse about CSR.

Frank Abrams, a former executive with Standard Oil Com-

pany, New Jersey, introduced concerns about management’s

broader responsibilities in a complex world (Abrams 1951).

Abrams argued that, as management was professionalizing,

companies had to think not just about profits but also about

their employees, customers and the public at large.

William C. Frederick, a noted contributor to the CSR literature,

argued that there were three core ideas about CSR that stood

out in the 1950s. These included the idea of the manager as

public trustee, the balancing of competing claims to corporate

resources, and corporate philanthropy business support of

good causes (Frederick 2006).

Though the 1960s seemed ripe for advances in social respon-

sibility thought, the decade was still reeling from Professor

Theodore Levitt’s admonitions about ‘the dangers of social

responsibility’. Levitt thought that social concerns and the

general welfare were not the responsibility of business, but of

government, and that business’s job was to ‘take care of the

more material aspects of welfare’. Levitt feared that attention

to social responsibilities would detract from the profit motive

that was so essential for business success.

As the 1960s transitioned into the 1970s and beyond, the par-

ticular emphasis in the CSR concept evolved primarily

through the academic contributions in the literature and the

slowly emerging realities of business practice. Formal defini-

tions of CSR began to proliferate in the 1970s, and the overall

trajectory was towards an emphasis on CSP (Carroll 1999;

Sethi 1975). The 1970s was the decade in which corporate

social responsibility, responsiveness and performance

became the center of discussions.

Frederick (1978) formalized this distinction by differentiating

corporate social responsibility (CSR1) from corporate social

responsiveness (CSR2). CSR1 emphasized companies ‘assuming’

a socially responsible posture, whereas CSR2 focused on the

literal act of responding or of achieving a responsive posture

towards society. In the mid-1970s, an emphasis on CSP more

clearly emerged. In one respect, CSP was an attempt to rec-

oncile the importance of both CSR1 and CSR2, but it was also

about placing an emphasis on achieving results or emphasizing

the outcomes of socially responsible initiatives (Carroll 1979;

Wartick and Cochran 1985; Wood 1991).

Arguments for and against CSRThe case against the concept of CSR typically begins with the

classical economic argument articulated most forcefully by

the late Milton Friedman (1962). Friedman held that manage-

ment has one responsibility and that is to maximize the profits

of its owners or shareholders. Friedman argued that social

issues are not the concern of business people and that these

problems should be resolved by the unfettered workings of

the free market system. Further, this view holds that, if the

free market cannot solve the social problems, it falls not

upon business, but upon government and legislation to do

the job. A second objection to CSR has been that business is

not equipped to handle social activities. This position holds

that managers are oriented towards finance and operations

and do not have the necessary expertise (social skills), to

make socially oriented decisions (Davis 1973). A third objection

to CSR is that it dilutes businesses’ primary purpose. The

objection here is that to adopt CSR would put business into

fields of endeavor that are unrelated to their ‘proper aim’

(Hayek 1969). A fourth argument against CSR is that business

already has enough power, and so why should we place in its

hands the opportunity to wield additional power, such as

social power (Davis 1973)? A fifth argument is that, by pursuing

CSR, business will make itself less competitive globally.

Arguments in favor of CSR typically begin with the belief that

it is in business’s long-term self interest to be socially responsible.

This view holds that, if business is to have a healthy climate

in which to function in the future, it must take actions now

that will ensure its long-term viability. A second argument in

favor of CSR is that it will ‘ward off government regulation’.

This is a very practical reason, and it is based on the idea that

future government intervention can be forestalled to the

extent that business polices itself with self-disciplined stand-

ards and fulfills society’s expectations of it. Two additional

arguments in favor of CSR include ‘business has the

resources’ and ‘let business try’. These two views maintain

that, because business has a reservoir of management talent,

functional expertise and capital, and because so many others

have tried and failed to solve social problems, business

should be given the chance (Davis 1973, p. 316). Another jus-

tification for CSR holds that proacting is better than reacting.

What do the business community and organizations get out of CSR?

The business case for corporate social responsibility: a review of concepts, research and practice • 9

This basically means that proacting (anticipating, planning

and initiating) is more practical and less costly than simply

reacting to social problems once they have surfaced (Carroll

and Buchholtz 2009). Finally, it has been argued that business

should engage in CSR because the public strongly supports

it. Today, the public believes that, in addition to its pursuits

of profits, business should be responsible to their workers,

communities and other stakeholders, even if making things

better for them requires companies to sacrifice some profits

(Bernstein 2000).

Over the past half century, many different definitions of what

CSR really means have been set out. One recent study identi-

fied 37 definitions of CSR (Dahlsrud 2006).Using content

analysis, this study identified five dimensions of CSR and

used frequency counts via a Google search to calculate the

relative usage of each dimension. The study found the following

to be the most frequent dimensions of CSR: stakeholder

dimension, social dimension, economic dimension, voluntar-

iness dimension and environmental dimension (Dahlsrud

2006). Another way to think about CSR is to identify the dif-

ferent categories of CSR and sort out companies’ activities in

terms of these different types, classes or kinds of CSR. Using

this approach, we decided to employ Carroll’s four different

categories of CSR, which include businesses’ fulfillment of eco-

nomic, legal, ethical and discretionary/philanthropic respon-

sibilities. This four-part definition of CSR has been stated as

follows: ‘The social responsibility of business encompasses

the economic, legal, ethical, and expectations that society

has of organizations at a given point in time’ (Carroll 1979,

p. 500, 1991, p. 283). Because this definition has been used

successfully for research purposes for over 25 years, it was

decided this might be a positive and appropriate definition to

use because of its enduring application in CSR research.

The essence of CSR: ethical and philanthropic responsibilitiesCarroll’s (1979, 1991) four-part definition of CSR identifies

four categories of responsibilities: economic, legal, ethical

and discretionary/philanthropic. These ‘responsibilities’ are

the expectations placed on the corporation by corporate

stakeholders and society as a whole. One of the major advan-

tages of Carroll’s definition is its expansion of the categories

of CSR that McGuire referred to in 1963. McGuire (1963, p.

144) argued: ‘The idea of social responsibilities supposes that

the corporation has not only economic and legal obligations,

but also certain responsibilities to society which extend

beyond these obligations.’ By identifying and distinguishing

the ethical and discretionary/philanthropic categories, Car-

roll explicitly spelled out what McGuire referred to as the

responsibilities that extend beyond the economic and legal

responsibilities. Carroll then made the notion of CSR more

explicit when he contended that the economic and legal

responsibilities are ‘required’, the ethical responsibilities are

‘expected’, and the discretionary/philanthropic responsibilities

are ‘desired’. By doing so, he made a distinction between the

traditional and the new responsibilities of the corporation.

Kotler and Lee (2005) essentially see CSR in the same way.

They define CSR as ‘a commitment to improve community

well-being through discretionary business practices and

contributions of corporate resources’.

The business case for CSR: What does it really mean?When one examines the history and evolution of CSR, the

idea of a business case for CSR has been developing almost

since the beginning. Even with early CSR initiatives, there

was always the built-in premise that, by engaging in CSR

activities, businesses would be enhancing the societal

environment in which they existed and that such efforts

would be in their long term enlightened self-interest.

Though CSR came about because of concerns about busi-

nesses’ detrimental impacts on society, the theme of improving

society was certainly in the minds of early theorists and

practitioners. With the passage of time and the growth of

resources being dedicated to social responsibility, it was only

natural that questions would begin to be raised about

whether CSR was paying its own way. Another incentive for

the development of the business case was probably a response

to Milton Friedman’s continuing arguments against the con-

cept, claiming that businesses must focus only on long-term

profits. If it could be demonstrated that businesses actually

benefited financially from CSR, then possibly Friedman’s

arguments would somewhat be neutralized.

It should be emphasized that a multitude of different busi-

ness cases for social responsibility have been developing over

the years. There is no single business case for CSR - no single

rationalization for how CSR improves the bottom line. Many

different arguments have been assembled to justify the com-

posite business case. The business case for CSR has been

broken down into four different categories by Simon Zadek.

Zadek has argued that companies pursue CSR strategies to

(1) defend their reputations (pain alleviation), (2) justify ben-

efits over costs (the ‘traditional’ business case), (3) integrate

with their broader strategies (the ‘strategic’ business case),

and (4) learn, innovate and manage risk (New Economy

Business case) (Zadek 2000). Kurucz et al. (2008, pp. 85-92)

also have set out four general types of business case for CSR

which overlap with Zadek’s. They maintain that there are

four different groupings of the business case based on the

focus of the approach, the topics addressed, and the underlying

assumptions about how value is created and defined. Their

four approaches include: (1) cost and risk reduction; (2)

gaining competitive advantage; (3)developing reputation and

legitimacy; and (4)seeking win-win outcomes through syner-

gistic value creation.

Evidence of the business case for CSR

Ethical responsibilities in practice.The ethical responsibilities of business ‘embody those standards,

norms, or expectations that reflect a concern for what con-

Management has one responsibility and that is to maximize the profits.



»

sumers, employees, shareholders, and the community regard

as fair, just, or in keeping with the respect or protection of

stakeholders’ moral rights’ (Carroll 1991, p. 41). In essence,

ethical responsibilities refer to a corporation’s voluntary

actions to promote and pursue social goals that extend

beyond their legal responsibilities. These goals are of impor-

tance to society or to different stakeholders in society, but

their promotion and pursuit are beyond the corporation’s

immediate financial interest. The importance of these social

goals to society may be inferred from the presence of an

interest to identify them and measure and report corporate

performance regarding them. In response to the mounting

social and stakeholder concerns, many corporations are

adopting initiatives and programs directed at the ethical

responsibilities of business.

Philanthropic responsibilities in practice.The discretionary/philanthropic responsibilities of business

encompass ‘those corporate actions that are in response to

society’s expectation that business be a good corporate citi-

zen. This includes actively engaging in acts or programs to

promote human welfare or good will’ (Carroll 1991, p. 42).

Many businesses make donations directed at various causes

such as education, community improvement, and arts and

culture (Seifert et al. 2004). The Committee Encouraging

Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) reports that, according to a

2007 survey, the median total giving of Fortune 100 companies

was $46.31 million, with 71% of Fortune 100 companies

giving more than they did in 2006 (CECP 2009a). Bruch and

Walter (2005, p. 49) observe that ‘[i]n the United Kingdom

alone, leading publicly traded companies made donations to

non-profit organizations in 2003 and 2004 that were valued

at more than $1.6 billion and that equaled close to 1% of the

companies’ pre-tax profits’.

Business-case arguments for CSR practicesThe arguments are organized in four sections corresponding

to the four CSR arguments proposed by Kurucz et al. (2008)

which were described above as (1) cost and risk reduction; (2)

gaining competitive advantage; (3)developing reputation and

legitimacy; and (4)seeking win-win outcomes through syner-

gistic value creation.

Cost and risk reduction. Cost and risk reduction justifications constitute arguments

that contend that engaging in certain CSR activities will

reduce costs and risks to the firm. ‘[T]he primary view is that

the demands of stakeholders present potential threats to the

viability of the organization, and that corporate economic

interests are served by mitigating the threats through a

threshold level of social or environmental performance’

(Kurucz et al. 2008, p. 88).

T. Smith (2005) argues that CSR activities in the form of

equal employment opportunity (EEO) policies and practices

and environmentally responsible commitments enhance

long-term shareholder value by reducing costs and risks. He

contends that explicit EEO statements are necessary to illus-

trate an inclusive policy which reduces employee turnover

through improving morale. Smith’s argument is consistent

with the contentions of others (e.g. Berman et al. 1999; Rob-

inson and Dechant 1997; Thomas and Ely 1996) that ‘[l]ack

of diversity may cause higher turnover and absenteeism from

disgruntled employees’ (Berman et al. 1999, p. 490).Cost and

risk reduction may also be achieved through CSR activities

directed at the natural environment. Environmentally

responsible commitments may reduce the negative impact of

social concern

Corporate social responsibility activities directed at manag-

ing community relations may also result in cost and risk

reductions (Berman et al. 1999). Building positive commu-

nity relationships may contribute to the firm’s attaining tax

advantages. In addition, positive community relationships

decrease the amount of regulation imposed on the firm,

because the firm is perceived as a sanctioned member of society.

Cost and risk reduction arguments for CSR have been gaining

wide acceptance among managers and executives. In a survey

of business executives by PricewaterhouseCoopers cited in

Fortune (2003),73% of respondents indicated that ‘cost sav-

ings’ were one of the top three reasons why companies are

becoming more socially responsible. Cost savings obviously

attract top management attention as a specific bottom-line

benefit to CSR.

Gaining competitive advantage.The term ‘competitive advantage’ in this section is best

understood in the context of a differentiation strategy. In

other words, this section focuses on how firms may use CSR

practices to set themselves apart from their competitors. The


previous section, which focuses on cost and risk reduction,

illustrates how CSR practices may be used to build a compet-

itive advantage through a cost leadership strategy.

Competitive advantage justifications contend that, by engaging

in certain CSR activities firms may improve their competi-

tiveness. Stakeholder demands are seen as opportunities

rather than constraints. Firms strategically manage their

resources to meet these demands and exploit the opportuni-

ties associated with them for the benefit of the firm (Kurucz

et al. 2008). Competitive advantages was cited as one of the top

two justifications for CSR in a survey of business executives

reported in Fortune (2003).

Corporate social responsibility initiatives can also contribute

to strengthening a firm’s competitive advantage through

enhancing its relationships with its customers. Corporate

social responsibility initiatives were also found to have a pos-

itive impact on attracting investment. The business case for

corporate philanthropy may be made when it is justified

based on an economic rationale. In other words, corporate

philanthropy is substantiated ‘if it increases shareholder

returns’ (Buchholtz et al. 1999, p. 169). Porter and Kramer

(2002, p. 59) provide a premise for such an argument. The

authors maintain that a business may gain competitive

advantages through its philanthropic activities when such

activities are directed at causes where there is a ‘convergence

of interests’ between the economic gains and the social benefits.

Bruch and Walter (2005) argue that companies use philan-

thropy to enhance their competitive advantage through

combinations of market (external) and competence (inter-

nal) orientations. Through a market orientation, companies

design their philanthropic activities to fit external demands

and meet the expectations of key stakeholders. The companies

therefore improve their competitive advantage through

‘improved marketing and selling capabilities, higher attrac-

tiveness as an employer or better relationships with govern-

mental and non-governmental organizations’ (Bruch and

Walter 2005, p. 50).

Through a competence orientation, companies may align

their philanthropic activities with their capabilities and core

competencies. ‘In so doing, they avoid distractions from the

core business, enhance the efficiency of their charitable

activities and assure unique value creation for the beneficiaries’

(Bruch and Walter 2005, p. 50).

Strategic philanthropy, defined as ‘the process by which con-

tributions are targeted to serve direct business interests

while also servicing beneficiary organizations’ (Tokarski 1999,

p. 34), helps companies to gain a competitive advantage and,

in turn, boosts its bottom line (Seifert et al. 2003). Corporate

philanthropy, in this case, is used as a means of advancing

corporate interests. Corporate social responsibility initiatives

enhance a firm’s competitive advantage to the extent that

they influence the decisions of the firm’s stakeholders in its

favor. Firms build a competitive advantage by engaging in

those CSR initiatives that meet ‘the perceived demands of

stakeholders’ (Kurucz et al. 2008, p. 89). In other words, one

or multiple stakeholders will prefer the firm over its compet-

itors specifically because of the firm’s engagement in such

CSR initiatives.

Developing reputation and legitimacy. Reputation and legitimacy arguments maintain that firms

may strengthen their legitimacy and enhance their reputation

by engaging in CSR activities. Suchman (1995, p. 574)

defines legitimacy as ‘a generalized perception or assumption

that the actions of an entity are desirable, proper, or appro-

priate within some socially constructed system of norms,

values, beliefs, and definitions’. Fombrun and Shanley (1990)

explain that perceptions of a firm’s concern for society illus-

trates that the firm is able to build ‘mutualistic’ relation-

ships, which indicate that the firm is able to operate while

adhering to social norms and meeting expectations of different

stakeholder groups. Firms ‘focus on value creation by lever-

aging gains in reputation and legitimacy made through

aligning stakeholder interests’ (Kurucz et al. 2008, p. 90).

Reputation and legitimacy sanction the firm to operate in

society.

N. Smith contends that CSR activities enhance the ability of

a firm to attract consumers, investors and employees. He

states that ‘consumers report that many claim to be influ-

enced in their purchasing decisions by the CSR reputation of

firms’ (N. Smith 2003, pp. 61-63).

Corporate philanthropy is another CSR activity which aims

to enhance corporate legitimacy and reputation. Chen et al.

(2008, p. 131) posit that ‘corporate philanthropy may... be a

tool of legitimization....’The authors argue that some firms



that have negative social performance in the areas of envi-

ronmental issues and product safety use charitable contribu-

tions as a means for building their legitimacy. Firms may

also use philanthropy to strengthen their legitimacy through

managing their local dependency and creating trust (Kamens

1985).

Corporations are also reasoned to enhance their legitimacy

and reputation through disclosure of information regarding

their performance on different social and environmental

issues (Brammer and Pavelin 2004). One such disclosure

practice is corporate social reporting. Corporate social

reporting refers to the issue of standalone reports that provide

information regarding a company’s economic, environmental

and social performance. The practice of corporate social

reporting has been encouraged by the establishment of the

GRI in 1997 and the launch of the Global Compact in 1999

(Antal et al. 2002). Through the issue of a social report, firms

are able to illustrate that their operations are consistent with

social norms and expectations, therefore they are legitimate.

Seeking win-win outcomes through synergistic value creation. Synergistic value creation arguments focus on exploiting

opportunities that reconcile the differing stakeholder

demands. Firms do this by ‘connecting stakeholder interests,

and creating pluralistic definitions of value for multiple

stakeholders simultaneously’ (Kurucz et al.2008,p.91).

Porter and Kramer (2002, p. 66) argue that, when companies

‘get the where and how right’, philanthropic activities and

competitive advantage become mutually reinforcing and

create a virtuous circle. They contend that corporate philan-

thropy may be used to influence the competitive context of

an organization, which would allow the organization to

improve its competitiveness and at the same time fulfill the

needs of some of its stakeholders. The notion of creating win-

win outcomes through CSR activities has been raised before.

Drucker (1984, p. 62) argues ‘the proper “social responsibility”

of business is to... turn a social problem into economic

opportunity and economic benefit, into productive capacity,

into human competence, into well-paid jobs, and into

wealth’. Wheeler et al. (2003) echo Drucker’s contention.

They posit ‘it will not be too long before we can begin to assert

that the business of business is the creation of sustainable

value - economic, social and ecological’ (Wheeler et al. 2003,

p. 20).

The win-win perspective to CSR practices is aimed at satisfying

stakeholders’ demands while, at the same time, allowing the

firm to pursue its operations. By engaging its stakeholders

and satisfying their demands, the firm finds opportunities

and solutions which enable it to pursue its profitability interest

with the consent and support of its stakeholder environment.

The win-win perspective to CSR practices provides a view in

which CSR is perceived as a vehicle that allows both the firm

to pursue its interest and stakeholders to satisfy their

demands.

ConclusionsThe business case for CSR refers to the arguments that pro-

vide rational justification for CSR initiatives from a primarily

corporate economic/financial perspective. Business-case

arguments contend that firms which engage in CSR activities

will be rewarded by the market in economic and financial

terms. To formulate a successful CSR strategy, firms must

understand that the benefits of CSR are dependent on medi-

ating variables and situational contingencies. Pivato et al.

(2008) illustrate the role of trust as a mediating variable

which shapes the relationship between CSR activities and

firm performance. Barnett (2007) set out the construct of

stakeholder influence capacity, which illustrates how situa-

tional contingencies may affect the impact of CSR activities

on firm financial performance. It is critical to apply the con-

tingency perspective as suggested by Barnett (2007) and

account for the role of mediating variables as proposed by

Pivato et al. (2008) in the exploration of the relationship

between CSR and firm financial performance. A contingency

perspective would allow the development of justifications for

the lack of a positive relationship between CSR and firm

financial performance in certain circumstances. In addition

it would provide a defense for the business case for CSR in

environments where the business case is argued to have

failed (e.g. De Schutter 2008; Valor 2008; Williamson et al.

2006).

The rationale for the business case for CSR may be catego-

rized under four arguments: (1) reducing cost and risk; (2)

strengthening legitimacy and reputation; (3) building com-

petitive advantage; and (4) creating win-win situations

through synergistic value creation (Kurucz et al. 2008). Cost

and risk reduction arguments posit that CSR may allow a

firm to realize tax benefits or avoid strict regulation, which

would lower its cost. The firm may also lower the risk of

opposition by its stakeholders through CSR activities. Legiti-

macy and reputation arguments hold that CSR activities may

help a firm strengthen its legitimacy and reputation by

demonstrating that it can meet the competing needs of its

stakeholders and at the same time operate profitably. A firm

therefore would be perceived as a member of its community,

and its operations would be sanctioned. Competitive advantage

arguments contend that, by adopting certain CSR activities,

a firm may be able to build strong relationships with its

stakeholders and garner their support in the form of lower

levels of employee turnover, access to a higher talent pool,

and customer loyalty. Accordingly, the firm will be able to

differentiate itself from its competitors. Synergistic value

creation arguments hold that CSR activities may present

opportunities for a firm that would allow it to fulfill the

needs of its stakeholders and at the same time pursue its

profit goals. The pursuit of these opportunities is only possible

through CSR activities.

Stakeholder demands are seen as opportunities rather than constraints.


START YOUR CAREER IN TRADING APPLY AT WWW.OPTIVER.COMWE ARE SCOUTING FOR BRILLIANT MINDS ONLY

TRADINGBRILLIANTBRILLIANTBRILLIANT

IF YOU CAN ANSWER YES TO ALL 6, YOU’RE READY TO TAKE THE REAL TEST.

I HAVE UNLIMITEDAMBITION

I WORK HARDAND PLAY HARD

I DON’T CRACKUNDER PRESSUREI HAVE EXCELLENT

NUMERICAL SKILLSI DON’T LIKE TO

WASTE TIMEI THINK FASTER

THAN MOST PEOPLE

YES NO

IF YOU CAN ANSWER YES TO ALL 6,YOU’RE READY TO TAKE THE REAL TEST.IF YOU CAN ANSWER YES TO ALL 6,YOU’RE READY TO TAKE THE REAL T

Company presentationDo you have what it takes to become our next trader at Optiver?

Optiver is een internationaal en innovatief handelshuis. Onze core business is electronische Market Making en arbitrage in financiële producten, zoals derivaten, aandelen en obligaties. We handelen voor eigen rekening, op eigen risico en we hebben geen klanten. Met kantoren in Amsterdam, Sydney en Chicago, 600 medewerkers en 30 verschillende nationaliteiten, wordt er wereldwijd 24 uur per dag gehandeld. Sven Hubens is sinds maart 2011 werkzaam als Trader bij

Optiver. Dit interview is voor hem een ideale gelegenheid om

te vertellen wat zijn functie bij Optiver inhoudt en wat zijn

ervaringen tot nu toe als starter op de arbeidsmarkt zijn.

Waarom heb je gekozen voor Optiver?Op jonge leeftijd was ik al erg geïnteresseerd in de beurs en

belegde ik al in aandelen. Ik heb altijd de drive gehad om ooit

eens op de beurs te mogen handelen. Tijdens het laatste jaar

van mijn studie ben ik me gaan oriënteren op mogelijke

banen gerelateerd aan de beurshandel. Ik wist van mezelf dat

ik goed ben met cijfers en ik houd van het werken met geld.

In mijn zoektocht kwam ik al snel uit bij Optiver. Ik ben toen

naar een presentatie gegaan en het werd me al snel duidelijk

dat Optiver een erg dynamisch bedrijf is waarin resultaat telt

en werknemers snel kunnen groeien. Ik was erg onder de indruk

en wist vanaf dat moment dat ik bij Optiver wilde solliciteren.

Wat is je functie binnen Optiver?Mijn werk is het handelen in opties. Met behulp van com-

putermodellen en marktinformatie geef ik prijzen af waarop

de markt een bepaalde optie kan kopen of verkopen. Op deze

manier verschaffen we liquiditeit in de markt. Daarnaast

probeer je als handelaar ook op andermans prijzen te hande-

len indien die winstgevend blijken te zijn of van belang

kunnen zijn voor je handelspositie. Naast het handelen an

sich, is het erg belangrijk om in staat te zijn de posities die je

zelf hebt te kunnen managen en je risico limieten te

beperken. Ik maak deel uit van het CODEC team. In dit team

handelen we vooral in fixed income en currencies. Hierbij

kun je denken aan het handelen in opties op bijvoorbeeld de

Duitse staatslening, de EUR/Dollar, et cetera.

Hoe heb je de eerste maanden ervaren bij Optiver?De trainee periode duurt twee maanden. De eerste maand is

theoretisch erg intensief. De totale optieleer wordt je bijgebracht

en tijdens deze interactieve periode wordt ook je inzicht

getest. Het meteen toepassen van nieuwe kennis of ideeën is

wat Optiver zo uitdagend maakt. De maand erna staat in het

teken van simulatiehandel. Hierbij leer je gevoel te krijgen

hoe de handel in elkaar steekt. Na twee maanden maak je

echt deel uit van een team op de handelsvloer. De leercurve is

steil; je krijgt binnen korte tijd veel verantwoordelijkheid op

je eigen ‘spot’.

Waarom zouden studenten voor Optiver moeten kiezen?Ten eerste is Optiver een bedrijf met veel jonge mensen van

veel verschillende nationaliteiten. Daarnaast hebben werk-

nemers allerlei verschillende studieachtergronden; velen hebben

echter wel een economische of een abstracte studie gevolgd.

Er heerst een innovatieve, open en informele cultuur die mij

erg aanspreekt. Verder ben je hier als trader het overgrote

deel van je tijd bezig met je passie: handelen. Optiver is een

uitstekend bedrijf als je wilt werken in een dynamische

omgeving waarin je snel veel verantwoordelijkheid kan krijgen

en resultaatgericht kan werken.

Do you have what it takes?Voor afgestudeerden die gedreven en competitief zijn hebben

we verrassende carrièremogelijkheden. Heb jij affiniteit met

financiële markten, ben je analytisch sterk, in het bezit van

een winnaarsmentaliteit en ben je in staat om onder druk

beslissingen te maken? Misschien ben jij de versterking die

Optiver zoekt: we accepteren het hele jaar door sollicitaties

voor de positie van Trader.

Kijk op www.optiver.com voor meer informatie of neem con-

tact op met Kim Ruijer (Recruiter Trading) via 020 708 70 00.

Nelleke van ‘t Hoff



START YOUR CAREER IN TRADING APPLY AT WWW.OPTIVER.COMWE ARE SCOUTING FOR BRILLIANT MINDS ONLY

TRADINGBRILLIANTBRILLIANTBRILLIANT

IF YOU CAN ANSWER YES TO ALL 6, YOU’RE READY TO TAKE THE REAL TEST.

I HAVE UNLIMITEDAMBITION

I WORK HARDAND PLAY HARD

I DON’T CRACKUNDER PRESSUREI HAVE EXCELLENT

NUMERICAL SKILLSI DON’T LIKE TO

WASTE TIMEI THINK FASTER

THAN MOST PEOPLE

YES NO

IF YOU CAN ANSWER YES TO ALL 6,YOU’RE READY TO TAKE THE REAL TEST.IF YOU CAN ANSWER YES TO ALL 6,YOU’RE READY TO TAKE THE REAL T

Je staat aan het begin van je loopbaan, klaar om te laten zien wat je kan. Als rijkstrainee ontwikkel je je in twee jaar tot een breed inzetbare beleids-, staf- of projectmedewerker. Je doet op meerdere werkplekken ervaring op en krijgt gerichte opleidingen.

Daarna kun je solliciteren naar een reguliere functie bij een van de ministeries. Meer weten over het Rijkstrainee programma 2012? Kijk op www.rijkstrainee.werkenvoornederland.nl. Aanmelden tussen 2 en 16 april.

www.rijkstrainee.werkenvoornederland.nl

Gezocht:rijkstrainees

-0006_210x297mm_advTrainees_OF.indd 1 28-02-12 17:17

Strategic Implications of Corporate Social Responsibility: Review and Agenda

By McWilliams, Siegel and Wright (2006)This is a summary of McWilliams, Siegel and Wright (2006)

INTRODUCTIONScholars have proposed many definitions of Corporate Social Responsibility, making theory

development and consistent measurement difficult. Here we define CSR as situations where a

firm goes beyond compliance and engages in “actions that appear to further some social good,

beyond the interests of the firm and that which is required by law” (McWilliams & Siegel,

2001). CSR activities include incorporating social characteristics or features into products and

manufacturing processes (e.g., aerosol products with no fluorocarbons or using environmentally-

friendly technologies), adopting progressive human resource management practices (e.g.,

promoting employee empowerment), achieving higher levels of environmental performance

through recycling and pollution abatement (e.g., adopting an aggressive stance towards reducing

emissions), and advancing the goals of community organizations.


Strategic Implications of Corporate Social Responsibility: Review and Agenda • 17

Je staat aan het begin van je loopbaan, klaar om te laten zien wat je kan. Als rijkstrainee ontwikkel je je in twee jaar tot een breed inzetbare beleids-, staf- of projectmedewerker. Je doet op meerdere werkplekken ervaring op en krijgt gerichte opleidingen.

Daarna kun je solliciteren naar een reguliere functie bij een van de ministeries. Meer weten over het Rijkstrainee programma 2012? Kijk op www.rijkstrainee.werkenvoornederland.nl. Aanmelden tussen 2 en 16 april.

www.rijkstrainee.werkenvoornederland.nl

Gezocht:rijkstrainees

-0006_210x297mm_advTrainees_OF.indd 1 28-02-12 17:17

However, managers, especially executives of multi-national,

multi-divisional companies are more interested in the conse-

quences of CSR. They are aware that business norms and

standards, regulatory frameworks, and stakeholder demand

for CSR can vary substantially across nations, regions and

lines of business. They are also aware that their divisional

managers are under constant pressure from employees, sup-

pliers, community groups, NGOs, and governments to

increase their firm’s involvement in CSR.

Unfortunately for both scholars and practitioners, the analysis

of CSR is still embryonic and theoretical frameworks, meas-

urement, and empirical methods have not yet been resolved.

Furthermore, it cannot be analyzed through the lens of a single

discipline. So, CSR is fertile ground for theory development

and empirical analysis.

THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES ON CSRIn Table 1 we summarize selected articles on theoretical per-

spectives of CSR. Friedman (1970) wrote that the only

responsibility of business is to maximize shareholder wealth,

adding that the mere existence of CSR was a signal of an

agency problem within the firm. By this he meant that

agency theory implies that CSR is a misuse of corporate

resources that would be better spent on valued-added internal

projects or that should be returned to shareholders.

Freeman (1984) presented a more positive view of managers’

support of CSR. His stakeholder theory asserts that managers

must satisfy a variety of constituents, including workers,

customers, suppliers and local community organizations, who

can influence firm outcomes. Therefore it can be beneficial

for the firm to engage in certain CSR activities that non-

financial stakeholders perceive to be important, because,

absent this, these groups might withdraw their support for

the firm. Stakeholder theory was expanded by Donaldson and

Preston (1995) who stressed the moral and ethical dimensions

of CSR, as well as the business case for engaging in such

activity. Another perspective, stewardship theory (Donaldson,

1990), is based on the idea that there is a moral imperative

for managers to “do the right thing” without regard to how

such decisions affect firm financial performance.

Using institutional theory, Jennings and Zandbergen (1995)

analyzed the role of institutions in shaping the consensus

within a firm regarding the establishment of an “ecologically

sustainable” organization. A recent paper by Waldman,

Siegel and Javidan (2005) applies strategic leadership theory

to CSR. They conjectured that certain aspects of transforma-

tional leadership will be positively correlated with the

propensity of firms to engage in CSR and that leaders will

employ CSR activities strategically.

When firms engage in CSR strategically, the behavior can be

examined through the lens of the resource based view of the

firm (RBV) as popularized by Barney (1991). RBV presumes

that firms are bundles of heterogeneous resources and capa-

bilities that are imperfectly mobile across firms and that if

these resources and capabilities are valuable, rare, inimitable

and non-substitutable, they can constitute a source of sus-

tainable competitive advantage.

Table 1: Selected Theoretical Papers on CSR

Author(s) Nature of Theoretical Perspective(s) Key Argument/Result

Friedman (1970) Agency Theory CSR is indicative of self-serving behavior on the part of managers, and thus, reduces shareholder wealth.

Freeman (1984) Stakeholder Theory Managers should tailor their policies to satisfy numerous constituents, not just shareholders. These stakeholders include workers, customers, suppliers, and community organizations.

Donaldson (1990) Stewardship Theory There is a moral imperative for managers to “do the right thing,” without regard to how such decisions affect firm performance.

Donaldson and Preston (1995) Stakeholder Theory Stressed the moral and ethical dimensions of stakeholder theory, as well as the business case for engaging in CSR.

Hart (1995) Resource-Based View of the Firm For certain companies, environmental social responsibility can constitute a resource or capability that leads to a sustained competitive advantage.

Jennings and Zandbergen (1995) Institutional Theory Institutions play an important role in shaping the consensus within a firm regarding the establishment of an “ecologically sustainable” organization.

Feddersen and Gilligan (2001) Theory of the Firm Activists and NGOs can play an important role in reducing information asymmetry with respect to CSR on the part of consumers.

McWilliams and Siegel (2001) Theory of the Firm Presents a supply/demand perspective on CSR, which implies that the firm’s ideal level of CSR can be determined by cost-benefit analysis.

McWilliams, Van Fleet and Cory (2002) Resource-Based View of the Firm CSR strategies, when supported by political strategies, can be used to create sustainable competitive advantage.

Waldman, Siegel, and Javidan (2005) Theory of the Firm/ Strategic Leadership Theory

Certain aspects of CEO leadership can affect the propensity of firms to engage in CSR. Companies run by intellectually stimulating CEOs do more strategic CSR than comparable firms.

When firms engage in CSR strategically, the behavior can be examined through the lens of the resource based view of the firm (RBV).

18 • Strategic Implications of Corporate Social Responsibility: Review and Agenda


»

Applying RBV Hart (1995) asserted that for certain types of

firms environmental social responsibility can constitute a

resource or capability that leads to a sustained competitive

advantage. Russo and Fouts (1997) tested this theory empiri-

cally using firm-level data on environmental and accounting

performance and found that firms with higher levels of

environmental performance had superior financial perfor-

mance, which they interpreted to be consistent with the RBV

theory.

Using the RBV framework, McWilliams and Siegel (2001)

advanced a more formal theory of the firm model of “profit-

maximizing” CSR. They outlined a simple model in which

two companies produce identical products, except that one

firm adds an additional “social” attribute or feature, that is

valued by some consumers. In this model, managers determine

the optimal level of resources to devote to CSR activities/

attributes by assessing the demand for CSR and also the cost

of satisfying that demand. An important implication of this

model is that the two firms will achieve the same level of

profitability. They call this the “neutrality effect.”

This theory of the firm perspective on CSR has several strategic

implications. First, CSR can be an integral element of a

firm’s differentiation strategy. Therefore, it should be consid-

ered as a form of strategic investment. Even when it is not

directly tied to a product feature or production process, CSR

can be viewed as a form of reputation building or maintenance.

Second, it is possible to generate a set of predictions regarding

patterns of investment in CSR across firms and industries.

For example, it predicts a positive correlation between CSR

and both R&D and advertising as elaborated by McWilliams

and Siegel (2000). This theory of the firm perspective can

also be expanded to address issues relating to industry evolution,

market structure, firm dynamics, and the role of asymmetric

information in the context of CSR.

In contrast to the ease of valuing CSR attributes, consumers

often find it difficult to determine if a firm’s internal opera-

tions meet their standards for social responsibility. The level

of asymmetric information regarding internal operations

may be mediated by the firm themselves or by activists. For

instance, companies such as McDonalds, Motorola and Nike

include CSR in their annual reports, which can be viewed as

a form of advertising, especially for more general types of

CSR. However, some consumers perceive this information as

biased, since it is filtered through senior management. Fed-

dersen and Gilligan (2001) assert that activists can play an

important role in addressing this concern, by supplying con-

sumers with independent information about CSR.

The relationship between CSR and advertising is an interesting

one and several stylized facts relating to industry evolution

and the nature of advertising are useful to consider. First, we

expect levels of investment in CSR to be higher for estab-

lished firms in more mature industries, since the extent of

product differentiation will be greater in such sectors and

consumers will, in general, have more sophisticated tastes

and knowledge regarding products and firms. It is clear that

such companies are likely to derive greater benefits from the

use of CSR for reputation enhancement/protection. Second,

if some forms of CSR do indeed constitute advertising, then

it is important to distinguish between persuasive CSR adver-

tising and informative CSR advertising. Persuasive CSR

advertising attempts to positively influence consumer tastes

for products with CSR attributes. It follows that this type of

advertising need not be firm-specific. Informative CSR adver-

tising simply provides information about the CSR character-

istics or CSR managerial practices of the firm. A high level of

CSR advertising can be viewed as a signal of product or firm

quality.

The question of whether firms can use CSR to achieve a sus-

tainable competitive advantage is important. Reinhardt

(1998) finds that a firm engaging in a CSR-based strategy can

only generate an abnormal return if it can prevent competitors

from imitating its strategy. In competitive markets this is

We define CSR as situations where a firm goes beyond compliance.


and even coerced CSR would constitute a significant theo-

retical breakthrough. As other issues are resolved, we hope

that they lead to the emergence of an agreed-upon definition

of CSR.

Motivations for CSRAsymmetric information makes it difficult to study the ante-

cedents and consequences of CSR. Managers may perceive

that external stakeholders view CSR activity more favorably

if it is divorced from any discussion of the bottom line. With

this in mind, managers may not reveal the more practical

motivations (such as product promotion, labor cost control

and reputation building) behind their CSR activities, espe-

cially in corporate publications such as annual reports. This

lack of candid information has made it difficult to distinguish

between and discuss the different motivations for CSR.

Researchers need to use more direct methods, such as inter-

views and surveys, to “tease out” less self-serving informa-

tion about the motivations for CSR activity and improve the

precision of measurement of the private and social returns to

CSR.

Effects of CSRWe need to understand how strategic CSR affects society. An

example of strategic CSR is when a firm links the provision of

a public good to the sale of their (private) products (e.g., eco-

labeling). Bagnoli and Watts (2003) model this behavior and

find that the propensity of firms to engage in strategic CSR

depends on two factors: the intensity of competition in the

market and the extent to which consumers are willing to pay

a premium for social responsibility. The authors conclude

that there is an inverse relation between intensity of compe-

unlikely, since CSR is highly transparent, with little causal

ambiguity. Theoretical studies by Dutta, Lach & Rustichini

(1995) and Hoppe and Lehmann-Grube (2001) show that any

early-mover advantages that might be gained by offering

higher quality products (McWilliams & Siegel (2001) modeled

CSR as a “quality improvement” ) are eroded when competitive

strategies are observable.

However, CSR may be used in the context of political strategies

that result in regulatory barriers to imitation. For example,

firms could use government regulation to impose CSR on

rivals who do not employ an appropriate technology, thus

raising the costs of those rivals relative to the initiating firm.

McWilliams, Van Fleet, and Cory (2002) applied the RBV

framework to demonstrate how U.S. firms can use political

strategies based on CSR to raise regulatory barriers that prevent

foreign competitors from using substitute (e.g., one’s based

on low labor cost) technology.

RESEARCH AGENDA ON THE STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS OF CSRThere are numerous unresolved theoretical and empirical

issues relating to the strategic implications of CSR. These

include

• reachingconsensusonthedefinitionofCSR

• determiningthemotivationsforCSR

• assessing the effect of CSR on the firm and stakeholder

groups

• determiningtheeffectsofleadershipandcorporateculture

on CSR activity

• identifyinginstitutionaldifferencesinCSRacrossmarkets

and countries

• establishing appropriate methodologies for measuring

cost and benefits of CSR

Definition of CSR There is a no strong consensus on a definition for CSR. CSR

has been used as a synonym for business ethics, defined as

tantamount to corporate philanthropy, and considered strictly

as relating to environmental policy. CSR has also been

confused with corporate social performance and corporate

citizenship. The lack of consistency in the use of the term

CSR makes it difficult to compare results across studies,

hampering our ability to understand the implications of CSR

activity. Distinguishing among strategic CSR, altruistic CSR,

CSR can be viewed as a form of reputation building or maintenance.



»

CSR Across Markets and CountriesAnalysis of the strategic implications of CSR is hampered by

cross-country/cultural differences in the institutions that

regulate market activity, including business, labor and social

agencies. Institutional differences lead to different expecta-

tions and different returns to activity. For firms operating in

multiple countries/cultures this complicates the process of

determining which activities to engage in and how much to

invest. As the knowledge base of CSR develops world-wide,

we will be better able to analyze and advise on CSR.

Evaluating the effects of CSRTable 2 presents selected examples of CSR studies. Most

empirical studies of CSR focus on the relation between it and

firm performance. Early studies used either the event study

methodology (which is based on analysis of short-run

changes in stock prices as a proxy for firm performance in

the aftermath of a CSR-related event) or regression analysis

(which uses an accounting measure of profitability, such as

return on assets, as the dependent variable in a regression

model that “explains” firm performance). These studies usu-

ally attempted to answer the question: do firms do well by

doing good? The reported results have ranged from showing

a negative relation between CSR and firm performance, to

showing no relation, to showing a positive relation. This

inconsistency of results may be a consequence of inconsistency

in defining CSR, inconsistency in defining firm performance,

inconsistency in samples, imprecision and inconsistency in

research design, misspecification of models, or some more

fundamental variance in the samples that are being analyzed

(McWilliams, et al., 1999).

McWilliams and Siegel (1997) critiqued the use of event

study methodology to measure the consequences of CSR.

tition and provision of CSR. That is, in more competitive

markets, less of the public good will be provided through

strategic CSR. Conversely, the less competitive the market,

the more public good will be provided. This is easy to under-

stand, since more competition results in lower margins and,

therefore, less ability to provide additional (social) attributes

or activity. Conversely, less competition leads to the potential

for higher margins and more ability to provide additional

attributes or activity.

An analysis of the provision of public goods by private firms

is a welcome addition to the management literature on CSR,

which has been primarily concerned with answering the

question: do firms “do well by doing good”? Showing that a

firm does well by doing good is often referred to as making

the business case for CSR. While understanding the relation

between firm performance and social performance is of pri-

mary importance in the management literature, a more

thorough understanding of the CSR phenomenon requires

that we take account of other stakeholders as well.

Leadership and Corporate CultureAlso needed is an examination of the role of organizational

culture and leadership in determining the importance of

CSR. Researchers could analyze how changes in corporate

control, particularly mergers and acquisitions, affect the type

and level of CSR activity within firms. Alternatively, changes

in top management might be examined to determine whether

leadership style and characteristics are more important than

corporate control/culture for predicting CSR activity. Under-

standing the role of leadership could be extended to under-

standing the decision making process and how decisions

about CSR activity are affected by demands from multiple

stakeholders.

Table 2: Selected Empirical Papers on CSR

Author(s) Methodology Nature of CSR Event/Action Key Results

Abowd, Milkovich and Hannon (1990) Event Study Human Resource Decisions No consistent pattern of increased or decreased stock price

Clinebell and Clinebell (1994) Event Study Plant Closures Longer periods of advance notice of plant closings result in greater losses in shareholder wealth

Posnikoff (1997) Event Study Divestment From South Africa Divestment enhanced shareholder value

Teoh, Welch, and Wazzan (1999) Event Study Divestment From South Africa Divestment had a neutral effect on shareholder value

Aupperle, Carroll, and Hatfield (1985) Regression Analysis An Overall Firm-Level Index of CSR There is a neutral relation between CSR and profitability

McGuire, Sundgren, and Schneeweis (1988) Regression Analysis An Overall Firm-Level Index of CSR Prior profitability was more closely related to CSR than was subsequent performance

Russo and Fouts (1997) Regression Analysis Environmental Performance There is a positive relation between environmental performance and financial performance

McWilliams and Siegel (2000) Regression Analysis An Overall Firm-Level Index of CSR–KLD Data

There is a neutral relation between CSR and profitability

Hillman and Keim (2001) Regression Analysis “Social Issues” CSR and “Stakeholder Management” CSR –KLD Data

“Stakeholder Management” CSR is positively correlated with shareholder wealth creation (market value added); “Social Issues” CSR is not


The authors reported that the findings of event studies of

CSR appearing in top management journals were unreliable,

due to serious flaws in the research design and implementa-

tion of the event study methodology. They also cautioned

that the use of stock price as a metric for performance is not

appropriate for studying CSR because it is a firm level measure

and many CSR activities occur at the plant level or the product

level and, additionally, that stakeholders other than share-

holders are usually affected.

McWilliams and Siegel (2000) challenged the typical regres-

sion model used to test the relation between Corporate

Social Performance—often used as a synonym for CSR—and

firm performance. They noted that the typical regression

equation estimated was misspecified because it did not

include two key variables: the level of R&D spending and

advertising expenditure. Both of these variables have been

shown to be determinants of firm performance and, because

all three (R&D, advertising, and CSP) are elements of a

differentiation strategy, they hypothesized that R&D and

advertising would be correlated with a measure of CSP. The

results of McWilliams & Siegel’s estimation of the correctly-

specified, expanded equation demonstrated that the three

explanatory variables were correlated. Thus, the model that

excluded R&D and advertising variables was misspecified.

Most notably, they showed that when R&D and advertising

were included in the model, CSP was not a significant deter-

minant of firm performance, as had been reported in several

key studies.

Hillman and Keim (2001) propose that empirical tests of the

relation between CSR and firm performance should disaggregate

CSR activities into those that are strategic (stakeholder

management) and those that are altruistic (social issue

participation). Based on estimation of a disaggregated model,

they report that there is a positive relation between firm per-

formance (measured using market value added) and strategic

CSR and a negative relation between altruistic CSR and firm

performance.

Using the theory of the firm perspective of CSR, McWilliams

and Siegel (2001) developed hypotheses regarding the provision

of CSR attributes across industries and market structures.

These include that “the provision of CSR will depend on R&D

spending, advertising intensity, the extent of product differ-

entiation, the percentage of government sales, consumer

income, the tightness of the labor market, and the stage of

the industry life cycle” (p. 125).

They conclude that “there is some level of CSR that will max-

imize profits while satisfying the demand for CSR from mul-

tiple stakeholders. The ideal level of CSR can be determined

by cost-benefit analysis” (p. 125). While the costs of providing

CSR attributes may be easy for managers to determine, con-

sumer demand (the benefit) may not be. Consumer demand

for CSR is difficult to measure because CSR attributes are

among many attributes of a product. However, a possible

method for assessing how much consumers are willing to

pay for a given product characteristic or feature is hedonic

pricing, which involves using data on actual purchases, in

order to determine the implicit “price” of a particular attribute

(McWilliams and Siegel, 2001). Given this information, managers

could conduct a cost/benefit analysis of CSR. A major advantage

of hedonics, relative to other methods (e.g. focus groups), is

that it is based on observed, not hypothetical data.

CONCLUSIONFor firms employing a differentiation strategy, CSR can be a

valuable strategic resource, but one that is not completely

understood or trusted. Therefore, it is important to develop

accurate empirical models so that managers can make

informed strategic decisions about CSR.

We expect levels of investment in CSR to be higher for established firms in more mature industries.



CORPORATE FINANCE COMPETITION21 - 23 MAY

WWW.FSR.NL/CARRIEREFSR Career site

The first step in your career!

Vacancies, Internships and Inhouse days of more than 50 companies for Finance, Accountancy and Control students!

Every week new items in our database!

APPLICATION DEADLINE 6 MAY

Advo CFC-Carriere.indd 1 16-3-2012 10:23:17

CSR as a strategic activity.Value creation, redistribution and integration

Karen Maas and Frank Boons (2009)

24 • CSR as a strategic activity. Value creation, redistribution and integration


»

In recent years corporate social responsibility (CSR) has

become increasingly important as the concept which frames

the business contribution to sustainable development (Com-

mission of the European Communities 2002). Building on

generic definitions of sustainable development (WCED 1987)

it denotes a situation in which firms combine their economic

goals with taking responsibility for their ecological and

social impact.

In the view of the authors, CSR has potential to become a

strategic activity adding value on different dimensions—

business, society and ecosystems—if two conditions are met.

The first condition for strategic CSR is that CSR needs to

become integrated with the strategy of the firm. The second

condition for strategic CSR is to have the means to measure

and monitor these new or additional values. The reason for

this is twofold. On the one hand, given the public interest in

CSR, CSR is closely related to transparency, accountability

and legitimacy and requires some form of validation. On the

other hand, if CSR is to become a strategic activity, the firm

itself will have a need to monitor the impact of its activities.

Two critical questions that need answering are: How can the

value of business activities for a firm, society and ecosystems

be defined? And secondly: How can the contribution of activities

of the firm to such value be measured?

1) Defining the value of firm activities:

In general, the primary pursuit of firms is to create and

maintain value (Conner 1991). How to create and appropriate

value are central concepts in the (strategic) management

and organizational literature (Lepak et al. 2007; Verwaal et

al. 2008). However, what actually constitutes value is often

left unaddressed in these theories. Strategic management

theories explore the question of why one strategy is more

successful in creating and maintaining value than another,

given product, firm and industry characteristics. Those theories

basically boil down to two general types: competence-based

theories and governance-based theories. Competence-based

theories—including evolutionary economics and the

resource-based view—focus on value creation by explaining

the emergence and sustainability of economic rents (Barney

1991; Conner 1991; Barney et al. 2001). Governance-based

theories—including agency theory, transaction-cost eco-

nomics and property rights theory— mainly focus on value

appropriation by explaining the existence and boundaries of

economic institutions, such as firms, and employment rela-

tions (Williamson 1985, 1999; Makadok 2003). In both cases,

value is—implicitly—defined in terms of immediate or

future financial gains for firm owners.

Financial profit remains an important standard for optimal

functioning in the private sector (March and Simon 1993)

and it is more or less accepted that the main target of for-

profit firms is to maximize, in the long run, the wealth of the

shareholders of firms (Friedman 1970; Jensen 1998). From

this perspective, CSR is received with great skepticism as a

zero-sum game where the impact on companies mainly adds

costs and limits the freedom of firms through additional reg-

ulatory demands (Haigh and Jones 2006).

The management perspective of value as financial profit is

also challenged by insights from economic sociologists. They

have shown that economic value is not an objective fact, but

rather the result of judgments of individual consumers, pro-

ducers and other societal actors (e.g. financial institutions,

government, environmental and social groups).

Given the socially constructed nature of value it is not possible

to provide specific definitions: these emerge in the context of

interactions among economic actors and those that seek to

influence them. Together they enact the specific value pro-

vided for the firm, society and ecosystems. It is possible

though to reflect on different ways in which such value is

constructed. For this we draw from literature on innovation,

global commodity chains and stakeholder theory.

Firms derive profit from value-adding activities. If such

activities are performed more efficiently, the value-added

increases. In addition to such efficiency improvements, firms

may develop product innovations. This consists of creating

new value: the firm develops a new object, service or activity

which is perceived as valuable by some social group. This

may be the creation of a new market, or the development of

a new product based on the recognition of a new problem

field. Such innovations usually require collaborations with

other firms, knowledge institutes and governments, espe-

cially when they are aimed to reduce the ecological and

social impact of the firm or be more sustainable than the

product that is replaced (Weber and Hemmelskamp 2005).

Economic value is the result of judgments of individual consumers, producers and other societal actors.

CSR as a strategic activity. Value creation, redistribution and integration • 25

Such innovations may be considered as the core of a strategic

approach to CSR as they move the firm and its core activities

towards a redefined balance between economic revenues for

the firm, reduced impact on ecosystems and improved value

for society.

A second type of CSR concerns the integration of stakeholder

concerns into the firm’s strategy. Stakeholders are those

individuals and organizations that are influenced by, or are

able to influence, the activities of a firm (Freeman 1984). The

concept of CSR builds on the idea that the interest of all

stakeholders should not be sacrificed to the interest of the

shareholders and it is a firm’s task to create value with and

for its stakeholders. The purpose of the organization is thus to

create value for its stakeholders (or the interests they represent,

such as those of ecosystems), bringing into focus different

targets, including earnings for owners, satisfaction for

employees, product benefits for customers and taxes for society

(Post et al. 2002). The mutual dependence of firms and society

implies that any business decision, as well as any policy deci-

sion, influences society and other stakeholders as well as

businesses (Emerson 2003). Therefore, the main challenge is

to maximize value in win–win situations or to optimize value

in win–lose or lose–win situations.

A third type of strategic CSR activities can be drawn from the

literature on global commodity chains. Such chains refer to

the globally linked stages of a product’s life-cycle from the

extraction of raw materials through production, consumption,

to recycling and waste disposal (Gereffi 1999a, b). This

approach focuses on the international dimension of power

and dependence relationships, often between developing and

developed countries. Second, it addresses the issue of relative

power in the chain, identifying lead firms that control crucial

resources and generate most of the profits. Third, it views

mechanisms of coordination throughout the chain as a source

of competitive advantage. Lead firms choose coordination

mechanisms (varying from market transactions to network

forms and hierarchical relationships) that allow them to

achieve their goals. Finally, organizational learning is viewed

as the central mechanism through which firms consolidate

or improve their relative position towards other actors in the

chain. Based on the analysis of global commodity chains of food

products, apparel, electronics and automobiles, two distinct

types of commodity chain have been identified (Gereffi 2001).

Producer-driven commodity chains (automobiles, computers),

are led by large transnational corporations that coordinate

production and distribution into vertical networks. Buyer-

driven commodity chains (food products, apparel, toys) are

led by large retailers, marketers and branded manufacturers

that coordinate the development of decentralized production

networks in developing countries based on trade rather than

direct coordination. The global commodity chain approach

provides an analysis of what in debates about CSR is often

construed as a social issue: the dependence of farmers and

workers in developing countries on Western firms. Firms in

consuming countries hold power over producers of com-

modities such as coffee and cacao, but also apparel and con-

sumer electronics, and are thus able to appropriate most of

the value-added. Based on this analysis, a third type of strategic

CSR takes the shape of value redistribution as relationships

among commodity chains are altered to strike a more equal

balance among economic actors in producing and consuming

countries in terms of ecological, economic and social value.

Over the years, various initiatives have developed to forge

such a change in relationships, of which fair-trade programs

are the most well known.

2) Measuring the firm’s contribution

If CSR is to become a strategic activity, two conditions have

to be met. The first condition for strategic CSR was the inte-

gration of CSR within the strategy of the firm, which can be

distinguished in the three types outlined above. The second

condition for firms is to measure and monitor not only their

financial returns but also the value added (or destroyed)

across the environmental and social dimension. Current

practice tends to focus on measuring only a limited part of

the value that is generated by CSR. Management scholars

The main challenge is to maximize value in win–win situations.



»

have focused mainly on performance measurement measuring

the financial gains for the firm. The question about what

impacts those corporate CSR actions have, not only on the

bottom line but also on society and ecosystems, remains

largely unexplored (Margolis and Walsh 2003).

To be able to measure the impact of CSR on different dimen-

sions, a shift is needed from output thinking, focusing on a

single-dimensional firm perspective, to impact thinking,

which includes a social and ecosystem perspective (see Fig.

1). Performance measurement, traditionally used to measure

companies’ efficiency, profit and competitive advantage,

builds on output thinking. Measuring output does not enable

firms to assess their value added (or destroyed) across envi-

ronmental, social and economic dimensions. This indicates

that new methods capable of measuring impact are needed.

In business, generally accepted principles of accounting and

an international legal infrastructure have been established

over the years to help measure and report on financial

impact. Life-cycle assessment provides a framework and

indicators for the measurement of ecological impacts. For

social impact measurement, however, general accepted

standards do not yet exist. Nevertheless, social and ecological

impacts are often not explicitly included in measurement or

are even ignored. Next to this the impact and the dimension

of the impact (economic, environmental and social) vary on

a case-by-case basis depending on the CSR activity.

Impact measurement is not an end in itself. Neither the act

of measuring impact nor the resulting data accomplishes

anything itself; only when someone uses these measures in

some way do they accomplish something (Behn 2003).

Besides this, only if managers know what they want to do

with the measurement results can they select a collection of

impact measures with the characteristics necessary to help

them achieve these purposes (Maas 2009). Managers should

therefore begin by deciding on the managerial purposes to

which impact measurement may contribute. Managers

might want to answer questions from several perspectives:

•Howisvaluedistributedinthesupplychain?

•Howdostakeholdersseeus?

•Howcanwecontinuetoimprove?

•Howcanwecreatevalue?

•Howdoshareholdersseeus?

A measurement approach should be selected based on the

CSR activity undertaken by the firm—value redistribution,

value integration or new value creation—and the corresponding

impact. In the author’s typology of strategic CSR activities

they distinguish three ways in which CSR may provide value

to a firm, society and ecosystems. Each of these requires

different impact measures. Impact measurement in the case

of value redistribution should focus on the global commodity

chain perspective and answer the question: how is impact, on

different dimensions, distributed in the supply chain and

how could this be optimized in view of sustainable development?

Impact measurement in case of value creation through the

development of new products or new markets should focus

on a financial shareholder perspective and a societal perspective

and answer the question: how can we increase positive

impact on the different dimensions? Impact measurement in

the case of value integration should focus on the stakeholder

perspective and answer the question: how do stakeholders

see and value the firm?

Value creation for the firm through the development of new

products or new markets or by bottom-of-the-pyramid strat-

egies are comparable with general innovation activities. CSR

as new value creation is a process of collaborative innovation.

A key characteristic is that, at the level of the firm, but often

also at a system level, a new balance is struck between eco-

nomic, ecological and social impact. The difficulty of meas-

uring the impact of new value creation is dependent on

whether the innovation constitutes a departure from the

existing technological paradigm: that is, the current accepted

frame of reference on which firms and knowledge institutes

base their search for new technologies (Dosi 1982). When

new value creation takes the shape of efficiency improvements

Figure 1: Developments over time in the focus of performance measurement and value creation


of processes and products, impact can be measured by com-

paring the old with the new situation.

If companies want to include social and environmental

impact next to the financial impact for the firm, they can use

the so-called social return on investment (SROI) method

(Lingane and Olsen 2004). SROI is a methodology pioneered

by the Roberts Enterprise Development Fund (REDF) in

1996. More recently the approach has been used to assess the

multi-dimensional impacts of CSR activities.

Value integration implies the effort of a firm to integrate

values espoused by stakeholders into its activities and organi-

sational routines that were previously disregarded. Problems,

solutions and impacts, whether intended or unintended, are

often the subject of ambiguity, uncertainty and disputes

(Roome 2001). Indicators for value measurement can be

selected directly through stakeholder consultation, as in the

case of Shell’s residential advisory board, by building learning-

action networks or indirectly by using different guidelines,

frameworks, standards and rating schemes which provide

information on potentially useful indicators.

Value redistribution includes the effort of a firm to change

the distribution of impact over the system actors. Redistribution

builds on the accepted definition of what is valuable. Previous

research used an extended version of the overall business

impact assessment (OBIA), originally developed by Unilever

(Taylor and Postlethwaite 1996), to analyse the environmental

and economic impact of supply chains (Jackson and Clift

1998; Clift and Wright 2000). These authors observed that

the primary resource industries, often located in developing

countries, incur disproportionately high environmental

impact but receive disproportionately low economic benefit.

Clift (2003) concludes that, in view of sustainability, the ratio

between environmental and financial impact along the

global commodity chain should be unity. Results from this

kind of measurement can be used to produce a more equal

distribution of economic and environmental impact along

supply chains.

ConclusionCSR has potential to become a strategic activity adding value

on different dimensions—business, society and ecosystems—

if two conditions are met. The first condition for strategic

CSR is that CSR needs to become integrated with the strategy

of the firm through value creation, value integration and

value redistribution. Whenever a firm engages in activities of

one or more of these types, it connects CSR to its core activities,

making it more than a ‘bolt-on’ exercise. The second condition

for CSR as strategic activity is to measure and monitor its

impact across environmental, social and economic dimensions

and, ideally, to incorporate those impacts into management

decisions. Measuring the impact of CSR is difficult because

any meaningful measurement needs a reference point in terms

of accepted criteria. Criteria have to be selected by taking the

perspective of the stakeholder into account. However, current

developments in measurement instruments focus mainly on

output measurement and emphasize the payback results of

CSR initiatives for companies instead of the impact along the

dimensions of the firm as well as the societies and eco-

systems on which its activities have an impact. A shift is

needed from output thinking, focusing on a single-dimen-

sional firm perspective, to impact thinking which includes a

social and ecosystem perspective. New measurement methods

capable of measuring impact are needed.

A measurement approach should be selected based on the

CSR activity undertaken by the firm—value redistribution,

value integration or new value creation—and the corresponding

impact. Managers should begin by deciding on the managerial

purposes to which impact measurement may contribute.

Value redistribution in a way is the easiest in terms of criteria.

As redistribution builds on an accepted definition of what is

valuable, CSR initiatives that fall into this category can look

at the relative equality of distribution of this value across

actors in the product chain. But as redistribution can also

involve changes in social practices, it mingles with the creation

of new value, complicating the measurement of impact.

New methods capable of measuring impact are needed.



Value integration brings more sets of values to those previously

espoused by the firm, and involves stakeholders in the strategic

process. In such instances of CSR, measurement may best

proceed through an assessment as part of the stakeholder

dialogue. For this to work, scores on different values do not

necessarily need to be integrated into one ‘grade’; for each of

the stakeholders, it is important to have insight into the way

in which their value is addressed by the firm. Value creation

is perhaps the most difficult to measure. As it involves the

creation of new products and/or services, it is embedded in a

process in which value of the activity of the firm at first is

uncertain. (Will consumers, governmental agencies and

other stakeholders accept the product/service?) Only after

market introduction is it possible to define value in any

meaningful way.

There is general agreement in literature that organizations

until now have done little work in evaluating the impact of

their CSR activities, specifically on a social and ecosystem

level (Margolis and Walsh 2003; Clark et al. 2004). There is

also consensus that organizations are beginning to express

greater interest in their impact (Young 2002). The SROI

methodology could be a useful approach to include social

and environmental impacts in measurement.

Future research might assess actual impact measurement

behaviour of firms. Besides this, it might be interesting to

look in more detail at existing impact measurement meth-

ods. Methods may differ in approach, perspective and metrics

and might be useful for specific situations. Finally, it would

be interesting to actually measure the impact of CSR for sev-

eral cases capturing the different ways in which CSR may

provide value to a firm, society and ecosystems.

Social and ecological impacts are often not explicitly included in measurement or are even ignored.


w w w.ga a an.nU

© 2011 KPMG N.V., alle rechten voorbehouden.

Je kunt als bedrijf nog zo veel willen, je krijgt pas wat voor elkaar met goede mensen

KPMG biedt accountancy- en adviesdiensten aan

uiteenlopende organisaties. Alleen al in Nederland

hebben we 4.000 medewerkers, verspreid over

15 kantoren. We zijn ambitieus: we willen op zo

veel mogelijk terreinen de nummer één zijn in

ons vak.

Gááán!

We zijn dan ook voortdurend op zoek naar talentvolle

mensen met dezelfde passie. Zit jij zo in elkaar?

Dan wordt het tijd om kennis te maken. Dat kan via

www.gaaan.nu, ons talent- en ambitieplatform. Gááán!

helpt je bij je studie en je carrière en stelt je in staat

contacten te leggen met KPMG’ers. Je vindt er ook

alles over je carrièremogelijkheden.

Aan de slag als accountant

Bij KPMG Audit start je na je universitaire studie of

hbo-opleiding als trainee. Je gaat direct aan de slag

bij alle soorten klanten. Tegelijk volg je een opleiding

tot registeraccountant. Daarna ben je gekwalificeerd

registeraccountant en beëdigd om de financiële

rapportage van ondernemingen te verzorgen.

Of als adviseur

Bij KPMG Advisory begin je als junior adviseur en start

je direct met adviesopdrachten. Je volgt ook doel-

gerichte opleidingen. Afhankelijk van je universitaire

studie en interesse kun je kiezen uit verschillende

richtingen. Van organisatieadvies tot fusies en over-

names en van het kwantificeren van complexe risico’s

tot IT-advies.

Waar je ook voor gaat: kansen genoeg om samen

met je collega’s aan iets moois te bouwen. Wij zouden

zeggen: Gááán!

Meer informatie

Ga naar www.gaaan.nu of maak een afspraak met

het KPMG Recruitment Centre (020) 656 7162 of mail

naar [email protected].

-04473_BP_210x297mm_OF.indd 1 10-11-2011 12:15:58

Van scriptanttot trainee

w w w.ga a an.nU

KPMG

Recruitment Centre

Laan van Langerhuize 1

1186 DS Amstelveen

(020) 656 7162

[email protected]

www.gaaan.nu

een groep studenten in de afstudeerfase bij elkaar zit,

kun je met elkaar sparren en informatie uitwisselen.

Ook kreeg ik een coach toegewezen die mij wegwijs

heeft gemaakt in de organisatie en waarbij ik met al

mijn vragen terechtkon.

Je krijgt de tijd en mogelijkheden om het bedrijf, de

werkzaamheden en de collega’s te leren kennen.

KPMG organiseert bijvoorbeeld diverse activiteiten

voor scriptanten, zoals de Landelijke Scriptanten

dagen, etentjes, borrels, etc. Daarnaast heb ik via

KPMG kunnen deelnemen aan golflessen en kon ik

binnen een paar maanden mijn GVB halen.”

En nu aan de slag als trainee?

“Ik kijk terug op een geslaagde scriptiestage bij KPMG.

Mijn Master is met succes afgerond en ik heb een

geweldige werkgever leren kennen. Sinds september

werk ik fulltime als trainee; ik ben sindsdien al veel

leuke ervaringen rijker. Ik werk in wekelijks wisselende

teams aan opdrachten voor verschillende bedrijven.

Hierdoor leer je snel veel collega’s kennen en is het

werk erg divers. Mijn scriptie is dus een mooie eerste

carrièrestap geweest en ik kan iedereen dan ook

aanraden om met KPMG kennis te maken en te gaan

voor je scriptie!”

Wil jij ook je scriptie bij KPMG schrijven? Neem dan

contact op met het KPMG Recruitment Centre via

[email protected] of schrijf je in op www.gaaan.nu.

Kijk voor tips op facebook.com/kpmgscriptiecoach.

Stijn van der Heijden (27) heeft zijn scriptie bij KPMG

geschreven en is onlangs gestart als trainee in

Rotterdam. We vroegen Stijn naar zijn stageervaring

en start bij KPMG.

Waarom heb je ervoor gekozen om je scriptie bij

een bedrijf te schrijven?

“Ik heb na mijn Bachelor Economie de Master

Accounting, Auditing and Control gedaan. Tijdens een

inhousedag ontdekte ik de mogelijkheden om je scriptie

bij een groot accountancykantoor te schrijven.

Naast de theoretische kennis die ik in ruim vijf jaar

had opgedaan, wilde ik graag praktijkervaring op

doen. Ik ben daarom alvast op zoek gegaan naar een

potentiële werkgever om daar mijn scriptie te schrijven.”

Waarom KPMG?

“Tijdens mijn studententijd was ik erg actief als

wedstrijdroeier bij ARSR Skadi. Ik zocht een werkgever

waar je mensen vindt met dezelfde drive en passie.

Tijdens mijn kennismaking met KPMG vielen de

gedrevenheid en nononsensementaliteit mij op.

Niet alleen mooie verhalen, maar vooral daden.

Ook de Talentpool van KPMG vind ik erg aansprekend.

Dit houdt in dat je eerst een heel divers klantenpakket

hebt en dat je daarna een keuze maakt voor de sector

waarin je je gaat specialiseren. Voor mij voldoende

redenen om mijn scriptie bij KPMG te schrijven.”

Hoe heb je de scriptiestage ervaren?

“Ik kreeg alle ruimte om mijn eigen plan te trekken.

Zo kon ik het schrijven aan mijn scriptie afwisselen

met het opdoen van praktijkervaring. Doordat je met

“Ik heb een

geweldIge

werkgever

leren

kennen.”

© 2011 KPMG N.V., alle rechten voorbehouden.

-04459_Interview_210x297mm_OF.indd 1 27-10-2011 14:44:29

Interview withJan Peter Balkenende

Jeroen van Oerle and Anne van Driesum - Rotterdam, 13 February 2012

In 1974, Jan Peter Balkenende began his History studies at the Free University of Amsterdam. He had, however, a strong preference for Politics and Economics courses, and thus started a second study in Law in 1979. During this study period, Jan Peter Balkenende participated in the city council of Amstelveen, and remained a member of this council for 16 years. After graduating as a law student, he worked as a lawyer at the Netherlands' Universities Council, which acts as the forerunner of the VSNU. However, after just two years he was asked to work for the scientific office of the political party CDA. Jan Peter Balkenende promoted and became part-time professor of ‘Christian Social Thought’ at the Free University of Amsterdam in 1992. After 14 years of working for the scientific office, he received an offer to join the political party in the parliament. He became Prime Minister of the Netherlands in 2002, and remained in power for a total of 8 years. In 2011 he became a partner of Ernst & Young, and a professor at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, where he teaches ‘Governance, Institutions & Internationalization’. At Ernst & Young, he leads the Corporate Responsibility strategy: You can find more information about Corporate Responsibility at Ernst & Young on page 6.

What was your incentive to improve the values and norms in the Netherlands during your presidency?During my study period, the left and right wings within

Dutch politics were fiercely opposed. First of all, the right

wing advocated for market liberation and the left wing advo-

cated extensive regulations by the government. In fact, until

a report about shared responsibility appeared, there was no

future at all for the Christian democracy. This report was

written by the scientific offices of the Christian democratic

parties, and it appealed to me because in it I found what I

could not come across in politics those days. I object to the

exaggerated role of the government as much as I disapprove

of a market solely focused on the continuity of returns. As

well as this, I am also more a proponent of team work, of the

polder model and bargaining economies: people need to rec-

ognize the importance of long term visions and the next gen-

eration; a principle that nowadays is called sustainability. It is

essential to incorporate this moral component in today’s

society. After all, in my opinion a situation in which this

moral component is only captured in the regulation of the

government, is incomplete. Moreover, I strongly feel that the

corporate world should take responsibility for their actions,

and that is why I raised awareness about sustainability, values

and norms during my presidency.

How would you define CSR? CSR means that companies integrate responsible and sus-

tainable entrepreneurship into their core business activities

and strategy. Successful companies are aware of how this

strategy generates value - not only for their financial bottom

line, but also for their employees, the environment and

broader society. To me, sustainability is more than just envi-

ronmental sustainability, it is also about adding value to your

social environment, which means that you have an eye for

the human aspects in your own organization too; how do you

treat your employees, suppliers and your clients? In the long

term, CSR as a strategy only works when it generates financial

value. In short – it actually concerns a triple bottom line: to

simultaneously create value for People, Planet and Profit.

How did Ernst & Young structure their CR policy? We use the four Es: Entrepreneurship, Employees, Environment

and Community Engagement. First of all, the E of Entrepre-

neurship stands for how we advise our clients and how we

can share knowledge. Our largest added value is delivering


32 • Interview

»

high quality services – which, by nature, include our CR

expertise. The E of Employees refers to how we enable our

employees and work hard to provide a more diverse, healthy

and flexible work environment which aims to benefit those at

all levels of the company. The third E stands for Environment:

we invest in initiatives to reduce our carbon footprint – in

most of these initiatives, we have already seen a return upon

investment within just a few years. Examples in the area of

electric mobility, greening our office buildings and increasing

organic products in our restaurants highlight this. The last E

is that of Community Engagement, which means volunteering

and pro bono work during working hours. Through our Ernst

& Young Foundation, we share our knowledge with selected

non-profit organizations. Each of these partnerships is dedicated

to accelerating sustainable entrepreneurship, both in the

Netherlands and in developing countries.

In times of financial crisis, companies first save on R&D and marketing. Does that also apply to CSR? In the past, CSR was used in times of economic expansion.

Granted, the ideas were there, but CSR was just a secondary

activity, and nowadays you witness shifts towards sustainabil-

ity becoming a mainstream business strategy. The general

consensus is that by 2050, our global population will consist

of 9 billion people. In combination with this growth, we are

also conscious of the fact that we have a finite supply of natu-

ral resources on our planet, and this awareness has led to an

incremental increase in the practice of CSR.

Companies that use CSR as a PR instrument choose the

wrong strategy: during recessions, it will be removed from

the priority list. Furthermore, in comparison with 20 years

CSR as a strategy only works when it generates financial value.

ago, sustainability has become a true business driver. In

accordance with this, company policies are being set out

more coherently towards sustainable targets. Examples of

leaders, who consider this type of integrated strategic thinking

as a true business opportunity, are the CEOs of Unilever,

DSM and IKEA. This also has an impact on the way busi-

nesses report about their performance. In line with this, the

accountancy profession is changing too. Steered by the work

of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC),

both non-financial and financial information are increasingly

being integrated into one report.

If companies shouldn’t use CSR as a PR instrument, then what are the benefits for companies to incorpo-rate CSR in their business strategy? For the last 20 years we have been possessed with the drive of

the shareholder: short term vision, quarterly reports and the

increasing power of shareholders all became guides to strategy

and development. Nowadays, businesses do not consider the

opinions of their shareholders alone, but they still take their

stakeholders into account.

At the Harvard Business School, Professor Eccles has con-

ducted research on 90 high sustainability and 90 low sustain-

ability companies. He used data from the time period 1993 to

2010. This research showed that companies who chose to use

sustainable measures had, on average, a 5 percent higher

return than companies that did not. This higher return is

due to the long term vision of companies that are “high sus-

tainability performers”.

The short term vision is typical for the American model. Do you see differences between CSR in America and Europe? When I became a professor at the Free University in Amsterdam,

Michel Albert, a businessman from the French Insurance

World, launched his book ´Capitalisme contre Capitalisme´.

He wrote this book after the fall of Communism and in it, he

predicted the rise of two types of capitalism: the Anglo-Saxon

and the Rhinelandic. The Anglo-Saxon model focuses on the

short term: making profits, less solidarity and a bad quality of

governance The Rhinelandic thought focuses more on the

long term: more social services, a better quality of governance

and increased solidarity. In fact, the Rhinelandic thought is

superior, but the Anglo-Saxon model has prevailed in the

current era. As a result, two problems have occurred in the

people need to recognize the importance of long term visions and the next generation

Interview • 33

United States of America concerning CSR: One of them is that one keeps doing business the

traditional way and that one donates money to charity. The second issue is the fear of legal

accusations, which prevents companies from presenting their results.

How does the Netherlands relate to the rest of the world concerning CSR? In the Netherlands, we have recently launched the Dutch Sustainable Growth Coalition, which

consists of eight large companies from the Netherlands: DSM, Akzo Nobel, Philips, Friesland

Campina, KLM, Heineken, Unilever and Shell. VNO-NCW and Ernst & Young support and facilitate

this initiative. These companies have united and asked themselves: how has sustainability

become such a key driver for our business model and growth strategy? Several of these busi-

nesses are the highest in ranking in their own category on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.

Besides the Netherlands, countries in other areas of the world, for instance in Asia, are forerunners

in the practice of CSR. I have visited South Korea several times, as well as Singapore, Japan and

China. There are many companies located there which focus on what their core values are, and

who recognize sustainability as a business driver. Han Seung-soo, the former Prime Minister of

South Korea, is now chairman of the Global Green Growth Institute of Korea. Asians have a

true winning mentality and will, in my view, be the winners of tomorrow.

The European Committee has developed a strategy for a CSR policy in Europe. Does the implementation of this strategy differ per Member State of the EU? Currently governments are taking a defensive position because of the current financial situation

involving the public debt and the budget deficits. In my opinion, it is essential that NGOs and

companies take responsibility for social issues and environmental sustainability. We need

global awareness - and in that sense I am less optimistic than I was several years ago. In 2009 I

was at the G20 meeting in London: Back then there was a global sense of urgency to resolve the

financial crisis: a better financial architecture, more supervision, more control and a reduction

of the bonus culture. We had a shared responsibility to make sure the Copenhagen Climate

Summit would succeed. Furthermore, we wanted to conclude the WTO negotiations within the

year. Unfortunately, the current situation is as follows: the Chinese criticize the Americans, the

Americans criticize the Europeans and the Europeans criticize each other, which is not a good

situation. My belief is that the human mind is creative: People continue to invent things that

were unimaginable 10 years ago. Moreover, the human mind is so creative that we should focus

on preventing the situation in which there is a lack of sense of the common interest

Who is responsible for the recovery of the current situation: the government or the corporate world? I often quote Parag Khanna, a young researcher from the U.S.A., who has written the book

‘How to run the world?’. According to Parag Khanna we currently see the end of the traditional

nation State, a system that through the years has become familiar to us. The major issues were

solved through national decisions, international issues were solved with a supranational mindset,

and in cooperation with various nation States. The issues in which we believe in today, such as

sustainability, and the abolishment of poverty and climate change, exceed the boundaries and

capabilities of the nation State. If we want to solve these issues we need to create new alliances;

alliances of governments, multinationals, religious groups and NGOs who will work together

to find solutions for global problems. Which party will take the lead will depend on the situation,

Companies who chose to use sustainable measures had, on average, a 5 percent higher return than companies that did not.


34 • Interview

for instance, the chemical sector took the initiative to continue to solve the climate issue when

the results of the Copenhagen Climate Summit were disappointing. Despite this idea however,

the governments or organizations such as the United Nations will remain essential.

Do you think that a shift in power from governmental regulations to the private sector will arise? I believe that the traditional welfare state will slowly fade away. During my college days, a social

problem was always defined as a political problem, and a political problem was solved through

the administrative system of regulation, planning and financing. You still need a government,

because you need civil rights, but there should be a greater symbiosis between the roles which

the government plays, and the roles of the private sector. The private sector should be free to

take its own responsibilities, as a system where the government makes all the decisions for the

private sector is no longer valid.

Do you think Europe will recover again?The problems are huge and the positive momentum is not here but elsewhere in the world. As

I have said before, Europe has become defensive and that is something that makes me worried.

I do think that Europe is able to handle the current situation: This is a continent with a wide

variety of cultures and in which democracy is very important. We have great companies and

traditions, and the human mind has the right skills to deal with the current challenges. How-

ever, if you start to think that the wealth we have generated after the Second World War will

always remain, then I am afraid you are mistaken. In the beginning of the 19th Century before

the Industrial Revolution started, China and India had half of the world’s wealth. This has

reduced to only 9 percent, but now they are back up to 25 percent and that will only increase

in the future.

Is a strong sense of values and norms necessary to make a successful career? I often work with starters. These young people know how to set up a project and how to close

deals, but they also realize that more must be done than just that. Various studies confirm that

young people expect their future employers to focus on CSR and look beyond short-term profits.

In the future, the mainstream of business professionals will understand that running a successful

business means that CSR is not about PR or a “nice to have”, but the key to market leadership.

Europe has become defensive and that is something that makes me worried

Interview • 35

“An instinct for growth”Grant Thornton focust op dynamische organisaties die willen groeien. Als gevolg hiervan ondergaan deze organisaties verande-ringen en hebben zij behoefte aan een breed scala (geïntegreerde) diensten. Dit kunnen zowel middelgrote bedrijven zijn als grote (internationale) ondernemingen. Wij helpen bedrijven bij het benutten van hun groeipotentie.

Wat verstaat Grant Thornton onder groei? Hieronder verstaan we zowel kwantitatieve als kwalitatieve groei. Dat wil zeggen, naast fi nanciële groei ook groei in cliëntrelaties, persoonlijke groei van medewerkers en het aanmoedigen van innovatie.

Jouw mogelijkheden binnen Grant ThorntonAudit & assurance Een ondernemer moet kunnen vertrouwen op zijn cijfers. Maar ook zijn investeerders, de belastingdienst en andere belangheb-benden kijken kritisch mee. Wij verrichten wettelijk verplichte én vrijwillige audits, fi nanciële en niet-fi nanciële controles. Onafhan-kelijkheid is daarbij van groot belang. We zijn in het bezit van een AFM-vergunning voor het verrichten van wettelijke controles, ook voor organisaties van openbaar belang. Dit onderstreept de kwali-teit die je bij Grant Thornton vindt.

Corporate fi nanceEen corporate fi nance adviseur begeleidt fusies & overname-trajecten van begin tot eind. Van de informatiefase tot het beklin-ken van de deal. Op zoek naar de best passende match, tegen de meest optimale voorwaarden. Als corporate fi nance adviseur houd je niet alleen rekening met de fi nanciële cijfers, maar ook met de emoties van de ondernemer. Ook bij waardebepalingen van on-dernemingen speel je een rol. Bijvoorbeeld bij verkoop, het zoeken naar investeerders of samenwerking met een nieuwe partner. En is er extra geld nodig om een fusie, overname of investering te fi nan-cieren, dan adviseer je over de haalbaarheid hiervan.

Transaction advisory services (TAS)De juiste prijs. Daar gaat het om bij een fusie of overname. Risico’s van fi nanciële, operationele of administratieve aard beïnvloeden de prijs. De verkopende partij probeert een zo positief mogelijk beeld van zijn onderneming te schetsen. Als TAS-specialist breng je risico’s én kansen van de verkopende partij in beeld.

Een belangrijk onderdeel is het onafhankelijke due diligence onderzoek. Een onderzoek waar veel vakgebieden samenkomen en waarbij met veel specialisten wordt samengewerkt. Door betrok-

kenheid bij het proces van begin tot eind, krijg je als TAS-specialist snel diepgaande kennis van het gehele overnameproces. Je werkt voor kopers en verkopers en voor fi nanciële investeerders (private equity-huizen).

Restructuring & performance improvement (R&PI) Bij restructuring gaat het om verbeteringen die de kasstroom van het bedrijf in stand houden. De focus ligt daarbij primair op het beheren van het werkkapitaal en cash. Als R&PI-consultant zoek je naar oplossingen om bijvoorbeeld de kostenstructuur en de winstmarges van het bedrijf te optimaliseren. Je kijkt hierbij verder dan alleen fi nanciële indicatoren.

Bij performance improvement ziet een bedrijf ruimte om haar marktpositie te verbeteren. Maar hoe? Als R&PI-consultant zoek je naar verbeteringsmogelijkheden op het gebied van interne processen, mogelijke kostenverlagingen of het aanboren van nieuwe groeimarkten. Ook hier kijk je verder dan alleen naar de fi nanciële indicatoren.

Corporate fi nance uitgelichtEvert Everaarts is, na een paar jaar in het buitenland gewerkt te hebben, sinds 2008 bij Grant Thornton in dienst. “Ik wilde weer terug naar het middle marketsegment, maar wel bij een kantoor met een groot internationaal netwerk. Grant Thornton sloot hier perfect op aan.”

De specialist advisory services van Grant Thornton is verdeeld in 3 afdelingen: corporate fi nance, transaction advisory services en restructuring & performance improvement. “Ons team bestaat momenteel uit 20 collega´s, gelijk verdeeld over de vestigingen Amsterdam en Rotterdam. Aangezien de 3 afdelingen fysiek dicht bij elkaar zitten, wordt er intensief samengewerkt en komt het voor dat collega´s voor beide afdelingen werkzaam zijn. Het is heel leuk om af te een project te doen buiten je eigen afdeling.”

Samenwerking“Met alle disciplines werk ik intensief samen. We zitten regel-matig aan tafel met onze juristen, fi scalisten, accountants en nog tal van andere disciplines die wij als Grant Thornton in huis heb-ben. Maar ook met deze disciplines van de tegenpartij, de koper of de verkoper. Ook werkt ons team intensief samen met leden van Grant Thornton International Ltd. Met name met de UK, Frankrijk en Duitsland, maar steeds vaker ook met kantoren in Azië.”

“Grant Thornton biedt mij een uitdagende leercurve waarbij je zelf aangeeft hoe snel je wilt groeien”

Meer informatie over Grant ThorntonGrant Thornton is een sterk groeiende middelgrote accountancy- en adviesorganisatie met ruim 500 medewerkers, geworteld in de Randstad en verankerd in het gerenommeerde internationale net-werk van Grant Thornton International. Je hebt hiermee toegang tot de expertise van meer dan 30.000 professionals wereldwijd in circa 100 landen.

Grant Thornton en ESJ Accountants & Belastingadviseurs hebben op 24 januari 2012 hun voornemen tot fusie aangekondigd. De geplande fusie resulteert in een organisatie met 14 kantoren, 70 partners, circa 700 medewerkers en een gezamenlijke jaaromzet van zo’n 72 miljoen euro. Op termijn zal de gehele organisatie onder de naam Grant Thornton opereren.

Wij zijn trots op onze sterke positie in het midden- en kleinbedrijf. Ook op de corporate markt hebben wij inmiddels onze eigen plek veroverd.

Grant Thornton kenmerkt zich door een pragmatische aanpak en een open en persoonlijke sfeer. We begeleiden je goed en waarderen een eigen inbreng.

Grant Thornton bij jou in de buurt:Alphen aan den Rijn - Amsterdam - Boskoop - Gouda - Leiden - Rijswijk -Rotterdam - Woerden

Meer informatie is te vinden op www.carrierebijGT.nl.

www.carrierebijGT.nl

Branches“Onze cliënten komen uit diverse branches. Zo ben ik onder meer betrokken geweest bij de verkoop van bedrijven in de medische, kinderopvang- en de logistieke branche. Ook op het gebied van waarderingen is er sprake van een diversiteit aan cliënten, zoals een groot internationaal opererend chemisch bedrijf, een metaal-verwerkingsbedrijf, een media-adviesbureau en een houthandel.”

Groeien en bloeien“Bij Grant Thornton bepaal je zelf hoe uitdagend je groeicurve is. Hiervoor wordt alle ruimte gegeven. Tijdens de projecten kun je zo veel mogelijk zelfstandig te werk gaan en daarnaast wordt het volgen van interne of externe studies aangemoedigd. Zo ben ik zelf momenteel bezig met de Executive Master of Business Valuation.”

Evert Everaarts, senior consultant corporate fi nance

lening marktrente Korte termijn Lange termijn

waarde betaling waarde betaling

variabel stijging neutraal stijgt neutraal stijgt

daling neutraal daalt neutraal daalt

vast stijging daalt neutraal

daling stijgt neutraal

Wanneer je ongevoelig bent voor de waardeverandering van

de lening, bijvoorbeeld doordat die in een jaarrekening toch

tegen nominale waarde wordt opgenomen, zul je door vaste

rente af te spreken alleen aan het betalingsrisico op korte ter-

mijn kunnen ontkomen. Over een langere termijn blijft de

waarde van de leningen gelijk en zal een dalende rente een

voordeel zijn en stijgende rente een nadeel. Dat voordeel is

plezierig, maar dat nadeel moet je zien te vermijden. Er van

uitgaande dat op basis van een historisch lage rente de

marktrente eigenlijk alleen omhoog kan, sta je er met die

relatief ‘vaste’ huuropbrengsten slecht voor.

In feite kan rente ‘oneindig’ hoog oplopen. Dat betekent dat

het negatieve prijsrisico op vreemd vermogen oneindig hoog

is. Nu zal het met die oneindigheid niet zo’n vaart lopen.

Maar zoals we ons nog kunnen herinneren uit de vroege

jaren tachtig: het hoeft niet bij een enkel procent-puntje te

blijven. De kans daarop? We kennen al een tijdje een historisch

lage rente, en ja, met een economie waar om de crisis te

bestrijden steeds maar geld in wordt gepompt, kan een kind

verwachten dat de rente gaat stijgen. Dus met een redelijke

kans op ernstige gevolgen verdient een ‘verzekering’ hier-

tegen wel degelijk aandacht. Je zou zelfs kunnen denken dat

de rente niet (veel) verder naar beneden kan. En als dat toch

gebeurt, duurt dat op basis van zulke waarnemingen zeker

niet erg lang. Wanneer een kind dat kan verwachten, geldt

dat a fortiori voor de bestuurderen van Vestia.

Dat biedt perspectief. Dan hebben de corporaties een bron

van inkomen die hier nog niet aan de orde is gesteld. Het is

zo eenvoudig, dat het al eerder genoemde kind – en dus ook

dat Vestia-bestuur - de was kan doen. Voor de exploitatie van

een rentedaling die niet wordt verwacht, bestaan financiële

instrumenten: derivaten. Heeft Vestia put-opties geschreven?

Ik weet het niet. Het enige wat ik daarover in de krant lees, is

dat het derivaten zijn geweest. Misschien waren het wel futures.

Daar kun je van dag tot dag op worden aangesproken.

En dan gebeurt het ongeluk: centrale banken besluiten de

rente laag te houden. Fijn voor de banken die deze lage rente

Vestia is een grote woningcorporatie in de Randstad. Zij

beheert bijna 80.000 huurwoningen. En zij is in problemen

geraakt. Daarin is zij niet uniek. In de pers worden oorzaken

genoemd. Als primaire oorzaak zie ik de kostenstijgingen die

harder gaan dan de huuropbrengsten. Niet verwonderlijk nu

die opbrengsten door inflatie zijn gemaximaliseerd en de

kosten niet. Zo’n discrepantie kan hard aankomen. Die

vraagt om financiële buffers die er misschien niet zijn, en

naar de aard van het productieproces ook niet zullen komen.

Dat is letterlijk tamelijk uitzichtloos.

Een ongeluk komt nooit alleen. Voorheen kon door verkoop

van woningen winst worden gemaakt. Nu de prijzen van

woningen niet meer stijgen en woningen niet meer zoveel

worden verkocht, is dit levenselixer opgedroogd. Nòg een

mogelijkheid om iets bij te verdienen was projectontwikkeling.

Maar dat is in het algemeen iets van lange adem. En het is

dus de vraag hoe lang ze bij Vestia hun adem kunnen inhouden.

Kennelijk niet lang genoeg. Dus nu houden wij allemaal

onze adem in.

Hoe erg is het? Dat hangt ervan af. Als er met vreemd vermogen

is gefinancierd betekent dit dat ze aflossingen en rente

moeten betalen. Die moeten natuurlijk uit de huuropbrengst

komen. Daarvan hebben we al gezien dat die afgezien van een

inflatie-correctie behoorlijk vast ligt. Zo ontstaat met rente

een vervelende mismatch. Die rentevoet beweegt namelijk

wèl op en neer. Het te betalen rentepercentage kun je wel

voor een tijdje vastzetten, maar niet voor altijd. Ten minste

op lange termijn is zij variabel en op korte termijn kan ze dat

zijn. Op korte termijn kan ze ook worden vastgezet. Beide

strategieën leveren risico op. Bij vastrentende waarden zit het

risico in de waarde van de lening (zie voorbeeld). Bij variabele

rente veranderen de rentebetalingen.

Veronderstel een lening van E 1.000 met een looptijd van 10

jaar en dan in eens af te lossen, met een marktconforme

rente van 5% op jaarbasis, te betalen aan het einde van het

jaar. De contante waarde van die lening bedraagt E 1000,-.

Nu daalt na 5 jaar de marktrente naar 4%. Bij de vastrentende

lening veranderen de betalingen voor rente en aflossing niet.

Wel stijgt de (contante) waarde van die lening naar E 1.045,-.

In feite neemt bij rentedaling de waarde van de schuld dus

toe. Bij een stijging van de marktrente op datzelfde moment

6% daalte de waarde tot E 958,-.

Drs. Joost G. Groeneveld

RA RV is directeur van

Wingman Business

Valuators B.V. te Breda en

voorzitter van de Stichting

WBO (register van

business valuators).

Hij was hoofddocent aan

de Economische Faculteit

van de Erasmus

Universiteit te Rotterdam.

Vestia; sociaal onverantwoord

K(r)anttekening | Drs. Joost Groeneveld RA RV1

38 • Vestia; sociaal onverantwoord


niet doorgeven, en fijn voor de overheid die haar begrotingstekort door goedkope staatsleningen

op de markten kan afwentelen. Niet fijn voor de corporatie die dacht dat rentedaling weinig

kans had. Die onmogelijk geachte brand is dus toch uitgebroken. En als je moet bijstorten zijn

de gevolgen niet op termijn, maar zeer acuut aanwezig. Er moet geld op tafel komen. En dat

was er nu juist niet. Zoals een pokeraar die met zijn laatste geleende geld opnieuw verliest. Die

wordt tot op het hemd uitgekleed. Als het al daarbij blijft.

De vraag is gesteld of het Vestia-bestuur deskundig genoeg was voor dit spel. Misschien moet je

hopen van niet. Gewoon iemand die niet zo goed kon pokeren. Dan is het wel dom dat hij meespeelde.

Maar hij dacht dat hij er goed in was. Dat kan de beste overkomen. Behalve naar deskundigheid

moet de vraag worden gesteld of het tot de bestuursbevoegdheid kon worden gerekend. Mag

een bestuur van een woningcorporatie deze risico’s nemen? Mijn antwoord is nee. Maar dat zal

het bestuur weerspreken. Iemand die zichzelf overschat, ziet geen risico. Iemand die het spel

niet goed kent, evenmin.

En dan zijn er nog de toezichthouders. Het zou boeiend zijn te horen waar zij op hebben gelet.

Hebben zij de risico’s goed overzien? Hebben zij dit spel geaccepteerd? Zo ja, omdat het op

allerlei andere plekken ook zo werd gespeeld? Hebben zij hierover gerapporteerd en zo ja, aan

wie? De samenleving is miljarden euro’s verloren op een moment dat die niet erg dik zijn

gezaaid. Dat zullen we met ons allen weer moeten gaan betalen. Of laten we Vestia failliet gaan.

Dan komt de strop misschien wel bij een systeembank terecht, en dan mogen we die weer gaan

redden.

Een factor die heeft geleid tot innovatie van financiële instrumenten, is het streven naar verlaging

van agencykosten. Privatisering zal daar ook op zijn gericht. Kennelijk werden die agencykosten

voorheen niet voor niets gemaakt. Een goede agent is nog geen goede principaal.

1 Directeur Wingman Business Valuators B.V., Breda

Voor de exploitatie van een rentedaling die niet wordt verwacht, bestaan financiële instrumenten: derivaten.

Vestia; sociaal onverantwoord • 39

Meer weten over de carrière van Marc en zijn collega’s? Of benieuwd naar onze mogelijkheden? Scan de QR of surf naar onze website.

“Groeien tot het hoogste niveau dat voor mij haalbaar is. Dat is mijn toekomstvisie.”

Marc Buijs, assistent accountant

Accountancy - Belastingen - Advies

Onze ruimte, jouw groei

www.carrierebijGT.nl

Corporate Social Responsibility: from hype to strategy

Dr. Karen Maas

In the last decade accountability, legitimacy and transparency have become major issues for all

sectors. All around the world companies are increasingly confronted with rising public expectations

and stakeholder criticism. In response to these developments Corporate Social responsibility

(CSR) has become a widely applied concept. CSR is discussed in most large firms’ corporate

reports, (inter)national media and board rooms. Although many definitions of CSR exist, in

general the term CSR expresses a situation in which firms not only strive for economic short-

term profit but in which they adopt a broader view and take responsibility for their impact on

society. In corporate boardrooms managers are increasingly being asked to describe, for example,

their impacts on the environment or the local communities. CSR urges firms to assess their

impact across environmental, social and economic dimensions and to incorporate those

impacts into management decisions.

Traditionally, it was believed that value is either economic (created by for-profit companies) or

social (created by non-profit or nongovernmental organizations). Recently, the number of

mainstream corporate CEOs discussing the social and environmental performance of their

firms as a strategy for increasing the total value of their firms increased significantly (Emerson,

2003). A recent study of UN Global Compact and Accenture (2010) showed that 93% of 766

international CEOs say that sustainability will be one of the critical success factors of their

companies in the future.

Hence, it is not surprising that the link between CSR and the firms’ financial performance has

been the most debated and researched topic in the field of CSR. Although more than two hundred

available CSR-FP studies show mixed results, Wood (2010) concluded that the findings suggest

a positive association overall, while very little evidence of a negative association was found. A

recent longitudinal Harvard study shows that high performing sustainability firms outperform

their peers by 4,8% better result on the stock market (Eccles et al., 2011). Although we can still

question if the quest to the business case of CSR has ended, we need to move forward to other,

perhaps even more important topics. We should move away from the “why” question towards

the “how” question.

How can we optimize CSR activities and CSR results? In practice, this is a huge struggle for firms’

nowadays. Not only since the firms’ externally raised high expectations with their beautiful

CSR statements, but also because the internal ambitions are often huge. How do you change

the internal mind set from financially driven to shared value creation (Porter and Kramer,

2011). Do managers work towards sustainability, while they are rated on financial results? One

way to pursue sustainability is to reward sustainability targets (VBDO, DHV & Hay Group,

2010). Traditionally, executive remuneration mainly focused on financial performance. Recently,

however, performance criteria related to sustainability are also included in remuneration

schemes. From 490 of the largest firms world-wide, 161 use non-financial and sustainability

targets in their remuneration schemes (Maas en Rosendaal, 2012). In the Netherlands, 28% of

the AEX and AMX companies use sustainability targets for executive compensation.

Another, and even more pressing question is if CSR actually makes a difference? What is the

impact of CSR on society? Amazingly, this has been enormously understudied, in practice as well

as in academia. In conversation with CSR managers of large firms’, I often ask if they evaluate

their CSR activities and actually measure the social, eco-

nomic and environmental impact of their CSR strategy. And

how do they decide how to spend their money and where to

invest in; e.g. CO2 reduction, community investments pro-

grams or chain management? There seems not to be a lot of

strategy behind the decisions made. Evaluation of CSR seems

to be one of the most difficult things to do. First of all, this

can be explained by the lack of agreement on what should be

measured. Firms know what the inputs are and what activities

have been performed. Information on outcomes or even impact

is almost never available. Secondly there is no agreement on

how CSR should be measured, either in terms of analysis or

methods used.

Nevertheless, while the money available is limited and the

need for CSR is so great, evaluating the impact of their CSR

strategy impact is vital to achieve the greatest good possible

with their limited resources. Although we have come a long

way, there is still so much to know about the effectiveness

and efficiency of CSR. We need teach managers, board members

and also students the basics of CSR and to explain that CSR

is not a hype anymore. CSR came as a hype and will stay as a

strategy.

References:

Emerson, J. (2003), The blended value proposition: Integrating social and financial returns, California Management Review, 45(4): 35-51

UN Global Compact, Accenture (2010), A new era of sustainability: UN Global Compact-Accenture CEO Study 2010: 46-56

Wood, D.J. (2010), Measuring Corporate Social Performance: A Review. International Journal of Management Reviews, 12(1), 50-84

Eccles, R.G., Ioannou, I., Serafeim, G. (2011), The impact of a Corporate Culture of Sustainability on Corporate Behavior and Performance, working paper (12-035), Harvard Business School

Porter, M., Kramer, M. (2011), Creating shared value: How to reinvent capitalism—and unleash a wave of innovation and growth. Harvard Business Review January–February

VBDO, DHV, Hay Group (2010), Sustainable remuneration: a guide linking sustainable goals to executive incentives.


Corporate Social Responsibility: from hype to strategy • 41

Academisch toptalent Je eerste baan is tegenwoordig vrijwel nooit je laatste. Maar vaak wel de baan die de rest

van je carrière beïnvloedt. Droom jij van een loopbaan bij een multinational of de overheid, dan is de keuze voor je eerste

werkgever eenvoudig: Deloitte. Veel topbestuurders in Nederland danken hun huidige positie aan een carrièrestart bij Deloitte.

En dat is niet toevallig. Bij ons werk je namelijk al vanaf dag één voor toonaangevende organisaties aan innovatieve en

vooral duurzame oplossingen. Niet omdat duurzaamheid vandaag de dag in de mode is, maar omdat wij weten dat het

de sleutel vormt tot de businesskansen van morgen. Waardoor jij je kansen op de arbeidsmarkt ook weer verder vergroot.

Zoek jij de beste start van je carrière? Begin eerst hier: werkenbijdeloitte.nl.

Een duurzaam ontwikkelde carrière gaat langer mee.

DB-000-adv-regulier-basis-210x297-v10.indd 5 23-12-10 15:29

Dear members,

Spring has arrived and as we progress through the academic year many of the planned events

see the light of day. It is very rewarding for our board to see that the events we worked for are

now successfully taking place. I am excited as the FSR will cross borders very soon with the

European Finance Tour and the International Research Project. Next to these two journeys we

have the Female Business Tour, a day for the accountancy student as well as a day for the

finance student, the Corporate Finance Competition and the finals of the CleanTech Challenge

2012 coming up.

Looking back at the past half year I can say that I am proud on what we organized as board of

the FSR. However, we could not do it without our committee members, which work very hard

for all the activities the FSR has to offer during this year. As a reward for all the hard work we

travelled to Prague at the 3rd of February to spend a weekend full of activities over there.

As our board year is officially halfway we started looking for our successors, the XVth FSR

board! If you would like to challenge yourself, get in touch with numerous companies, students

and professors than a FSR board year is something for you! We are looking for six highly motivated

and capable students to take over and lead the FSR for a full year. If you are interested in a position

you can go to www.fsr.nl for more information regarding positions, application and deadlines.

The Female Business Tour is taking place at the 4th and 5th of April this year. Twenty female

top students will be invited to meet and work on cases for the Boston Consulting Group,

Deloitte FAS and ING during this two-day event. The event is organised for the second time as

last year proved to be a great success. Companies are diversifying their workforce more than

ever before and for them it is really important to get more women in board positions.

For the Finance student we offer another three events. The first will be the Finance Day, which

will provide bachelors students with the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the financial

sector. Next to the finance day we also have the appreciated Investment Banking Masterclass

with Training The Street (“TTS”). All large investment banks in London and New York hire this

firm to train their bankers for success. After the completing the TTS training you will receive

a certificate stating that you have completed the Masterclass with success.

For the real M&A enthusiasts we organize the Corporate Finance Competition in May. This

three day business course will take place with five participating companies at a luxurious location

somewhere in the Netherlands. One of the strengths of the Corporate Finance Competition is

that students really experience the differences between the large, mid-sized and smaller deals

the M&A sector is divided in.

We are currently heading towards the end of the year, however this will be the time to start

planning your next move and I am sure the FSR can be very helpful with that. I hope to see you

all during one of our master classes, workshops, cycles or other events. Feel also free to come

to our office on H14-06, if you have any question, or just for a coffee and chat!

FSR News

46

47

53

58

Column Gideon Sternfeld

Column Pete Schelvis

Banking Dinner

Gala

Word of the chairman

Wessel Ploegmakers


FSR news • 43

Academisch toptalent Je eerste baan is tegenwoordig vrijwel nooit je laatste. Maar vaak wel de baan die de rest

van je carrière beïnvloedt. Droom jij van een loopbaan bij een multinational of de overheid, dan is de keuze voor je eerste

werkgever eenvoudig: Deloitte. Veel topbestuurders in Nederland danken hun huidige positie aan een carrièrestart bij Deloitte.

En dat is niet toevallig. Bij ons werk je namelijk al vanaf dag één voor toonaangevende organisaties aan innovatieve en

vooral duurzame oplossingen. Niet omdat duurzaamheid vandaag de dag in de mode is, maar omdat wij weten dat het

de sleutel vormt tot de businesskansen van morgen. Waardoor jij je kansen op de arbeidsmarkt ook weer verder vergroot.

Zoek jij de beste start van je carrière? Begin eerst hier: werkenbijdeloitte.nl.

Een duurzaam ontwikkelde carrière gaat langer mee.

DB-000-adv-regulier-basis-210x297-v10.indd 5 23-12-10 15:29

Beheer jij de sleutel van de schatkist? Wij zijn op zoek naar ambitieuze audit en financial trainees!

Anouk Marcelis is audit trainee bij de Auditdienst Rijk (ADR), onderdeel van het ministerie van Financiën. Zij studeerde Bedrijfseconomie in Antwerpen.

Anouk is in september 2011 begonnen als audit trainee. Haar trai-neelichting bestaat uit financial auditors (accountants) en IT auditors.

Auditdienst Rijk De ADR is een rijksbrede dienst die de interne auditfunctie van de minis-teries vervult. Hieronder valt de wettelijke controletaak (accountants-controle) en de vraaggestuurde auditfunctie (opdrachten op verzoek). Anouk werkt als financial auditor bij het klantcluster Volksgezondheid, Welzijn en Sport. Anouk heeft al een leuke klus achter de rug. Ze heeft een controle uitgevoerd bij de BES-eilanden. ‘Ik heb gecontroleerd of ze niet teveel geld hebben ontvangen en of ze het geld ook daadwerkelijk hebben uitgegeven aan de op voorhand aangegeven zaken.’

Audit TraineeshipTijdens het Audit Traineeship draait Anouk twee jaar volledig mee op verschillende werkplekken. Op deze manier doet ze ruime praktijkerva-ring op met de politieke, bestuurlijke en financiële werkelijkheid van de Rijksoverheid. Naast het werk volgen de trainees een Post Master-opleiding, bijvoorbeeld een RA-opleiding. Anouk volgt de opleiding Public Sector Auditing aan Nyenrode. ‘Zowel werk als studie zijn uitda-gend en op hoog niveau, ik ben blij dat ik hiervoor gekozen heb.’

Trudy Andriessen is financial trainee bij de directie Begrotingszaken, die deel uitmaakt van het ministerie van Financiën. Zij studeerde Politicologie in Amsterdam.

Trudy is in september 2010 als financial trainee begonnen. ‘Voor mij een ideale manier om in twee jaar tijd de Rijksoverheid goed te leren kennen.’

Directie BegrotingszakenDe directie Begrotingszaken is betrokken bij het opstellen van de Rijksbegroting, coördineert de Miljoenennota en organiseert het begrotingsproces. Trudy werkt voornamelijk aan de begrotings-presen-tatie. Ze kijkt welke informatie in de begroting moet komen. ‘Hier zijn allemaal voorschriften voor en op dit moment richt ik me op de herzie-ning van deze voorschriften.’ Dit moet ervoor zorgen dat de begroting voor iedereen duidelijk leesbaar is.

Financial TraineeshipTijdens het Financial Traineeship werkt Trudy op verschillende werkplekken. Ze is begonnen bij Economische Zaken, Landbouw en Innovatie. Trudy heeft zich bezig gehouden met het coördineren van de Algemene Rekenkameronderzoeken. Momenteel werkt Trudy voor een half jaar bij het ministerie van Financiën en vervolgens gaat ze aan de slag bij Dienst Justitiële Inrichtingen. ‘Het leuke is dat je meteen vol-waardig meedraait en direct verantwoordelijkheden krijgt.’ Trudy volgt ook een opleiding op de Rijksacademie voor Financiën, Economie en Bedrijfsvoering. De verschillende trainees trekken veel met elkaar op. ‘Het is heel fijn om ervaringen met elkaar uit te wisselen.’ Naast politi-cologen komen ook economen, bestuurskundigen en bedrijfskundigen in aanmerking voor het Financial Traineeship.

Kijk voor meer informatie over de traineeships op www.werkenvoornederland.nl/minfin. Solliciteren kan tot en met 20 mei 2012!

010612_F05.indd 1 12-01-12 09:12

News UpdateFrom hazelnut trees to Foxconn and iPhones, corporate responsibility is growing

Mountain Hazelnut Venture is planting trees, paying fair wages, and supplying customers in a triple win for corporate social responsibility.

In recent years the awareness of corporate social responsibility

has been given a massive impulse. Businesses recognize the

fact that short term shareholder thinking limits long run

company performance. In Europe, corporate social responsi-

bility has become one of the company operating pillars. The

West often finger-points at the East and Africa with respect to

hard core company effort in the area of corporate responsi-

bility. Western companies operating in the East, such as

Apple, have received most of that criticism on their corporate

policy practices in the East. However, recent developments in

operating structure throughout Asia give reasons to alter our

view on the inclusion of corporate social responsibility in

day-to-day business practice.

A new enterprise in the Southeast Asian nation of Bhutan is

one of many new companies developing a more holistic

approach to business. Mountain Hazelnut Venture’s goals are

lofty: combat deforestation by planting 10 million hazelnut

trees in the next five years, employ and empower 15,000

small holding farmer households with fair wages in rural

Bhutan and supply the European hazelnut demand by

exporting 40,000 metric tons of hazelnuts by the year 2020.

Mountain Hazelnut Venture is one of many emerging companies whose goals include the triple

bottom line of corporate social responsibility: people, planet, and profits. This is not some phil-

anthropic oriented non-profit seeking business. In the end, the focus is still on profit, but there

are many roads leading to Rome.

CSR is itself becoming big business. The Wall Street Journal releases a weekly “Corporate

Social Responsibility Weekly Recap.” The title “CSR Specialist” is a nascent career choice. Many

companies, like Nike, even release an annual corporate responsibility report, which they allow

to be dissected by the public.

Of course, paying Bhutanese farmers to plant trees is only one way for companies, big or small,

to be socially responsible. In 2007 the Center for Global Development released a report defining

corporate responsibility as standards compliance, charitable giving, resource engagement,

commercial leverage, and policy advocacy. A recent article from "International Development"

explains how each of them is defined in today’s corporate culture:

- Standards compliance: Companies adhere to higher standards of business practice, including

labor rights, working conditions, environmental protection, or anti-corruption.

- Charitable giving: Companies provide direct financial support to public organizations or non-

profits that work on issues reasonably aligned with the company’s interests and corporate

culture. It is deemed the most straightforward way for a company to contribute to development

efforts.

- Resource engagement: Companies donate their own goods, services, and expertise. According

to CGDev, this approach “arguably provides greater leverage to development activities than

cash because it brings to bear a company’s particular competitive advantages.”

- Commercial leverage: Companies leverage their commercial presence to support efforts that

can improve the lives of people they employ and communities where they operate.

- Policy advocacy: Companies use their influence to lobby home and host governments and the

international community for better policies.

This week, after months of public scrutiny, Foxconn Technology, a Chinese supplier to Apple

computers, announced that it would be raising wages for assembly line workers by 16 to 25 percent.

This is in line with operating changes in many Western companies producing in the East. At

first instance a decrease in profit margins of large corporations for the better good of corporate

social responsibility seems fairest. In the end, however, the Western consumer might even be

indulged to accept increased product prices for more humane ways of producing. Even television

programs like “blood sweat and luxuries” (BBC) have spend much money, time and effort to

change the point of view with respect to working conditions in developing countries. As consumer

awareness and activism grows, corporate responsibility is not only an important aspect of a successful

business model, but also a key tool in global development and poverty alleviation.

Part of the text comes from Stephen Oliver, Global Envision / February 28, 2012

Corporate soCial responsibility 'makes business sense'By Martha Moss - 29th February 2012

is Csr's Credibility swiftly reversing?

By Mark Lee Hunter- March 1, 2012

FSR news • 45


do u.s. Corporations

need a gatekeeper?By Elene Cohen – 29th February 2012

Beheer jij de sleutel van de schatkist? Wij zijn op zoek naar ambitieuze audit en financial trainees!

Anouk Marcelis is audit trainee bij de Auditdienst Rijk (ADR), onderdeel van het ministerie van Financiën. Zij studeerde Bedrijfseconomie in Antwerpen.

Anouk is in september 2011 begonnen als audit trainee. Haar trai-neelichting bestaat uit financial auditors (accountants) en IT auditors.

Auditdienst Rijk De ADR is een rijksbrede dienst die de interne auditfunctie van de minis-teries vervult. Hieronder valt de wettelijke controletaak (accountants-controle) en de vraaggestuurde auditfunctie (opdrachten op verzoek). Anouk werkt als financial auditor bij het klantcluster Volksgezondheid, Welzijn en Sport. Anouk heeft al een leuke klus achter de rug. Ze heeft een controle uitgevoerd bij de BES-eilanden. ‘Ik heb gecontroleerd of ze niet teveel geld hebben ontvangen en of ze het geld ook daadwerkelijk hebben uitgegeven aan de op voorhand aangegeven zaken.’

Audit TraineeshipTijdens het Audit Traineeship draait Anouk twee jaar volledig mee op verschillende werkplekken. Op deze manier doet ze ruime praktijkerva-ring op met de politieke, bestuurlijke en financiële werkelijkheid van de Rijksoverheid. Naast het werk volgen de trainees een Post Master-opleiding, bijvoorbeeld een RA-opleiding. Anouk volgt de opleiding Public Sector Auditing aan Nyenrode. ‘Zowel werk als studie zijn uitda-gend en op hoog niveau, ik ben blij dat ik hiervoor gekozen heb.’

Trudy Andriessen is financial trainee bij de directie Begrotingszaken, die deel uitmaakt van het ministerie van Financiën. Zij studeerde Politicologie in Amsterdam.

Trudy is in september 2010 als financial trainee begonnen. ‘Voor mij een ideale manier om in twee jaar tijd de Rijksoverheid goed te leren kennen.’

Directie BegrotingszakenDe directie Begrotingszaken is betrokken bij het opstellen van de Rijksbegroting, coördineert de Miljoenennota en organiseert het begrotingsproces. Trudy werkt voornamelijk aan de begrotings-presen-tatie. Ze kijkt welke informatie in de begroting moet komen. ‘Hier zijn allemaal voorschriften voor en op dit moment richt ik me op de herzie-ning van deze voorschriften.’ Dit moet ervoor zorgen dat de begroting voor iedereen duidelijk leesbaar is.

Financial TraineeshipTijdens het Financial Traineeship werkt Trudy op verschillende werkplekken. Ze is begonnen bij Economische Zaken, Landbouw en Innovatie. Trudy heeft zich bezig gehouden met het coördineren van de Algemene Rekenkameronderzoeken. Momenteel werkt Trudy voor een half jaar bij het ministerie van Financiën en vervolgens gaat ze aan de slag bij Dienst Justitiële Inrichtingen. ‘Het leuke is dat je meteen vol-waardig meedraait en direct verantwoordelijkheden krijgt.’ Trudy volgt ook een opleiding op de Rijksacademie voor Financiën, Economie en Bedrijfsvoering. De verschillende trainees trekken veel met elkaar op. ‘Het is heel fijn om ervaringen met elkaar uit te wisselen.’ Naast politi-cologen komen ook economen, bestuurskundigen en bedrijfskundigen in aanmerking voor het Financial Traineeship.

Kijk voor meer informatie over de traineeships op www.werkenvoornederland.nl/minfin. Solliciteren kan tot en met 20 mei 2012!

010612_F05.indd 1 12-01-12 09:12

FSR Former board member

Gideon Sternfeld

It's been almost ten years since my fellow prospective board

members and I travelled to Zandvoort for a weekend to brain-

storm and plan the FSR's activities for the 2002-2003 academic

year. I have fond memories with many highlights from our

board year. On the serious side, I think we did well to organise

some outstanding events such as the International Banking

Cycle, Corporate Finance Competition and the International

Research Project that brought students in touch with some

of the world's most sought-after employers, enabling them to

put their skills on display through case work and informal

encounters. On a slightly less serious note, it was a great year

of meeting other motivated students and enjoying the odd

drink here and there to blow off steam in between events.

For me, the time in the FSR board really gave me a first taste

of what working life would be like. Each year a new board

takes over the reigns from its predecessors and with that you

also take over decades of hard work and you have a responsibility

to strive for excellence. The board year taught me responsi-

bility and, in my role as Commissioner External Relations, it

gave me a first stab at commercial negotiations and sales. For

me, the greatest achievement was that we managed to raise a

record amount from sponsors in the tough economic times

after the dotcom bubble burst.

I thoroughly recommend a year on the board to anyone

who's serious about their future: It's about meeting other

intelligent and ambitious people at university and within the

sponsor companies. It is also about applying your skills for

the first time in a real-life situation and achieving something

tangible and about honing your organisational skills, net-

working with representatives from attractive employers and

making the transition into professional life that will really set

you up for a great start to your career.

As for me, after my time in the FSR board, I had a renewed

sense of purpose and I set out to complete my coursework

and write my thesis. Once I had achieved that, I started off

work at a small independent derivatives trading firm. Whilst

this work provided me with a good insight into financial

markets, I soon realised that it was too monotonous for me

and I subsequently moved into consulting. After a few years,

I ended up working for Ernst & Young Advisory in the Perfor-

mance Improvement team. I worked on many interesting

finance related projects in the TMT sector, including a one-

year cost modeling project for a telecom operator in Thailand.

PassPort

Name

Gideon Sternfeld

age

32

residence

London (UK)

Employed at

Analysys Mason

Current position

Lead Consultant

Strategy & Transactions

Which Fsr Board

Fifth

Board function

Commissioner External

Relations

study

Financial Economics

Year of graduation

2004

Which car do you

drive

None, I take the (in)

famous tube to work

What do you drink

on a Friday night

Havana Club 7yr & Coke

Life Motto

Anyone who lives within

their means suffers from

a lack of imagination

After returning from Thailand, I was approached by a head-

hunter to join Analysys Mason in their London office.

Analysys Mason is probably unknown to most people in the

Netherlands, however within the TMT sector it is regarded as

a leading consultancy firm with 12 offices across the world

from which we have served clients in over 100 countries.

There is hardly a sector that is so dynamic and constantly

subject to change and (r)evolution and it is this dynamic that

makes the TMT sector such an interesting field. I would actually

challenge anyone to name an industry that has had more of

an impact on our daily lives in the past ten years. At Analysys

Mason we are at the forefront of this development and we are

sought out by many of the world's leading TMT companies

and financial institutions for strategy and regulatory advice.

I work in the strategy and transactions team and the majority

of my work revolves around advising banks and PE firms

during transactions. Part of my work revolves around carry-

ing out a comprehensive review of the target's market and its

competitive dynamics, the company business, commercial

and technical strategy as well as selected operational and

organisational aspects. In addition, my colleagues and I carry

out a detailed review of companies' business plans, including

assessments of projected revenues, and operational and capital

expenditures. We help our clients in evaluating potential

synergies as well as realistic upsides and downsides to the

management's business plan. On debt financing transactions,

we also develop realistic banking cases that are used as the basis

for determining a deal structure and associated covenants.

Besides the transaction related work, I also work with clients

to develop their long-term business plans. Recently, I have

also been involved in auctions for frequencies (spectrum)

used in mobile communications. For instance, I have helped

a mobile operator with the valuation of spectrum ahead of a

large auction, taking into consideration every single possible

auction scenario and using the valuation as the basis for an

auction strategy in auctions often raising billions of euro's.

Large sums mean large responsibilities and therefore the

work is demanding. In my day-to-day work I am surrounded

by very intelligent colleagues, typically working in teams of

4-6 people to deliver results under pressure. We do however

like to blow off steam after a job well done. In that respect, it

is not too dissimilar from my year in the FSR Board.


46 • FSR news

FSR Member

Pete Schelvis

I joined the FSR in the first year of my IBA Bachelor, a lot of

my friends and fellow students joined and had informed me

that it was a valuable organisation to be part of. I didn’t really

use many of the FSR’s resources the first few years, perhaps

most of all the social events. However, later, when I was

actively seeking more exposure and event experience to gain

a deeper understanding of what job and employer I should be

aiming for after my studies, I participated in a few more

events.

The last FSR event I participated in was the Corporate

Finance Competition. I have to say that this event was organ-

ised very well. Five large potential employers are present

during three days of competition. You and four other partici-

pants form a team and compete against other teams during

various cases hosted/presented by each firm. Score is kept

and the team with the highest overall result is the winner,

the year I participated I was fortunate enough to be part of

that winning team. It was great fun, good for experience and

development of your skills. In addition it offered a perfect

platform to showcase your capabilities and get in touch with

representatives of the firms whom you might be lucky

enough to score a job interview with.

Such was the case for me, I was fortunate enough to be part

of a good team that worked as a unit. Creativity, intelligence,

enthusiasm and a bit of luck are all necessary ingredients

that are required to perform well here. The business cases are

the major focus of the event, however the face time during

the formal dinner and evening drinks with the firm repre-

sentatives offer a valuable opportunity to gain a better insight

into how the personalities of the firms differ and which

potential employer might be a good match for you personally.

During the dinner and the drinks I spoke to multiple firm

representatives, one of whom was the head of Rabobank

International M&A. I retained their business cards and

e-mailed them the next week. Interviews were scheduled

soon after.

I am currently employed at Rabobank International in the

Global Financial Management Traineeship Programme.

Throughout a year I am given the opportunity to discover

which department and discipline I am best suited for and find

most interesting. GFM is for a large part the Dealing room,

however also includes research, sales, operations and capital

markets. Rabobank International is a large global organisation

with major hubs in Sao Paolo, New York, London, Utrecht

and Hong Kong. Other trainees are spread out over all these

locations and we all keep in touch. Corporate culture has

been an experience in itself, people are very friendly and are

all very teamwork focused. Rabobank, in its principals, is dif-

ferent than any other bank out there, which stems from its

originating cooperative roots. You notice this in everything

the bank does; it is competitive, but will not compromise on

keeping the interests of the client central. As the highest

rated privately owned bank it enjoys a unique global position,

this is one of the reasons that when reliability of banks come

into question, Rabobank is known to be a reliable, client-

focused bank.

So far I have worked in the Dealing room as a trader and at

GFM eCommerce, where I have assisted in the development

of the global wholesale transaction portal. From both these

experiences I have learnt different lessons. I learnt that trading

is skill in itself, much more complicated than it might appear,

and that stakeholder management has a major influence on

every single individual working in the organisation. Investment

banking is no easy field to work in, however enthusiasm,

hard work and operating as a team player can bring you long

way. Participating in the FSR events can be very helpful and

you should definitely go out and explore, however pushing

too hard will be noticed. So my piece of advice is to just be

yourself. Well, be the best version of yourself.

PassPort

Name

Pete Schelvis

age

27

residence

Rotterdam

study

MSc Finance and

Investments & MSc

Strategic Management

Fsr event

Corporate Finance

Competition 2011

Internship

at/job at

Rabobank International

stationed at

which department

Global Financial

markets

Year of graduation

2010

What car do you

drive

Nissan 350Z

What do you drink

on a Friday night

Cocktail - Mojito

Life motto

Fortune favours the

bold


FSR news • 47

At NIBC, entrepreneurial bankers start at the deep endAs a trainee banker at NIBC, you also have a daily job. Your assignments and responsibilities start from day one. And you’ll

have the chance to specialise, in for example mergers and acquisitions. You and your fellow analysts will follow our in-

company training programme at the Amsterdam Institute of Finance, led by professors from international business schools.

A flying start at the bank that thinks and acts like entrepreneurs. For more information, visit www.careeratnibc.com.

0185.10.003 NIBC_Arbeidsmarkt_Adv.indd 3 22-11-11 15:05

Financial Business Cycle 2012

Last January and February the Financial Business Cycle 2012

took place. During the three weeks we visited five different

top level companies: Two banks, two trading houses and one

multinational.

The cycle started with a visit at Kempen & Co. Starting with

an opening presentation. The next three presentations

explained to us more about some of the main divisions

Kempen & Co. has: Asset Management/Securities, Corporate

Finance, and Investments. As these presentations were given

by experienced employees from these departments, these

were very interesting and gave the participants a real good

insight in the daily activities of Kempen & Co. The presentations

were followed by a lunch, during which the participants

could integrate with several employees in an informal matter

and ask many questions. Afterwards an interesting securities

case was presented, in which the teams of participants were

asked to valuate two companies and give different types of

investors customized investment advice. The day ended with

a drink and dinner with a great view at one of the top floors

of the building.

Rabobank was the next company on our program. The day

started with a presentation about the structure and different

‘paths in to Rabobank’. The presentations were followed by a

short speed-dating session with trainees and employees of

the different departments and traineeships. This allowed the

participants to ask questions and listen to the different expe-

riences of the trainees. The next part of the program was a

consisted of a ‘koehandel’ game. In this game, students had

to make quick valuations of different companies and make an

offer on these through different types of auctions. The group

with the highest total value of companies combined with

cash won. The day ended with drinks, where even more trainees

joined us to share their experiences with us.

The third inhouse day of the Financial Business Cycle was at

Optiver. Starting with a presentation about the company and

an introduction in options and other derivatives. The students

got a little surprise: a mathematical test. After this mathe-

matical test we got a presentation by a wholesale trader fol-

lowed by a screen trader. During their presentations they

elaborated on the differences between their jobs, answered

questions, and gave us some insight in their jobs by telling

anecdotes. After a quick tour through the building the group

was divided in to teams which had to compete in a card game, which simulated the trading

done by Optiver. The day ended with pizza and drinks, where some traders joined us after the

markets had closed for the day.

The next company we visited was another trading company, Flow Traders. Walking into their

offices, the company looked a bit like every man’s ‘heaven’, the common relax area had a bar, a

pool table, a poker table and a lot of different arcade games. During the first presentation of the

day, it quickly became clear that it was not all fun and games at Flowtraders. The relatively

young company wants to grow substantially, which takes a lot of hard work. After several pres-

entations we got a tour on the trading floor. During this tour we got the opportunity to really

experience the working atmosphere at Flow Traders. Next, we had to do some quick thinking

in a bid and offer game and one of the participants could go home with a bottle of champagne.

The day ended when some traders joined us at an informal lunch.

The last company in the Financial Business Cycle 2012 visited was Shell. The day began with

some safety rules at Shell’s headquarter in The Hague, which indicated how serious Shell takes

its activities and that the company cared about the wellbeing of its employees and visitors. After

these precautions, the program continued with several presentations given by the recruiters,

trainees, and more experienced employees. The case Shell prepared for the participants was an

original manner to show the multicultural difficulties a Shell employee has to cope with. The

participants were divided into teams along with one goal: build a bridge and make sure every

team builds the same bridge. After a couple of ‘negotiation rounds’, the result was presented.

Of course, there was a catch simulating the multicultural and conversational difficulties of a

Shell employee. After the game the recruiter told us more about the application process at

Shell and invited us to have drinks.

We, as the committee of the Financial Business Cycle, can look back at an, another successful

edition of the Financial Business Cycle. We hope that the students who participated have

learned more about the variety of different employers and that they might even have made a

first step towards a good career.


FSR news • 49

At NIBC, entrepreneurial bankers start at the deep endAs a trainee banker at NIBC, you also have a daily job. Your assignments and responsibilities start from day one. And you’ll

have the chance to specialise, in for example mergers and acquisitions. You and your fellow analysts will follow our in-

company training programme at the Amsterdam Institute of Finance, led by professors from international business schools.

A flying start at the bank that thinks and acts like entrepreneurs. For more information, visit www.careeratnibc.com.

0185.10.003 NIBC_Arbeidsmarkt_Adv.indd 3 22-11-11 15:05

Bij Financiën tel je meteen mee. Zeker als econoom.

Als ambitieuze academicus kun je overal aan de slag. Ook bij

de overheid. Daar moet je wel bewust voor kiezen, de

publieke zaak moet je ter harte gaan. Bij Financiën vertaal je

politieke keuzes in concreet beleid.

Het gaat daarbij om heel veel geld, zo’n 250 miljard euro per

jaar, een bedrag dat zo effectief en efficiënt mogelijk moet

worden ingezet. Resultaatgericht en projectmatig werken is

bij ons dan ook eerder regel dan uitzondering.

Tegelijkertijd opereren we in de context van hectische poli-

tieke verhoudingen en maatschappelijke ontwikkelingen.

Die dimensie maakt het werk extra spannend.

Vanaf dag één meedoenGa jij naar Brussel om de overheidsfinanciën van Europese

lidstaten te bespreken? Of wil je collega's in voormalige Oost-

bloklanden helpen bij het maken van een deugdelijke rijks-

begroting? Misschien werk je liever aan de Nederlandse

Rijksbegroting of zou je graag de minister in Washington

adviseren tijdens de jaarvergadering van de Wereldbank en

het IMF? Ook kun je meewerken aan het verzekeren van

exportkredieten of analyses maken van landenrisico’s.

Bij het ministerie van Financiën draai je gelijk volledig mee.

Kortom, je krijgt vanaf de eerste werkdag de kans om jezelf

te bewijzen. Om te laten zien dat je de verantwoordelijk-

heden aankunt. Uiteraard word je niet zomaar in het diepe

gegooid. Er zijn altijd seniorcollega’s die je coachen of als

mentor optreden.

Als econoom aan de slagTegenwoordig verschilt de overheid helemaal niet zo veel van

een bedrijf. Het gaat om het effectief en doelmatig inzetten

van middelen. Alleen gaat het op ons ministerie om iets grotere

bedragen: jaarlijks ruim 250 miljard.

Bijna altijd is de vraag hoe we dat gemeenschapsgeld op de

juiste manier gaan besteden, gezien de actuele maatschappe-

Company presentation

Bij het ministerie spelen economen een belangrijke rol.


50 • Company presentation

lijke ontwikkelingen. Het antwoord vereist inzet, precisie en creativiteit, maar ook een scherp

gevoel voor politieke verhoudingen.

Wat wil je doen?Bij het ministerie spelen economen een belangrijke rol. Wat jij precies gaat doen, hangt

natuurlijk af van je achtergrond en belangstelling. Je kunt denken aan: het meeschrijven aan

de Miljoenennota, het handelen in de dealingroom, het initiëren en stimuleren van publiek-private

samenwerkingsverbanden, het risicomanagement van de staatsschuld, het aan- en verkopen

van bedrijven, het doorlichten van de financiële sector en het uitvoeren van audits.

Zo blijf je in bewegingBij het ministerie van Financiën tel je meteen mee. Maar het is natuurlijk belangrijk dat je je

ook snel verder ontwikkelt. Daarbij krijg je hulp in de vorm van allerlei individuele en collectieve

opleidingsprogramma's.

Financiën is voor economen een plek met heel veel doorgroeimogelijkheden. We kennen een

roulatiebeleid, zodat je steeds nieuwe dingen leert en je grenzen verlegt. Zowel op nationaal als

op internationaal niveau.

Hoe ver je komt, is ook een kwestie van ambitie en talent.

Kennismaken?Elk jaar organiseert het ministerie van Financiën de Studentendag voor academici vanaf het

tweede studiejaar. Tijdens deze dag krijg je een unieke kans om het ministerie van binnenuit te

leren kennen. Je draait een dag mee en wordt door enthousiaste medewerkers begeleid. Meer

informatie op www.studentendag.nl. Naast de studentendag zijn er verschillende andere

inhousedagen bij het ministerie van Financiën. Een overzicht is te vinden op onze website.

Traineeships bij het ministerie van FinanciënNaast onze reguliere startfuncties bieden wij ook traineeships aan. In september gaan het Audit

Traineeship, het Financial Traineeship en het Rijkstraineeprogramma weer van start. Een

mooie manier om de Rijksoverheid in twee jaar tijd goed te leren kennen.

Het Audit Traineeship is een programma van de Auditdienst Rijk. Als pas afgestudeerd acade-

micus krijg je de kans ervaring op te doen binnen de auditfunctie van de

Rijksoverheid. Je draait twee jaar volledig mee op verschillende werkplekken binnen verschil-

lende ministeries. Zo doe je ruime praktijkervaring op met de politieke, bestuurlijke en financiële

werkelijkheid van de Rijksoverheid. Daarnaast krijg je een

Post Master Accountancy of een Post Master IT-audit en een

intern opleidingsprogramma aangeboden.

Tijdens het Financial Traineeship werk je in drie verschil-

lende financiële functies. Je gaat aan de slag bij een directie

Financieel-economische Zaken van één van de ministeries en

je werkt een half jaar bij het ministerie van Financiën, de

Tweede Kamer, de Algemene Rekenkamer of een uitvoerings-

instantie. Daarnaast neem je samen met de andere trainees

deel aan een op maat gemaakt cursusprogramma.

Aanmelden voor het Audit- of Financial Traineeship kan tot

en met 20 mei 2012!

Daarnaast neemt het ministerie van Financiën ook ieder jaar

een aantal rijkstrainees aan. Het Rijkstraineeprogramma is

een breed programma voor starters met verschillende studie-

achtergronden. De aanmeldingsperiode voor het Rijkstrainee-

programma loopt van 2 t/m 16 april 2012!

Meer informatieWil je meer weten over werken bij het ministerie van Finan-

ciën? Kijk voor informatie over startfuncties, traineeships,

stagemogelijkheden en onze recruitmentactiviteiten op

www.werkenvoornederland.nl/minfin. Je kunt ook meteen

solliciteren via [email protected]. Telefonisch zijn wij

te bereiken via (070) 342 73 17 of (070) 342 69.

Tijdens het Rijkstraineeprogramma en het Audit en Financial Traineeship leer je de Rijksoverheid goed kennen.


Start a finance career where you develop more than just your professional skillsGrow with Philips. Join a company that places great value on people as well as financial results. We challenge and empower you to make the most of your talents while working in multidisciplinary and international teams. You will be surrounded by passionate, insightful colleagues who share your drive to create superior customer experiences. Our growth depends on yours, so we’ll support you with career opportunities that let you accelerate in the directions to which you aspire.

Visit our website and give your financial career a boost while facilitating growth for our business.

Join 120 years of innovation


2012-0212_PHC_Financial adver 225x300.indd 2 15-02-12 15:42

FSR Banking Dinner

On the 29th of February the first edition of the FSR Banking Dinner took place in Restaurant

De Harmonie in Rotterdam. The successor of the Young Financials Dinner appeared to be very

successful. The participation of four well known Dutch banks led to a lot of applications. Out of

the many applicants twenty top students were selected to participate in this event. They had the

opportunity to meet four potential employers in an informal setting.

After all students and bankers were greeted with a welcome drink, the evening started off with

a short introduction by representatives of the four participating banks: ABN AMRO, Kempen &

Co, NIBC and SNS REAAL. The introduction was followed up by the dinner itself. The dinner

consisted of three courses. After each course the student switched from table to join another

bank. The three courses of Restaurant De Harmonie tasted delicious. The evening ended with

a social drink.

The FSR Banking Dinner has given the students the opportunity to extensively become

acquainted with the corporate culture, activities and differences of the four banks in an informal

setting. From the perspective of the FSR’s I considered the first edition of the banking dinner

to be very successful and therefore we would like to thank all the parties involved!

FSR news • 53


Start a finance career where you develop more than just your professional skillsGrow with Philips. Join a company that places great value on people as well as financial results. We challenge and empower you to make the most of your talents while working in multidisciplinary and international teams. You will be surrounded by passionate, insightful colleagues who share your drive to create superior customer experiences. Our growth depends on yours, so we’ll support you with career opportunities that let you accelerate in the directions to which you aspire.

Visit our website and give your financial career a boost while facilitating growth for our business.

Join 120 years of innovation


2012-0212_PHC_Financial adver 225x300.indd 2 15-02-12 15:42

The FSR is looking for enthusiastic board and committee members for the academic year 2012-2013. As a board or committee member you have the opportunity to distinguish yourself from other students and to get connected to the corporate world. Are you a Bachelor 3 or a Masters student next year and do you have affinity with finance, accountancy or controlling? Grab this chance to become an active member at the FSR in one of the following positions:

Board positions: Committees:Chairman Accountancy Committee Secretary CleanTech Challenge CommitteeTreasurer Corporate Finance Competition CommitteeCommissioner External Relations European Finance Tour CommitteeCommissioner Activities FAN CommitteeCommissioner Finance Activities Female Business Tour Committee Finance Committee FSR Forum Editorial Committee International Banking Cycle Committee International Research Project Committee

Interested? Mail to [email protected]

FSR.NL

The FSR has opportunities for you in 2012-2013!

Become a BOard or committee member of the financial study association

rotterdam!

Board_members.indd 1 29-2-2012 14:22:00

Multinational Battle 2012

The Multinational Battle is a nationwide event jointly organized by the Financial Study association

Rotterdam, Financial Study association Amsterdam, Risk (Groningen), FS Focus (Maastricht)

and Asset Accounting & Finance (Tilburg). This year’s participating companies were Ahold,

Heineken, KPN, NS and PostNL. These five multinationals showed their career opportunities

with a focus on Finance, Accounting & Control. Each of the multinationals facilitated the qualification

round in one of the organizing cities. The four best students from this round in each of the five

cities were selected for the finals. Rotterdam had the honor to invite Heineken to the campus

of the Erasmus University on the 16th of February. During the qualification round the selected

students had the chance to meet Heineken during an informal drink and, most important, had the

opportunity to show their skills to the employees of Heineken during the case. After the case

Heineken selected the four best performing students who would continue to the final.

These four students had to represent Rotterdam during the finals from the 29th of February till

the 2nd of March. During these three days, the five battling teams from Amsterdam, Groningen,

Maastricht, Rotterdam and Tilburg stayed at a very luxurious location, Kasteel de Vanenburg.

The final consisted of solving cases from the participating multinationals, who ranked the

teams at the end of each case. Besides that, the students had lunches, drinks and dinners

together with employees and recruiters of the participating companies in order to get to know

the employees in a more informal atmosphere. It was a close call until the final case. The teams

were very competitive and tried to impress the employees of Ahold, Heineken, KPN, NS and

PostNL.

Unfortunately, at the end of the battle not the team from Rotterdam, like last year, but the team

from Tilburg had the highest score. They returned home with the cup for the ‘Winning team

Multinational Battle 2012’. We would like to thank the participating companies for their cooperation

and of course the students who made it to the finals for the great event!


FSR news • 55

The FSR is looking for enthusiastic board and committee members for the academic year 2012-2013. As a board or committee member you have the opportunity to distinguish yourself from other students and to get connected to the corporate world. Are you a Bachelor 3 or a Masters student next year and do you have affinity with finance, accountancy or controlling? Grab this chance to become an active member at the FSR in one of the following positions:

Board positions: Committees:Chairman Accountancy Committee Secretary CleanTech Challenge CommitteeTreasurer Corporate Finance Competition CommitteeCommissioner External Relations European Finance Tour CommitteeCommissioner Activities FAN CommitteeCommissioner Finance Activities Female Business Tour Committee Finance Committee FSR Forum Editorial Committee International Banking Cycle Committee International Research Project Committee

Interested? Mail to [email protected]

FSR.NL

The FSR has opportunities for you in 2012-2013!

Become a BOard or committee member of the financial study association

rotterdam!

Board_members.indd 1 29-2-2012 14:22:00

Update of the International Research Project 2012

The International Research Project is in full swing! So far, the group is getting along very well

and is very enthusiastic about the research.

We've visited in-house days of Ernst & Young, KPMG, BDO, Deloitte, PwC and ROBECO and

attended a guest lecture by Varavo. In the coming weeks we'll visit Achmea. Besides the fact

that the in-house days are a great way to get to know the companies, most of them also focused

on the IRP research topic, being Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Therefore, these days

are also a great addition to the research.

The students are split in five groups researching the Transport, Commodities, Energy, Finance

and Consumer goods sectors. Each group will focus on the relationship between CSR efforts of

companies in their sector and company performance. As each group will look at the situation

in the Netherlands, Thailand and Vietnam, a comparison can be made between countries of the

relation between CSR efforts and company performance. Together, the research of the groups

should show a country wide analysis of this relationship. So far, it promises to be very interest-

ing research.

Besides the official activities of the project, we've also had some informal events to get to know

each other. And it's safe to say that everybody is getting along great! More so, as we approach

the departure date of the 22nd of April everybody is getting more and more excited about the

project. It will definitely be a very exciting trip as we already have some great companies on

board in Thailand and Vietnam that will welcome us into their offices.

We'll keep you informed!


56 • FSR news

Active Members Weekend

This weekend is famous for its nice stories that come out of it, year over year! At Friday the 3rd

of February a group of 28 excited active members, last year’s board and the current board

departed from Schiphol airport to Prague for a long weekend full of activities.

Although the airplane had some delay, due to snowy weather conditions, we arrived full of

energy in Prague. We stayed in a hotel in the city centre and as the weekend was to short, we

quickly headed out to discover some of the nightlife this old city has to offer. With -22 °Celcius

on the thermometer outside the cosy and stylish clubs of Prague make you never want to leave

and head for home.

So after a relative short night the first activity of the weekend was already starting in the morning.

A bus took us outside the city centre to a shooting range where we could do some target shooting

with Kalashnikovs AK-47’s and some Magnums pistols. Everybody made it out alive and was

surprised by the shooting skills of former board member Kim de Vries. She won the day prize

for the best shooter of the day!

After this activity ten old Trabant cars and a little van lined up to pick us up for some sightseeing

sovjet style. The cars drove us around the city and we got the opportunity to try Trabant driving

ourselves at the parking lot of the old and abandoned Praha stadium. The Trabants dropped us

of at some Communist café where the vodka warmed us up a little! After a refreshing hour back

at the hotel room it was time for a dinner with a traditional Czech dish. I would like to tell you

its name but unfortunately I still have not found out as well!

The next exploration of the nightlife could begin and this time we headed toward the biggest

club in Central Europe, Karlovy Lazne. This club has over 5 stories and is indeed, very big! We

had reserved a special place for the group were they could poor their own drinks and this

seemed to work for them very well. We had a great night and had much fun hopping from floor

to floor!

The next day everybody was really tired but there was still one activity to do, we visited an old

beer brewery where we got a tour from a Czech man that spoke English remarkably well, for a

Czech guy. After this it was time to travel to the airport, where everybody fell asleep at the

McDonalds and was happy to go to bed early that night!

We had a good time and we look forward to next year’s active members weekend where we will

be the former board members and can enjoy another weekend full of short nights and good

times!


FSR news • 57

FSR Gala dinner 2012

On the 14th of January, the FSR Gala dinner 2012 took place.

Together with the FSR board, active members, former FSR boards

and dates we had a wonderful evening at museumrestaurant 'De

Pappegay'. We were welcomed with bubbles to toast on a happy new

year. After that, the dinner started and between each course the

Chairman and former Chairmen gave a speech. At the end of the

evening, after the dinner, the DJ arrived and we concluded the FSR

Gala dinner 2012 with a drink and some dancing.

We would like to thank everyone for the great evening!


58 • FSR news

FSR Alumni Association

Dear FSR Alumni,

It is with great excitement that I can inform you about the ins and outs of our beautiful Alumni

Association. The academic year is over its midway point and the current FSR Board is coping

with the last parts of –probably- the best year in their lives. In this section of the FSR Forum

we are delighted to provide you with a review of the FSR Alumni Friday Afternoon Event at the

Ketel 1 Drink. We also look forward to upcoming events such as the Old Boards Diner (OBD),

where all of the former FSR board members are invited to wine and dine, and the FSR Alumni

Golf Championship, where beginning and advanced level golfers are challenged to show their

golfing talent.

First, we like to review the past. We can joyfully look back at a more than successful Ketel 1

Friday Afternoon Drink at the Westelijk Handelsterein. All FSR Alumni members were invited

to meet up at the Ketel 1 Drink to enjoy the sparkling Ketel 1 jenever cocktails and keep up

with their fellow Alumni members.

If we switch from the past into the future, we can look forward to the OBD, which will be organized

by two former board members from the 13th FSR Board. On the 14th of April, all of the former

boardmembers of the FSR are invited for a diner at restaurant de Harmonie. This event is

traditionally the event with the highest density rate among all of the Alumni events.

The alumni board is furthermore planning a great golf tournament, the Philips FSR Alumni

Golf Championship, where the current Chairman of the FSR Alumni Association –Joris Kil-

will be challenged to defend his title and to become the first and only consecutive winner of the

Championship. During the day, advanced level golfers will compete with each other on an

ostentatious 9-holes course filled with outrageous water hazards, St. Andrews styled bunkers,

a Longest Drive and Nearie Competition. The inexperienced Alumni members can also expect

a beautiful day of golf. During a 2 hour clinic they will be thaught the basic skills of golf and as

icing on the cake they will show their new learned skills on a par-3 course!

As you can read, lots of networking and recreation events. We, as Alumni Board, would like to

invite all of the current and previous FSR committee and board members to join the network

and be part of the fun!

Together we can increase the strength of the FSR alumni network and make the events fun and

worthwhile to attend!

Bart Lips

Vice-Chairman FSR Alumni Association


FSR news • 59

FSR Activity Agenda 2012

April Female Business TourIt might be a men’s world but it would be nothing without women

Potential Board and Committees drinkFor everyone who’s interested in the possibilities the FSR has

to offer you next year!

April/May International Research ProjectExamine the corporate world of Bangkok & Ho Chi Minhcity!

National Investment CompetitionInvest and be a winner!

May Bachelor Accountancy DayWill you choose for a career in accounting?

Corporate Finance CompetitionFive star event: hotel, companies and participants!

Finance DayWant to know what finance is all about…

Investment Banking MasterclassLearn to valuate, like an investment banker.

Cartoon: Deef Smits www.coolgraphix.nl


60 • FSR news

© 2011 PricewaterhouseCoopers B.V. (KvK 3412089) Alle rechten voorbehouden.

www.werkenbijpwc.nl

Soms weet je precies welke smaak je wiltSoms wil je eerst nog van alles proeven

Kom verder met het Financial Traineeship

Financial TraineeshipStart september 2012Evi van Splunder088 792 73 [email protected]

Sta je op het punt je fi nanciële master af te ronden, dan ligt de wereld bij ons aan je voeten. Want als talent met een stevig fi nancieel fundament kun je proeven aan alle smaken van je vakgebied tijdens ons Financial Traineeship; een tweejarig coachings- en opleidingstraject. Wil je meer weten, neem dan contact op met Evi van Splunder. Of kijk op werkenbijpwc.nl/fi nancialtraineeship

4694-76 PwC RC FT A4 FSR Forum.indd 1 12/2/11 2:20:27 PM

Weten wat je kan,begint met weten waar je naartoe wilt.

Inge TjeerdsmaSenior Staff Audit FSO

Een succesvolle carrièrestart is meer dan een goede cijferlijst. Het begint met karakter en inzicht in jezelf. Ontdekken wie je bent, weten waar je naartoe wilt groeien én hoe je dat voor elkaar krijgt staat altijd aan de basis. Ernst & Young coacht jou actief op weg naar jouw succes. We bieden je volop kansen in de wereld van assurance, tax, transaction en advisory. Ontdek ze op ey.nl/carriere

E&Y_210x297mm_potentials.indd 1 03-11-10 17:11

FSR Forum 14-03

Documents

Transcript of FSR Forum 14-03