How do you offer ample freedom for innovation, while also keeping a tight rein on financial and tax matters? Lentink helps technology companies find the right balance and is familiar with the issues specific to this capital-intensive industry. ‘Technology companies are often completely focused on development, with financial accountability usually being a secondary process. Our challenge is to translate and maintain the link between the technology and financial accountability, taking into account the scope of the company and the stage it’s at,’ says Bart Westland, partner at Lentink.
Expertise in reporting systems
He has supported and advised a variety of technology companies in recent years, and he knows that capital is always an issue. ‘Doing business in this industry is challenging. In general, you bear the initial – often high – costs yourself, while the returns are still uncertain. For this reason, technology companies often have multiple investors, from nationally and internationally listed companies, to private equity organisations and public institutions such as the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (Nederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast-Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek, TNO) and universities. Lentink is well-versed in the various reporting systems, such as US GAAP and IFRS, enabling us to provide technology companies with the best possible assistance in this area.’
Making adjustments beforehand rather than afterwards
This also applies to industry-specific issues, including the cost control of R&D processes, the valuation of capitalised development costs in the financial statements, the use of tax schemes such as the innovation box and the R&D Promotion Act (Wet bevordering speur- en ontwikkelingswerk, WBSO), and accountability for RVO and EU subsidies received. ‘Because we’re so familiar with the playing field and the rules in the industry, we can advise you beforehand on how to handle something, rather than having to make adjustments afterwards. It’s a much more effective approach.’