Market environment
Administer operates in the market for services and software for financial and payroll management, as well as HR and other professional services supporting the business of companies.
Financial management market in Finland
In Finland, the majority of the market for outsourced financial management services relates to the accounting firm business. The accounting firm market in Finland has historically been very stable. In 2020, the size of the accounting firm market in Finland was approximately EUR 1.23 billion, representing a compound average annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.2 percent from 2001. The number of accounting firms operating in Finland has remained slightly over 4,000 for the last ten years.
The stable growth of the total net sales in the market and its relatively small fluctuation reflects the defensive nature of the accounting firm market due to the statutory nature of the financial management of companies.
HR service market in Finland
Administer’s target market in the HR services sector relates particularly to HR consulting, recruitment services and staff leasing for financial management. In 2019, the total net sales of these service sectors amounted to approximately EUR 200 million in Finland.
The HR management sector is expected to evolve to become a more comprehensive part of the business, and through this, increase its importance at companies. In the view of the company, the development of the HR services sector is still in its early phase in Finland, as for example, the significance of data analytics and organisational planning is only being recognised by the companies as the technological development defines the future direction in the future.
Transformation of the industry and key growth drivers
After remaining largely unchanged for quite a long time, the financial management sector has turned to a strong growth track in recent years, as new technology, the increased significance of consulting services, the outsourcing of business support services, and the consolidation of the market define the future direction of the sector.
Technological disruption and software for financial management
- The digitalisation of financial management has driven the sector’s transformation in the recent years. Paperless accounting has spread rapidly, and it has also been promoted through legislation.
Increasing significance of consulting services for financial management
- The demand for consulting services which has traditionally focused on large companies has widened to include also small companies. For example, according to the company’s experience, the significance of consulting on taxation and ownership structures has increased and supported demand for consultation services.
Outsourcing of financial and payroll management
- Outsourced financial management enables the streamlining of the business and cost cutting. In recent years, the disruption of the financial management sector has accelerated the transformation of the sector, which previously remained unchanged for a long time, from traditional manual work to automated tasks and to shifting job profiles towards consulting roles.
Consolidation of the market
- As the Finnish financial management market mainly comprises small accounting firms, a few large operators, such as Administer, have succeeded in growing by acquiring small local accounting firms in recent years. As a result of the consolidation of the market, large players have succeeded in increasing the efficiency of their operations with economies of scale and new technology.
Competitive Landscape
The financial management market in Finland is very fragmented. According to Statistics Finland, there were only nine operators in the accounting firm sector with the net sales of over 10 million in 2019. Leading companies account for approximately one fourth of the accounting firm market, and this share is increasing with the continued consolidation of the market. The company’s management estimates that in 2020 Finland’s accounting firm market was led by five companies with relatively even market shares: Accountor Oy, Talenom Oyj, Azets Insight Oy, Rantalainen-Yhtiöt Oy and Administer in the order of their size.
In the case of the providers of financial management services, the market is different by its nature: a group of about ten operators in the market account for the majority of the software market. Some of the providers of financial management services themselves acquire financial management software from a third party. Instead of software development, such providers focus on service provision in their operations.