How was the secondment?
The secondment has been everything I could have hoped for. The city of Stockholm, the Transfer Pricing team and all other people of the Stockholm office have made our time in Sweden a great success, both on a professional and personal level. Being able to share this experience with Max, a colleague from Amsterdam who alse was seconded during the same period, and having the chance to bring my girlfriend to Stockholm has made it even more special.

How have you enjoyed Stockholm?
Stockholm is a great city to live in. The standard of living is very high. It is a clean city, has many parks and nature such as the archipelago, and offers a lot of high-quality restaurants and bars. During my three months I did not have time to see a lot more from Sweden as a country, but that is absolutely on the list for the future.

What made you consider a secondment?
The merger between our firms immediately triggered the wish to do a secondment in Stockholm. Even before the merger I knew some of my Transfer Pricing colleagues in Sweden, and with Transfer Pricing as an international oriented specialty it made a lot of sense for me to apply for a secondment, even before the official program was launched. On a personal level it also worked out really well, as my girlfriend could join me for (almost) the entire three months.

Workwise, what has the differences been?
I think the differences are rather limited. The Transfer Pricing teams in Amsterdam and Stockholm are quite similar, and the way of working as well. The biggest difference for me was related to Dutch people being, generally speaking of course, very direct, and Swedish people being more indirect and polite.

What have you learned?
I think there are two main things to mention here. First of all Swedish (working) culture and way of living. And second, and maybe most importantly, I must mention all the people I got to know. The combination of these two elements makes it possible for me to still be involved in Swedish client and projects, and to maintain and facilitate the collaboration between the Amsterdam and Stockholm Transfer Pricing teams.

Has the secondment helped you develop personally and professionally?
Absolutely, the secondment has been very valuable both personally and professionally. As mentioned above, it allowed me a to develop my social and professional network. It also gave me the chance to experience and learn from a different (working) culture, which has broadened my perspective in general.

How will this experience contribute to your work when you return to your home office?
As mentioned before, I am still working on various Swedish clients and projects, and the TP teams of Svalner Atlas are planning to closely collaborate now and towards the future. I hope to have a role in this collaboration, and to enhance this process wherever I can.

Would you recommend going on secondment?
Hands down, 100%!