Ignacio Creus Marti, is employed at PKF Attest in Madrid, Spain. He has held the role of Transfer Pricing Tax Lawyer for the past two years. In September 2019, Ignacio undertook a secondment opportunity to PKF Wulf & Partner in Stuttgart, Germany for one month.

This opportunity came about following a conversation with Alvaro Beñaran, partner at PKF Attest, who knew my background and general interest in Germany and offered me this opportunity – I jumped at the chance!

I wanted to take this challenge because of the important trade relationship that exists between Spain and Germany. As a transfer pricing specialist, I had previous working experience with German companies operating in Spain, therefore I thought it would be interesting to see the German perspective of the cross-boarding transactions.

Personally, I was made to feel very welcome by the team at PKF Wulf and Partner from the moment I landed in Stuttgart. Special thanks to Anna Katharina Villbrandt, who picked me up directly from the airport and introduced me to the team on my first day.

This experience clearly exceeded my expectations thanks to Daniel Scheffbuch and the PKF Wulf & Partner team. In addition to improving my language skills (both German and English) I learnt about transfer pricing and international tax practices in Germany (including common practices of the German Tax Auditors). At the same time, I was encouraged to share and offer my professional experience in transfer pricing projects beginning a relationship that I believe is of mutual profit. Needless to say, this experience will be quite useful in advising future clients in Spain and I hope it would help to strengthen the current relationship between our two PKF firms, PKF Attest and PKF Wulf & Partner.

I didn’t come across too many cultural differences, in fact the business side is very similar. Daily life is a little different, especially around lunchtime, when lunch can often start at 12pm whereas in Spain it’s around 2pm but it was easy to get used to.

I’ve always enjoyed the German culture, as I’ve previously been fortunate enough to study in the country and so visiting Stuttgart has been a pleasure. Besides, my new colleagues were very nice. They ensured I felt involved at work and often took me to lunch and helped me improve my German language skills. That’s why, from the very beginning, I felt included and a part of the team. I’m very grateful for this as it made my experience even more enjoyable.

As a conclusion, I would absolutely recommend a PKF GO secondment. I learnt about Germany’s working culture which helped to broaden my horizons and encourage my professional growth. It has also created relationships and great working partnerships that are extremely positive for everyone involved. In terms of living in Stuttgart – I’m pleased to say that the football team, VfB Stuttgart, has gained a new supporter!

Finally, I’d like to thank everyone at PKF Attest and PKF Wulf & Partner for giving me this opportunity and for making my secondment experience so rewarding.