2015-12-16

In today’s world, where professional football players are not just athletes but business brands, there is a necessity for professional advice. But how should footballers base their choice? This unique type of company is often inaccessible due to their highly specialised and limited approach. Surely this is just parochialism, pure and simple?

What is the truth?

Life After Football had a short conversation together with Maes Accountants & Adviseurs, a Rotterdam-headquartered business which has chosen to break free from the typically uptight, boring stereotype of financial management. They do not employ hard-to-understand corporate jargon and business terms, but they do possess a mentality that corresponds to that of Feyenoord, namely: actions speak louder than words.



Accountants are renowned for their somewhat dull image! Despite this, you have made creativity an important keyword as part of the company ethos. Where are some examples of this?

Creativity can be illustrated by the specific advice we give. We try to approach the task in hand by putting ourselves directly into the clients shoes. That requires creativity. Moreover, we dont take the easy way to achieve targets. We are constantly looking and creating new and innovative ways in order to help the client the best way we can in the different fields we are specialised in.

The other keywords you focus on are knowledge, power and passion. How are these intertwined into your business?

Lets examine each in isolation. Knowledge is important in our field. We are constantly looking for people who already intrinsically possess the knowledge they need. As well as people who are willing to learn throughout their whole career. We have a pleasant working environment where we can offer both internal and external education. Besides that, its important to have a social life too. A good balance between those two, we think, will lead to happy professionals with a high level of professional knowledge.”

“Power is a keyword we use to emphasise our mentality, which is typical for Rotterdam. Its a little like saying, “go for it! No excuses.”

Passion, we think, is important in every field. Especially in our field, where the customers are not always as passionate about our job as we are. The goal is a satisfied customer. Make actions based on his or her particular situation. It is critical and something we try to incorporate during the application process.

We have noticed a name change as the result of your merger with Hoek & Blok. Can you elaborate?

Yes, the two companies Hoek & Blok and Maes will become one. Hoek and Blok is the biggest firm and thats why we will continue with their name.

Will the so-called “Rotterdam mentality” remain as inherent to the company as before?

Our name, Maes, has a Rotterdam character Hoek and Blok are originally a Rotterdam office and there prevails the same culture and mentality: to unburden the customer”. Our name changes, but our mentality remains Rotterdam and will also be apparent in the new organisation. Our business environment and mentality are foundations we are very proud of!

Maes bv was one of the guests during our yearly footgolf event. What were your thoughts on the experience?

Well, we had a great day. It was very well organised! Sportsmanship makes it easy to have a casual conversation with a lot of interesting people in both sport and business.

In what way do you think are Life After Football and Maes bv (soon to be Hoek & Blok) the perfect match?

Maes can be seen as a counsellor to athletes. In the past, there have been many athletes who have underestimated the importance of a qualified adviser. Together we are looking ahead to the future of their career and evaluating what the best method to making the most of their financial potential. Nowadays athletes are already well supported by business observers. But sometimes they lack specific knowledge of fiscal, economic and legal matters. We are here to fill the gap by providing creativity, passion, power and knowledge!

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