Rafał Kozłowski, the Vice President of the Management Board of Asseco Poland, resigned from his position on March 23, and from April 1, 2021 he is moving to Asseco Enterprise Solutions to take over the position of the President. Concurrently, he will continue to serve as the Vice President of Asseco International and CFO of the Group. Karolina Rzońca-Bajorek, the former Director of the Asseco Group’s Finance Division, has been appointed to the Management Board of Asseco Poland as the Vice President of Finance.

Asseco Enterprise Solutions is a holding company of the Asseco Group, which focuses on ERP solutions and is currently one of the strategic areas for which the Asseco Group has significant development plans. Rafał Kozłowski's decision to resign from his position in Asseco Poland is motivated by his desire to become more involved in the development of this business area.

On behalf of the Management Board I would like to thank Karolina and Rafał for their contribution and involvement in building the competitive advantage of the Asseco Group - said Adam Góral, President of the Management Board of Asseco Poland. At the same time I wish them success in their new roles and I am convinced that this change will bring a lot of satisfaction to both of them and will contribute to their further development - added the President.

Karolina Rzońca-Bajorek is the graduate of the Warsaw School of Economics, the faculty of finance and accounting (specialization: corporate finance and accounting). She started her professional career in 2009 at ERNST & YOUNG AUDIT Sp. z o.o. in the audit department, where she participated in audits of large corporate clients, from 2012 to 2014 she worked at Asseco Poland S.A. as the Finance Specialist in the Reporting Department of the Asseco Group. Then, from 2014 to 2015 she was the Stock Exchange Reporting Expert at PHZ Baltona S.A.. Since 2015 in Asseco Poland S.A., as the Director of the Reporting Department of the Asseco Group, she has been responsible for the process of periodic reporting and the implementation and application of a consistent accounting policy in Asseco Poland S.A. and the Group companies. Since 2019, as the Director of the Finance Division of the Asseco Group, she has been managing the area covering group processes in management accounting and controlling. She holds the FCCA title and the Certificate of the Minister of Finance authorizing her to provide accounting services. She is in the process of becoming a certified auditor. On April 1, 2021, she will take the position of Asseco Poland's Vice President for Finance.

Asseco is among the winners of the "Ethical Company" contest in the "Large Companies" category organized by Puls Biznesu. The company has been recognized, among others, for its charitable and environmental actions, support for local communities and sports teams, and activities to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

Asseco conducted intensive CSR activities in 2020. First of all, in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, it undertook a number of aid projects, including allocating more than PLN 1 million to support the healthcare sector, preparing a package of IT services for medical institutions "Patient #stayathome", which improved remote contact with patients, and adapting the National Health Fund systems to the epidemic situation. In addition, in cooperation with the National Cloud Operator, it provided a free educational platform for universities under the "Partnership for Universities" program. It also created new eServices for cooperative banks, e.g. a mini-application "Requests" which allows, without leaving home, to handle over a dozen of the most common issues with which clients come to bank branches. Asseco also supported cooperative banks in handling the applications for the assistance under the PFR Financial Shield program and the anti-crisis shield 4.0. In addition, the company has cooperated with the Ministry of Digitization on the implementation of regulations enabling the introduction of video-verification as a remote method of identity authentication (e-signature).

Furthermore, Asseco launched the #BusinessWithoutPaper initiative, which is aimed at reducing paper consumption by promoting and supporting projects that develop digital services. It also organized the annual charity event "We Bring Help", under which it has donated nearly PLN 1.6 million to support those in need since 2013. The initiative has already helped approx. 4.7 thousand children and 130 families.

Changes in the law are one of the drivers of technology. In the public administration, especially in times of the pandemic, they are often the result of current decisions and the response to social and economic needs. They have a direct impact on the development of digital services and are an excuse to create new solutions that simplify and speed up processes, qualitatively change people's work and improve customer service. Arkadiusz Wójcik, Director of the Social Insurance Department at Asseco Poland, talks about the impact of the law on the development of technology and how advanced IT changes the quality of the public administration based on the example of cooperation with the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS).

Paperless in the public administration

Eliminating paper procedures is one of the biggest challenges in the area of digitization of the public administration. Moving away from paper in favor of digital solutions has measurable benefits for public institutions, but above all for the end customer - the citizen. The implementation of such solutions speeds up various processes, minimizes the risk of errors made by the customer and makes it easier to go through the entire administrative procedure. Customers filling out a paper form on their own often do not know what to enter in particular fields or enter incorrect data. The introduction of an electronic form, which is interactive and prompts specific answers, makes the completion of formalities in the form of application easier and faster. Paperless brings benefits also for the institution itself. It ensures measurable financial savings - the more digital processes, the greater the scale of savings, which can reach hundreds of thousands or even millions of zlotys a year. This is the effect of reducing or even eliminating the costs of paper document circulation.

In April last year we faced a major challenge related to the IT support of anti-crisis shields. We are a company that quickly adapts to the changes expected by the market, and thanks to advanced IT we were able to perform all the tasks set by ZUS. We adapt our solutions to current legal regulations. Dynamism has always been an important value of our actions. Thanks to such an approach we have been able to implement even the most complex IT projects for 30 years.

Process automation

The implementation of new technologies determined by changes in the law is also associated with the automation of processes. And it is not about robotization, i.e., the performance by a computer of exactly the same activities that a human would perform. By eliminating (or significantly reducing) human participation in business processes, they can be thoroughly rebuilt, simplified and accelerated.

Last April, ZUS was given a great deal of new responsibilities related to the implementation of the shield. At the same time, it was not released from the ongoing work it had been doing up to that point. It also had to perform additional tasks with the same team, in difficult conditions of remote work and often with limited access to resources. An important task was therefore to automate the new processes so that the tasks could be carried out with as little human involvement as possible. Up until that moment, this kind of work related to handling applications had been largely performed by humans. Each paper application had passed through the hands of a ZUS employee and had had to be electronically processed by them, i.e. entered into the system, verified and serviced. On this basis, within 30 days from submitting the application, a decision had been made. However, the use of tailor-made IT solutions made it possible to automate the entire process - from the moment of filling out the application by the customer to issuing the decision by ZUS. As a result, up to 90 percent of all applications have been processed automatically since then.  

Creating new value

In Poland we have a lot of different sets of citizen data. The largest databases include data collected in the ZUS or PESEL database. Often information from different places is needed to make a decision on a particular issue. Data integration allows to streamline service processes, create new value in the form of new products or services, and accelerate administrative decision-making processes. In order to make it possible, the pre-condition are legal changes, which influence the development of technology and determine the introduction of new services. An example can be the service of the Polish Development Fund (PFR) shield. In order to implement it, it was necessary to integrate data between various state institutions. The decision to grant financing was made by PFR on the basis of, among others, information about an entrepreneur - whether he or she is not indebted to ZUS and the tax office. IT enabled quick and efficient handling of the Act, especially at a time when time was of the essence. The integration of PFR with the ZUS system, among others, made it possible to speed up the process of making decisions on granting financial assistance. The institutions were able to exchange data in a virtually unattended manner.

Another example of a legal change leading to the development of technology is the implementation of the Polish Tourism Voucher project. In this case, it was necessary to use data from the offices of municipalities that operate the 500+ program. People who were entitled to this benefit could also take advantage of the travel voucher. We managed to create a kind of payment system, the equivalent of a payment card with a due amount, which can be "paid" for selected tourist services. With such a solution, the employee of a hotel or other tourist facility logs into the ZUS system, and the holder of the travel voucher receives a special code via SMS, which can be then entered in order to use the voucher to pay for the stay or other tourist service. In this way, a complex payment system was created, a proven mechanism which can be used to create a multitude of services for citizens. It is also a modern form of the state-citizen settlement system, which can be used for other new services.

With such advanced IT solutions, the public administration can conduct citizen-centric activities and provide services and maintenance of a standard similar to those provided by commercial entities.

Asseco's investor relations have been recognized in the largest Polish survey organized by "Parkiet" and the Chamber of Brokerage Houses. The companies from WIG30 index best communicating with the market were selected in two parts of the survey, by voting of representatives of financial institutions as well as readers of the daily and individual investors. Asseco Poland has taken 3rd place in the part conducted among institutional investors and analysts, and 5th place in the part dedicated to individual investors.

Good investor relations are based primarily on transparent communication and dialogue with investors, regardless of the company's current financial performance and the situation it is in at any given time. IR programs should be constructed using feedback from the market so that they meet the needs of particular groups of recipients. A good IR manager is a well-informed IR manager who, when presenting a specific issue to investors, has full knowledge of the given topic, be it from the business, financial or legal perspective, and is able to reliably present the full picture of the situation. When directing information to investors, it is important to be able to put oneself in the shoes of a person outside of the company, because then it is easier to formulate a comprehensible message. The situation with the coronavirus pandemic, including particularly low interest rates, has made it unprofitable to keep money in bank deposits. For this reason, interest in the stock market, including companies representing such sectors as TMT, healthcare or biotechnology, increased significantly in 2020. Last year, nearly 85,000 brokerage accounts were added in Poland. At the same time, COVID-19 has increased uncertainty in the capital market. In this new reality, objective and two-way communication has become even more important. We have seen increased contact from both individual and institutional investors, who are more frequently asking about the current situation in the company and the group and about possible threats or emerging market opportunities in particular segments and sectors of our business. We have also noticed more frequent contact from new foreign investors who, working remotely, have more time at their disposal and are able to get to know our company better, said Joanna Paczkowska-Tatomir, Investor Relations Manager, Asseco Poland.

Information about the ranking: https://www.parkiet.com/Firmy/303059991-KGHM-LPP-i-Tauron--liderami-relacji-inwestorskich.html

Asseco is launching another stage of the #PaperlessBusiness campaign, which aims to raise awareness among entrepreneurs on the business digitization. As the digitization leader in Poland, Asseco shows how to effectively transfer traditional business processes to the online world. As part of the campaign, it is launching the biznesbezpapieru.pl website with practical knowledge on digitization. The initiative is also joined by other Partners, such as the Cyfrowa Polska Association (Związek Cyfrowa Polska) and Samsung, in order to educate the market together with Asseco.

The covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the digitization processes in companies. According to a McKinsey report, from January to May 2020, the digital economy in Poland grew by 18.4% or 2.5 times faster than in 2017-2019. Companies that want to survive the crisis and continue to grow are already moving their processes to the digital world. On the other hand, research* shows that while most companies (79 percent) understand the need for digital transformation, scaling digital initiatives still remains a challenge. That is why Asseco, together with our Partners, is developing the #PaperlessBusiness initiative to even more effectively help customers design and implement solutions that enable the conversion of traditional processes to digital sphere.

Accelerated digitization is driving increased interest in digital products and services. These changes require from companies and consumers to know what solutions are available and how to use them. We realize that digital transformation leads to bold decisions and many changes, including changes in strategy, processes and selection of the right tools. Asseco, as the largest Polish IT company and leader in the digitization of Polish economy, wants to actively participate in the process of these changes, as well as, through educational activities, improve the digital competence of Poles and show the direction of development of digital services - says Artur Wiza, Vice President of the Management Board of Asseco Poland.

Start of the website www.biznesbezpapieru.pl

One of the pillars of the new activities, within the #PaperlessBusiness campaign, will be an educational and information website: www.biznesbezpapieru.pl. This is the first website of its kind, entirely devoted to digitization, where entrepreneurs and consumers will find expert advice and practical knowledge about its various aspects. They will learn how to effectively transfer traditional processes to the digital world and what benefits it brings, how to use digital tools in different areas of life and how important cyber security is. They will also gain knowledge about trust services such as electronic signature or video verification. The service will be substantively supported by the representatives of the partners: Michał Kanownik from the Digital Poland Association, Ph.D. Michał Kawecki from the Warsaw School of Banking, Justyna Orłowska from GovTech, Ph.D. Krzysztof Kozłowski from the Warsaw School of Economics, Professor, Ph.D Dariusz Szostek from the University of Opole, Tomasz Chomicki from Samsung Electronic Poland, Michał Tabor from Obserwatorium.biz, as well as the experts from Asseco Poland and Asseco Data Systems.

The educational activities will be conducted through business media and social networks. Training sessions for entrepreneurs in the form of webinars will be organized, as well as debates with experts.

The partners of the campaign are: the Digital Poland Association, Samsung, GovTech Poland, the Warsaw School of Banking, the Warsaw School of Economics, Obserwatorium.biz, Santander Consumer Bank, Szostek_Bar and Partnerzy law firm and the Clean Poland Program.

* EY Digital Investment Index research

#PaperlessBusiness #BusinessWithoutPaper #StartFromYourself #PolishDigitalValley #ITmadeinPoland

Asseco took the first place in the "Software and IT Services" report’s ranking prepared by Bank Pekao analysts. Asseco's leading position was gained i.a. thanks to its revenues which exceeded PLN 10 billion. The foundation of the company's operations is the sale of proprietary products and IT services which account for approx. 80% of its consolidated revenues.

As indicated by the bank's experts, the main factors for the development of the IT sector in Poland include the rapid development of digital technologies and the need to digitize and automate processes. The coronavirus pandemic has had its impact on the sector, but thanks to its role in the modern world and the need to maintain processes, it should remain relatively immune to the pandemic’s effects. In addition, the consequences of the spread of COVID-19 have accelerated the digital transformation. An opportunity for the sector is also provided by the still low saturation of IT services in Poland and the emergence of new products and services that give their recipients the opportunity to increase their innovativeness.