Steens & Partners

What Steens & Partners does

Steens & Partners, founded in 1999 by Remco Misset, is a Dutch freelance finance interim management bureau that operates as a two-sided intermediary between self-employed finance professionals (Zelfstandigen Zonder Personeel, ZZP'ers) and corporate clients. It serves CFOs, Finance Directors, and senior finance management of Dutch top-1000 organizations — including AEX-listed companies, family businesses, PE portfolio companies, scale-ups, and public-sector bodies — placing interim professionals across CFO, controller, treasury, IFRS, ERP, audit, risk, compliance, and project/change roles. The company also extends into IT-Change and Data professionals, supporting digital transformation and ERP-implementation mandates. Clients include ASML, ING, APG, Aegon, BMW, DHL, Heijmans, Boskalis, Stedin, Odido, Vodafone, TUI, Van Oord, Amsterdam UMC, and Gemeente Utrecht, among approximately 30 named enterprise and government logos.

The firm's operational model is purely brokerage-based, with no in-house consultants on payroll — every placement is a self-employed ZZP'er selected from a curated network. Underlying infrastructure consists of the Carerix-hosted freelancer portal (profile, CV, availability, and hour registration), a public job board listing current freelance assignments, and Associate-Director-led client engagement supported by content marketing through Interim Times, CFO Day/CFO Community partnerships, and CFO roundtables. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed; clients pay placement and intermediary fees, while the ZZP'er signs a direct 'Overeenkomst van Opdracht' with the client organization.

The firm operates from three Dutch offices — Amsterdam (Amstelveen), Rotterdam, and Eindhoven — through three private limited entities (Steens Consultants B.V., Steens Professionals B.V., Steens Interim B.V.), all registered in the Netherlands. The business is privately held, bootstrapped, and founder-led, with no disclosed external capital, parent company, or institutional investors. It has won the MT1000 'Best Interim Management Bureau' award for five consecutive years (2021-2025) — the first bureau in MT1000 history to achieve this — and the FD Gazelle award for six consecutive years, while reporting an 8.9/10 client satisfaction rating.

Name

Steens & Partners

Legal name

Steens Consultants B.V., Steens Professionals B.V., and Steens Interim B.V.

Website

https://steensconsultants.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Steens & Partners is a Dutch freelance finance and IT-change interim management bureau, founded 1999, that places vetted self-employed ZZP professionals with CFOs and Finance Directors of Dutch top-1000 organizations from offices in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Eindhoven.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Finance Interim Management Services

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Human Resources Consulting Services (541612), Other Management Consulting Services (541618)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Change Management & Transformation Consulting (BPAHAGAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Financial Management & Performance Improvement Consulting (BPAHACAF)

Keywords

• Finance interim management
• Freelance finance placement
• Interim management bureau
• Finance change professionals
• ZZP finance bemiddeling

Headquarters

HQ city

Rotterdam

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Freelance Finance Professional Placement: Steens & Partners acts as a placement intermediary, matching self-employed freelance finance professionals with organizations seeking temporary finance expertise. The company charges clients (not freelancers) for successful placements and ongoing assignments. Freelancers sign direct 'Overeenkomst van Opdracht' (contract for services) with clients. Steens earns placement fees from client organizations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Steens & Partners operates as a freelance finance and IT-change interim management bureau (bemiddelaar), exclusively placing self-employed (ZZP) finance professionals at Dutch top-1000 organizations for knowledge and change assignments across CFO, Finance Director, Controller, Treasury, Risk, Compliance, Audit, IFRS, Tax, ERP, and Data Management roles. The firm does not employ consultants on its own payroll; instead, it matches and introduces vetted freelancers to client organizations, with the freelancer and client entering a direct 'Overeenkomst van Opdracht' while Steens charges client organizations placement and intermediation fees.

Product overview

Steens & Partners is a Dutch freelance finance and IT interim management bureau operating since 1999. Their offering consists of two core bemiddeling (brokerage) services: (1) Freelance Finance Professionals, covering the full finance spectrum from CFO/FD level to controllers, accountants, treasury, risk, compliance, audit, and IFRS specialists; and (2) Freelance IT-Change Professionals for digital transformation projects. These services are supported by a freelancer portal (Carerix-based) for profile management and availability tracking, and a public job board where available assignments are posted. The company exclusively works with self-employed professionals (ZZP'ers) rather than staff in permanent employment, positioning them as an intermediary/broker rather than a staffing agency with proprietary software.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Freelance Finance Professionals Bemiddeling Brokerage/intermediation service placing 100% self-employed (ZZP) freelance finance professionals with organizations for knowledge and change assignments. Covers the full finance domain including CFO, Finance Director, Controller (Business, Financial, Project, Group), Governance, Risk, Compliance, Audit, IFRS, AO/IC, Tax, Treasury, Actuarial, Data Management, ERP, Robotics, Planning & Control, Reporting, Consolidation, Accountants, and Project and Program Managers. For CFO's and Finance Directors of Dutch top-1000 organizations.
• Freelance IT-Change Professionals Interim management brokerage matching self-employed freelance IT-change professionals with organizations undergoing digital transformation, ERP implementations (including 4PS), and technology-driven change projects. For Dutch organizations seeking project-level IT and finance-change specialists.
• Freelancer Portal (Carerix) Digital portal (built on third-party Carerix ATS) where freelancers manage their profiles, availability, upload CVs, and register hours for assignments. Used by self-employed finance and IT-change professionals in the Steens network.
• Freelance Opdrachten Platform Public assignment job board on the Steens & Partners corporate website showcasing current freelance finance and IT-change assignments across various sectors and expertise levels, allowing professionals to browse and apply for interim opportunities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Shortlist presented within 24 hours of client request
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers30 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• HeadFirst: Direct Dutch competitor in interim management, placing senior freelance professionals across functions including finance. Operates in the same MT1000 interim management ranking and targets similar enterprise clients.
• Michael Page Netherlands: Global recruitment firm with Dutch finance interim and direct-hire desk serving the same top-1000 Dutch organizations and CFO buyer personas as Steens.
• Yacht (Randstad): Subsidiary of Randstad focused on interim professionals and high-skilled freelance talent in the Netherlands, including finance. Competes head-to-head with Steens for CFO and Finance Director placements.
• Hays Netherlands: Global recruitment firm with significant Dutch presence in finance and accountancy interim/permanent placement. Overlaps with Steens on senior finance interim mandates for Dutch corporates.
• Robert Half Netherlands: Global staffing specialist with strong Dutch finance and accounting interim desk, competing for similar controller, accountant, and finance manager assignments.
• Brunel Netherlands: Dutch-rooted international staffing and project services firm placing interim specialists in finance, engineering and IT, overlapping with Steens' freelance finance and IT-change offerings.
• Holtrop Ravesloot: Dutch executive interim management firm competing in the same finance and general management interim segments, regularly ranked alongside Steens in MT1000 Best Interim Management Bureau lists.

Broad incumbents

• Kienbaum Consultants International: European executive search and management consultancy with Dutch practice covering finance leadership interim assignments; broader portfolio but overlapping CFO/finance target buyer.

Emerging players

• Vintura: Dutch boutique consultancy focused on healthcare and finance transformation with a meaningful interim-deployment component; competes for similar transformation-mandate clients.
• Twynstra Gudde: Dutch management consulting firm that deploys interim managers and consultants on transformation programs; partial overlap with Steens on finance transformation mandates.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/steens-partners
• Xx.com/SteensPartners

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Steens & Partners