A young County Down Chartered Accountant has won the ‘Young Chartered Star’ 2018 competition and will represent the Irish Chartered Accountancy profession at the ‘One Young World’ conference in The Hague in the Netherlands later this year. Chartered Accountants Ireland congratulates Michael Walls, who will represent the Institute at the prestigious international conference from 17 - 20 October 2018.
Above: Michael Walls with Chartered Accountants Ireland President Feargal McCormack
Michael, 34, from Hilltown, County Down, qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2011. He trained with KPMG in Belfast and worked in industry for a number of years. His most recent role saw him become Finance Director with UrbanVolt. Michael has since stepped down from his full-time role at UrbanVolt to pursue his own business venture.
To enter the competition, Michael wrote an article on his career and particularly impressed the judging panel with his activity as an advocate for the Chartered Accountancy qualification, and his honest portrayal of his path to qualification. The panel also noted his involvement with the Young Professionals Committee as Chair in 2014.
Michael Walls said:
“I am thrilled that the judges have chosen me as the Young Chartered Star 2018, given the high quality of entries from the other candidates. I’m looking forward to representing Chartered Accountants Ireland at the One Young World Summit this October at The Hague.
“As a proud Chartered Accountant, I am looking forward to meeting young leaders from around the world, and showing them that Irish Chartered Accountants are a very diverse group, intent on making a positive impact on the economy, the environment and people’s lives.”
Chartered Accountants Ireland President Feargal McCormack commented:
“It’s truly impressive to meet young members and students like Michael, with such inspiring and fascinating stories of how the Chartered Accountancy qualification has helped them to succeed. While the judging panel were impressed by all the final applicants, Michael Walls stood out as an outstanding candidate for the Young Chartered Star accolade. With future business leaders of the calibre of Michael, I believe that our profession can look to the future with optimism."
Michael will join representatives from ICAEW (England & Wales), SAICA (South Africa) Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and ISCA (Singapore) at the One Young World conference.
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Reference: Garry Webb, Communications Executive, garry.webb@charteredaccountants.ie; Phone 00 44 7841 152045
Notes to editors
About Chartered Accountants Ireland:
Chartered Accountants Ireland is Ireland’s largest and longest established professional body of accountants founded in 1888. The Institute, which is an all-island body, currently represents over 26,500 members around the world. Chartered Accountants Ireland is a founding member of Chartered Accountants Worldwide, the global alliance of Chartered bodies representing 600,000 members and one million students and collectively promotes the Chartered Accountant designation.
About Young Chartered Star:
Chartered Accountants Ireland’s ‘Young Chartered Star’ (YCS) recognises exceptional achievement amongst its trainees and members aged 35 years or under. The award gives student and members the opportunity to share their experiences and ideas among the wider Chartered Accountants Ireland membership, with the successful candidate invited to attend the prestigious annual ‘One Young World’ summit. YCS is awarded to someone who will lead, motivate and inspire the next generation.
Members and students under the age of 35 entered by writing an article on LinkedIn to detail their career path to date, the impact of the Chartered Accountancy qualification on their life, as well as their future ambitions and advice for anyone considering Chartered Accountancy as a career.
About One Young World:
One Young World is an international conference that brings together inspiring young people from 190+ countries that are committed to making a difference.
The summit will take place in The Hague, the Netherlands on 17 - 20 October 2018. One Young World provides a platform for young leaders to speak alongside Presidents, Nobel Prize Winners, Global business leaders and other inspiring global leaders. Delegates are an international cohort, sharing their impactful work, personal experiences, views and opinions with around 1,300 Summit attendees and an audience watching around the world.