The European Union’s new Artificial Intelligence Act brings opportunities for businesses but will not be without challenge, writes Keith Power Just seven percent of Irish businesses currently have governance structures in place for artificial intelligence (AI) or generative AI (GenAI). Despite this, the overwhelming majority (91%) believe that GenAI will increase cybersecurity risks in the year ahead. This is according to PwC’s latest GenAI Business Leaders survey, published in June 2024.  The European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act (EU AI Act) is a sweeping new regulation aimed at ensuring that businesses have the appropriate AI governance and control mechanisms in place to deliver safe and secure outcomes.  Indeed, a large majority (84%) of our survey respondents welcomed the introduction of the EU AI Act, saying regulation is necessary to prevent the potential negative impact of AI in the future.  The new EU AI Act will also bring challenges, however. Its aim is to protect businesses, consumers and citizens in the EU from potential risks associated with AI in terms of health, safety, fundamental rights, democracy, rule of law and the environment.  By introducing standards and providing legal certainty, the Act also seeks to foster innovation, growth and competitiveness in the EU’s internal market.  It is the EU’s first comprehensive legal framework for AI and will level the playing field for businesses using the technology.  The Act adopts a risk-based approach, with its biggest compliance requirements applying to “high risk” AI systems.  These requirements include addressing data governance concerns, mitigating bias, ensuring transparency and implementing a system of quality management.  The Act also requires that users must be informed when they are interacting with chatbots, and that any AI-generated content must be clearly identifiable as such.   Several specific risks are particular to the EU AI Act, including failure to identify all uses of AI across a business as well as the potential for the inaccurate risk classification of AI uses.  The Act also obliges organisations to assess all of their use cases for AI. This may prove an onerous and time-consuming task given the dispersed nature of the use of AI in many companies. The risk of misclassification is high as risk classifications may change as an organisation’s use of AI evolves over time.  This necessitates the implementation of appropriate ongoing governance and control procedures to maintain compliance, bringing its own challenges. There is also a risk that the focus on compliance may lead to a drag on innovation.  The nuanced nature of some of the language used in the Act, coupled with risk classifications and role designations being subject to change, may prove problematic for some organisations.  The use of AI systems by third parties acting on behalf of organisations may also cause a degree of complexity.  There is much to be considered by Irish businesses to ensure they will be compliant with the new EU AI Act.  It will bring competitive opportunities, but complying with the new regulations will be a complex process. Keith Power is a Partner with PwC Ireland *Disclaimer: The views expressed in this column published in the August/September 2024 issue of Accountancy Ireland are the author’s own. The views of contributors to Accountancy Ireland may differ from official Institute policies and do not reflect the views of Chartered Accountants Ireland, its Council, its committees, or the editor.

Numra co-founder David Kearney, FCA, sees a world of potential in the advent of AI for accountants who can now expect to see their work move up the value chain David Kearney vividly recalls the release of the first version of ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, by US tech firm OpenAI in November 2022. A Chartered Accountant, entrepreneur and self-confessed “techie,” Kearney had sold Peblo, his first start-up, just months earlier and was on the look-out for ideas for a new venture with global potential. “That first ChatGPT release was really the first time I’d come across the concept and capabilities of generative AI (GenAI) and large language models (LLMs),” Kearney says. “It was all I could think about at the time. I remember spending a full week of evenings staying up late just playing with ChatGPT, getting to know it, reading all about GenAI and LLMs and learning about how it all works. I was fascinated.” Almost immediately, based on his own experience as a Chartered Accountant, Kearney could see a potential commercial application for the technology in the professional field he was most familiar with. “There are literally dozens of use cases out there for GenAI. The one I zeroed in on was accountancy,” he explains.  Kearney established Numra in August 2023 and, alongside his co-founder Conor Digan, began to develop an AI-powered automation platform for finance teams.  Numra closed a €1.5 million seed funding round in December led by Elkstone Partners, the early-stage venture capital firm, and released the first version of “Mary,” its AI assistant for finance teams. Numra’s AI platform is aimed primarily at mid-sized companies with in-house finance teams processing high-volume transactions. “One of the biggest things Mary can help these teams with is workflow automation. She excels at repetitive tasks, such as invoice processing, three-way matching, payments and reconciliations,” Kearney explains. “If we take accounts payable as an example, Mary can identify an invoice from an email, extract the required invoice data and enter it into the accounting system. She can then send the invoice to whomever needs to approve it and, from there, she can execute the payment.” Kearney says Mary has been designed to behave like a “real-life team member.” She can be trained up on existing company processes and can interact with communication platforms already in use, such as email, Microsoft Teams and Slack.  “You onboard Mary, just like a normal team member. You train her on your internal processes, you give her access to your systems and then get her to start helping you with your workload,” he says. “She can manage complex tasks like answering vendor queries and performing detailed cost allocations, improving over time through user feedback. “That’s really the beauty of GenAI. It has this capability to ingest and process vast amounts of unstructured data and take on tasks that were previously too complex to automate.” The result, Kearney says, is that the role of the Chartered Accountant will be elevated with a new focus on higher-value activities that require strategic thinking and creativity. “There has been quite a lot of fear mongering around how AI is going to impact jobs in the future, including jobs in the accounting profession,” he says. “That’s kind of understandable, but AI actually represents more of an opportunity than a risk for accountants and other professions. I think it should be embraced.” Kearney began his own career as a Chartered Accountant as an undergraduate studying commerce at UCD. He undertook a one-year placement with PwC and went on to train in the firm’s audit department. “The Chartered Accountant qualification had been on my radar for a long time and I specialised in accounting in my final year at college to get the CAP1 exemption,” he explains. “I always had a very strong interest in business and entrepreneurship and I felt that the Chartered Accountant qualification would be a really good launchpad for my career. It’s very dynamic and it gives you a lot of career options.”  After qualifying, Kearney moved to southeastern Australia in 2018 where he spent three-and-a-half years in Melbourne working for large-scale organisations like PZ Cussons, RACV and National Australia Bank.  “I worked in finance departments, mainly in financial planning and analysis. I had an amazing time and built up some great experience in commercial roles, but it was always in the back of my mind that I wanted to do something for myself,” he says. After returning to Ireland with his partner Grace in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kearney hit upon the idea for Peblo, his first venture.  Peblo was a financing platform for content creators and influencers. Kearney established the start-up in late 2020 with co-founder Jake Browne and sold Peblo less than two years later to Wayflyer, the Irish-owned e-commerce funding platform. “Peblo was a bit of a crazy idea. It was an invoice factoring company for influencers and their talent agencies.  We were basically buying sponsorship invoices from influencers, so they could get paid sooner for sponsored work for brands. It took off. It grew legs really quickly and we sold in early 2022.” Peblo’s rapid growth and early acquisition was like “lightning in a bottle,” Kearney says now. “It’s rare enough that a start-up would scale that quickly and attract interest from a buyer,” he says. “It was good timing, a good value proposition. Sometimes things just work out.” Peblo may have taken off at lightning speed, but Kearney’s interest in technology goes right back to childhood. “One of my earliest memories is of my grandad’s Apple Macintosh computer. That was back in the early nineties. I was glued to the thing every time we visited and he ended up gifting it to me before I had even started primary school.  “I must have been about four and I still remember the excitement. Since then, I’ve been a bit of an early adopter of new technology. I love trying new things. Technology has always been a big part of my life.” Now, with Numra’s seed funding round secured, Kearney has ambitious plans for the fledgling venture. “We’ll use the funding to accelerate customer acquisition in the US and to invest further in product development,” he says. “Our main target market will be the finance teams in mid-sized organisations. These teams often have too much work and too few heads. They are the most likely to recognise, and benefit from, this kind of AI-enabled workflow automation from the get-go.” For Chartered Accountants fearful that the advent of such automated financial platforms could upend the profession, Kearney says the critical role the profession plays across all sectors will not be replaced. Rather, it will evolve. “The data entry, the document processing and the ‘number-crunching’ is going to go away. AI can do all of that better than we can,” he says. “AI is very good at doing a lot of the time-consuming work people don’t tend to enjoy and that is a positive for Chartered Accountants who can instead start to focus on more valuable strategic work. “Ultimately, I think we can expect to see the day-to-day work of Chartered Accountants move away from ‘the doing’ and more towards orchestrating and reviewing.”

Artificial intelligence is ushering in a new era of tech-enabled efficiency in many sectors, but its widespread adoption also throws up ethical dilemmas. Dr Susan McKeever digs into the details Dr. Susan McKeever is Head of Discipline for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (AI) at Technological University Dublin’s School of Computer Science. Here, McKeever talks to Accountancy Ireland about the benefits AI is bringing to sectors reliant on data and how regulators, Chartered Accountants and other professions must ensure its ethical adoption as it continues to evolve at a rapid pace. How is the emergence of AI impacting the world of accounting and other professions and sectors? Any profession, function or industry reliant on large amounts of data and repetitive data-related tasks traditionally carried out by people will be impacted by the advent of AI, if they are not being impacted already. These repetitive tasks might involve data entry, data assessment and the generation of reports and correspondence based on this data. AI is very “friendly” to taking over these kinds of tasks. It is really good at getting to grips with a lot of data, interpreting and analysing this data and generating knowledge from it.  The medical sector is one example of an AI-friendly sector, as is the legal sector and insurance. Accountancy is, in a sense, data-driven, but uses a very specific kind of data that needs to be assessed and interpreted, so it is quite specialist.  You can train AI to do simple, repetitive, data-related tasks in accounting. It won’t get tired and it won’t forget what it has already learned.  You can continue to re-train AI as the world moves along, or as the situation changes, and it will continue to build on its existing knowledge and become more and more intelligent. People are excited about the emergence of AI, but also fearful – is this fear well-founded? One of the fears surrounding AI is the general concept that it will “take over” in certain fields. I do believe that the widespread uptake of AI across industries will displace certain kinds of repetitive jobs further down the value chain – the kind of roles that can easily be automated.  The silver lining – and I do truly believe this – is that, as a result, we will see an uptick in higher-value roles. If you take accountancy, we will likely see a shift away from the very granular, detail-driven examination of individual transactions, for example.  Instead, with AI gathering and analysing this data, the accountant will be able to focus on higher-value work, spotting interesting patterns or anomalies of immediate value to their organisation. My advice to accountants, as with all professions, is to go with it. AI is here to stay.  ChatGPT really seeded the concept of AI in the public imagination. It is just one of the larger language models out there, but it just happens to be the one that has really landed in the public consciousness. You have all sorts of people already using ChatGPT to write letters, draft CVs and so on. Change is inevitable. The widespread use of AI is inevitable. My advice to all professionals is to adapt and prepare. Re-train or upskill if you need to. Try not to resist it too much.  What else should we be concerned about when it comes to the widespread adoption of AI? There is a fear out there that AI will start to make decisions we, as humans, used to own.  What is really important here – and this needs to be enshrined in legislation – is that, at all times, humans must be responsible for any decisions made.  So, while AI may be by your side, acting as an “intelligent” support to you in your work as an accountant, you – the human – must always be responsible for any decisions made.  Once you move away from this principle, you enter problematic territory. AI must be accountable to humans. People must maintain ownership of any and all decisions made, always. We train AI based on existing data and data sets – does this carry its own risk? In AI, machine learning models are trained using previous examples. This subset of AI uses algorithms to interpret large amounts of data. It learns from experience. So, if you use a machine learning model to train an AI algorithm to recognise suspicious transactions, for example, you might give it a dataset of 1,000 transactions in which 100 are suspicious. The model will start to figure out the pattern of what makes a transaction suspicious where a human might not have been able to decipher the “rules” underpinning these suspicious transactions.  If you train your AI algorithm based on 1,000 transactions, it might get a certain level of detail. If you up this training to a larger dataset comprising 100,000 examples, your AI algorithm will start to get really good at recognising the patterns in suspicious transactions.  One issue with this kind of machine learning is bias. If you are training your AI algorithm on what has gone before, you are also embedding biases that have existed over time. You are enshrining the world as it is, or was, into the trained examples you use. You have to be very careful that you do this well.  Already, we have seen how the use of AI-driven CV evaluation systems has brought bias to the hiring process based on race, gender, age and other factors. It is something we need to be very aware of. Are we doing enough to regulate and legislate for the safe and ethical use of AI now and in the future? The effective regulation of AI is something I feel very strongly about. This technology, like so many others, is already shaping our society and will continue to do so in the future. Our legislation is lagging behind the rapid evolution and deployment of AI in Ireland and across the world. We are behind the wave, and this is a problem. In the European Union, the Digital Service Act came into full effect in February and the Artificial Intelligence Act is also coming down the line. Its aim is to ensure that AI systems placed on the European market, and used in the EU, are safe and respect fundamental rights and EU values. These regulations are welcome, but their introduction is too slow. It is not keeping pace with AI. Our legislators are falling behind, and this has to be addressed. Otherwise, we could be looking at a society that is framed by technology instead of the democratic and legislative code that should prevail. This is not to paint an entirely negative picture. AI can be used for so much good. There is so much to be positive about in this extraordinary technology. It is up to us to make sure that it is used for good, however, and that the necessary controls are in place to make sure that we continue to have the kind of society we want. To do this, the legislation needs to get in front of the technology, and this is something we need to prioritise today. 

Artificial intelligence has the potential to usher in a bright new era for Chartered Accountants who could enjoy an elevated role in business and finance Having recently closed a €60 million funding round, AccountsIQ founder and Chief Executive Tony Connolly, FCA, is preparing for significant investment in artificial intelligence (AI), which will, he says, allow the Dublin-headquartered tech venture to “shape the finance function of the future.” The Series C funding from Axiom Equity, a London-based growth fund, has come at the “perfect inflection point” for AccountsIQ, Connolly says. “We’ve just hit a critical milestone with over 1,000 customers and users in 80 countries and now we’re poised to take AccountsIQ to the next level,” he says. The investment will allow AccountsIQ to leverage AI tools into practical, easy-to-adopt services for finance teams, Connolly says. The firm will also use the funding to double its headcount to 200 people in Ireland and other markets. It is an exciting time for AccountsIQ, which was launched in 2004 by Connolly, with founding members Darren Donohue and Gavin McGahey on board. By that time, Connolly had qualified as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG and then studied systems analysis and design at Trinity College Dublin. It was while working in practice consulting, designing complex finance systems for large organisations, that he spotted a gap in the market and decided to set up his own company, bringing Donohue and McGahey on board as his first employees. AccountsIQ is a financial management system (FMS) for international businesses operating across multiple locations and entities. The platform handles complex financial processes, such as multi-currency consolidation, multi-level approvals and third-party integrations while also automating daily processes for finance teams.  Looking beyond the hype The emergence of the web in the early 2000s was the catalyst for the business and Connolly sees similar potential in the emergence of AI and its scope to support and enhance the finance function of today. “I remember the advent of ‘the cloud’ and knowing it would be the future for AccountsIQ. The challenge then was convincing accountants that taking their data off-premises and putting it online would be safe and secure, but that has completely changed in the years since,” he says. “Now with AI, we’re seeing a lot of hype and some fear, but we’ve already been on a long journey ourselves with machine learning and automation, so we don’t see AI in 2024 as being ‘revolutionary’. “We view it today as a catalyst for the further development of automation and machine learning and as a digital assistant we can use to help make the work of finance teams easier. I think that is really what it means for Chartered Accountants generally.  “It won’t be replacing them. It will just take the drudgery out of processing and recording transactions and managing things like controls and reconciliations. “That just means that Chartered Accountants and finance teams will have more time to focus on helping to drive their business or organisation forward with access to the right tools and information.”                                                         AI and financial reporting Research released in May by KPMG found that AI is already in widespread use in financial reporting in Ireland, with close to two-thirds (63%) of the financial reporting executives and board members surveyed in Irish companies reporting that they were already using or piloting the technology. AI in financial reporting and audit: navigating the new era surveyed financial reporting executives and board members at 1,800 companies globally, including close to 100 in Ireland. Among Irish respondents, AI is viewed as a “game-changer,” the research found, with two-thirds reporting that their board had already developed a vision or strategy for AI adoption. “The adoption of AI today, and its impact tomorrow, is very much on the agenda at board level among the Irish companies we surveyed and their global counterparts,” Niall Savage, National Head of Audit Markets with KPMG in Ireland, says. The major focus currently is on identifying the most advantageous AI use cases. “Right now, the emphasis is on learning to understand AI, its capabilities, its limitations, the opportunities it may bring and, indeed, the potential threats,” Savage explains. “I was heartened to see in our findings that companies are not focusing solely on AI’s potential to cut costs. That would be a mistake, so it’s encouraging to see that they are instead thinking about identifying the opportunities.” As a technology that is still in its infancy, commercially speaking, AI has scope to encompass much greater capabilities in the future with potential applications of value to companies and their finance teams. “The tools out there and available for use right now – the likes of ChatGPT – are already showing us the great work AI can do in collating and interpreting data from multiple sources to answer our questions in real-time,” Savage says. “This is just scratching the surface, however. What businesses are focusing on now is how they can bring all the relevant data together to enable AI to facilitate much faster strategic decision-making in the future – to spot trends, opportunities, anomalies and potential risks, for example.” For Chartered Accountants and the wider finance team, the upshot will be change – change in the way they work, their capability and their role in the workplace. “For accountants in the future, there will be less need for research, bringing data together and writing up reports – AI will be able to do all of that far more efficiently,” Savage says. “In its place, accountants will have more time to focus on more meaningful work. They will not be under as much pressure to use their time to ‘get the numbers right’. “They will be even more involved in key decisions. They will have even more opportunities to have a place at the top table. The profession could change radically and, I think, very positively.” Upskilling for the AI world To benefit from this transition, Chartered Accountants will need to upskill and align their knowledge and experience with AI, a technology that has the potential to elevate their role in business and finance. “It’s a bit like the rise of Microsoft Excel in the nineties. At that time, even the finest technical accountants had to learn to use this technology – and learn to use it well and use it quickly. AI is the same,” Savage says.  “There will always be the need for the accountant to verify the information AI is giving them and, ultimately, to make the decisions. The need to exercise caution, judgement and governance will always be the remit of the accountant, even as AI evolves into the future.”   He continues: “The top use case identified by respondents in our survey was AI’s potential to provide critical, real-time information that can then be interpreted to deliver tangible benefits – for businesses, this might mean understanding where to allocate capital, where to invest or where they might have a problem. “This will really put Chartered Accountants and Chief Financial Officers across the globe at the coalface of business commercially. We will be the people who interpret the data to bring real value to the organisation. We will continue to be custodians as we are today, but with much more powerful tools at our disposal.” Chartered Accountants Ireland Chartered Accountants Ireland welcomes the advance of AI and sees it as a significant opportunity for the profession.  With every advance in technology over the course of the Institute’s 136-year history, the profession has adapted.  “The pace and advancement of AI is an aid to the accountant who can entrust the tools to perform functions that previously required manual input,” says Ian Browne, Director of Education at Chartered Accountants Ireland.  “In this way, we see the advancements in AI as an enabler for new economic activities for the profession.” Since 2017, the Institute’s Education Department has been reforming the educational syllabus for its primary qualification, with the introduction of principles-based teaching materials in several areas. This work has spanned data analytics, data visualisation, robotic process automation, blockchain, cryptocurrency, sustainability – and AI.  Launched in 2019, the evolved syllabus reflects the lived experience of the accountant in practice and industry, Browne says.  Two years ago, the Education Department formalised the findings of a major research project. Project Athena proposed to teach the latest advances in technology and emerging accounting practice, while incorporating emerging trends in accountancy, using a blend of the most up to date technology and teaching pedagogy. “The Education Department has been preparing the output of Project Athena with the launch of a new multi-disciplinary qualification beginning in September 2025,” explains Browne. “Part of the remit of the Education Department is to ensure that we keep abreast of technological developments, assess their future value and determine how they will affect the lived experience of a Chartered Accountant.  “Only then do we consider when to add the underlying principles of these advancements to the Chartered Accountant qualification. It can be easy to get carried away by the hype cycle attached to new developments in technology, but we only add new elements to syllabi that can meaningfully add tangible value to our students and economic value to the profession.” AI and attracting younger candidates In June, Belfast-based RBCA announced a £50,000 investment in AI. Partnering with Xero, the Chartered Accountancy firm will use the technology to reduce manual tasks and administration, automate bookkeeping and generate reports and forecasts. RBCA founder Ross Boyd believes the investment will allow his team of 20 to focus more on servicing and consulting with existing clients, while also building new business relationships. “When used correctly, I think AI can transform the professional services sector for the better by removing the focus on repetitive, routine tasks, such as data entry and document processing. It can free up employees to focus more on complex and relationship-led tasks,” Boyd explains. However, while AI can learn from data and make predictions, it will “never replace the value of human judgement,” Boyd says. “Chartered Accountants will need to respond to AI, and its increasingly prevalent place in our work, by adapting, training and upskilling. There is no way around that, as far as I can see, but AI will not replace the role of the Chartered Accountant. “It may remove the burden of repetitive and time-consuming activities for Chartered Accountants, giving us more capacity to tackle the challenges only the human condition can master, but I cannot see it replacing what we do.” Boyd believes the emergence and uptake of technologies such as AI in the profession may even help to attract younger candidates in the future. “At the end of the day, we live in a technologically minded world, so it’s time to accept new opportunities,” he says. A survey of 2,000 accountants in the UK carried out last year by Intuit QuickBooks found that 92 percent had experienced hiring challenges.  “We have to provide the right learning environment for young people who have grown up using technology to do tasks and solve tasks. Gen Z, now aged up to 26, are becoming more present in the workforce and will account for 27 percent by 2025,” Boyd says. “To continue to attract young people to accounting, I think it’s important that we harness the benefits of technology to position the role – not as monotonous and gruelling – but as interesting, varied and strategic. That is where AI comes in.” Elevated role for Chartered Accountants Brian O’Malley, Senior Manager, Private Client Services – Tax and Law, at EY Ireland, agrees that AI will bring a more strategic, higher value focus to the role of the Chartered Accountant. “Generative AI (GenAI), in particular, is a revolutionary tool for the accounting profession that has the potential to boost productivity, increase revenue and manage risk,” O’Malley says. “As GenAI becomes more prevalent in the years ahead, I think we will see a shift in the role of the ‘traditional’ accountant as the technology assists more and more with quantitative and routine tasks. “We will instead be freed up to spend more time on qualitative work requiring a focus on communication, leadership and ethical decision-making skills.” Accountants who embrace AI by developing the necessary skills to manage and interpret the output of AI systems will be well-positioned to offer greater value.  “Navigating the intricacies of AI outputs responsibly and ensuring that AI-generated insights align with overall business objectives and regulatory requirements, will become a key aspect of our role,” O’Malley says. EY has invested more than €1.3 billion in AI globally, encompassing technology and services, and last year launched EYQ, its own large language model. “I use EYQ myself regularly to assist with administrative tasks and carry out research safely and securely,” says O’Malley, who is based at the firm’s Southeastern headquarters in Waterford city. “AI has brought a sense of excitement to the Southeast in that both large multinationals and SMEs are keen to explore it and ‘unlock its power’ to enhance their everyday business operations,” he says. “This was evident at our recent EY Waterford Generative AI event, which was aimed at helping our local business community to better understand how they can implement it.  “The event was attended by many local businesses, demonstrating the strong interest in the technology and its potential.” This eagerness to harness AI among businesses in Ireland will only benefit Chartered Accountants in the future, O’Malley believes. “If you consider the world in which we work, it is fast-paced and constantly changing, especially from a regulatory perspective. AI has the potential to provide us with the necessary resources to thrive in the modern business world.  “It can help Chartered Accountants to meet our clients’ changing needs and act as strategic partners to businesses as they seek to capitalise on opportunities.  “By effectively harnessing  AI, I think many Chartered Accountants will see their role expand beyond financial statements to encompass that of trusted advisor, strategist and business solution provider.” 

Global regulations are increasingly driving a focus on sustainability reporting, requiring companies to disclose their environmental, social and governance practices, writes Miriam Donald When I became an accountant nearly 20 years ago, the intersection of business and sustainability was very different to what it has become today. I remember a university course touching on corporate social responsibility (CSR), but with more of an ethical and community lens than an environmental focus. At that time, CSR was positioned as something that was “nice to do”. Today, the landscape has changed considerably. Sustainability is becoming more and more intertwined with how businesses operate. This shift is being driven not just by voluntary sustainability reporting, but also increasingly by evolving regulatory frameworks. This evolution comes down to demand from international investors who understand that environmental risks can have a significant impact on the financial sustainability of businesses. This means that it is now necessary to upskill and find out what is required in your jurisdiction and report as needed. The International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation has had a busy few years. Its International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) released its first two sustainability standards in June 2023. The foundation has also been working hard to consolidate Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) standards and Integrated Reporting Framework and Climate Disclosure Standards Board into the organisation while also building interoperability with the Global Reporting Initiative and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). This consolidation drive is part of the IFRS Foundation’s goal to create one set of global standards with the aim of facilitating easy comparability of sustainability disclosures globally. Despite these efforts, reporting obligations still differ across the world. It is useful, then, to look to countries like New Zealand and Australia and draw inspiration from their sustainability reporting efforts. New Zealand was one of the first countries to legislate mandatory climate-related disclosures for about 200 businesses from 1 January 2023. These disclosure standards were developed by New Zealand’s External Reporting Board. The first 34 of these entities have now published their first climate statements, which can be viewed on New Zealand’s Companies Office register. These disclosures are mainly qualitative but encourage company boards to think differently about their strategy, with a newfound focus on how climate change might affect their operations and value chains. One of the main purposes of this reporting is to ensure that the effects of climate change are routinely considered in business, investment, lending and insurance underwriting decisions. The hope is that, by bringing these effects to the forefront of board members’ minds, more climate-friendly decisions might be made in the future. Across the Tasman, Australia is also mandating climate-related disclosures for a much broader group of entities, with legislation now before parliament at the time of writing. The Australian Accounting Standards Board is developing these standards, which are expected to be closely aligned to the ISSB standards on climate-related disclosures. Reporting periods for the first entities will begin from 1 January 2025. With new regulations come opportunities. For reporting entities, responsibility for this reporting is increasingly sitting with their finance functions. They also need to be thinking strategically beyond compliance, however, to better respond to the risks and opportunities of climate-related matters. These disclosures will also be assured, and accounting practices will need to build their knowledge in this new and evolving area. As the driving force behind these disclosures and jurisdictions, the IFRS is signalling that while climate is the first focus area for disclosures, it is not the end game. Finding out what is coming down the track for your business will be important. Miriam Donald is Lower North Island Regional Manager with Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand

Attracting top graduate talent requires a strategic recruitment plan focused on strong employer branding, fostering internal relationships and academic partnerships, explains Mary Cloonan In today’s highly competitive job market, attracting top graduate talent is more challenging than ever. With a plethora of career opportunities at their fingertips, graduates seek firms that stand out through their values, culture and development opportunities. Organisations need a strategic and well-structured recruitment plan to engage this year’s graduate cohort. This strategy should holistically focus on brand building, celebrating the success of current graduates, nurturing strong internal relationships, establishing collaborations with academic institutions and communicating the recruitment process clearly and transparently. Building a compelling employer brand To attract top graduates, it is important that your organisation’s brand offers them what they are looking for in an employer. There are three elements to focus on in your employer brand: Corporate identity and values: Graduates gravitate towards firms that profess clear values and live by them. Firms must communicate their core values effectively, emphasising social responsibility, sustainability and ethical practices to resonate deeply with potential candidates. Employee testimonials and success stories: Showcasing current graduates’ real-life success stories of through social media, blogs and video testimonials can powerfully augment a firm’s brand. These narratives provide authentic proof of the professional growth and development facilitated by your company, making it an attractive place for ambitious graduates to start their careers. Interactive engagement: Proactive engagement through webinars, virtual career fairs and interactive Q&A sessions enables potential recruits to gain insights into the company’s culture and employee experiences. This level of interaction can significantly boost a firm’s appeal, drawing in candidates who are a good cultural and ethical fit. Fostering strong internal relationships Creating an environment that promotes growth and development is crucial in maintaining a dynamic and supportive workplace. This is achieved by understanding and responding to the current team’s needs and ambitions by: Mentorship and comprehensive training: By implementing robust mentorship programs and offering comprehensive technical and soft skills training, companies can equip graduates with the necessary tools to succeed and integrate seamlessly into the professional environment. Listening to learn: Regular feedback sessions help cultivate a culture of openness and ongoing development, which can be used to tailor training programs and career development initiatives to suit individual and organisational goals. Recognition and advancement opportunities: Publicly acknowledging and rewarding graduates’ achievements helps to foster a motivational workplace atmosphere and demonstrates the firm’s commitment to investing in its employees’ success. Collaborating with academic institutions Forming strategic alliances with universities and colleges is essential to accessing emerging talent and enhancing brand visibility among students. Collaborations that offer students practical experience and internship opportunities allow companies to assess potential employees in real-world contexts, benefiting both students and employers. By participating in educational programs and delivering workshops, companies provide valuable industry insights and help demystify the professional world for students, preparing them effectively for their future careers. Firms contributing their expertise to academic curricula ensure that the education provided is relevant and up to date, enhancing graduates’ employability and ensuring they are well-prepared for their professional journey. Transparently communicating the recruitment process Clear and proactive communication about the recruitment process is crucial for setting correct expectations and creating a positive candidate experience. The firm’s careers page should clearly detail each step of the recruitment process, from application to selection, explaining it and reducing applicant anxiety. A comprehensive FAQ section, along with supportive materials such as year-by-year training breakdowns and process videos, provides candidates with all the necessary information to navigate the application procedure confidently. Finally, videos, photography and tagged posts featuring current graduates talking about their experiences can give insights into the day-to-day realities of working at the firm and showcase the vibrant community and dynamic work environment. A proactive and transparent recruitment strategy is paramount in these competitive times. By effectively building a robust brand, fostering strong internal relationships, empowering graduates, forming educational partnerships and clearly articulating and showcasing the recruitment journey, firms can attract, engage and retain top talent, paving the way for sustained success. Mary Cloonan is the founder of Marketing Clever

Managing a new generation of workers and hybrid working effectively requires regular performance conversations, clear direction and strategic alignment with business goals, writes Seán McLoughney A new generation of workers requires a different approach to managing performance. Younger employees need and expect more frequent conversations about their performance and want clarity and direction in terms of their work and career progression. Another issue facing managers is how best to manage working from home. The debate over hybrid working arrangements is ongoing, but there is a lot of research on the benefits and pitfalls of remote working. While managers may prefer that their team works in the office, people often prefer the flexibility of working from home at least two days a week. This presents a problem when it comes to managing performance, however. Managers tend to manage performance based on what they see and hear and their interactions with their team. There is a lack of visibility when people work from home. This can lead to people feeling that their efforts are not being recognised and valued by management. Here are simple steps managers can take to overcome these issues. Give time and support Show you care about your team by giving them your time and real support. Setting aside at least one hour once a quarter to focus on performance and career progression is the minimum that talented people expect. This investment in your team is important in retaining your best people. On average, people will give you 1,900 hours of their time per year. How much one-to-one time do you give them as their manager? Regular performance conversations are about more than just discussing people’s key targets and objectives. These conversations also allow you to check in with people who work from home and keep up to date with what they are working on. Regular and meaningful conversations and feedback underpin a high-performance culture. Discuss the business plan Give context to your team’s performance by discussing your organisation’s business plan. Your role is to translate the business strategy at its highest level into what it means for the team and each individual within it. People are more engaged when they know that their work matters. Discussing the business plan will show them how they can make a positive contribution to the business. At a team meeting, outline the key areas of the plan and how it impacts the team. Describe what success looks like by the end of the year. Ask the team what they think needs to happen to achieve these expected results. You can also encourage everyone to set goals for themselves based on this discussion. This will increase personal responsibility by fostering a sense of ownership for their performance. Discuss strategy Always explain the business reason when goals change. Surviving in a dynamic business environment requires people to be flexible and agile because companies need to adapt to market conditions. Ensure that everyone’s priorities are aligned with current team goals to stay on top of your ever-changing demands. This will encourage your team to focus on what matters to your business in the present moment rather than spending time working on goals set at the start of the year, which are now outdated. Regular performance conversations will bring clarity and direction to your team. They provide managers with a great platform to communicate expectation levels and ensure that their efforts are focused on the current priorities that matter. Show real support If the achievement of your business goals is dependent on how you manage your team and new team members, then it is important to show real support. Set aside regular time for meaningful performance conversations regardless of where your team members are located, bring context to their efforts and ensure everyone is focused on current priorities. Seán McLoughney is the founder of LearningCurve and author of Time Management, Meaningful Performance Reviews and Slave to a Job, Master of your Career, all published by Chartered Accountants Ireland

Tax measures to be introduced in Budget 2025 must not add to the already heavy compliance burden facing SMEs and promote greater investment in domestic business. Kim Doyle explains why The Irish economy needs both domestic direct investment (DDI) and foreign direct investment (FDI) to grow and diversify while supporting a sustainable tax base. According to the CSO Business in Ireland 2021 report, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) accounted for 99.8 percent of all businesses and over 69 percent of persons employed in Ireland. This demonstrates the vital role SMEs play, acting as the “engine room” of the Irish economy. While there are numerous forces already driving a successful entrepreneurial landscape in Ireland – such as a skilled workforce, digitalisation and technological advances – our tax system is critical and should act coherently to drive domestic investment and support a strong SME ecosystem. Additional tax measures should be implemented to build stronger DDI and provide an attractive entrepreneurial landscape for SME growth and scale-up. Now is the time. Budget 2025 is a couple of months away. New tax policies and changes to current tax measures may be announced on budget day. I hope the following tax measures for SMEs are included. Capital gains tax retirement relief Age limits on retirement relief of €10 million for individuals aged between 55 years and 69 years and €3 million for individuals from 70 years, where the disposal is within the family and made on or after 1 January 2025. These limits will deters the transfer of family businesses during the lifetime of an entrepreneur and presents problems in the transfer of a family business to the next generation. While a business may be valuable and exceed these limits, there may not be liquid funds to discharge a tax liability arising on a transfer of that business. This would be for the benefit and longevity of the business. This may delay family successions until such time that the transfer occurs as part of an inheritance. Such an outcome is counterproductive, considering that the purpose and intent of retirement relief is to facilitate transfers of businesses to the next generation at an optimum time for the business rather than on the death of the owner. Stamp duty relief Currently, relief from CGT (e.g. retirement relief, revised entrepreneur relief) and Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT) – e.g. business relief – may apply to the passing of a business to the next generation. Such transfers often include commercial property. There is no relief for the 7.5 percent stamp duty charge arising on the transfer of the property, however. Consanguinity relief should be extended to encourage and support lifetime transfers of business property to the next generation. Angel investor relief Angel investor relief could be simplified and conditions eased to provide the intended benefits to innovative SMEs. The reduced CGT rate of 16 percent (or 18 percent in the case of investment through a partnership) for angel investment in innovative start-ups is a positive measure and should open the door to much-needed investment. This may help the sector to grow and foster entrepreneurship in Ireland. Numerous conditions must be satisfied to qualify for this relief, however, and there are penalties for getting it wrong. Practically, this means this relief may be difficult to avail of and the flow of benefits to innovative SMEs may be hampered. The relief needs to be simplified and the conditions made less onerous in order for this relief to provide the intended benefits to innovative start-ups and their investors. Decarbonisation and digitalisation New decarbonisation digitalisation credits would assist in addressing the reality that SMEs are working to keep up to speed with mega trends in both areas. They may be doing this either by researching, developing and delivering products to address the impact of these trends or by implementing relevant technologies in the business. This could be modelled on the research and development (R&D) tax credit regime, such that a new decarbonisation credit would support businesses seeking to lower carbon emissions and accelerate the decarbonisation process.   Similarly, a new digitalisation tax credit could support businesses with their digital transformation. Simplification A review of the statutory corporation tax return (Form CT1) and the Irish tax legislation is needed.   The Form CT1 has become cumbersome in recent years, mainly due to the volume of significant tax policy changes requiring additions to Form CT1. There is an opportunity to simplify the Form CT1 and ease the administrative burden, particularly for SMEs not within scope of recent tax policy changes driven by international tax reform.   The establishment and ongoing work of the  Tax Administration Liaison Committee Sub-Committee on the Simplification and Modernisation of Business Reliefs for SMEs is an important forum for stakeholders to work together to identify opportunities to simplify and modernise the administration of business supports. Now, though, the government must review other areas of the Irish tax system. Irish tax legislation, particularly the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, should be reviewed with a view to simplification as a matter of priority. The SME Test The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment’s SME Test is to help policymakers consider the potential impact of any new legislation or regulation in terms of the regulatory burden it places on SMEs. The SME Test should support the design of tax policies that reflect less stringent compliance requirements for SMEs. It is vital that new tax policies do not add to the already heavy compliance burden facing SMES, while also providing support, opportunities for growth and promoting greater domestic investment. Kim Doyle is Director of Tax Policy and Technical Services at Deloitte

As Ireland enters its third year of gender pay gap reporting, Andrew Egan and Aoife Newton outline legislative updates, bonus gap impacts and new reporting requirements As many employers in Ireland commence their third year of gender pay gap reporting, it is essential to understand the legislative changes and analyse bonus trends following the introduction of the Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021, and identify important changes for employers to note as they begin this year’s gender pay gap reporting cycle. Bonus gap analysis A fundamental feature of the Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021 reporting requirements relates to bonus gap calculations. These calculations are used to understand the disparity in bonus payments between genders within an organisation. Bonus payments can also considerably impact total remuneration (as bonus pay is built into ordinary pay results), affecting the overall pay gap within an organisation. As a result, the observation of a large bonus gap is often reflected in the overall pay gap. Pay gap trends More than 1,000 gender pay reports from 2022 and 2023 have been analysed by KPMG’s data team to identify key trends in Ireland across different industries: From 2022 to 2023, the average bonus gap in Ireland rose by 1.5 percent, up from 16.5 percent to 18 percent. In 2023, 87 percent of the employers analysed reported a bonus pay gap in favour of men. The most common reason cited by employers for their pay gap related to a higher proportion of men occupying senior roles. The bonus gaps are biggest in the insurance, real estate and construction, financial services and professional services industries. Senior roles are typically associated with higher bonus remuneration. We expect bonus and pay gaps to persist if women remain underrepresented at senior levels. Correctly determining the cause of an employer’s gender pay gap is critical in addressing the problem and improving the gap in future reporting cycles. We are seeing employers having to more clearly define their bonus pay models to ensure greater transparency and consistency of treatment of men and women to reduce or eliminate bonus pay gaps, which in turn will positively impact their overall gender pay gap. Gender Pay Gap Reporting in 2024 In late May 2024, the Employment Equality Act 1998 (Section 20A) (Gender Pay Gap Information) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (the 2024 Regulations) were introduced. Following this, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth updated its Gender Pay Gap FAQs for employers document (the FAQs) and the associated Guidance Note document. The 2024 Regulations amend the original Employment Equality Act 1998 (Section 20A) (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2022 (the 2022 Regulations) to reflect the obligation of relevant employers with over 150 employees to report on their gender pay gap in 2024. This reporting threshold will expand to those with over 50 employees in 2025. The 2024 Regulations also provided an update on the definition of ‘basic pay’ to include payment when an employee is on certain types of statutory leave (adoptive leave, maternity leave, parents leave (or transferred parents leave) paternity leave (or transferred paternity leave), entitling them to a corresponding social welfare benefit. Employees entitled to the relevant benefit for each of these types of leave under the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 shall now have these payments included as a component of their basic pay calculations. Employers should incorporate salary top-ups to employees on statutory leave as listed above when calculating employees’ pay. The FAQs guides employers who do not pay a top-up to employees to ‘report on the benefit the employee is paid where eligible.’ Online reporting We understand that the development of an online reporting system is underway. We expect this will consist of a central portal where all employer data will be uploaded. While we think it is unlikely this will be in place for 2024 reporting, we are awaiting further details on its implementation and whether its operation will move the reporting deadline from December to November in future years. This change would result in employers having five months from their June snapshot date to report on their gender pay gap, instead of the current six-month period. Gender pay gap and shares One of the most significant changes brought about by the 2024 Regulations was the shift in the approach to how share options and interests in shares are treated for gender pay gap calculations. After the 2022 Regulations were introduced, many employers struggled with the application of these elements as a part of bonus remuneration calculations. Share options and interests in shares are now included in the benefit-in-kind calculations rather than under bonus remuneration. The definition of benefit-in-kind now includes “any non-cash benefit of an estimated monetary value and, for the purposes of these regulations, includes share options and interests in shares.” Shares (distinct from share options and interests in shares) are still part of bonus pay and, as such, the value of shares issued during the reporting period should be included in bonus remuneration calculations. Andrew Egan is Director at KPMG and Aoife Newton is Director at KPMG Law

Geraldine Gallagher explains the challenges for people returning to work following maternity leave, and how HR managers and leaders can best support these employees When a person returns to work following maternity leave, everyone in the workplace may see her as the same person who went on maternity leave. However, she is no longer that same person, due to her new identity – a working parent with competing responsibilities. She may not know quite who she is anymore and this is part of the reason that transitioning back to work is more challenging for working parents than managers usually realise. However, we can do a lot about making it better. Supporting women returning to work following maternity leave is not just a matter of ‘the right thing to do’. It impacts the bottom line, makes good business sense and is a strategic opportunity for employers. Maternity leave is a short period in a woman’s overall career, which presents organisations with an opportunity to implement supportive policies and practices to retain top talent, enhance diversity, boost employee engagement and drive overall business success. Embracing these opportunities creates a win-win situation for employees and employers, leading to a more dynamic, inclusive and productive workplace. The impact of maternity leave HR managers and leaders need to be aware of the impact going on maternity leave and returning can have on women. By not being fully aware of the transition your employees are going through, you miss the opportunity to fully engage, retain and support them. There are several considerations you should be aware of for your returning employees. When the individual has returned, please remember they are still navigating a personal transition; not just physically but emotionally and psychologically. Re-assure them that what they are feeling is normal and it doesn’t change how you see them. The individual now has a new identity as a working parent. For first-time parents, this is a new identity to navigate. For parents who have expanded their family, they also have the new identity of a working parent to several children, which also comes with additional responsibility. The individual may also be experiencing a crisis of confidence because of being out of the workplace for a period. When they return, it will take time for the individual to gain a sense of belonging and to re-build their confidence. Transition into and out of maternity leave Performance reviews and the process of engaging with reviews while the individual is on maternity leave; Promotion opportunities while on maternity leave, and who will communicate these to the individual; Further career opportunities; How the individual prefers to keep up to date with company communications while on maternity leave; and The company policies and benefits/services available to them now, while on maternity leave and when they return, such as sleep consultants, breastfeeding support and maternity transition coaching support. When a member of staff is returning from maternity leave, the lines of communication should remain open to discuss: What the individual may need to ease their transition back. For example, some employers offer a phased return or flexibility. Ensure everything the individual needs has been set up and ready for their return, including a laptop, office access, log-in details, new system user set-up and system training. Be open and clear on the individual’s role and their objectives. This prevents the individual from questioning their place in the workplace. Re-boarding process: It can be useful to assign a “buddy” during this stage to support the individual both emotionally (especially if their buddy is a working parent) and administratively, such as helping them get up to speed with new systems or processes. Offer maternity transition workshops or one-to-one maternity transition coaching support with an expert who can guide and support them. Employers should consider Keeping in Touch days to maintain connections and ease transitions for employees. Ultimately, embracing these opportunities benefits both employees and employers, fostering a supportive organisational culture. Geraldine Gallagher is a Leadership and Transition Coach at Inspire Coaching

Companies integrating tax disclosures into sustainability efforts face a complex transparency challenge. David McGee explains why Tax is becoming an increasingly important aspect of a company’s social responsibility and overall values. This is evident in its inclusion in sustainability reporting frameworks, such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). The trend towards integrating tax disclosures into sustainability efforts indicates that companies face a complex and ongoing challenge regarding tax transparency and sustainability. PwC’s 2024 Tax Transparency Report analysed the tax disclosures of all 20 companies listed on the main market of the Irish Stock Exchange (Euronext Dublin) to see how prepared they are for tax disclosures under the CSRD and how it affects their tax approach. Tax policy approach We found that companies primarily make tax disclosures through a tax strategy, also known as a company's approach to tax or tax policy. We discovered that 80 percent of companies mentioned tax in their broader sustainability reports, up 14 percent on last year. This indicates that companies recognise the importance of tax as an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metric in which their stakeholders are interested. Additionally, one more company reported on tax with reference to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) 207 standard compared to last year. However, few companies describe how their approach to tax links to their sustainability strategy. This may be due to simply not connecting the dots between tax and sustainability efforts. The CSRD is still in its relative infancy and, as such, the number of companies reporting a link between their tax and sustainability strategy is expected to rise in the years ahead. Broader implications Integrating economic and social impacts into tax strategy reflects an organisation’s commitment to considering the broader implications of its actions beyond mere financial gains, including its impact on communities and the environment. Here are some key steps businesses can take today: Engage the board: Increasing investor pressure on tax means tax transparency is now a board-level issue. It is essential for your board, tax function and ESG teams to fully engage with this issue and to align tax practices with sustainability strategy. Engage with your sustainability teams: Tax and sustainability teams should work closely to ensure that double materiality assessments carried out under the CSRD consider tax-related impact, risks and opportunities. This will contribute to informed decisions on the materiality of tax. Prioritise your tax strategy: Prioritise creating a formal tax strategy to guide disclosures and to control the narrative regarding your company’s tax practices and transparency efforts. Consider what, and to whom, you are reporting: Understand the material tax matters your stakeholders want to know about and why. Review your current disclosures to see if they align with stakeholder expectations and/or regulatory requirements. Consider clarity and context in communications to help your target audience understand what’s at stake. Establish optimal reporting framework: Choose a reporting framework that aligns with your company's values and stakeholder interests. If you are using an existing framework like GRI for sustainability, align your tax disclosures accordingly. Set up tax disclosure processes: Implement formal procedures and governance to uphold the integrity of both qualitative and quantitative tax disclosures. This helps to ensure accountability and consistency. David McGee is Environmental, Social and Governance Leader with PwC Ireland

Aoife Hughes outlines what life-work balance is and the steps you can take to break unhealthy habits and achieve equilibrium Life-work balance often feels unattainable as we have a lot of time competitors, all champing at the bit to claim time and energy from us. Life-work balance can be defined as a series of habit changes, powered by a permission mindset, vision, strategies and systems. The metric of success is time to invest into your self-care. Here, I outline some key steps you can take to achieve the ultimate life-work balance. Permission to embrace self-care First, build a permission mindset to invest time into your self-care. This is a term that often incurs frustration as we feel we ‘don’t have time’ to invest into self-care. Self-care can be seen across three lenses: physical, emotional and social health. They can be interlinked. Self-care is a strategy to manage emotional stress to ‘find calm in the chaos’. We all experience chaos in life. ‘Big’ chaos can involve life-changing events such as moving house, having children or falling ill. ‘Small’ chaos is the day-to-day stress from getting to work on time, deadlines and cooking dinner. Building boundaries and prioritisation are critical components to managing self-care and stress. To deal with the chaos, and care for yourself, identify when you are stressed by noticing when your heart starts racing and you can’t concentrate. Manage this by inhaling for four seconds, holding your breath for seven seconds and exhaling for eight seconds. Future vision Design your ideal life-work balance by visualising what you want. Then, define your core values. These values are the deeply-held beliefs that guide your behaviours and decisions. Building awareness about limiting beliefs that impact your thoughts, emotions and habits is key to implementing change. Creating your goals involves change – something that is not easy as we are not conditioned for change. We are wired to stay within our comfort zone as we don’t have any emotional connection with something that we have not yet experienced. To achieve your goals to reach your vision, you need to break old habits and start building new ones. You can do this by identifying one goal to help you reach your vision. Change one limiting belief to build or break a habit to reach your goal. And if you need extra help, the How to Run Your Home Like a Business Framework supports habit changes with strategies and systems to manage the physical and mental load that comes with home and family life to make room for self-care. Building strategies Building a strategy to manage your home and family life involves identifying your ‘partner in the business’. This can be your roommate, family member or life partner. Create a plan for the work associated with the home and family. Look at the projects and tasks that need to be completed on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual basis – just like how you would approach project management in the workplace. Next, look at your internal team, which could be your immediate family, and identify who your ‘village’ are. Leadership and asking for help are key to achieving success with implementing your strategies. Finally, identify what projects you would like to complete in your home. Manage when you would like to have these projects completed by creating a prioritisation plan. Systems management Now that you have your strategies and team in place, building systems and delegation are the final components. Identify what your key pain points are in terms of managing the physical and mental load that comes with home and family life. Give yourself permission to set a budget and invest in solving problems by expanding your team with external suppliers. For example, hiring a cleaner to manage weekly tasks will lighten the physical and mental load that comes with the home. The key cyclical tasks related to the home are cooking, laundry and dishes. They come with a heavy workload as they need to be managed regularly. Delegate ownership around these tasks by playing to the strengths of each partner. Delegation can be challenging. Working with the ‘progress over perfection’ mantra and accepting that tasks may be approached in a different manner, can help to overcome some of the challenges. Leverage planning tools and applications to streamline the systems you create to save time. Identify who owns a task that needs to be managed weekly, then create a system and schedule this task with an online calendar or app. Begin at the start Life-work balance is a fitness – you decide how far you want to take it. The hardest part is starting. Once you build your permission mindset and vision, however, you’ll soon find that the rest will fall into place. Aoife Hughes is the founder of FRAZZLE

Small businesses can sometimes feel left out of the conversation on neurodiversity, believing such initiatives are reserved solely for large businesses. Mark Scully explains why it is so important for small businesses to embrace neurodiversity and how  Neurodiversity is the idea that all people experience and interact with the world around them in many ways. There is no one "right" way of thinking, learning, and behaving. Under the neurodiversity lens, differences arising from neurodivergences, such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, autism or ADHD, are not viewed as deficits. Instead, these differences can give rise to certain strengths as well as unique perspectives. The importance of neurodiversity in the workplace has gained significant attention internationally and Irish workplaces are finally beginning to embrace this, such as Bank of Ireland’s roll out of its Neuroinclusion Policy. The commentary around neurodiversity initiatives can make it seem that they are the preserve of large organisations, however, leaving smaller businesses feeling that they don’t have the scale, resources or time to deal with such matters. Neurodiversity initiatives in small businesses Based on the most recent available CSO (2021) statistics, 69 percent of people are employed by SMEs. Importantly, almost 50 percent of all employees in Ireland are employed in businesses which employ less than 50 people, being small enterprises (22%) or micro enterprises (28%). So, it is paramount to emphasise the important role small businesses can play in embracing neurodiversity, as well as to challenge misconceptions and barriers that may stand in the way. “We will cross that bridge when we come to it” Some businesses may see neurodiversity as something to be dealt with in the future when they are forced to react to it, e.g. when a new employee is neurodivergent. However, businesses may be surprised by the likelihood that they may already have neurodivergent employees. Research published in the British Medical Bulletin in 2020 estimates between 15 percent and 20 percent of the population is neurodivergent, with the current view being that it is the higher end of this range. Taking this 20 percent rate, and by using the most recent European Disability Forum’s employment rate for disabled people in Ireland of 32.6 percent as a proxy (which likely understates the employment rate for all neurodivergent people, excluding autistic adults who face significant barriers to employment), we can estimate the probability of at least one neurodivergent person working in a business of a particular size. Based on those assumptions, we can arrive at conservative probability figures: In a business employing more than 10 people, there is a more than 50 percent chance that at least one person in that business is neurodivergent. In a smaller business with five people, this probability is 25 percent. In a larger business with 35 people, this probability increases to 90 percent. While rough, this calculation is intended to illustrate a key point: the probability that you already have a neurodivergent employee is much higher than you think. If your business is larger than a micro enterprise, there is no point waiting to cross the bridge – you likely already crossed it without even realising it. “We don’t have a budget for this.” If financial cost is significant constraint, there are numerous free or low/subsidised cost resources available to help: There are excellent not-for-profits/charities in Ireland that provide support, advice and resources on supporting adults with more common neurodivergences such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia and dyspraxia (DCD). Some organisations that were previously solely autism-focused have now broadened their remit to wider neurodiversity, such as Specialisterne Ireland. There are government-backed information and support programmes such as Employers for Change to assist employers in recruiting and retaining disabled employees. Specialisterne Ireland has recently collaborated with international organisations across the EU to roll out neurodiversity resources aimed at SMEs which are freely available to use. The Department of Social Protection will shortly roll out a revised scheme to replace the existing Reasonable Accommodation Fund and Disability Awareness Support Schemes. This revised scheme should hopefully make funding more easily available to subsidise costs of disability (including neurodiversity) awareness trainings for employers. Often, the most beneficial workplace adjustments for neurodivergent employees do not involve financial outlay. Instead, an understanding and willingness on the part of the employer to adopt a different way of working or communication to best suit that person’s cognitive style or sensory needs can be incredibly helpful. Any such adjustment depends entirely on what works for that individual and their needs but can include: flexible working arrangements; asynchronous communication to allow time to process information; being permitted to use noise cancelling headphones; taking movement breaks; being provided more prescriptive instructions to facilitate task breakdown; chunking work to minimise transitions, etc. But even where financial cost is involved for reasonable accommodations e.g. text-to-speech software, there are government supports available. “We don’t have the time for this.” Every business should embed diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, including neurodiversity, as part of its long-term strategy. This can involve reviewing the recruitment process, reviewing the physical environment for accessibility and updating policies and procedures. Smaller businesses can feel that a such an undertaking is beyond their capacity, however, and therefore avoid taking any steps at all. Inclusion is a continuing journey – there is no finish line. The key is to take one step and then another. Here are some small practical steps you can take today: Let your people know that neurodiversity is something you want the business to embrace. Invite them to provide feedback and help. Often, you will be surprised to find that people are more than willing to help, particularly where they or a family member is neurodivergent. Make your people aware. Online neurodiversity awareness trainings suitable for all employees generally range from 60 to 90 minutes in length. Train your leaders and managers. Typically, more in-depth neuro-inclusion training aimed at leadership and human resources range from two to three hours. It is important that neurodivergent employees have some way of making their voice heard, especially if they do not feel comfortable yet to share their neurodivergence. An anonymous survey to request feedback on neurodiversity in your workplace can be generated and circulated (via a third-party intermediary, if necessary, to ensure confidentiality and anonymity of feedback). Conclusion Neurodiversity is not just the domain of large businesses and multinationals – small businesses must readily embark on the neuro-inclusion journey if we are going to foster an inclusive workplace for all employees in Ireland. Mark Scully ACA is the founder of Braver Coaching and Consulting, an executive coaching and neurodiversity consultancy.

Sean Nolan and Joe Struble outline how the introduction of the new Corporate Transparency Act will impact Irish companies operating in the US Irish companies with business ties to the United States are now subject to new regulatory requirements under the US Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) 2021, which took effect on 1 January this year. This new legislation imposes stringent reporting obligations on both US and foreign companies, including those from Ireland, as part of a broader effort to combat financial crimes such as money laundering and terrorist financing. The legislation, while US-based, has significant implications for Irish businesses due to the global nature of modern commerce and close economic ties between Ireland and the US. The CTA also applies to individuals who own investment properties in the US through investment companies. What is required? The CTA mandates that all companies, including foreign entities registered to do business in the US, file a beneficial ownership information report with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's (FinCEN) new Beneficial Ownership Secure System (BOSS). This system is designed to increase transparency by disclosing the identities of the beneficial owners of companies, thereby reducing the potential for illicit activities facilitated through corporate anonymity. We are seeing a surge in requests for compliance assistance from Irish businesses uncertain about their obligations under the new US law. This emphasises the importance of compliance given the severe penalties for non-compliance, which include a daily default penalty of US$500 and potential imprisonment. Compliance burden The legislation reflects a strong commitment by law enforcement agencies in both Ireland and the US to tackle financial crime. It also introduces a significant compliance burden for legitimate businesses, however, which must now ensure they are fully prepared to meet these new requirements. For entities formed in 2024, the deadline to file their BOI reports is within 90 days of formation. Entities formed before 2024 have until 1 January 2025 to file. The required information includes detailed personal data about the beneficial owners, such as names, addresses, dates of birth and identifying numbers from documents like passport or driver’s licence. The BOSS database will be accessible to various US agencies, including those involved in national security, intelligence and law enforcement, as well as to state and local and enforcement agencies with court authorisation. This broad access aims to enhance the US government's capabilities in preventing, detecting and prosecuting international crime and terrorism. CTA filing requirements For Irish-owned companies operating in the US, analysing the CTA filing requirements and preparing an initial filing for a foreign-owned company can be complex. This is because of the limited availability of exemptions and the challenges in documenting beneficial ownership. The new Corporate Transparency Act aligns with several aspects of the European Union’s directives aimed at preventing money laundering and terrorist financing, which have been part of Irish law since 2016. The Act represents a significant shift towards greater corporate transparency and could set a precedent for future legislation in other jurisdictions, impacting global business operations. The implications of non-compliance could extend beyond financial penalties, potentially complicating future business dealings in the US due to criminal records against company owners or principal shareholders. Sean Nolan is a partner with Clark Hill in Dublin and Joe Struble is a corporate attorney with Clark Hill in San Antonio in the US

Thought leadership can be highly effective in professional services marketing, especially for accountancy firms. By showcasing expertise, firms can enhance their reputation and attract clients. Mary Cloonan explains how In today's competitive business-to-business landscape, thought leadership has emerged as a vital marketing strategy, especially for the accountancy profession. By establishing themselves as industry experts, firms can differentiate their services, build trust and attract high-value clients. Outlined below are seven steps you can take to enhance your firm’s marketing offering through the medium of thought leadership. Establish authority: thought leadership positions firms as knowledgeable leaders in their field. By consistently sharing insights, research and expert opinions, they demonstrate their expertise and reliability. Enhance brand visibility: regular publication of thought-provoking content can help firms stay top-of-mind among potential clients and industry peers. This increased visibility can lead to greater brand recognition and credibility. Build trust and relationships: clients are more likely to trust and engage with firms that provide valuable, insightful content. Thought leadership can foster long-term relationships by demonstrating a deep understanding of industry challenges and solutions. Drive business growth: thought leadership content can generate leads by attracting professionals seeking expert advice. It helps in converting prospects into clients by showcasing the firm's ability to solve complex problems. Validate and engage: content published by thought leaders acts as a validation point, which can reinforce your firm's expertise. This content can be shared on social media and forwarded to clients and prospects, further extending its reach and impact. Differentiation: in a crowded market, thought leadership sets firms apart. By sharing unique perspectives and innovative solutions, firms can differentiate themselves from competitors. Continuing Professional Development (CPD): Hosting, or offering to participate in, CPD events and workshops can help to educate clients on industry trends and also demonstrate the firm's expertise, fostering a culture of continuous learning and professional growth. How to implement thought leadership content To implement your thought leadership content, consider the following: Content creation: publish whitepapers, blogs and research reports regularly and bear in mind that this can be more effective if the research is industry-specific. Speaking engagements: participate in industry conferences and webinars. Social media: leverage platforms like LinkedIn to share insights and engage with your audience. Client education: host CPD events to educate clients on industry trends. The power of thought leadership For accountancy and advisory firms, thought leadership can be more than just a marketing tactic. It can offer a strategic approach to building authority, fostering trust and driving growth. By consistently demonstrating expertise and providing value, firms can create lasting client relationships and achieve sustainable success. Moreover, leveraging published content as validation on social media and for client communications amplifies its effectiveness with a view to building credibility with prospective clients. Mary Cloonan is the founder of Marketing Clever.

Organisational practices and culture often drive workplace conflicts. Ian Brinkley examines the impact of conflict and how it can be resolved and prevented in the future The modern workplace is often a place of harmonious or at least tolerable relationships, but sometimes things go wrong. Ranging from one-off tiffs to more serious and systematic incidents, conflict can occur even in the best run workplace. In early 2024, the Chartered Institute for Personnel Development (CIPD) conducted a large-scale workplace survey in the UK focused on the incidence, impact and resolution of conflict. What is conflict? According to the survey, conflict included feeling humiliated or undermined at work, being shouted at or in a heated argument, verbal abuse, unfair allegations, sexual and physical harassment, intimidation and assault and discrimination for a protected characteristic such as race, gender, disability or age. (The survey question did not mention religion.) About 25 percent of the UK workforce reported at least one form of conflict in the preceding 12 months. The most common conflicts involved being humiliated or undermined at work, being shouted at, followed by verbal abuse and discrimination linked to a protected characteristic. The most serious incidents, such as sexual and physical assault were thankfully rare. Most attention focuses on formal processes such as industrial tribunals, grievances and mediation as a means to resolve disputes. However, in practice, very few reported conflicts ever make it to this stage – just one percent ended up in employment tribunals, for example. The most common reactions are informal. About half of those who reported conflict reported that they let it go. Involving managers and HR was the second most common way of resolving conflict. Unresolved conflict About two-thirds of conflicts are either fully or partially resolved. However, one-third are not resolved at all. Unresolved conflicts may not be escalated because they are not serious enough, especially “one-offs”, or because people fear the repercussions if they do. The survey does not tell us directly which is more likely, though evidence on the impact of the conflict suggests the former is more common. Most people who reported conflict also said they had good working relations with managers and colleagues. However, they were more negative when it came to specific actions – for example, whether they were always treated fairly. We think this apparent contradiction is down to people making a distinction between working relations in general and specific incidents. Conflict also had relatively little impact on voluntary effort. Those who reported conflict were almost as likely to say they were willing to work harder than they needed to in order to help their organisation and just as likely to say they would help colleagues under pressure or make innovative suggestions. However, we do find a clear negative association between conflict and a range of other indicators of the quality of work. For example, those who report conflict are much more likely to say work had adversely affected their mental health and that they experienced excessive workloads and work pressures most or all of the time. We cannot tell from the survey whether the conflict was the cause of these negative impacts or whether workplaces, where work quality was already poor, are more likely to suffer conflict. Both are likely to be true. A decrease in workplace conflict The survey asked about conflict in 2019 and since then there has been a significant decrease from 30 to 25 percent of the workforce. There are, however, two important caveats. First, the improvement was largely confined to older white males in permanent, higher-skill white-collar jobs without disabilities. There was little or no improvement for the young; those in temporary or zero-hours jobs and short-hour contracts or those with disabilities, ethnic minorities and women. Non-heterosexual workers also saw less conflict over this period, but it still remains at a high level. In 2024, the latter groups reported significantly higher levels of conflict than the former, and since 2019 that gap has widened. Second, the fall in conflict has also been greatest for those groups that saw the biggest rise in home-working. Those who work at home are less likely to report conflicts such as being shouted at or subject to verbal abuse. Reducing workplace conflict No strategy to improve the quality of work can fully succeed unless the incidence of conflict is reduced, especially among the “left behind” groups. Improving the relative bargaining power of those who are more likely to report conflict may help. Legislative change focusing on formal dispute resolution may be justified but is unlikely to make much difference to the overall incidence of workplace conflict. The biggest impact is going to be from organisational practice. Improving work quality in workplaces with below-average work quality is an obvious priority, but even well-run organisations can suffer conflict. In both cases, mitigating some of the underlying causes of conflict, such as excessive workload combined with helping line managers manage conflict better in the future, will be required if progress is to be made over the next five years. Ian Brinkley is a labour market economist

Charities can reclaim a portion of their VAT costs based on non-public funding ahead of the 30 June deadline. Liam Farrell explains how to do it Charities are entitled to claim a refund of a proportion of their VAT costs based on the level of non-public funding they receive, but the deadline to submit the application – 30 June – is fast approaching. Making a claim Where the total amount of eligible claims from all charities in each year exceeds the capped amount, claims will be paid on a pro-rata basis. The cap on this has increased to €10 million from 1 January 2024. To qualify for this scheme, a charity must, at the date of claim and at the time the qualifying expenditure was incurred: be registered with Revenue and hold a charitable tax exemption (CHY) under section 207 Taxes Consolidation Act (TCA) 1997; and be registered with the Charities Regulatory Authority (CRA). For a charity to submit a claim, they must have: a tax registration number issued by Revenue; bank account details; and a registered Charity Number (issued by the Charities Regulatory Authority). A claimant must also hold a current tax clearance certificate when making a claim. Claims for VAT compensation must be submitted through e-Repayments on Revenue’s Online System (ROS). These claims, along with any supporting documentation, must adhere to the required format and meet the deadlines specified by Revenue. Claims can be submitted annually between 1 January and 30 June for eligible VAT paid in the previous calendar year. Claimants may amend their claims until 30 June of the submission year, but not thereafter. The maximum claim amount is €1,000,000, the minimum claim amount is €500, and the minimum repayment is €5. Additionally, claimants must declare and certify that all information provided is correct. To support a claim, detailed documentation is required, including a breakdown of total income, qualifying income and qualifying expenditure. VAT records, such as invoices and receipts, must be retained by charities for six years. There must be evidence that the goods and services claimed were used for charitable purposes, that the VAT was paid in the relevant year, and that the income used for calculations was received in that year. The most recent set of audited accounts, corresponding to the financial year of the claim or the claim submission year, is also necessary. Furthermore, claimants must provide evidence that the charity was not entitled to a VAT deduction or refund under other legislation and must show compliance with the VAT Consolidation Act 2010, the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999, and related secondary legislation. Qualifying income The proportion of a charity’s income that is privately funded is known as ‘qualifying income’. This excludes publicly funded income and income already excluded from the total income calculation. To calculate qualifying income, a charity should deduct from its total income for the year to which the claim relates all non-qualifying income. Some examples of non-qualifying income are Charitable Donations Scheme repayments, Charities VAT Compensation Schemes refunds, county council grants and charity shop income, among others. Qualifying expenditure Expenditure in respect of which a VAT refund may be sought under this scheme is described as “qualifying expenditure”. Conditions apply to the calculation of qualifying expenditure are as follows: compensation may be sought in respect of VAT which was paid in the State on certain expenditures and in the year to which the claim relates; that expenditure must have been for goods or services used by the charity only for its charitable purpose; and if a charity is entitled to receive any relief, refund, repayment or deductibility under any other scheme or legislation administered by Revenue, it may not include that amount in the calculation of a claim. What next? Applications under the scheme should be submitted by 30 June 2024 in respect of calendar year 2023. It is important to note that claims submitted after the 30 June deadline will not be accepted under any circumstances. Liam Farrell is Director of Accounts & Business Advisory Services at Azets

As entities prepare for the introduction of the Digital Operational Resilience Act, IT security and compliance will be front of mind for many, writes Jackie Hennessy With the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) on the way, entities must move from preparation to implementation and take steps towards demonstrating how their practices comply. Financial entities will need to demonstrate appropriate security and resilience of critical information and communication technology (ICT) systems and applications to comply with DORA. The level of compliance efforts will vary depending on the size and complexity of your entity. A risk-based approach, appropriate security and resilience testing are necessary to address potential vulnerabilities and to prove compliance in meeting the evidence requirements of the European Supervisory Authorities. By focusing on long-term resilience, entities can establish a resilient foundation, which will aid them in their steps towards DORA compliance. Resilience means learning from the past, to improve the present, and to prepare for the future.  To make entities ready for DORA, there are five key actions to assist those in the preparation phase. These actions will enable entities to effectively manage their digital operational resilience. 1. Determine strategic priorities To enhance business practices, organisations must aim to achieve a transformation towards a resilient end-to-end IT and operations environment. To ensure strong risk management, a focus should be placed on achieving a broad agile transformation that takes into account risks associated with ICT suppliers and continuity measures. Additionally, it is necessary to aim to increase your organisation's agility in serving digital channels by implementing strong business continuity management (BCM) measures. 2. Implement resilience and incident management measures To ensure effective implementation of your DORA program, it is crucial to ensure leadership support, as well as translation of strategic and regulatory requirements into operational measures. It is essential to enable control owners and line management to manage compliance requirements in a risk-based way, including the automation of controls related to digital resilience, to manage the complexity of (compliance) requirements effectively. Think big and start small – for example, by organising a workshop with relevant middle-management players to align and agree on the implementation strategy of your DORA program. 3. Manage third-party risks To ensure effective management of ICT risk related to third-party providers, it is essential to conduct complete monitoring of all ICT-related third-party risks throughout all relationship phases. This involves the classification and analysis of providers and their management bodies, record-keeping of relevant information, managing proportionality, managing compliance and creating a third-party risk assessment process risk strategy. By undertaking these steps, comprehensive management of ICT risk in relation to third-party providers can be ensured. 4. Test digital operational resilience To ensure operational resilience, it is crucial to test critical functions more frequently than non-critical, at least once per year. The program for testing digital operational resilience must be based on relevant threat scenarios. Best practice is to implement an appropriate test set-up for each threat, to test the resilience effectively. Moreover, every three years, entities are required to perform threat-lead penetration testing that simulates a realistic and advanced cyber-attack. This simulation helps organisations to prepare and train for real cyber-attacks. 5. Implement measures for resilience and ICT incidents To establish strong operational resilience measures and incident management, it is essential to accomplish resilience testing from a wider perspective, which – beyond technical security testing – includes regular crisis simulations. It is important to improve business continuity plans and ICT crisis scenarios to ensure that uncontrolled disruptions are avoided due to slow and ineffective incident management. Moreover, accomplishing mature threat intelligence and assessing top continuity risk scenarios is crucial to enhancing resilience and preparedness in critical situations. By understanding these measures, strong operational resilience can be established, ensuring smooth and uninterrupted operations. Jackie Hennessy is a Partner at KPMG 

Scammers are targeting victims with new tactics, causing financial loss and mental distress. Ola Opoosun explains how organisations can protect themselves with the SCAM checklist From convincing phone calls and text messages requesting financial information to elaborate online scams, scammers are always looking for new ways to catch people off guard.   In 2023 alone, UK Finance reported that scammers stole £1.17 billion through unauthorised and authorised fraud. In fact, scammers target those who they perceive as more vulnerable, including the elderly, with data showing that an older person falls victim to fraud every 40 seconds.   While the financial impact of scams can be costly, they can also leave people feeling embarrassed and unsettled and can have a lasting impact on our confidence, especially in a workplace situation.  Three in ten (29%) say that being a victim of fraud has harmed their mental health, leading them to seek help with anxiety and depression.   How can organisations stay alert to scams and prevent them from happening to themselves and their clients? The golden rule of avoiding scams is to be vigilant.   Knowing what to look out for and feeling confident enough to check or challenge what you're being asked to do, especially where something doesn't feel quite right, is very important.    If you ever find yourself in a situation where you’re unsure what to do, our handy acronym “SCAM” can help you put together a quick checklist to help you work out if a request for financial and personal information is genuine or not.  S – Sender  If you receive a message out of the blue, ask yourself: is it a complicated email address, or one that's familiar yet not quite right? An unknown phone number?  Don’t assume that an email address, postal address, website or phone number is always authentic.   Always stop and check the sender’s address or number to make sure it’s legit. C – Chasing  If you get a call out from someone requesting sensitive or urgent information relating to their account, it could be a scam. Time pressure can be an obvious red flag as scammers might use tactics to convince you to make a hasty decision without thinking things through. However, a trusted organisation would never rush you into make an important decision such as transferring money or sharing credit card numbers.   Remember to stop and take the time to think through your decision and question if it seems like suspicious activity.   A – Action  An online, phone or email scammer will likely try one of a number of ways to get you to send money or personal information but it’s important to remember that a genuine organisation would never ask you for security details, especially out of the blue.   M – Mistakes  Scammers impersonate trusted companies, organisations and even people. If you receive an email or text with spelling errors or strange wording, these are tell-tale signs that can be a big giveaway that it’s a scam.  Scammers are hoping that people will overlook typos. You should carry out an online search of the number or email address to see if it's legitimate before replying to the message.   Falling victim to a scam  It’s important to remember that anyone can fall victim to a scam. Falling victim to a scam is nothing to be embarrassed about.   If you’re worried that you have been scammed online or through another method, your organisation’s financial security has been compromised, or you spot any fraudulent activity on accounts, involve your leadership team as soon as possible so they can contact the proper authorities and minimise risk to the company. With scams becoming increasingly sophisticated, it’s important to be more vigilant and feel confident to check or challenge what you're being asked to do.   Trust your instincts and remember “SCAM” to protect yourself and your organisation.   Ola Opoosun is Head of Support Services at caba

As businesses navigate technological disruptions, economic fluctuations and global crises, leaders must prioritise investing in resilience, writes Neil Hughes Resilience is defined as the ability to adapt to change positively, recover from difficulties and persist in facing challenges. The pace of change in business today is relentless, and for business leaders, resilience is a more crucial attribute than ever. Organisations need leaders capable of staying focused, being consistent and remaining inclusive under pressure. Building a resilient workforce can help organisations to navigate change more effectively, sustaining competitive advantage, growth and long-term success. Best practice suggests several key areas of focus for leaders and organisations to consider. Prioritising wellbeing and mental health According to a 2023 survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 76 percent of UK employees reported that mental health support at work directly contributes to their overall job satisfaction. Mental health is foundational to resilience. Business leaders should strive to create a supportive environment that prioritises mental health through comprehensive wellness programmes. This includes providing access to mental health professionals and resilience tools to support employees in managing stress and adapting to change. Encouraging open conversations about mental health can foster a culture where employees feel safe and supported. Fostering a resilient and inclusive team culture Resilience should be embedded within the organisational culture. Leaders must foster a workplace culture that encourages collaboration, open communication and psychological safety, where small wins are recognised, feedback is encouraged and acted on and failures are seen as learning opportunities rather than setbacks. Creating an inclusive culture where diverse perspectives are valued can enhance problem-solving and innovation. Regular team-building activities, training focused on resilience, and creating a safe space for employees to voice their concerns can significantly boost team morale and cohesion. Investing in continuous learning and development Continuous learning is critical to building a resilient workforce. By investing in ongoing training and development programmes, leaders can equip employees with the skills needed to adapt to new challenges. Offering opportunities for professional growth helps employees stay current and confident in their roles. Encouraging a growth mindset, where challenges are seen as opportunities for learning, can foster resilience and innovation. Role modelling resilience and self-care To lead effectively, business leaders need to invest in their own wellbeing and resilience. Resilient leaders are those who continuously learn, adapt, and maintain their physical and mental health. This involves regular training, seeking coaching or mentorship, and embracing a growth mindset. Leaders who prioritise self-care practices such as regular exercise, adequate sleep, and mindfulness activities can manage stress more effectively, maintaining mental agility. . Leaders play a critical role in modelling resilience and those leaders who prioritise resilience not only enhance their capacity to grow and move forward in the face of adversity but also inspire their teams to do the same. Whilst building resilience involves effort, commitment and time, it can be the protective layer required to equip leaders, their teams and organisations to face the challenges of the ever-changing landscape of work. Neil Hughes is a Director in People and Change Consulting at Grant Thornton Northern Ireland

Sandra Healy explains the importance of a strong organisational culture and how it can lead to satisfied and long-term employees Organisational culture is the personality of the organisation, shaping how employees interact with each other, management and customers. A strong organisational culture can have a significant impact on employee retention because it creates a sense of belonging and purpose. When employees feel that they are part of a community that shares their values and goals, they are more likely to stay with the company for the long term.  A positive organisational culture can also lead to greater employee engagement. When employees feel that their work is meaningful and that they are making a difference, they are more likely to be motivated and productive. This can lead to better business outcomes, such as increased revenue and customer satisfaction.  On the other hand, a negative organisational culture can have the opposite effect. If employees feel that they are not valued or that their contributions are not recognised, they may become disengaged and demotivated leading to high turnover rates.  Organisational culture can impact employee retention in other ways, as well. A strong culture of work-life balance can help employees feel that they are able to maintain a healthy balance between their personal and professional lives. Similarly, a culture of learning and development can help employees feel that they are growing and developing professionally.  Key components to a good organisational culture  A strong organisational culture is built on a foundation of shared values and beliefs that guide the behaviour of employees. These values and beliefs are communicated through various channels, such as company mission statements, vision statements, and core values. When employees understand and embrace these values, they are more likely to feel a sense of belonging and purpose within the organisation.  Another key component of a strong organisational culture is effective communication. Leaders who communicate regularly and transparently with their employees can help to build trust and foster a sense of community within the organisation. Employee recognition and appreciation are also important components of a strong organisational culture. When employees feel that their contributions are valued and recognised, they are more likely to feel motivated and engaged in their work. Finally, a strong organisational culture is one that promotes work-life balance and employee well-being. When employees feel that their personal needs and well-being are valued by the organisation, they are more likely to feel satisfied and committed to their work. Measuring organisational culture Measuring the current organisational culture can be done through various methods: Surveys can be distributed to employees to gather their opinions on the company's values, communication, leadership, and overall culture. Interviews with key personnel such as managers and executives can provide insight into the company's goals and how they align with the culture. Focus groups can also be conducted to gather opinions from a diverse group of employees. These methods can help identify areas where the company's culture is strong and where it needs improvement.  Another way to measure the organisational culture is to look at employee turnover rates. High turnover rates can indicate a negative or toxic culture, while low turnover rates can indicate a positive and supportive culture. Exit interviews can also provide valuable feedback on why employees are leaving and what can be improved to retain them.  Once the current organisational culture has been measured, the company can identify areas for improvement by analysing the data collected from surveys, interviews, focus groups, employee turnover and exit interviews, then create an action plan to address the areas that need improvement. Improving the organisational culture is an ongoing process. The company should regularly measure the culture and make adjustments as needed. This will help ensure that the culture remains strong and supportive, leading to greater employee engagement and retention.  Best practice One of the best practices for building a positive and inclusive organisational culture is to establish a clear set of values and principles that guide the organisation's actions and decisions and then communicated to all employees and integrated into all aspects of the company's operations. Organisations must also encourage open communication and collaboration among employees by engaging everyone in regular team-building activities, open-door policies, and opportunities for feedback and input. When employees feel that their voices are heard and their contributions are valued, they are more likely to feel invested in the success of the organisation and less likely to seek opportunities elsewhere.  Creating a supportive and inclusive work environment is also crucial for building a positive organisational culture. This means promoting diversity and inclusivity in all aspects of the workplace, from hiring practices to daily interactions among employees. Finally, it is important to create formal recognition programs, such as employee of the month awards or performance bonuses, as well as through informal gestures such as thank-you notes or public praise. When employees feel that their hard work and dedication are appreciated, they are more likely to feel motivated and committed to the organisation over the long term.  Sandra Healy is Founder of Inclusio