The Irish economy needs a strong pipeline of accounting talent to support both FDI and domestic business, and the Leaving Cert Accounting syllabus is key to achieving this. Pat O’Neill and Brian Feighan explain why
A growing number of Leaving Cert students are choosing to study accounting, but at a time of rising demand for accountancy skills in Ireland, more must be done to encourage an even greater number of second level students to pursue a career in the profession.
Figures from CareersPortal.ie show that the number of second level students studying accounting for Senior Cycle in 2021/22 was the highest it had been in a decade, revealing a 70 percent rise at higher level since 2011.
Although this trend is welcome, Pat O’Neill, President of Chartered Accountants Ireland, believes that more could, and should, be done to encourage second level pupils to study accounting for the Leaving Cert at a time of significant “capacity constraints” within the profession, and to better reflect the reality of what the profession entails in today’s world.
“The pipeline of new talent entering the accountancy profession is not sufficient to fill the job opportunities available and Ireland is experiencing a real shortage of professionally qualified accountants,” O’Neill said.
“Our economic pillars of large foreign direct investment and successful domestic businesses require appropriate levels of accounting talent. There is a real need to encourage more young people to pursue a career in the field to help address this shortage.”
Critical shortage
Accountants are on the Critical Skills Occupations List, compiled by the Department of Enterprise for professions experiencing a shortage of qualifications, experience or skills required for the proper functioning of the economy. The Northern Ireland Executive has also listed accountancy as an in-demand skill in Northern Ireland.
“At a time when the Government is looking to address the vulnerability of tax revenues amid a slowdown in the global economy, it is perhaps surprising that there was not a greater focus in Budget 2023 on addressing some of the structural issues here at home, which are potentially undermining Ireland’s attractiveness as a continued location for foreign direct investment,” Pat O’Neill said.
“Among these issues are the availability of suitable rental accommodation for workers and the availability of appropriately skilled staff to support such inward investment.” The key skill sets required to address the latter lie in accounting and finance, O’Neill said.
“New multinational operations establishing a base here need appropriate in-house finance functions and capacity in professional services firms to support their transactional and regulatory compliance needs,” he said.
“In addition, we have a significant and vibrant shared services sector in Ireland, which operates in many instances with a focus broader than pure transactional activity. Many of the organisations in the sector here operate EMEA or global centres of excellence, already employing large numbers and contributing significantly to the corporate tax base. Clearly, we have to look at growing the ‘funnel’ of entry into the accountancy profession.”
Fit for purpose
A “fundamentally important” part of addressing the shortage of accountancy skills in Ireland will be ensuring that the Leaving Cert Accounting syllabus is modernised for developments since the 1990s when it was first introduced, O’Neill said.
“It is imperative that the syllabus is made fit for purpose in the 21st century and that it introduces young people to the breadth of the modern accountant’s role, engages them, and ignites interest in the subject as a career choice for school leavers. Otherwise, some students may be deterred from a career in accounting, and we won’t have the bench-strength to support businesses on this island,” he said.
Chartered Accountants Ireland is a member of the Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies-Ireland (CCAB-I), which last year made a submission on this matter to the Department of Education, including the findings of its review of the current Leaving Certificate Accounting syllabus.
“Subjects taken at Senior Cycle play a key role in influencing the third-level and career choices of students, so Senior Cycle Accounting offers a unique opportunity to engage, inspire and offer a career pathway, not just to the next generation of accountancy professionals, but to anyone with an interest in finance or enterprise,” said Brian Feighan, FCA, Chair of the CCAB-I Working Group for Promoting the Profession, and founder and CEO of LearnAltus, a provider of financial and executive education solutions.
“Ireland needs a strong pipeline of talented students who are keen to progress their studies and careers in accountancy, through both apprenticeship routes and third-level pathways. It is essential that the Leaving Cert Accounting curriculum and examinations reflect the skills of the modern accountant and inspire the next generation of accountancy professionals, entrepreneurs and business leaders,” he said.
Language of business
Accountancy is the “language of business”, Feighan added, and financial literacy and financial competence are key drivers of economic prosperity across all levels of society in Ireland.
CCAB–I views the second-level teaching of accounting skills at Senior Cycle as highly valuable and strategically important for the Irish economy and has conducted its review of the current Senior Cycle Accounting syllabus to include the higher and ordinary level examination papers and solutions from recent years, as published by the State Examinations Commission.
“Working with the key stakeholders in education, our goal is to help deliver a new Senior Cycle accounting specification that reflects the skills of the modern accountant and inspires the next generation of accountancy professionals, entrepreneurs and business leaders,” said Feighan.
“The current Leaving Cert Accounting syllabus was introduced 25 years ago, and we have seen very significant changes in the profession in the intervening period. Take, for example, the impact of technology on the profession. Advances in artificial intelligence, robotic process automation and data analytics have transformed the role of accountants, enabling them to focus on their role as key advisors on major business decisions.”
Skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving and communication are now more central than ever to accountants’ work, Feighan added, as is guiding companies in measuring and reporting on sustainability.
“In our submission to the Department of Education, we outline how the syllabus can be reinvigorated to give Senior Cycle Accounting students greater insight into these trends. We have seen encouraging work undertaken in this vein with the new Junior Cycle Business specification, and this more rounded approach will help attract even greater numbers towards the accountancy discipline from an early age,” he said.
Pace of progress
Notwithstanding the growing number of Leaving Cert students choosing to study accounting, O’Neill is nevertheless concerned about the pace of progress at secondary level.
“The needs in Ireland and among Irish businesses for suitably qualified accountants exists in the here and now. There needs to be a real sense of urgency from all parties on bringing our accounting education syllabus into the 21st century,” he said.
“We are very supportive of the desire of the Department of Education to do this, including recognition of the time required to redraft syllabus content and the appropriate training requirements necessary for our teachers to be in a position to deliver the new syllabus. The profession is willing to be involved in helping this to become a reality.”
Chartered Accountants Ireland educates more than 7,000 students in an academic year and has more than 31,000 fully qualified members on this island and around the world. To support engagement with accounting in schools, in 2019 Chartered Accountants Ireland launched the Boot Camp programme for Transition Year and Senior Cycle students (for more, see page 27).
Now in its third year, the programme is used by close to 4,500 students in all 26 counties. Collectively, these students have completed over 63,000 online lessons.
“Accountancy has never been as accessible as a profession, and Chartered Accountants Ireland is working to continue to build the talent pipeline to support growth across all sectors of the economy,” said Pat O’Neill.
In addition to the well-established Training Contract pathway familiar to many, since 2009 Chartered Accountants Ireland has offered a flexible route, working and training with one of the many companies in different sectors that train Chartered Accountants through their dedicated graduate programmes.
“There are many options for the next generation to join the profession, whether directly out of school via Accounting Technicians Ireland or after university or college,” said O’Neill.
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