Welcome to the April edition of Accountancy Ireland
At the time of writing, in advance of our Ulster Society Annual Dinner in Belfast, we optimistically await the next steps in the process to bring stability and certainty to Northern Ireland in the wake of the Windsor Framework, and hopefully a positive impact on the way our 5,000-plus members there do business into the future.
By the time you read this we will have welcomed an additional 265 members to the fold following our Spring conferring ceremonies in Belfast and Dublin, and I wish you all success in your careers within our community of Chartered Accountants.
Outreach visit to the US and Canada
In March, I had the honour of being invited to meet a gathering of our members in Toronto, before joining a small delegation from the Institute in New York.
We were invited to participate in roundtables with Ireland Inc., which included senior business leaders, US Congressman Richie Neal, US special envoy on the economy to Northern Ireland, Joe Kennedy III, and Minister for Education Norma Foley.
It was a privilege to attend the ringing of the opening bell on the NYSE and it is testament to our influence as a small country that Ireland got to open the day there, having seen the EY Ireland Entrepreneur of the Year delegation do the same some months ago.
The Minister then spoke at our own hosted event at the Irish Consulate General in New York where we welcomed our US based members and also heard from Ken Bishop of NASBA on the recently extended Mutual Recognition Agreement that Irish Chartered Accountants in the US can and do benefit from working there.
We were also delighted to attend the American Chamber evening where we met Tánaiste Micheál Martin. Moving to Washington DC, it was fantastic to see the political leaders of all the North’s main parties together attend the Ireland Funds dinner and the NI Bureau breakfast.
Council member Pamela McCreedy, Director of Public Affairs Brian Keegan, and I had a chance to catch up with them at these events and to emphasise the importance of stability to our members doing business in the local economy and in the wider spheres of the all-island of Ireland, UK, and broader global economies.
With over 1,000 Irish Chartered Accountants based in North America, we are incredibly proud of the impact they make on business there and how well they represent the Institute in everything they do.
Reform of Leaving Certificate accounting syllabus
In January, we had significant media coverage in respect of our call for reform of the Leaving Certificate accounting syllabus across national print media, on radio and online.
In February, Brian Feighan, representing CCAB-I, the Institute’s Brid Heffernan and I were invited to meet officials from the Department of Education to discuss ways in which the profession could work with the Department to improve the experience of our young people with accounting at second level.
A number of positive avenues were explored and we will continue to engage over the next number of months to advance the agenda in this regard.
It was positive to note that the Department is planning a Partners’ forum on syllabus reform which would welcome interaction with bodies like ours who wish to offer assistance in ensuring that, amongst other things, the system is supporting the real economic need for financial skills capacity in our business community.
International Women’s Day
The Chartered Accountants Worldwide global ED&I task force published the first global study to map career journeys of women in the accounting profession, exploring existing barriers on that journey and opportunities for employers to open career pathways for women to progress into more senior positions.
It indicates that while progress has been made, there is still a challenge for the profession in retaining female talent.
Most women surveyed felt they had a lot to offer the profession despite being a parent and are confident they can obtain a senior position.
Barriers identified to overcome are a lack of confidence to progress careers, management style of superiors/company culture, and a lack of time off to care for children. Fantastic to be represented at the launch event by our very own Deputy President.
Annual Dinner
This is the first time I have had the opportunity in Accountancy Ireland to reflect on our Annual Dinner in January at the Convention Centre.
It was fantastic to see everyone gather again in person and to welcome newly appointed Minister for Finance Michael McGrath TD who addressed attendees, and Rachael Blackmore and Anne Heraty who offered great insights into their successful careers.
My thanks to all the businesses who supported the event by hosting tables and to the Institute team who ensured the evening ran so smoothly.
Pat O’Neill FCA
President
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