Edel Walsh outlines the techniques you can use to destress at work, safeguard your well-being and boost productivity Stress is how our body reacts when we feel under pressure or threatened, usually when in a situation that we don’t feel we can manage or control. Finance professionals have been facing a growing amount of pressure in recent years, and while many will say that stress comes with the territory (they’re not wrong), there are both healthy and unhealthy amounts of stress one should endure. In fact, stress in the short term is not harmful. However, chronic stress can have a major impact on both our physical and mental health and can easily lead to burnout. Our stress system  When your body is reacting to a stressor, your fight, flight or freeze (FFF) response is activated.  The FFF triggers the release of hormones that prepare your body to either stay and deal with a threat (fight), run away to safety (flight) or just stop in your tracks all together (freeze).  The FFF response was very useful to us thousands of years ago when we lived in caves and were fighting off predators such as wild animals. Nowadays, our FFF response can be activated by our email inbox, boss or a too-big workload.  Managing your FFF response The first step in managing your FFF response is asking yourself a few questions: Why are you reacting this way to the stressor? What is within your control? If the situation is outside of your control, can you let it go? Who can help you cope if needed? Once you’ve answered these questions for yourself, take a moment to observe your surroundings. In your head, take note of three visuals, three sounds and three feelings or sensations. When you tap into your surroundings, you can begin to relax.  Next, if needed, give yourself the freedom to walk away from the stressor until you are better able to handle it.  If you are in a conflict with someone in the workplace, for example, you can walk away from the situation – even if it only for five minutes. This doesn’t mean you are ignoring the situation. You are giving yourself at least five minutes to remove yourself from the confrontation to deal with the building emotions before they get out of hand. Finally, it’s important to do some deep breathing. The key to deep breathing is to practise it daily. If you wanted to build up muscle in your arms, you would go to the gym and train. Deep breathing is the same. It needs to be practised so when you do get into those tricky situations your body knows what to do to calm you down.   Practising stress relief Practising stress relief techniques in the workplace is paramount in today’s high-pressure professional environment. The modern workplace is often characterised by tight deadlines, demanding projects and a constant need to stay connected and productive. The benefits of practising stress relief techniques extend to the overall productivity and efficiency of the organisation as well. When you have the tools to manage stress, you can maintain focus, leading to better decision-making and problem-solving in and out of the office. These stress relief techniques can re-energise you, help avoid burnout and maintain a consistent level of performance. In the long term, this not only enhances the quality of work but also reduces the risk of workplace conflicts. Integrating stress relief practices, like deep breathing, into your daily routine is not merely a matter of your well-being; it is a strategic investment that can significantly contribute to your success and competitive advantage. Edel Walsh is a talent and leadership coach at Edelwalsh.ie

David W Duffy explains how companies can use ESG materiality to strengthen stakeholder communication and sharpen business strategy Environmental, social and governance (ESG) materiality is a metric showing the importance or relevance of a given issue to a company’s ESG strategy. The more relevant the issue, the higher the materiality.  Often, ESG materiality depends on money. Companies will analyse every issue’s materiality relative to its financial impact. Because ESG is too vast to pursue every principle at once, organisations often need to break down what is in the scope of their ESG strategy and what has to be left out because of its low materiality. ESG will always mean different things to every organisation. Its focus areas will vary depending on and organisation’s industry, local laws, competition and the borders it operates across.  ESG materiality is a way to prioritise what’s essential for an organisation’s success and disregard what makes little to no difference. Such priorities show that companies are thinking smartly about ESG. How to measure materiality To measure an organisation’s ESG materiality they often conduct a materiality assessment.  How companies conduct this varies from place to place, but the common trend is to assess what’s important for the company against what’s important to internal and external stakeholders. The overlap between the two is where companies will identify issues of high materiality, and these issues will be prioritised. A good ESG materiality assessment is thorough and far-reaching. It analyses every relevant issue and considers its impact on business strategy, all stakeholders and the company’s long-term viability.  The process of identifying material ESG factors involves: stakeholder engagement, including communication with investors, customers, employees and communities to understand their ESG concerns and expectations; impact assessments that will give clarity on every issue concerning ESG in the organisation; creating a materiality matrix plotting the significance of each ESG factor based on its potential impact on the organisation and its importance to stakeholders. This essentially gives materiality a numerical and graphical life, making it easier to use it for decision-making; and integrating the findings into strategy, thereby ensuring all high-materiality issues are considered in business plans, risk management and reporting. The benefits of ESG materiality A materiality assessment can, first and foremost, support strategic focus. It can inform your organisation about what matters most using logical processes, giving confidence to all involved.  Additionally, because ESG materiality work involves stakeholder engagement, it has the potential to boost communication between stakeholder groups – something that can support business success. David W Duffy is founder of the Corporate Governance Institute

Successful digital transformation requires strong leadership. Dave Vincent outlines his tips for successfully embedding innovation in business Growing up in Belfast in the seventies and eighties, I was convinced that by 2020, we’d all be travelling around on flying cars or hoverboards and have a host of robot servants looking after us. Fast forward to the nineties, and I can vividly remember sitting in my university computer lab wrestling with the logic and code required to help teach a hungry virtual monkey how to get their hands on a hidden bunch of bananas. In 2023, while software applications and systems are significantly more developed than in the nineties, the reality doesn’t quite match the vision of the eighties (the hoverboard being the biggest disappointment). I couldn’t have dreamed of many of the developments that have instead taken place, however. Since the term ‘artificial intelligence’ (AI) was first coined almost 70 years ago, we’ve seen wave after wave of technology-enabled innovation, from the rise of personal computing to the internet, mobile devices, augmented and virtual reality, the cloud, the metaverse, self-driving vehicles and now, generative AI. Each shift has captured the imagination, created new opportunities and raised further questions and challenges for business leaders. We are surrounded by technology, and every day, we can see that technology evolves and changes as it impacts how we live and do business. How can technology help? Some of the most frequent questions I hear from clients considering digital transformation are: “Where do I start?” “How do I create the most impact?” “What does success look like?” Rather than starting by asking or thinking about what a particular tool or technology can do, I prefer to reverse engineer the questions and ask: “What are you trying to do in your business or what problem would you like to solve, and how can a digital mindset or technology help?” As these new technologies continue to influence all areas of our business operations, customers and employees, companies need a new type of (digital) leader who can understand, interpret and navigate this digital transformation era. The digital leader Implementing new technology is challenging. The organisation seeking to embed the latest technology — and its staff — must unlearn old concepts and embrace the new systems. For digital leaders, this means adopting alternative leadership styles. In the past, leadership was about giving orders and making decisions. Digital leaders know that successful digital transformation is not just about adopting technology; it’s about transforming business and operating models, driving growth, enhancing competitive advantage and increasing business agility. Today’s leaders must be able to evaluate progress, priorities and business models continually and be prepared to change direction quickly. Digital leaders need to understand not only how systems and technology work but also how that technology will be received and used by staff, as well as how it will impact how employees work and the type of work they do. Digital leaders need to be able to effectively manage employees through shifts and changes to ensure that digital technology is used to deliver the best business outcomes. To make informed and pragmatic decisions about technology, digital leaders must be able to evaluate the impact technology can deliver for their organisations, use data to inform policy and decision-making, and proactively assess and manage risks related to data security. To drive digital innovation, leaders must be agile and flexible, creating a culture where innovation, collaboration and continuous learning can flourish and empower their teams to make data-driven decisions. To ensure focus and alignment, leaders must share a well-defined and compelling strategic vision, calling out what success looks like and showing the roadmap that will get there. It is also important to remember that leadership in the digital age is not just the responsibility of the nominated digital leaders and senior leadership teams, however. Every employee can be a digital leader. The future is digitally enabled Organisations can drive digital innovation and growth from the ground up by empowering staff at all levels to take ownership of, and show leadership in, their work.  The future of work is undoubtedly digitally enabled, and business leaders who are prepared to embrace this change and lead their teams effectively will be the ones to succeed. The digital age allows leaders to create more meaningful and purpose-driven work for their employees and promote innovation and growth for their organisations. Organisations can position themselves for continued success by investing in digital leadership development.  And maybe somebody will finally work out how to create the hoverboard of my dreams. Dave Vincent is a Director of Digital Transformation at Grant Thornton Northern Ireland

The role of performance measurement and control in prisons in the UK and Ireland continues to evolve, write Mariannunziata Liguori and Martin Kelly The prison sector in the United Kingdom (UK) and the Republic of Ireland (ROI) is significant and forms the backbone of the criminal justice system in both jurisdictions. In 2021, approximately £5.4 billion was spent on the prison system in the UK, where His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), is responsible for 117 prisons in England and Wales, including 104 public prisons and 13 private. Three private sector companies – G4S, Sodexo and Serco – manage the private prisons with a combined operational capacity of 16,000 places. As of March 2021, there were 78,058 prisoners overall. In ROI, the annual budget for the Irish Prison Service (IPS) for that year was €395 million, for an average of 3,792 prisoners. The IPS operates as an office of the Department of Justice (DoJ). There are currently 12 prison sites in the Irish prison estate, none run privately. We have recently conducted research exploring the relationships among key stakeholders and performance management tools involved in the provision of prison services in both the UK and ROI. Key stakeholders In the UK, specifically in England and Wales, within HMPPS, the Prison Group Directors are responsible for the operational delivery and strategic development of up to seven prisons at a time. To manage the contracts with private providers, moreover, there is a Head of Custodial Contracts for HMPPS, who ensures that the private contractors deliver to the expected standards.  At the local level, prison governors are expected to provide vision and strategic direction for prisons, ensuring that their site is secure and operationally stable, while maintaining decency and compliance with key performance metrics and targets. In the ROI, the governor in charge of each prison is accountable to the Minister for Justice, through the Director General of IPS, for the safe and secure custody, care and rehabilitation of the prisoners in their care. The governor is also responsible for effective corporate governance at prison level and for cost-effective performance against agreed plans. The research highlighted that, in the ROI, key stakeholders (DoJ, IPS and governors) considered a strong and clear governance system as essential. IPS and governors were perceived as the main actors through whom all decisions and changes had to pass and be approved. A main underlying factor emerging in the provision of prison services was the ability to manage relationships across the wide range of stakeholders and levels involved. Such relationships were influenced by both human agents’ behaviours/attitudes and contextual/physical factors (such as regulation, changes in control and performance measurement systems, availability of resources, contractual aspects, etc.). When compared with the UK, a greater emphasis on softer control and measurement aspects, such as social and human conditions, as well as Health and Safety, became apparent in the ROI. Within the UK, on the contrary, key stakeholders (MoJ, HMPPS, governors and contractors) emphasised contract management issues as being critical to the delivery of services. In both jurisdictions, the role of, and relationships between, the governors and HMPPS/IPS were of critical importance. The empirical evidence suggested the need for greater clarity on their respective roles and responsibilities. The contention for increased efficiency and transparency has led, over time, to a proliferation of new control and performance measurement tools, with an excessive emphasis on standardised and quantified performance measures. If care is not taken, this could lead to a diminution of accountability by narrowing the focus of management on a few numbers, rather than the overall quality of the service provision. Performance measurement and control The research showed that, compared with the ROI, the UK stakeholders at all levels were more wedded to business-like approaches, stressing the importance of efficient and cost-effective prisons and good contracts to manage their services. In both jurisdictions, and regardless of their public/private nature, prisons mainly replicated external mandatory controls and measures. However, there was also an acknowledgement of the unifying role played by accounting and measurement practices and the benefits that common standards and professionalism could bring when new knowledge and techniques are integrated into existing systems. In 2018, a new performance framework, the Prison Performance Tool (PPT), was introduced in the UK to monitor the performance of prisons. Similar in principle to the Balanced Scorecard, the PPT uses a data-driven assessment of performance in each prison to derive overall prison performance ratings. Data for the various measures in the PPT, along with overall prison ratings, are released at the end of each year on GOV.UK, as part of the Prison Performance Ratings publication. These ratings are publicly available and form the basis of a league table of prison performance. The PPT performance measures are weighted according to HMPPS’s priorities. For example, in 2019/20 there was an emphasis on safety and drug levels, living conditions and risk management, as well as security measures and data quality. In ROI prisons, more integrated and comprehensive performance-measurement systems are currently being developed with the aim of strengthening governance and accountability, improving the prisoner’s journey and the safety and security of prisons. IPS has recently introduced a new operating model to align functional responsibilities between directorates and the various operational sites (including prisons) and to provide clarity on decision-making authority and accountability. The Oversight Agreement 2022–24 sets out the key governance and reporting arrangements. Consistently, IPS is required to develop a multi-year Strategic Plan. This defines the mission, vision and values of the service and is expected to incorporate appropriate objectives and goals along with relevant indicators and targets against which performance can be measured. At present, only a limited number of performance metrics are produced and made publicly available. Moreover, such quantitative performance data are limited in scope. For instance, there is no breakdown of figures for each prison, so it is difficult to see which are performing well, or otherwise, against the relevant targets. While key stakeholders in both the UK and ROI indicated that many of the performance measures in place were relevant, governors frequently pointed out that prisons were not sufficiently resourced to achieve some of the targets set, which ultimately affected the prisoners’ experience. It was concerning, in particular, that there was still relatively limited information, in the public domain, in relation to health and education in prisons. With reference to private prisons in the UK, moreover, the role of the public sector controller was identified as being particularly critical. The controller is the MoJ’s on-site representative in each private prison and effectively monitors performance on the ground. Private prisons’ performance is measured through the same system public sector prisons are subject to. In addition to this, however, each contract also has specific contract-delivery indicators (CDIs) built into it with financial incentives. If a private prison operator does not meet its target for a CDI, it may incur a financial penalty. Contracts between private prison providers and the MoJ are highly complex. The contracts are normally an extensive suite of documents comprising the main contract and up to 30 detailed schedules, many with their own constituent parts and appendices. For the 13 private prisons in England and Wales, there was a significant level of compliance and assurance reporting. Private prisons were generally perceived to be under greater control and scrutiny, when compared with their public counterparts, because of the greater contract detail and the presence of public sector controllers within their walls. A potential concern in this area would be the narrow competitive base of the UK prison market and, consequently, the MoJ and HMPPS’s continued reliance on the same few contractors, even when there is evidence of inadequate performance levels.   Conclusions The prison system represents a unique context in which many different stakeholders collaborate. Partnerships are critically important to ensure good performing prisons. Governors in both jurisdictions were conscious of the limitations of performance measurement and that existing indicators did not always reflect their priorities. If the application of performance measurement systems is perceived as inflexible, staff will focus on short-term achievements, paying less attention to the longer-term impacts. The enabling or constraining effect of the systems set in place, and their ability to influence, in one way or another, decisions and behaviours was perceived as being particularly important. If performance is to be effective, an integrated and inter-organisational governance approach becomes essential. Whilst the research highlighted that some excellent work is being carried out in individual prisons in both the UK and ROI, there is still some ambiguity as to how, exactly, this is being effectively captured within the wider performance reporting and control systems of the public sector. In both jurisdictions, there is a clear and increasing desire for consultation and inclusion in decision-making processes. The role of performance measurement and control is evolving and no longer covers only the assessment of organisational results, but increasingly includes managing change, organisational relationships and the external environment. Successful prisons will be those that broaden their view, from looking inward to looking outward towards the community. This article is one of the outputs of a research project by Mariannunziata Liguori (Durham University Business School) and Martin Kelly (Queen’s Management School, Belfast) funded by Chartered Accountants Ireland Educational Trust

In a competitive professional services landscape, visible expertise can be an asset. Mary Cloonan outlines five strategic steps you can take to build trust and stand out in your field In today’s competitive environment, innovative professional services firms prioritise visible expertise to help maximise business development opportunities.  There are a few reasons visible expertise is essential for professional services. First, it’s a way to differentiate your firm from your competition. In a world where firms are constantly vying for attention, being known as an expert in your field sets you apart. Second, it’s a way to build trust with your current and future clients. When you share your ideas and knowledge, you demonstrate confidence in what you do. This confidence transfers to those who see you as an expert, instilling trust in your abilities. Third, it allows you to prioritise market development efforts and resources. By selecting a few key areas, you can focus marketing efforts to maximise returns from minimum investment. And finally, by sharing your ideas and thoughts on a given topic, you are positioning yourself as an authority – someone up to date on the latest trends and changes. To embark on this journey, here are five steps you can take: 1. Claim a segment Select a specific sector or industry segment and focus your efforts on this area. Build your knowledge through reading, attending relevant events, networking and writing about it. Sharing your ideas positions you as an authority. 2. Know your audience Understand your target audience. Identify their pain points and position your visible expertise as the solution. It also helps to tailor your knowledge to the specific needs of your audience. 3. Sharpen your skills You can’t have expertise in anything unless you stay up to date with the latest trends and changes in your industry. By continuously educating yourself, you can position yourself as an authority in your industry. Whether through articles, blog posts, speaking engagements or podcasts, ensure you have the most current information. 4. Create a profile-building plan Plan how you will share your expertise. Determine the best platforms for your content that align with your target audience’s presence. Consider a mix of content types, such as articles, blog posts and videos, to reach a wider audience. 5. Execute the strategy Consistency is key. Execute your plan effectively and keep your target audience in focus. Track your progress by monitoring website traffic and social media engagement. Once you consistently push your expertise to the target market (through articles, videos, social media posts, etc.), adapt your strategy based on the feedback and insights gained along the way. Building visible expertise is a gradual process, but by starting with these five steps, you will be on your way to becoming the top-of-mind choice for your target audience.  Mary Cloonan is the Founder of Marketing Clever

Succession is a multifaceted process that involves financial, emotional and strategic considerations. Mark Butler explores the critical aspects of ensuring the seamless transition of a business from one family member to another Succession decisions in a family-owned business can either fortify its legacy or lead to its downfall.  Having navigated the challenges of Brexit and COVID-19, businesses are now focused on long-term planning and preparing for the unexpected. In family-owned businesses, this includes succession planning, and getting the process right is crucial. Early-stage conversations The foundation of a successful succession plan is open and honest communication. Family members, especially the current owner(s), should initiate conversations about their wishes and intentions for the business’s future early to mitigate misunderstandings and conflicts down the road. By discussing their vision for the business, leaders can set expectations and ensure alignment among family members. The next generation Incorporating the next generation into the business as soon as practical is vital. This not only allows them to learn the ropes but also provides an opportunity to build the necessary skills and experience. Mentorship and on-the-job training can help bridge the generation gap and sustain relationships with suppliers and clients to ensure a smooth transition. Waiting until the last moment to involve successors can be risky, as it may leave them unprepared to take the reins. Owners should give the next generation every chance to learn while they are still there to assist.  Let go and step back One of the most challenging aspects of managing succession is the emotional struggle to let go. Founders and current owners often have a deep emotional attachment to the business they have built over the years. Knowing when to step back and relinquish control can be an emotional wrench. Recognising that this is in the best interests of the business and the family’s future can help to make the transition smoother – but not necessarily easier for many. Structure for business, not tax Structuring the business appropriately can help to ensure its sustainability during and after succession. While planning for tax efficiency is essential, it should not come at the expense of the business’s overall health. Business goals and the company’s best interests should always take precedence over tax planning. Planning first and then executing tax-efficient strategies is more prudent than forcing the business into a tax-efficient mould. Tax benefits, such as retirement relief, can help to minimise the costs of passing on the business, but they are there to help succession, not dictate it. Family shareholder agreements A robust family shareholder agreement is a cornerstone of successful succession planning. This agreement outlines the rights and responsibilities of family members with a stake in the business and addresses issues such as shareholding percentages, decision-making processes, dispute resolution mechanisms and the roles of family members within the company. A well-drafted agreement can prevent conflicts and provide a clear framework for the governance of the business. Fairness vs. equal shareholdings Fairness in succession does not always mean equal shareholdings for all. Each family member may have different skills, interests and levels of involvement in the business. The primary goal should be to ensure the long-term sustainability and prosperity of the business. This may involve distributing shares based on merit, responsibilities and contributions rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. Fairness should be synonymous with the best interests of the business and the family. Secure the business’s legacy Succession planning in a family-owned business is complex and delicate. It requires open communication, early involvement of the next generation, the courage to let go, proper business structuring, family shareholder agreements and a fair distribution of responsibilities and shares. Some business families think their company and family issues are unique. Sometimes, they are correct, but advice from experienced advisors can help to structure a succession journey that starts long before the keys are handed over. Succession should be viewed as an opportunity to secure the company’s legacy and foster growth, not merely as a financial transaction. By prioritising these elements, family businesses can ensure a seamless transition that benefits the enterprise and the family it supports. Mark Butler is Managing Partner at HLB Ireland

Budget 2024 introduced measures for individuals and businesses facing another winter of high costs. Brian Brennan discusses this year’s package and the future-focused benefits of the new State funds The tax package of €1.3 billion introduced under Budget 2024 cast a wide net across Irish society, from income tax breaks for individuals and mortgage interest relief for homeowners to a rental credit increase for tenants, tax relief for landlords and tax reliefs and supports for businesses. The Budget also provided for tax-raising measures, including extending the bank levy to raise €200 million. A substantial tax package The tax packages for Budget 2024 and Budget 2023 were substantially larger than the tax measures introduced in the two previous pandemic Budgets. While substantial budgetary packages are becoming the norm, so are the inflationary challenges facing businesses and individuals. Minister for Finance Michael McGrath had to formulate a tax package at the risk of fuelling inflation balanced against the need to take action to provide respite to households and businesses facing another winter of high energy and living costs. Given Ireland’s exchequer surplus for 2022 and forecasts of short- to medium-term surpluses on the back of strong tax yields, it is difficult to imagine the Government failing to deliver a package of this magnitude. Business measures Companies in Ireland, both multinational and indigenous, will welcome enhancements to the research and development (R&D) tax credit. The rate increase from 25 percent to 30 percent will maintain the net value of the existing credit for businesses subject to the new 15 percent minimum effective tax rate resulting from the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Pillar Two reform package. SMEs and those companies outside the remit of Pillar Two will benefit from the rate increase. SMEs will also welcome the doubling of the first-year payment threshold from €25,000 to €50,000.  A new capital gains tax relief (CGT) for angel investment in innovative start-ups has the potential to provide alternative funding streams for new businesses. Qualifying investors may avail of an effective reduced rate of CGT of 16 percent – or 18 precent, if through a partnership – on a gain up to twice the value of their initial investment subject to a lifetime limit of €3 million. The details of how the new rate will apply will be set out in the Finance Bill. This is certainly a welcome initiative in supporting enterprises that hopefully avoids being so restrictive as to be of limited practical use. The Employment Investment Incentive and Key Employee Engagement Programme will also be enhanced. Minister McGrath announced the establishment of a dedicated working group focused on simplifying and modernising the administration of business supports. This was in response to feedback that the rules and requirements surrounding tax reliefs and schemes are complex, which can make them difficult to access. Plans for an extensive public information campaign with Revenue to raise awareness of the range of tax credits and reliefs available to PAYE taxpayers were also announced. Regarding revenue-raising measures, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Paschal Donohoe  announced an increase of 0.1 percent to all PRSI contribution rates from 1 October 2024. While the Minister described this as a “modest” increase, it paves the way for further increases in the years ahead to fund the pension system for our ageing population. Wise use of resources While tax breaks and supports dominated media coverage of Budget 2024, it is essential to acknowledge the fiscal prudence demonstrated by the Government in plans to establish two new funds to ensure that windfall taxes do not become part of Ireland’s core national spending. The Future Ireland Fund will help fund the healthcare, pension and home care costs of Ireland’s ageing population. It will receive €4 billion on the dissolution of the current National Reserve Fund and 0.8 percent of GDP annually from 2024 to 2035, with the potential to have accumulated €100 billion by 2035. The Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund aims to address Ireland’s record of halting capital spending during economic downturns. This fund will also support climate action with €3 billion earmarked for capital projects to help keep Ireland on track to meet carbon budgets. The National Reserve Fund will make a €2 billion contribution in 2024. Additionally, €2 billion will be invested yearly until the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund reaches €14 billion. Future budgets In Budget 2024, the Government is striving to make the best use of the resources available now to alleviate the impact of inflation on households while also sustaining an environment in which businesses can grow. Of course, there is always more a government can do regarding support. However, if Ireland can achieve the funding targets underpinning the two new State funds announced under Budget 2024, the country will be in a good position to respond to unforeseen future events. Brian Brennan is a tax partner at KPMG You can hear more about Budget 2024 on the Accountancy Ireland podcast, available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and at accountancyireland.ie.

As the pace of change intensifies, changeability is becoming an increasingly important attribute for all organisations. David Codd explains how to get it right Change is a constant.  Many organisations are rethinking their purpose and adopting a more balanced outlook that recognises their environmental and societal impact.  Technology continues to change markets fundamentally, and now, artificial intelligence is changing how work is done.  Added to this, organisations are having to contend with changing geopolitical forces and events like Brexit and the war in Ukraine. Therefore, the most important attribute for ensuring your organisation’s long-term health is arguably its ability to sense what needs to change and successfully manage change repeatedly.  Here are my top tips on how to achieve an effective culture of changeability. Critical success factors There are four critical success factors that can guide boards and executive teams in shaping their organisation to be ‘fluent’ at change. Your organisation must be: aware; inclusive; aligned; and adept at change management. So why are these factors critical to success? What are the barriers that prevent organisations from being effective, and how can they be overcome? 1. Aware Awareness in this context relates to strategic sensitivity – being highly attentive to strategic developments both inside and outside the organisation.  An organisation requires a comprehensive view of the current and future landscape and a considered position on what that means. Otherwise, groupthink and complacency can creep in, and the organisation can stagnate.  Barriers can arise when teams are too busy (under too much day-to-day pressure) or too proud (already delivering success).  So, how do you get over these barriers? Through process and challenge.  A well-run and well-structured strategic planning process, with senior management and board input, supports quality thinking. By not prejudging the outcome, you normalise constructive questioning of the status quo and open minds. A strategic review needs to have a challenge built in. Some challenges can come from deep customer insight. 2. Inclusive Changeability is enabled by being as inclusive as possible. Inclusiveness can unlock your talent’s potential.  At the very least, colleagues have a right to expect that the rationale behind any intended change is clearly explained to them.  When done well, this can help you to achieve acceptance, but it still falls short of full ownership. The best results are built on strong buy-in secured through real participation.  In any organisation of scale, one barrier to inclusivity can be the inability to have everyone participate in every change decision – it’s not always feasible. In organisations of all sizes, varying degrees of confidentiality are usually necessary when change is planned or implemented, e.g. entering competitive markets, using acquisitive strategies, and making difficult cost-reduction decisions. To overcome these potential barriers, leaders should provide frequent, engaging progress updates to the whole workforce – both successes and challenges – not just titbits of good news. If using third parties to gather insights, partner relevant internal teams with them. Once the overall direction is set, involve colleagues in ideation for implementation in their own function.  Building trust is a two-way process. Staff engagement can be objectively measured, and the results and trends can be shared internally. Then colleagues know that their organisation is really listening. 3. Aligned The different components of an organisation need to be aligned for change to be successful. If vital components are misaligned, then change will be blocked or at least compromised. This is clear but not easy to achieve, especially in a big organisation.  Barriers here can arise when the vision underpinning change is not clearly articulated – it can be perceived as meaningless background noise. For reasons rooted in a lack of trust, you may find that teams pursue different agendas or adopt a wait-and-see stance. Similarly, individuals and teams often have understandably limited exposure beyond their own area and, therefore, cannot be expected to immediately align behind a general direction they can’t relate to.  Purpose, vision and strategy must be clear and expressed and fleshed out in ways that everyone can relate to.   4. Adept at managing change Change is disruptive and potentially destabilising, so effective implementation needs focus and skill. The barriers here can include the complexity of the project and a shortage of appropriate expertise. Portfolio management, run as a process with executive participation, can bridge strategy and the plan-of-action.  It facilitates good collective choices by prioritising proposed change initiatives versus strategic objectives, recognising that human and financial capital are scarce resources.  Similarly, while project managers can usually be contracted in, it can be difficult to free up internal people who have deep functional knowledge and enjoy projects.  Experienced programme and project managers (ideally with functional knowledge) are essential. A highly beneficial medium-term measure is to develop ‘hybrids’ – people who can work across functions and switch between operational and project management disciplines. This contributes to a higher project success rate and a faster pace. The changeability lens Regardless of whether your organisation is currently undergoing significant change, it can be helpful for leadership to apply a ‘changeability’ lens to the organisation as a whole.  Use the four critical success factors to take a view on the change capabilities, processes and culture that you will need and create an action plan to address the gaps. A thorough review can form the basis of an enduring strong change capability – the key to your organisation growing from strength to strength. David Codd is a Chartered Accountant and transformation specialist

Unconscious bias can lead to discrimination and inequality in our lives and work. Dorcas Barry explains how we can avoid it Decision-making is part of being human. The choices we make, however small, impact our lives and work every day. In this hectic world, we can sometimes struggle to digest all the information coming at us at once. To cope with this, our brain naturally takes mental shortcuts to try to process this information more efficiently, sometimes with negative consequences. Many people are unaware of these shortcuts – also known as unconscious or implicit biases – which can lead us to discriminate against others without even realising it. Recognising and becoming aware of unconscious bias is essential to minimise its negative potential, and to create more inclusive and diverse environments.   Unconscious bias at work In the workplace, unconscious bias can contribute to discrimination and unequal treatment in many forms. It can influence hiring and promotional decisions, opportunities and pay. Examples of different types of unconscious bias that can arise at work include:   Perception bias: Overly simplistic stereotypes of groups of people. “All French people are rude,” for example.  Anchor bias: The first thing you learn about someone influences all subsequent thoughts about them. Affinity bias: Gravitating towards people we perceive as being similar to us.  Conformity bias: When we think and act in ways that are consistent with the people around us.   In a work environment where unconscious bias is prevalent, employees’ mental wellbeing can be negatively impacted. Unconscious bias can even lead to bullying, discrimination or harassment.  Feelings of alienation and the emotions associated with this have also been shown to lower employee productivity, engagement and satisfaction, increasing absenteeism and turnover.   Stereotypes and societal influence Stereotypes and the societal influences that create them play a significant role in unconscious bias. Stereotyping is defined as unconscious bias directed towards a specific social group, often in a negative or disparaging way.  While most people will assume they are not susceptible to biases and stereotypes, we cannot avoid engaging in them. This is down to our cognitive drive to create associations and generalisations.   Stereotypes are deeply ingrained in society and reflect our ability to establish mutually respectful relationships in all areas of life, including at work. Creating the potential to deconstruct preconceived societal models can help more people to flourish at work.   Understanding unconscious bias   Looking at the ways in which our thoughts and behaviours are influenced by unconscious bias requires understanding and awareness of the complex nature of how the brain processes information.   Here are three concepts to help you understand unconscious bias:   These biases operate without our conscious awareness and can often conflict with our conscious beliefs.  They are automatic mental shortcuts that influence the decisions we make and the experiences we have. Unconscious cognitive biases can manifest in many ways – affinity bias, groupthink or the halo effect, for example. There are over 150 different types of cognitive biases.   Improving self-awareness Unconscious bias influences our decision-making. At work, this can arise in hiring practices, social relationships and team interactions.   Here are some techniques you can use to help increase your awareness of your own personal biases.  Accept that everyone has biases and be willing to self-reflect honestly; this is an important first step.   Take the time to learn about different types of bias and those that you recognise in your own decision-making.   Question your assumptions, seek out different perspectives and challenge your thought processes about other people.   Use reminders to change biased-based thoughts and behaviours. This requires constant and deliberate effort, but it is vital for embedding more inclusive behaviours.   Tackling unconscious bias in organisations Employers and managers can also take steps to tackle unconscious bias and foster an inclusive culture by: Promoting diversity and inclusion throughout the organisation;   Increasing the representation of diverse groups;  Encouraging open dialogue about issues relating to unconscious biases; Encouraging empathy; and Auditing processes and procedures to remove any tendencies towards bias.   Promoting inclusivity Addressing unconscious bias at work creates the opportunity to move towards a more diverse and inclusive workplace.  As we all have biases – because of the way our brain works and our different and varying experiences in life – acceptance of this as a normal human trait is the first step to creating change. When we overcome biases by challenging them, we are far more likely to prevent them from affecting our decisions both at home and at work.   By acting and implementing strategies to address unconscious bias among their employees to create a more positive culture, organisations also have the power to foster a culture that is more accepting and inclusive of everyone.   Dorcas Barry is People Science Lead at Inclusio

A compulsory strike-off can have profound implications for a company and its directors. Ruairí Cosgrove explains how to avoid it Involuntary strike-offs are set to begin again in Ireland following a hiatus due to the pandemic. Up to 10,000 companies are at risk of being struck off the register for failure to file their annual returns and financial statements.  In 2020, the Irish Companies Registration Office (CRO) acted to ease the burden on companies struggling under pandemic pressures.  The CRO introduced extended filing deadlines, for example, along with a suspension of involuntary strike-offs for companies that had repeatedly failed to file their annual returns.  This gave companies an opportunity to bring their filing up to date in compliance with the Companies Act 2014. The Registrar has now indicated a return to usual practice.  While your company may have benefitted from the supportive measures put in place by the CRO during the pandemic, it’s crucial to understand that normal service is resuming, or your business may be at risk.   If your company is not fully compliant with the Companies Act 2014 in terms of certain obligations, it could be struck off. My advice is to review the reasons for strike-offs, listed below, and follow our action plan to make sure your business is either safeguarded or wound up properly.  Grounds for involuntary strike-off  If you want your company to stay in business, make sure you are not breaching any of the relevant rules. The CRO can strike a company off the register for any of the following reasons.  The company has failed to file an annual return – even if only for one year.  The company has failed to file Form 11F with Revenue.  The Registrar has reasonable cause to believe a company doesn’t have an EEA-resident director, a bond in place or a continuous economic link with the State.   The company is being wound up and the Registrar has reasonable cause to believe no liquidator has been appointed.   The Registrar has reasonable cause to believe the company’s affairs are fully wound up and the liquidator has not made the required returns for a period of six consecutive months.  No one is recorded in the CRO as acting as a current director of the company.  Consequences of involuntary strike-off A company being struck off is not a minor matter and can have prolonged implications for company directors. In fact, when a company is struck off involuntarily, it faces dire consequences.   It ceases to exist. Its protection of limited liability is lost. Its assets become the property of the State.  Directors of a company that has been involuntarily struck off can face disqualification. The Corporate Enforcement Authority can make an application to the High Court issuing an order to disqualify one or all the directors from acting as a director or being involved in the management of a company.  The length of disqualification would be a matter for the court to decide. So what are the steps your company should take now to ensure it is not struck off?  Avoiding involuntary strike-off If your annual return is late, avoid involuntary strike-off by taking immediate action to bring your annual return and financial statements filings up to date with the CRO. Handle disposals by the book. If your company has ceased trading, dispose of it through a voluntary strike-off or members’ voluntary liquidation. A director has a legal duty to dispose of a company properly – not doing so is a statutory offence.  Ruairí Cosgrove is a Director at PwC Ireland

Rochelle Beluso-Tadique talks to Accountancy Ireland about her experiences as the parent of an autistic child, and her hopes and expectations for the future  Rochelle Beluso-Tadique is an Auditor and Associate Director with KPMG Ireland. Originally from the Philippines, she moved to Dublin in 2008 and has worked with KPMG since then.  Rochelle and her husband Sherwin Anthony Tadique welcomed their elder daughter Kate in 2012 and, Khloe, her younger sister, was born one-and-a-half years later. Khloe was diagnosed with autism aged three-and-a-half.  Here, Rochelle tells Accountancy Ireland about her experiences as the parent of an autistic child, and about how she would like to see the world of work change to better support the needs of people who have autism and other forms of neurodivergence. Tell us about your daughter Khloe; when she was born and your journey to learning that she has autism. Khloe was born in November 2013. She had a routine check with a Public Health Nurse who found that she was not meeting her milestones both developmentally and behaviourally.  The Public Health Nurse recommended that Khloe be assessed but it was a long journey from that point on because of HSE waiting lists. Khloe was about three-and-a-half when she was finally diagnosed.  I struggled a bit when the diagnosis first came. I was aware of autism but there is a big difference between being aware of autism and having a child who is autistic.  There is a lot to learn. Autism has a very wide spectrum. Some people with autism can manage very well with social communication and interaction. Khloe is non-verbal. She doesn’t talk.  What have you learned about autism and how Khloe experiences and interacts with the world around her? Khloe experiences sensory overload. She doesn’t like strangers or closed spaces and noise upsets her. She is wearing headphones now, which help to eliminate noise and make life easier for her. Because she is non-verbal, she uses an iPad as her communication tool. This helps her to tell us what she wants to eat, when she wants to play, when she wants to wash. It really helps her to communicate her needs. How has your experience with your daughter influenced the way you see the world of work? Fully functioning autistic people tend to have very good attention to detail. They can be very good with numbers and working in fields like data analytics.  The challenge right now is that it can be difficult to get these people into the workforce, despite their strengths, because most companies do not have strategies for supporting and managing neurodivergent employees. It can even be challenging to get internships for people who are neurodivergent. Do you think employers are well prepared to work with people who have autism and other neurodiverse conditions? This is a complex area. If you look at the hiring process alone, someone who is autistic may have different ways of communicating that are not facilitated in the recruitment process.  They may not engage in eye contact, for example. They may speak very loudly and excitedly. Ideally, companies should have managers and other people involved in the hiring process who have been trained to interview neurodivergent people. Supporting people who are neurodivergent at work isn’t just about hiring. Employers also need to think about how these people experience work day-to-day and how best they can support them.  If you have someone who is neurodivergent in your organisation, you must be aware of their needs, including intolerance to noise in some instances.   You could allow this person to wear headphones, for example, or give them access to a room where they can get away from noise. There is a lot to think about, but it is manageable with the right approach. My advice is that employers link up with organisations that are working with and serving the neurodivergent population.  These organisations can help companies develop strategies to manage the specific areas they need to address. Based on your own experience and knowledge, what do employers need to know and understand about people who are autistic so they can offer them the right support? A lot of companies have policies on diversity and inclusion in areas like ethnicity and physical disability, but the majority do not address neurodiversity. Every one of us has our own unique traits, characteristics and preferences, but we need to pay special attention to employees who have neurodiverse conditions, such as autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia, dyscalculia and dysgraphia. This process must be collaborative and prioritise talking to these employees, listening to them, and using their feedback to decide on the approach that works for them. How would you like the world of work to be when your daughter Khloe grows up? I used to worry a lot about Khloe’s future but less so now. At the moment she is non-verbal and I don’t know if she will be able to read or write because her literacy skills have not been assessed.  There is a long way to go for Khloe so we will just have to wait and see what happens. How would you like to see the wider world change to better meet the needs of neurodivergent people? There will always be challenges but I want people who are neurodivergent to be given the same opportunities as neurotypical people.  Ideally, companies should have neurodiversity policies and strategies in place, not just to support, but also attract neurodiverse employees.  Neurodivergent people have a lot to offer. They have unique talents. They think outside-the-box and they can bring something unique and beneficial to the companies that employ them.  On a wider scale, there is now better awareness of neurodiversity because of media coverage in newspapers, magazines, radio and TV shows. In Ireland, I can already see companies like Starbucks employing people who are neurodivergent. Hopefully in the future, more companies will integrate more neurodiversity into their workforce. It’s a very long journey, however, and right now we need a lot more support from government and health organisations and from society in general to be able to really move forward. How is your employer supporting you as the parent of an autistic child? I was very grateful that I was given the flexibility to work my own hours specifically at the early stages of Khloe’s diagnosis when I needed to attend therapy sessions with her, usually for two to three hours per week over six to eight weeks each time. This was offered in addition to my existing leave entitlements, such as parental leave, carer’s leave, etc. KPMG has also introduced wellbeing initiatives, hosting sessions to help parents deal with the challenges we face.  In the latest session I attended, they mentioned that they planned to introduce sessions specifically for parents of neurodivergent children. This will be very helpful for me, I think, and it is very welcome. Are there any books you have read that have been particularly helpful or organisations you lean on for advice and information? One of the best books I have read is The Reason I Jump. It was written by Naoki Higashida, a non-verbal autistic boy who was 13 at the time. Reading about Naoki’s experiences really helped me to understand Khloe’s experiences because she is also non-verbal. I am currently reading Not What I Expected by Rita Eichenstein, who is a Paediatric Neuropsychologist based in the US. This book is about helping people like me to navigate our lives as parents of children who are neurodivergent. In terms of organisations, AsIAm (asiam.ie) has been very helpful for me because it provides up-to-date information and a forum for connecting with other parents and people in the autistic community.

Lorna Conn, CEO of Cpl, talks to Accountancy Ireland about her career, unconscious bias, and how women can support each other to advance together I have always wanted to be an accountant, so I studied hard at University College Dublin for my BComm, did the ‘milk round’ and was fortunate to get offers from all the ‘Big Five’, as they were known at the time.  I joined Deloitte, which sponsored my accountancy master’s degree, also at University College Dublin, and where I trained to become a qualified Chartered Accountant.  I stayed with Deloitte until I was an Audit Manager and gained experience I don’t think I would have if I hadn’t trained as a Chartered Accountant.  I travelled to the US for three months on CRH’s SOX (Sarbanes–Oxley) readiness programme and relocated to Australia on secondment to Deloitte Darwin. I also worked with some really great clients, including Kerry Group plc and Microsoft.  The Chartered Accountant skillset is incredibly transferable, and I believe career progression opportunities are limitless with this qualification. Many CEOs of large multinationals have started their careers as Chartered Accountants, and I think the new era of accounting is much more strategic in outlook.  Financial literacy is a remarkably marketable skill around the world.  Now, I am 43 years old. Married to Geoff with three children – Ollie (11), Lucy (9) and Louis (6) – and I’m CEO of Cpl – a talent solutions organisation with 14,000-plus staff operating in 13 countries with 47 offices worldwide.  I am a Senior Managing Executive Officer of our parent company, Outsourcing Inc (OSI), and a member of OSI’s Group Executive Committee. Finally, I am a Non-Executive Director of Bord na Móna plc. Life is fairly busy and I am lucky to have a great support network around me, including my husband. As someone once said to me – equality starts at home.  Geoff works full-time too, but we share the load 50:50 – and this includes the mental load of raising children. School WhatsApp groups, sports activities, their emotional well-being, etc. fall equally on both our shoulders. We are also privileged to have two sets of healthy grandparents who mind the children one day a week each. Mutual respect and equal opportunity Many women assume the role of working mum and caregiver all on their own but to their detriment. Not only do we need support from our partners, but we must insist on that support when it’s not forthcoming. This is the same in our profession as it is at home. As the stats show, accountancy is a popular profession for women – 43 percent of the members of Chartered Accountants Ireland are female, and the new student intake is 47 percent female.  While I have seen great representation at graduate level, however, this tends to wane on the climb to partnership. Our workplace structures were created in an era when women stayed in the home. These structures need to fundamentally change to accommodate a growing and hugely valuable female workforce. I have experienced conscious and unconscious bias – lazy assumptions that my ambition to succeed was somehow tempered by having a family.  To the best of my knowledge, I have never been adversely impacted in my career because I’m a woman, and I’ve only ever considered my gender as a positive attribute. Women bring different skills and perspectives to the workplace, and the right mix of men and women at the top table can be very impactful for an organisation.  I think men and women are hugely effective when they work together in an equitable working environment – one of mutual respect and equal opportunity. In my view, equity is top-down – see it at the top, and you will feel it throughout the organisation.  That said, I continue to be impressed by accountancy firms that promote women to partner mid-pregnancy and mid-maternity leave. It is a smart approach to retaining top talent, and I would like to see the trend of female representation in top finance roles continue. Empathy, compassion and communication While expertise and strategic acumen remain crucial in business, the need for empathy, compassion, the ability to communicate openly and transparently and to make decisions has taken centre stage, in my opinion. These are traits equally required of women and men to succeed today. Leaders who can understand and connect with their teams on a human level are not just desirable but crucial.  Empathy allows leaders to comprehend the unique concerns and aspirations of their employees, fostering a sense of belonging and loyalty. Compassion enables them to provide support during difficult times, building trust and camaraderie.  Moreover, open and transparent communication cultivates an environment of trust where employees feel valued and informed, empowering them to contribute their best.  The need for these skills has become pronounced in an era of social media and in a generation that wants to feel empowered, not controlled.  For many women, these skills come naturally, and that is the ace card we bring to the table.  I have developed these skills over time by seeing them as a strength and not a weakness. I also choose companies that align with my personal values. These are the environments where I know I can thrive. Women and career progression With the advent of gender quotas, ESG best practices, and an increasing focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, I think this is our time to advance in the workplace.  Businesses need more strong women at the helm. With better family-friendly structures (hybrid working, affordable childcare, etc.), we have a good shot at attracting, advancing and retaining women in the workforce.  If there are issues with advancement in your workplace, I have found the best tactic, assuming you’ve exhausted all avenues, is to move on. There are lots of great companies out there, and you are the navigator of your own career.  You are not entitled to career progression. It’s your responsibility to create opportunities and pursue them elsewhere if you have reached your cap with your current employer.  It might be nerve-wracking to move on from what’s comfortable and familiar, but I have always looked at my career as a 40-year horizon – plenty of time to take risks and explore new opportunities. And women should be taking advantage of their networks. Mentoring and networking enables women to broaden their circle of advocates.  People who will publicly endorse and support you can be a very valuable asset to have. I think women, in particular, need to advocate for each other more – at all levels across an organisation.  I’ve certainly been helped along the way, and it has been hugely impactful for me during my own career advancement.  Authenticity is key. Being unapologetically ‘you’ is incredibly empowering.  The old stuffy image of an accountant is long gone. There is widespread recognition now that accountancy skills are enduring, and they will serve you in every facet  of life.  If you’re starting off in the profession, absorb every bit of knowledge you can from your colleagues as you progress through your accountancy qualification. This will be the foundation for a successful career in private practice or in industry – the options are literally limitless. Interview by Liz Riley

Permanent TSB’s Norma Conway tells Accountancy Ireland why neurodiversity must be part of every organisation’s diversity, equity and inclusion strategy Employers who embrace neurodiversity stand to benefit from new ideas and fresh thinking that can boost the bottom line. So says Norma Conway, Diversity and Inclusion, Wellbeing and Engagement Manager with Permanent TSB. As Conway sees it, the neurodivergent community is currently a largely untapped resource for employers in Ireland, many of whom are unaware and unprepared for the strengths and capabilities this cohort can bring to the talent pool. “The benefits of neurodiversity are undeniable. Companies with neurodiversity programmes already in place report improved retention rates, reduced turnover and increased productivity and innovation,” Conways says. In “Neurodiversity as a Competitive Advantage”, an article published in The Harvard Review in 2017, for example, authors Robert D Austin and Gary P Pisanom reported that neurodiverse teams were 30 percent more productive than their neurotypical counterparts. Similarly, a still oft-quoted survey commissioned back in 2003 for the BBC series Mind of a Millionaire found that 40 percent of the UK’s self-made millionaires were dyslexic. Neurodiversity: what it means So, what is neurodiversity? The term was coined in the late nineties by Judy Singer, an Australian sociologist, to recognise that everyone’s brain develops in a unique way.  Harvard Health defines neurodiversity as, “the idea that people experience and interact with the world around them in many different ways; there is no one ‘right’ way of thinking, learning, and behaving, and differences are not viewed as deficits”. While Singer primarily views neurodiversity as a social justice movement, research and education in the area is also increasingly used by clinicians to understand numerous conditions, according to Harvard Health. These conditions range from autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia. The upside for business For Conway, the benefits of these different ways of thinking are obvious for employers.  “Neurodivergent people bring a ‘business upside’ literally because they think differently,” she says. “In general, people with dyslexia are better at visual thinking and they are more creative. They have an approach to looking at data and problem-solving that I wouldn’t see myself.  “People with ADHD bring creativity, energy and passion. That’s built into the mindset of how they think and how they approach problems.” For employers, this can mean valuable access to better problem-solving capabilities and a more effective approach to strategising. “In most workplaces, we are generally trying to solve problems, improve things or find solutions, so having someone in the room who thinks differently automatically brings a new approach,” Conway says. “If you’re trying to brainstorm ideas and you bring someone into the mix who thinks differently, is more creative and asks questions nobody else is asking, the power in that is phenomenal.” Understanding and embracing neurodiversity in workplaces, schools and communities can also improve inclusivity for everyone, Conway adds.  “Every human is unique, with a unique combination of abilities and needs. Creating an environment that is helpful to neurodivergent people and that recognises everyone’s individual strengths and talents embraces this idea,” she says.  While she sees growing awareness of neurodiversity in society generally, Conway says the majority of employers continue to adopt a one-size-fits-all approach to recruiting, managing and supporting their employees.  “We have students in Ireland now receiving supports and accommodations throughout school and college, but they reach the workplace and hit immediate barriers as these supports and accommodations don’t exist in most companies,” she says. There is a “huge opportunity” here for employers to access a talent market that is thus far largely untapped, says Conway. The Same Chance Toolkit: A Step by Step Guide to Becoming an Autism Friendly Employer, published earlier this year by AsIAm, Ireland’s national autism charity, revealed that 85 percent of autistic individuals are either unemployed or underemployed.  “This is an opportunity for companies, not only to fill roles, but also to contribute to social justice and employment equity,” says Conway. The Permanent TSB experience As a large organisation employing 3,000 people nationwide, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) first became a key strategic priority for Permanent TSB back in 2017. Neurodiversity has been part of this strategy from day one and continues to evolve in line with developments in the wider world. “The focus on neurodiversity has changed in more recent years and there is an awareness that we need to do more, which has been captured as part of our latest DE&I Strategy for 2023 to 2025,” Conway says. “We now understand the complexities of neurodiversity, how neurodivergent colleagues are impacted by the work environment and the multiple potential business advantages to having diversity of thought in teams.” Ability is one of the main areas of focus in Permanent TSB’s DE&I strategy. “In May, we announced the establishment of our Ability Employee Resource Group (ERG) encompassing both physical ability and neurodiversity. We wanted to hear from colleagues and get their input as we plan to increase awareness and supports,” Conway says. “We’ve worked with the Trinity Centre for People with Intellectual Disabilities (TCPID) for a number of years and more recently we started working with Specialisterne (specialisterne.ie) and AsIAm (asiam.ie) to help understand what a positive experience should look like for candidates and colleagues when hiring neurodiverse talent.  “We have taken their advice on how we can improve our existing processes, onboarding and training and they have also helped us to understand accommodations that may be needed.”  AsIAm is currently working with Permanent TSB’s Digital and Direct Office teams on a sensory review of the banks’ premises and facilitating training for managers.  “It’s important that managers have a core understanding of the realities of neurodiversity and have the strategies needed to respond and take action,” Conway explains.  “Our first Ability ERG workshop will be facilitated in October by the Irish Centre for Diversity and, from there, we will have a clear plan of action based on our colleagues’ feedback and their needs.” Best practice advice for employers Based on her own experience with Permanent TSB, Conway’s advice for other employers is that supporting the needs of employees who are neurodivergent starts right at the beginning of the employment relationship – the recruitment stage. “Standard recruitment practices can be a barrier. Aptitude tests or complex job descriptions and formal interview processes can be challenging – so working with external experts who can advise on any adjustments needed has been a big help for our team,” she says.  Accommodations should be considered relative to the built environment, communications and sensory supports.  “Simple adjustments, such as the lightbulbs we use, or having a decompression room available away from the open-plan office space if needed, can make a difference,” Conway says. “We’re also in the process of rolling out Microsoft 365 and a team of neurodiverse colleagues and allies have worked with IT to ensure that all accessibility features are switched on for all colleagues.  “To complement this, we aim to introduce a support toolkit to include, for example, noise-cancelling headphones and screen readers colleagues can order online.”    Also key to supporting employees who are neurodivergent is buy-in and input right from the top of the organisation. “The support of our own leadership at Permanent TSB has been very important for us,” Conway explains. “It’s great to try to start initiatives and broaden communications and training but without their support – and a willingness to be visible in their support – it would be very challenging.” Start today: first steps  So, what are the first steps employers can take now to begin implementing a workforce strategy that encompasses neurodiversity? “First, listen to the experts,” Conway says. “There are many organisations out there that understand the complexities and supports needed that can guide you – they have the answers so ask for advice as you map out a plan.”  Second, listen to your employees. “Most people now have a personal interest in making the workplace more neurodiverse inclusive, whether it’s from their own perspective, a family member’s or a friend’s,” Conway says.  “Listening to these employees, encouraging them to share their stories and helping them shape your strategy will build trust that is invaluable.”    Ultimately, implementing a workforce strategy that accommodates neurodiversity benefits everyone, Conway says: “It has a knock-on effect on how we interact with each other, our openness with each other, and comfort in sharing information. It is well worth the effort.” Written by Tess Tattersall and Elaine O’Regan  

Julia Rowan answers your management, leadership and team development questions I work in HR and recently helped a partner recruit a manager to lead a team of six people. The team had been without a manager for about a year and there are issues which need tackling. We wrote a very specific job description which highlighted the people management aspect of the role and focused on this a lot at the interview. The new manager has not stepped up to the people management aspect of the role; they say that they don’t have the time as there is too much work. The partner has asked me to intervene – but the new manager is very defensive.  Managing people is wonderful. It is also tough, and it can be much easier for managers at all levels to focus on the work than on the people.  In many organisations, there is a lot of aspirational talk about people/culture that does not translate into the lived experience of employees. So, sometimes people ‘talk the talk’ to get a role and then step back when faced with a challenge.. I love that you paid so much attention to the job description and interview – you laid a solid foundation for future conversations.  When the new manager came on board, did the partner sit down with them and draw a red thread between the interview and the role, explaining why they were given the role? This type of conversation builds on the foundation and provides real clarity about desired behaviours. It is not too late to do this, and probably very important that it happens. The partner has asked you to intervene – is this due to lack of time, misperception of HR’s role or avoidance of the issue? Certainly, you can help, but this is a great opportunity for the partner to role model how to step into leadership and deal with a tough issue.  I think your first call is to explore how the partner is supporting their new manager. Do they have regular one-on-one meetings? If so, are they all ‘business’, or are they talking about the people issues too? If the partner cannot offer support, at the very least they need to let the new manager know that you are acting on their behalf and they need to stay involved. You and/or the partner may need to have a few meetings with the new manager to explore what is happening, build trust around the issue and ensure that they are bought in.  You will need to ‘listen like crazy’ without explaining or advising so that you can get to the heart of the matter.  Ask them what support they need to tackle the situation. Make sure they are connected to other people managers across the organisation who may be able to support them. Let us not forget that there are legacy issues at play here, and perhaps the ‘ask’ of the new manager is too big. A well-run team session could help the team to disentangle issues and move on. But these issues can run deep, and professional help may be needed. Julia Rowan is Principal Consultant at Performance Matters Ltd, a leadership and team development consultancy. To send a question to Julia, email julia@performancematters.ie

Three Chartered Accountants share their perspectives on the changing role of the Chief Financial Officer in today’s fast-paced business, regulatory and societal environment Johnny Harte Founder True Fund Solutions  The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in a company has long been considered the chief bean-counter whose job has been to say ‘no’ more than ‘yes’.  And in the past, this has been true. CFOs today still have responsibility for the core finance function in an organisation, but they are now increasingly regarded by management and key stakeholders as value-creation partners in a business, and their expanding role reflects this. As a starting point, to realise more efficiencies, CFOs are now investing more in technologies to assist the finance team. Transactional activities are being replaced by artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies, and the way in which financial information is being presented, shared and consumed has changed in line with the expectations of end-users. The CFO may have responsibilities outside the core finance function, too, like human resources and IT, so collaborating with many other departments in the business is more important than ever.  New initiatives to address issues such as environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns fall under the remit of the CFO as well.  As an example, the financial implications and reporting obligations of ESG are felt company-wide, but they ultimately feed into the finance function. Companies find themselves in times of rapid change that offer potential opportunities, like product innovation, access to new markets, and even the development of new business models. Change can also result in potential risks such as cyber security, geopolitical and environmental concerns, however.  CFOs, by necessity, find themselves at the heart of all of this and play a vital role in navigating the landscape and advising on strategic decisions that can shape the future of the business. CFOs are in a unique position in a company in so far as everything that is important eventually gets reflected in numbers. The old line of “you can’t manage what you can’t measure” still holds true. Karen Sugrue Hennessy  Sustainability Consultant and CEO Real Leaf Farm As our nation, along with the rest of the world, faces mounting pressure to fulfil its climate change commitments, Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) are stepping into a critical leadership role.  According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Ireland is currently on track to achieve just 29 percent of its committed 51 percent net zero target by 2030. Finance stands as a pivotal enabler in the acceleration of climate action, as emphasised by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report (AR6).  CFOs, accountants, bankers and directors are primed to lead the charge by shifting their focus away from financing environmentally detrimental projects and redirecting their efforts toward funding initiatives that bolster the transition to a sustainable economic model. By 2029, all businesses, including SMEs, will be mandated to enhance transparency and accountability concerning corporate sustainability, operating under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive.  Significant challenges lie ahead, however. Recent research conducted by LinkedIn revealed that close to 95 percent of financial professionals in 48 countries, including major European nations, lack essential green skills.  Shockingly, Ireland ranks at the lowest end of the spectrum in Europe, with just 0.16 percent of finance job postings related to green skills, according to LinkedIn data. So, where should CFOs begin their journey to upskill in this pivotal area, which is undeniably becoming a sought-after area of expertise?  An excellent starting point is joining Chapter Zero Ireland – a collaborative initiative between Chartered Accountants Ireland, IBEC and the Institute of Directors.  Chapter Zero’s primary purpose is to ensure that companies are well prepared for the future and that global net-zero aspirations translate into robust plans and measurable actions.  The evolving role of CFOs in Ireland is not merely a response to regulatory demands; it represents a unique opportunity for financial leaders to champion a more sustainable and responsible future for both their businesses and the nation.  Embracing this transformation is not only a strategic imperative but a moral obligation that can reshape Ireland’s path toward a greener, more prosperous future. Mark Mulqueen CFO KPMG Ireland Like other C-suite roles, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) role has evolved significantly, reflecting the evolving landscape of business, technology, regulation, global markets and shifting expectations from internal and external stakeholders.  In addition to the traditional CFO responsibilities as financial ‘gatekeeper’, the role has broadened beyond core topics to become more like that of a strategic partner. At the centre of this evolution is a business appetite for greater insights, data-driven commercial partnering, and a more significant focus on profitability and an organisation’s need to transform operating models and core supporting technology.  Consequently, CFOs must keep up to date with the changing landscape of data, technology, taxation and compliance while also managing the organisation’s financial health. As business models continue to transform, looking to the future, this presents opportunities and challenges for CFOs. The value of data – going beyond traditional finance data to provide valuable insights to enhance forward-focused decision-making. Embrace the challenges of data – overcoming disparate systems with multiple data sources to ensure reliability and accuracy is critical to the role. Automation – managing the changing role of technology and staff in traditional finance processes. Talent retention and acquisition – with a broader set of new challenges, it is essential to have the right skills in the team to leverage the opportunity presented by data and technology. Risk – managing risks posed by fraud and cybercrime. Expectation gap – managing the strategic role of the CFO versus the volume of traditional finance work. Leveraging technology, adding new skills to finance teams, and managing this change will allow CFOs to help companies become more agile and responsive to market changes.  The result will provide more value through greater insights on a broader range of topics and the ability to support faster data-driven decisions through automation and technology while simultaneously supporting business change and managing new risks posed by regulation toward sustainable, profitable growth.  The one constant that will remain for CFOs is change.

Ireland’s true gender pay gap will only emerge when SMEs begin reporting and now is the time for this crucial business cohort to start preparing, writes Padraic Hayes Dr BJ Fogg, a renowned behaviour scientist at Stanford University, postulates in his book Tiny Habits that small but frequent incremental changes are often the safest and most effective approach to delivering extraordinary results. One hopes this hypothesis will ring true for the SME sector when it comes to preparing for gender pay gap reporting.  The first gender pay gap reporting obligation came into force in 2022 for companies with over 250 employees.  This will extend to SMEs with over 150 employees next year and even further in 2025 when companies with over 50 employees will also be obligated to commence reporting their first gender pay gap. These milestones are very significant when you consider that, according to the most recent Central Statistics Office figures, SMEs with fewer than 250 employees make up 99.8 percent of active enterprises in Ireland and employ 68.4 percent of the workforce. Gender pay gap reporting thus far has only covered the other one percent of Irish enterprises. We can therefore infer that we have yet to see Ireland’s true gender pay gap figure.  As a result, SMEs are going to be in the full glare of both industry and the media once their first reports are published in 2024. This could be Ireland’s de-facto ‘silver bullet’ solution to truly move the needle on the gender pay gap.  What is the gender pay gap? There continues to be a lot of confusion surrounding what exactly the gender pay gap is. It is defined as the difference between the average hourly wage of men and women in the workplace.  The gender pay gap is an assessment of the gender representation of men and women at each level of an organisation characterised by the overall difference in their pay.  For example, how many males and females are in the top quartile of an organisation’s earners versus the lowest quartile – i.e. how well-represented are females by comparison to males?  It is important that the gender pay gap is not confused with “equal pay for equal work”, which is already a legal obligation for employers in Ireland.  The gender pay gap can be caused by a variety of factors such as unconscious bias, company policies or the division of caring responsibilities in the home. According to the United Nations, women worldwide earn 77 cents for every dollar earned by men.  This suggests that over their lifetime, women’s earning potential is significantly less, a staggering realisation in the modern age.  In Ireland, the gap stands at 11.3 percent, which is slightly more favourable than the EU average of 13 percent (Eurostat). This still equates to about one month a year when a woman essentially works for free. It is important to point out also that this is not just a ‘female’ issue, but an economic issue that affects us all. The reduced earning potential for females affects the overall household income.  It is common for women to find it more cost-effective to stay at home to offset childcare costs, for example, and this places downward pressure on household income in an escalating cost-of-living crisis, and thus the cycle repeats.  For this reason alone, we should all feel motivated to proactively figure out the root cause of this socio-economic issue and break the chain once and for all.  Who needs to report and when? Currently, the obligation to report remains solely on organisations with over 250 employees. The first gender pay gap reports were published in December 2022 and the second are due in December 2023. Next year, however, the obligation will extend to all employers with more than 150 employees. The employers will pick a ‘snapshot’ date in June 2024 and report their gender pay gap metrics for the previous 12 months.  Crucially, the employer will also be required to provide the underlying reason why the gender pay gap exists and, more importantly, what actions they are planning to take to rectify it.  Furthermore, they will need to publicly publish their report either on their website or on the government portal planned for introduction later this year.  As SMEs look ahead to this new landmark reporting requirement, they will be taking the steps needed to ensure they meet these first-time obligations. Here is my advice on the steps you should take and the pitfalls you will need to avoid. Challenges for SMEs  Data collection from disparate systems The gender pay gap report will require inputs from a range of data sources. It is rare for any organisation, no matter what size, to be in a position to extract the data they need from a single source. Finance, payroll and HR systems are disparate in nature and contain data of differing quality. This challenge is amplified where spreadsheets persist in place of systems as the book of record. It can be time-consuming and challenging for non-technical users to extract, organise combine and compare this data and significant effort may be required to cleanse existing datasets in preparation for reporting.  Resourcing The amount of time and effort required to complete the gender pay gap report will be significant – it should not be underestimated. For SMEs, this could prove especially challenging because they are more likely to need to divert attention away from regular activities in situations where there is no dedicated reporting team. This may be especially challenging for the leadership team, who will be required to input into the report and sign it off. All of this increases the risk of introducing ‘bias’, akin to someone correcting their own homework so to speak, which you should avoid at all costs. Availability of expertise  Smaller organisations are highly unlikely to have access to the broad range of expertise needed to complete the gender pay gap report. To create a detailed report requires independent expert skills from a range of disciplines such as data analytics, visualisation and organisational change specialists.  Navigating legislative nuances The guidance in relation to how to report has evolved since the initial introduction of gender pay gap reporting. While many issues have been ironed out through the FAQs available on the government website (gov.ie), there are still nuances in the preparation of the report. My advice is to carefully study the available guidance to ensure you are compliant.  Comparing results While many organisations will be tempted to compare and contrast how they ‘measure up’ against their peers, it is worth bearing in mind that there is no right or wrong answer per se. The gender pay gap is a broad, multifaceted and pervasive issue that goes far beyond the numbers. Focus instead on assessing and improving the aspects of your own company practices, policies and culture that influence the gender pay gap – and your gender pay gap result will follow.  Best practice recommendations for SMEs Fail to prepare, prepare to fail It is important to be prepared for the questions you may get from your employees once your gender pay gap report is published. It is critical that you communicate the result of the report and ensure they fully understand what the data is saying and, more importantly, what it is not saying. It is very common for people to misunderstand the metrics contained in the gender pay gap report. As they say, good news travels fast, but bad news travels twice as fast – lead the narrative. Action planning In your final report, you need to provide a list of actions that you are going to follow to improve your gender pay gap in the 12 months ahead. Set goals for the next year in your report using the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-Bound) technique. It is worth noting again here the importance of focusing on your company practices, policies and culture – and take advantage of the opportunity for a yearly reset. Remember, “what gets measured gets done”.   Get help early on I cannot overstate this enough: get help early on. The requirements of your gender pay gap report may look straightforward at the outset, but do not be fooled.  Preparing such a report can be a time-consuming and intricate process requiring expertise in both data analytics and visualisation and organisational psychology, which together provide a complete assessment.  Moreover, significant input from departments and teams across the organisation will also be needed – typically human resources, finance and payroll, and senior management.  Final word Numerous organisations have come to us seeking help having realised just how complex preparing a gender pay gap report can be.  The best approach is to view it as an in-depth reporting process akin to an annual audit of your workforce analytics, practices, policies and culture.  Padraic Hayes is an Associate Director on Grant Thornton’s digital transformation advisory team and heads the firm’s gender pay gap service offering

First impressions suggest that identifying the Irish companies required to comply with the CSRD will be a straightforward process, but first impressions can be deceptive, writes Fiona Hackett The European Union (EU)’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) was published in its Official Journal in December 2022.   The CSRD replaces the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD), which in Ireland was applied by companies with more than 500 employees that are public limited companies or regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. The Irish Government is currently working on the amendments to the Companies Act 2014 that will enact the requirements of the CSRD in Ireland. It is required that these amendments be reflected in Irish law by 6 July 2024. GAAP for sustainability reporting Once enacted in Ireland, the CSRD will require a significant number of Irish companies to prepare a sustainability report subject to assurance by a third party. The sustainability report will need to comply with the suite of 12 European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRSs) issued by the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG). These 12 ESRSs have been directly written into EU law and are effectively GAAP for sustainability reporting, covering general sustainability requirements and topical matters under the ‘E’ (Environmental), ‘S’ (Social) and ‘G’ (Governance) pillars.   The ESRSs run to over 350 pages and EFRAG has estimated that there are over 1,000 quantitative and qualitative data points necessary to comply with the more than 80 disclosure requirements of the ESRSs. The CSRD and companies in Ireland The EU has estimated that the number of companies across the EU that will apply CSRD requirements is about 50,000 as opposed to the roughly 11,000 companies that apply NFRD – almost a five-fold increase. However, I would argue that due to the large number of Irish special purposes vehicles, the large population of Irish regulated entities and the popularity of Ireland as the location for intermediate holding companies in large multinational groups, there will be a greater than five-fold increase in the number of companies impacted by the CSRD in Ireland compared with those complying with the NFRD. First impressions of the CSRD suggest that identifying the Irish companies that will be required to prepare a sustainability report and comply with ESRSs is straightforward.   At its simplest, for financial years starting on or after 1 January 2025, large companies, for the purposes of the Companies Act 2014, will be required to prepare a sustainability report that complies with the ESRSs (with some of our large listed companies reporting from 1 January 2024).  We all know that first impressions can often be misleading, however. Identification of what entities will be required to prepare a sustainability report and comply with the ESRSs requires careful consideration and analysis of the type of entity, and – if the entity is a subsidiary company – how the group structure impacts on the preparation of a sustainability report that complies with the ESRSs. Why is type of entity relevant? At present, the Irish enactment of the CSRD is focusing on companies incorporated under the Companies Act 2014.   The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) indicated in a July webinar that it intends to exempt credit unions and friendly societies from the requirements of CSRD.   Future developments in sustainability reporting and later government policy decisions may see such entities, not subject to the Companies Act 2014, required to prepare sustainability reports that comply with the ESRSs.  The DETE webinar also indicated that not-for-profit companies (often incorporated as companies limited by guarantee) are not in scope of CSRD. They may consider voluntary adoption of the requirements, however.   What should subsidiaries consider? For companies that are subsidiaries, the wider group impact of the CSRD needs to be considered and understood. Whether the subsidiary has a parent in the EU or outside the EU will be crucial in determining the level of sustainability reporting required by the subsidiary. For a large company that is a subsidiary of an EU parent company, it is likely that the EU parent company will be required to prepare a consolidated sustainability report that complies with the ESRSs.   This consolidated sustainability report of the EU parent should include the activities of the Irish subsidiary. It is likely the Irish company will be required to report sustainability information to its parent for inclusion in the consolidated sustainability report.   Such an Irish subsidiary, included in the consolidated sustainability report of an EU parent that complies with the ESRSs, will likely be able to avail of an exemption from preparing its own sustainability report, unless it has debt or equity listed on an EU regulated market. This will be a welcome relief for such companies. On the other hand, in the case of a large company that is a subsidiary of a non-EU parent company, the non-EU parent company is very unlikely to be preparing a consolidated sustainability report that includes the Irish company and complies with the ESRSs.  The large subsidiary company will, therefore, be required to prepare its own sustainability report and comply with the ESRSs in this report.   If this large subsidiary of a non-EU parent company has its own subsidiaries, its sustainability report will be a consolidated report for the group of companies it controls.   It is important to understand that the exemption regime for preparing consolidated financial statements differs from the exemption regime for preparing consolidated sustainability reports.   In Ireland, I expect we will see many intermediate parent companies that have never prepared consolidated financial statements – such as intermediate holding companies that are ultimately subsidiaries of parents in the UK or US – being required to prepare consolidated sustainability reports that comply with the ESRSs when the CSRD becomes effective.   The preparation of a sustainability report that complies with the ESRSs is a significant challenge for a single entity, a bigger challenge for a group of companies and, arguably, an even bigger challenge for an intermediate parent company that has previously never prepared consolidated financial statements, and which does not have an established system or procedures of gathering information for consolidation purposes. Independent exemption regime The exemption regime for companies with respect to preparing a sustainability report that complies with the ESRSs operates independently of the exemption regime for preparing consolidated financial statements.   This appears to be a conscious policy decision made by the EU in developing the CSRD and has been acknowledged in paragraph 26 of the preamble to the CSRD which states: “It should be specified, however, that the exemption regime for consolidated financial statements and consolidated management reports operates independently from the exemption regime for consolidated sustainability reporting. An undertaking can therefore be exempted from consolidated financial reporting requirements but not from consolidated sustainability reporting requirements where its ultimate parent undertaking prepares consolidated financial statements and consolidated management reports in accordance with Union law, or in accordance with equivalent requirements if the undertaking is established in a third country, but does not carry out consolidated sustainability reporting in accordance with Union law, or in accordance with equivalent requirements if the undertaking is established in a third country.” I believe this policy decision demonstrates the importance the EU has placed on sustainability reporting, and both its efforts to be at the forefront of top-quality sustainability reporting and expectation that sustainability reporting will play its part in helping users of annual reports evaluate the sustainability performance of EU companies. The policy decision is also an example of how the CSRD forms part of the European green deal. What action should companies now take? For some Irish companies, there won’t be a lot of complexity involved in understanding whether they are required to prepare a sustainability report that complies with the ESRSs.   We know that an Irish company that has debt or equity listed on the main market of Euronext Dublin and more than 500 employees will have to prepare a sustainability report that complies with the ESRSs for financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2024.   We also know that a large Irish private company that is a standalone company or the ultimate parent company of a large group will be required to prepare a sustainability report that complies with the ESRSs for financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2025.   On the other hand, we also know that a small or medium Irish company will not be required to prepare a sustainability report that complies with the ESRSs while it remains small or medium.  For other Irish companies, the impact of the CSRD is perhaps not as clear-cut. These companies should discuss the requirements of the CSRD with their professional advisors and auditors.   If an Irish company is part of a large multinational group, that company should engage with other parts of the group to understand what work is being done in relation to the adoption of the CSRD and whether there will be exemptions available to the Irish company. Fiona Hackett is Director of Corporate Reporting Services at PwC Ireland and Chair of Chartered Accountants Ireland’s Financial Reporting Technical Committee

It is hard to see how the EU can become a major global player without embracing the reform that would lead to greater integration, says Judy Dempsey The European Union is not in good shape.  There is no agreement over migration or refugees, two issues raised more than two decades ago. The longer member states delay reforming the entire migration and asylum system, the greater the opportunity for anti-immigration and xenophobic parties to capitalise on these delays.  Current trends show that support for the far-right in France, Germany and Poland is increasing in the polls. Instead of co-opting some far-right policies, mainstream parties across Europe need to confront their rising prominence sooner rather than later.  Then there is the unending dispute over how to tackle climate change. This is linked to a radical overhaul of the energy infrastructure across the EU.  Germany and France are at loggerheads about the future of nuclear energy. Germany’s Green coalition party wants to end nuclear energy once and for all, while Berlin has plans to subsidise industry, both of which will delay the country’s transition to renewable energy.  France wants to expand nuclear power for environmental reasons, and Poland is grappling with its coal industry.  Other countries are making the costly and challenging transition to renewable energy sources. This is just the tip of the iceberg.  Eurozone countries cannot agree on further integration of the capital markets and banking system to deepen economic integration.  Take a look at the conflict between the EU Commission and Poland, Hungary and Slovakia. In September, these countries banned Ukrainian grain imports to Europe, going against the European Commission’s authority over trade matters.  As a result, it appears that Member States now hold more power than the commission itself.  It is difficult to see how the EU can become a major global player without embracing the reform that would lead to greater integration – or, at the very least, a bloc that will be more manageable when it expands to incorporate Moldova, Ukraine and the Western Balkans. Enlargement, Russia’s war against Ukraine, the uncertainty of the transatlantic relationship, the results of the 2024 US presidential election, and the rising power of China are all issues that affect Europe’s future.  A new Franco-German paper, put together by a working group of experts and released on 19 September, proposes ideas for making the EU more manageable and governable against a backdrop of pessimism. Based on the premise that there is no agreement on changing the EU treaty – which requires unanimity and, in most cases, a vote from the national parliaments (remember the Nice Treaty vote?) – the paper proposes the following: First, that a coalition of countries move ahead with a “supplementary reform treaty” and, second, that the EU be reorganised around four concentric circles consisting of: the inner circle (presumably eurozone countries);  the rest of the EU;  associate members (Ukraine, Moldova and the Western Balkans); and  the European Political Community (a loose association of European leaders that meet regularly). Given the current state of the Franco-German relationship and its impact on EU integration, it seems unlikely that this paper will be accepted.  Additionally, there are concerns about the democratic legitimacy of the EU and the accountability of its institutions. While the EU parliament has gained some influence, many citizens feel disconnected from the process.  In the face of continued uncertainty, now is the time for smaller and medium-sized countries to propose their plans for the future functioning and sustainability of the EU. Judy Dempsey is a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at Carnegie Europe and Editor-in-Chief of Strategic Europe

The launch of CleverCards marks the latest chapter in Kealan Lennon’s entrepreneurial story and the FCA has ambitious plans for his latest venture It was while taking part in an IDA Ireland trade mission to China in 2019 that Kealan Lennon hit upon the first spark of an idea for CleverCards, the payments platform provider that would, four years later, bring to market what the serial entrepreneur calls “Ireland’s first tax-free digital Mastercard”. “It all goes back to that trip because that’s when I noticed that no one around me was using plastic cards to pay for anything,” Lennon explains. “People in shops and restaurants were using their mobile phones to pay wherever I went and, at the same time, I could see neobank players like Revolut, N26 and Starling starting to gain traction in Europe. The shift was obvious, but the main focus was the consumer market.” Lennon saw a gap in the market for a payment processor that would focus on businesses rather than consumers and set about developing the technology that would underpin the CleverCards platform. “We agreed a partnership with Mastercard pretty much right at the beginning; becoming a payment processor is effectively the foundation of the entire business,” Lennon says. “For a small company trying to integrate with one of the world’s biggest financial service providers – it was a very tall order. We worked with Mastercard in Ireland, then London and Belgium. It took three years.”  CleverCards launched its first product – a digital prepaid employee gift card – just over a year ago on the back of the Small Benefit Exemption introduced by the Irish Government in 2022.  This exemption allows employers to give their employees up to two small benefits each year, tax-free but capped at €1,000 overall. These benefits cannot be made in cash, nor can they be redeemed for cash. They can only be used to purchase goods or services. “It amazes me how few employers actually know about this benefit,” says Lennon. “It’s frustrating. The Government brought this in, and people just don’t know about it.” Cue CleverCards: “We’re the only game in town here. Employers can order our gift cards online on clevercards.com and email it out to their employees loaded with credit of up to €1,000 tax-free,” says Lennon. Employees can, meanwhile, use CleverCards to pay for goods or services anywhere online or in-store using Google or Apple Pay contactless technology. “They can use the cards for cost-of-living expenses and they can use them in small shops and restaurants the length and breadth of the country, whereas traditional plastic gift cards are restricted to a limited selection of retail networks.” Business strategy So far, CleverCards has signed up over 5,000 businesses and 250,000 cardholders. The company generates revenues via a Mastercard fee on all transactions and also charges clients a small handling fee.  Lennon’s ambitions for the business stretch far beyond employee gift cards and the Irish market, however. “Right now, our focus is Ireland but also the UK. We’ve seen pretty rapid growth and we’re expecting to do significantly more business in the run-up to Christmas,” he says. “Looking ahead 18 months, our goal is that every employee in Ireland and the UK has one of our digital Mastercards on their phone.” In the New Year, Lennon also plans to launch CleverCards’ second product – a digital Mastercard for employee expenses. “We want to start expanding further into Europe from late 2024 and, ideally, we want our existing multinational clients in Ireland and the UK to carry us into new territories by recommending CleverCards to other offices in their European network,” says Lennon. “It’s much faster and more cost-effective than spending millions on marketing in each new market. You’re letting your existing customers bring you there instead.  “That’s our strategy and our USP is that our digital cards can be used for all sorts of expenditure, they give control to the financial controller who has visibility of where spend is going, and transactions are automatically authorised because we are the payment processor.”  Early career Lennon’s confidence in CleverCards’ potential is drawn from a longstanding career in entrepreneurship and a seemingly insatiable desire to identify a gap in the market and run with it. Originally from Leixlip in Co. Kildare, the FCA has had an “eye out for opportunities” almost from the very beginning of his working life as a Chartered Accountant. Lennon initially qualified with Simpson Xavier and worked in corporate finance before leaving the firm in 1992 to strike out on his own. “I took the commencement route to becoming a Chartered Accountant. My first choice on my CAO form was commerce, but I missed it by one point and I couldn’t wait around,” he says.  “I was lucky that I started my career under the leadership of Anthuan Xavier at a very entrepreneurial firm. Being able to get in front of clients straight away was a buzz for me.” Lennon decided to leave the firm aged just 23, however, so he could set up his own financial consultancy, offering corporate finance, tax and accountancy advisory services. “I took an office with a big brass sign on the door and I landed my first client, quite honestly I’d say simply because I was a one-man show so I was cheaper than any of the bigger firms,” he says. “That client owned Kartoncraft, a pharmaceutical packaging business, and he had an offer on the table to sell his business to Inistech, an Irish plc at the time. He hired me to manage due diligence.  “The guy they had hired on the corporate finance side was also a one-man show. Once I had a full understanding of his selling price, I said to the client one evening ‘don’t take this the wrong way, but I think your business could sell for a lot more’. “I got the whole textbook explanation of ‘well, it’s an x percent discount on PE multiples and so on’, but he listened to my advice and came back having doubled the price of the business. He fired his corporate finance advisor and hired me instead.  “The Government and IDA Ireland at the time were focused on bringing more pharmaceuticals into the country. I looked at this strategy, put a five-year plan together for my client and, about six weeks later, we went back to the plc and we doubled the selling price again.  “My client made four times his asking price from the time I started working with him. He paid me £100,000. I was able to buy my first house for cash at just 23 and I had a red BMW. I really thought I’d made it.” Kartoncraft and MeadWestvaco But more was to come for Lennon, who was subsequently asked by Inistech to join the board of the newly acquired Kartoncraft in the role of Finance Director. Within 18 months, aged just 25, Lennon had led the management buy-out of Kartoncraft from Inishtech Plc, backed by AIB in Ireland and Dresdner Kleinwort Benson, a London-based private equity house.  He sold Kartoncraft five years later for $20 million to the NYSE-listed MeadWestvaco and joined the US packaging company’s Board of Directors as Head of Mergers and Acquisitions for Europe. “I was the youngest board director of MeadWestvaco Europe, which had 35,000 employees worldwide,” Lennon says. “It’s interesting now to see the media reports about MeadWestvaco and Smurfit Kappa merging, because when I sold Kartoncraft, Smurfit was the underbidder. “It’s quite a ‘full circle’ feeling to see them coming together to become the biggest packaging group in the world, and those early connections are still part of my life today. Both Michael and Tony Smurfit are investors in CleverCards all these years later.” By the time he left MeadWestvaco in 2007 to set up investment firm K Partners, Lennon was ready for a new challenge. “That corporate role was kind of like an on-the-job MBA. I learned so much about strategic development, people management, motivation and incentivisation. “It gave me an incredible insight into how large corporates work, but, deep down, I am an entrepreneur and I wanted to build something again from the ground up. I had an eye out for potential acquisitions and decided to go for it.” K Partners went on to participate in private equity and VC-backed investments spanning the media sector, publishing, telecoms, leisure and hospitality. Its interests included education publisher CJ Fallon and broadcaster Wilton Radio, now trading as iRadio and recently acquired by Bauer Media. The Netflix of payments Lennon’s vision for CleverCards is to see the venture become the “Netflix of payments”. “Our focus isn’t streaming obviously but I see our market opportunity in the same way,” he says.  “It’s pretty clear to me that everything is moving to the mobile phone and our focus is the configurability of payments. The market is wide open. There’s a big blue ocean of potential there and nobody else is doing it.” That said, he is under no illusion that crossing this “big blue ocean” will be plain sailing all the way. “It can be tough going in any early-stage business when you are trying to spot a gap in the market, launch a new product or service to fill that gap, and keep driving it through in the face of the forces that might be going against you,” he says. “There are challenges every day in business. People talk about an early-stage business being a rollercoaster and that is so true because it implies ups and downs,” he says.  “What people don’t realise is that there can be an up and a down in just one day. I don’t mean a small move in either direction. I mean really big ups and really big downs. You just have to deal with it and move on. You have to be resilient.” Interview by Elaine O’Regan

Despite housing and health and climate crises, our experience living and working in Ireland has never been so good, writes Cormac Lucey Come election time, the positions political parties advocate for can generally be classified into either continuity or change.  With a general election looming in the Republic no later than March 2025, the battlelines are already emerging. The parties of the outgoing Government will campaign for continuity. The parties of the opposition will seek change.  Ironically, despite the Government’s many policy failures (housing, health, etc.), it has a strong story to tell.  If a person were to choose when they would live in Ireland over the last thousand years, the rational choice would be today.  Life expectancy Take the very simplest index of national well-being. The average life expectancy in 1950 in the Republic of Ireland was 60. Today, it is just under 83 years old. This staggering progress reflects healthier lifestyles, better diets, safer workplaces and improved healthcare.  Income Income levels today are far ahead of those our parents and grandparents could aspire to. Last year, Ireland’s modified gross national income (the measure of national income designed to exclude globalisation effects) was €273.1 billion. This equates to income per head of €54,600.  The key to this is productivity growth. If productivity output per person grows at a rate of two percent per annum – the general experience over the 20th century – people should be 7.2 times as well off after a century.  If annual productivity growth is just one percent – roughly what we’ve experienced since the millennium – people will be just 2.7 times as well off after a hundred years. It is the slowdown in underlying productivity growth which is the most serious economic issue facing the global economy today. Employment We must also consider the range and depth of job opportunities available today. When I graduated from university in 1981, many of my classmates had to emigrate as the economic conditions were so poor in Ireland. Today, Ireland has record low unemployment. Young people travel the world for fun and to expand their horizons rather than out of financial necessity.  Ireland’s successful policy of attracting foreign direct investment to these shores means that people can work for the world’s largest and most financially successful companies without leaving the country.  Climate Young people may argue that, by presiding over damaging climate change, older generations have eaten the seed corn they will need.  A 2021 global survey led by the University of Bath in the UK illustrated the depth of anxiety many young people feel about climate change. Close to 60 percent of the young people approached said they felt very worried or extremely worried. Three-quarters said they thought the future was frightening. Fifty-six percent said they believe humanity is doomed. These widely held viewpoints illustrate the degree of public hysteria surrounding the debate over climate change.  Bjorn Lomborg (The Copenhagen Consensus Center, Copenhagen Business School and the Hoover Institution, Stanford University) recently made the point in Science Direct that scenarios set out under the UN Climate Panel (IPCC) show human welfare “will likely increase to 450 percent of today’s welfare over the 21st century. Climate damages will reduce this welfare increase to 434 percent”.  Lomborg expects that, in the context of general human progress, climate change will represent a speed bump rather than the end of the road.  To quote the former British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, we’ve “never had it so good”.  Cormac Lucey is an economic commentator and lecturer at Chartered Accountants Ireland *Disclaimer: The views expressed in this column published in the October/November 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.

Accountants will be the profession best placed to bring the necessary rigour to the analysis and governance of critical data in the age of AI, writes Sharon Cotter Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan has suggested: “We become what we behold. We shape our tools, and thereafter our tools shape us”. This is important to remember today, when the spotlight is on the potential consequences, intended and unintended, of the artificial intelligence (AI) tools being shaped by humans. The rise of AI AI encompasses a vast range of computer science research. Since the 1950s, scientists have pursued the goal of building machines capable of completing tasks that normally require intelligent human behaviour.  Machine learning (ML), a subset of AI, enables machines to extract knowledge from data and to learn from it autonomously.  In the past decade, the exponential increase in the volume of data generated, captured, stored and available for analysis, coupled with advances in computing power, have created the impetus and means to rapidly advance ML, which in turn has facilitated the development of narrow AI applications.  In essence, narrow AI applications are computer programs, or algorithms, specifically trained, using very large datasets, to carry out one task, or a limited number of tasks. Best suited to tasks that do not require complex thought, narrow AI algorithms can often accomplish such tasks better and more swiftly than humans.  Most of the AI capability we use today is narrow AI – from Alexa and Siri, which carry out human voice commands, to ChatGPT and Bard, which generate output based on conversational text prompts, and Dall-E2, which generates visual images based on text prompts, to name but a few.  In the field of accounting, we can utilise coding languages and software tools such as Python, ‘R’ and Alteryx to generate predictive forecasts and models.  We often use these tools without realising that we are using elements of narrow AI. For example, these programming languages and software tools embed many of the statistical algorithms that allow us to easily carry out linear regression analysis, a common method of predicting future outcomes based on past data. Adapting to broaden our role The word ‘computer’ was first coined by the English poet Richard Brathwaite in 1613 to describe a person who carried out calculations or computations. For the next 350 years or so, most humans who needed to perform calculations used mental arithmetic, an abacus or slide rules until the widespread availability of electronic handheld calculators in the 1970s. As accountants, we have seamlessly adapted to the tools available to us – whether these are an abacus, double-analysis paper, a totting machine, or computer software tools like Excel and Alteryx.   The use of these tools, and the time saved by their use, have allowed us to broaden our role from recording, summarising and presenting the underlying economic transactions to providing a much wider range of useful information to decision-makers both within, and outside, organisations.  This is reflected in commentary from the professional accountancy bodies emphasising the importance of good organisational decision-making and suggesting that the core purpose of our profession should be to facilitate better decisions and identify the business problems that better decisions will resolve. Asking the right questions In 1968, Pablo Picasso is reputed to have said: “Computers are useless. They can only give you answers”. While the remark may have been dismissive of the then cumbersome mainframe computer, it does encapsulate the notion that the real skill lies in figuring out the right question to ask, as this requires both judgement and creativity.  Useful, timely and relevant information for decision-making can only be produced if the right question is asked of the right data at the right time. On the face of it, this seems simple and straightforward, but in practice it is often much more difficult to achieve.  Deciding what question to ask requires knowledge of the business context, and an understanding of the issue being addressed as well as an ability to clearly articulate the issue. Critical thinking is key to identifying what answers are needed to identify the range of solutions for the issue at hand. Deciding what data is appropriate to use in the analysis requires an understanding of what data is available, where it is stored, how it is stored, what each data element selected represents, how compatible it is with other data, and how current that data is. It also requires knowledge of the limitations posed by using particular sets of data. Being able to generate the answer to the right question using the right data is only relevant if it can be produced at the point at which this information is needed. Sometimes, not all the data needed to answer the question is readily available, or available in the required format. Data from several sources may need to be combined and, where data is incomplete, judgement will be needed on the assumptions necessary to generate a relevant and timely set of data. Accountants are well-positioned The skills, experience and mindsets we develop as part of our professional training positions accountants well to provide the best possible decision-enabling information to decision-makers.  Scepticism is a key tenet of our profession. We look to spot anomalies in data and information, and to question the information by asking “does it make sense?” We are trained to be methodical, thorough and to look beyond the obvious. Training and experience enable us to develop our professional judgement, which we apply when determining what is relevant, appropriate and faithfully represents the underlying economic transactions.  We are adaptable and flexible in the tools we use, and aware of the need to stay up to date with the law and regulation applying to the storage and use of data. In short, we are valued problem-solvers and critical thinkers. Accountants’ ‘jurisdiction’ In his book The System of Professions: An Essay on the Division of Expert Labor, Andrew Abbott uses the term ‘jurisdiction’ to represent the link between a profession and its work.  Jurisdiction is an important concept, as the acknowledged owner of a task is likely to be able to shape the characteristics of that task. In the context of accountants’ work, the term ‘jurisdiction’ means the extent to which organisations, and society, accept that due to their professional expertise, only specific roles and responsibilities should be carried out by accountants.  Within organisations, accountants’ jurisdiction is not static. The roles and responsibilities that fall within their remit can, and do, change.  The jurisdiction of accountants can be encroached upon. Others within the organisation may also have expertise allowing them to claim work once exclusively identified with accountants. Challenges to jurisdiction The emergence of new roles, such as data or information specialists, who collect, clean and analyse data, has meant that complex analysis of financial information can now be done by non-accountants.  Some organisations have explored ways in which operational managers and decision-makers can be given direct access to financial systems.  Known as ‘self-service’ menus, such direct access to information allows decision-makers to drill down into the detail of transactions – for example, to identify the underlying causes of deviations from budget, all without the need to consult with their colleagues in the finance department.  If an organisation transfers responsibility for data analysis and decision support to data specialists and/or decision-makers, then the jurisdiction of the accountant may be narrowed or reduced. Opportunities for role expansion Equally, however, accountants’ roles and responsibilities can be increased, resulting in their jurisdiction being broadened or expanded.  The expansion of an accountant’s role requirements can either result from increased job tasks and responsibilities, or from changes in the tools and technologies available to carry out these tasks and responsibilities.  Recent research and professional body commentary has, for example, explored the extent to which management accountants have embraced changes in their role or taken on wider responsibilities, such as business partnering.  Multiple elements such as role identity, the ability to embrace change in a positive way and developing strong communication skills, to name but a few, all contribute to the successful adoption of additional responsibility. Futureproofing with digital fluency The rapid and on-going development, enhancement and availability of software tools that can be used to capture, store, identify, slice and dice data, and present information in visual graphics, are forcing accounting professionals to consider the level of IT competency required to operate efficiently and effectively in today’s digital world.   Professional accountancy bodies emphasise the importance of digital skills in futureproofing the accountant’s role while many of the larger multinational companies espouse the need for finance staff to have good digital fluency. Challenges and opportunities Both encroachments and expansions to the jurisdiction of accountants bring their own set of challenges and opportunities.  Maintaining, and expanding, accountants’ jurisdiction over the integrity of data, and the provision of information for decision-making, should be a key part of the profession’s strategy in the digital age.  I believe that the ‘governance’ of data, rather than the use of specific AI tools, should be the focus of the accountancy profession when formulating strategies for its future direction. In addition to enhancing our digital skills, we need to consider strategies such as adapting and changing the role of the chief financial officer to include overall direct responsibility for data analytics.  The governance, management and analysis of data should be as important as traditional responsibilities in finance.  Governance of data requires rigour and objectivity to ensure that its integrity is preserved. We should noticeably stake our claim as the profession best placed to bring that rigour and objectivity to the governance and analysis of data used for decision-making.  Failure to consider such strategies may mean we increase the risk that encroachments rather than expansions to our role – our jurisdiction – will become a reality. We should strive to ensure that our future role is shaped by us rather than by these new digital tools and techniques. Sharon Cotter, FCA, lectures in accounting and finance at the University of Galway