Format
This course will be delivered via Zoom on
Thursday 18 June 2026 from 9.30am to 1.30pm. The
Zoom link will be emailed to participants the day before the course is due to
take place.
Who should attend
This course is suitable for accountants, and other business professionals, at
all levels and from all sectors, given the scope of the sessions.
The CPD Summer Mini-Blitz reflects the style and format of our end of year
CPD Blitz series with short and focused sessions.
Course overview
Plenary sessions:
- The Resilient Mind: Sustaining Momentum
in Demanding Times – Jack Kavanagh
Drawing on Jack’s personal
journey and grounded in evidence-based frameworks, this keynote is a powerful
invitation to rethink what enables us to thrive. It explores how resilience,
mindset and wellbeing unite to sustain excellence and momentum, even in the
most demanding and fast-changing environments. Blending lived experience
with practical insight, Jack will inspire you to stay anchored in purpose,
navigate challenge and unlock your full potential when it matters
most.
- From Concept to Capability: Building an AI Agent in
Practice - Kieran Gilmurray
Kieran will a provide a clear,
practical understanding of what an AI agent is and how it can be built to
support real business tasks. This session will demonstrate a simple build
approach, highlight where agents add value and outline the key benefits and
limitations you need to consider.
- Financial Reporting Updates – Dympna Cassidy
(Deloitte)
Get up to date with the latest developments
in financial reporting at this fast-paced session which will include a review
of the key changes from FRS102.
ROI Stream
- General Taxation Update 2026 - Morna Ahern (Brass Tax
Consultancy)
Morna will deliver a fast-paced session on the latest
developments and updates across the main tax headings in 2025.
- General Company Law Update 2026 – John Darby
(Solicitor)
John will be delivering a whistle-stop tour of the most
important developments and changes in company law over the last 6
months.
NI Stream
- Taxation Update 2026 - Tom Penman (Tax and Training
Ltd)
Tom will deliver a fast-paced session on the latest developments and
updates across the main tax headings in 2026.
- General Company Law Update 2026 – Cathy Murphy (Elliotts Legal)
A whistle-stop tour of the most important developments
and changes in company law over the last 6 months
.
Key Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Recognise some of the current issues impacting
accountants and business professionals today.
- Understand how recent key technical updates will
impact themselves and their businesses..
Speaker Bio
Ann-Marie Herbert –Professional Development
Accountant, Chartered Accountants Ireland - Ann-Marie Herbert is a Fellow Chartered Accountant with over two
decades of experience spanning public practice and global financial services.
She holds both a BA and a Master’s in Accounting from Dublin City University.
Ann-Marie trained in practice before joining State Street, where she spent 16
years in a variety of roles, gaining deep expertise in financial services and
day-to-day business operations. Now at Chartered Accountants Ireland, she plays
a key role in shaping the learning journey of accounting professionals, bringing
a strategic and practitioner-informed perspective to the evolving needs of the
profession.
Jack Kavanagh - In 2012, Jack Kavanagh’s life changed forever when he sustained a spinal cord injury, leaving him with just 15% muscle function. Rather than letting this define his limits, Jack has since redefined what’s possible, proving that resilience, ambition, and courage can push boundaries beyond expectation. Jack has taken the stage at TEDx with his powerful talk, "Fearless Like a Child: Overcoming Adversity." His impact has been widely recognized, he was honored as one of the Ten Outstanding Young People of the Year in 2019, has received multiple international awards for his documentary Breaking Boundaries, and was awarded as a select number of Alumni Of The Year for Trinity College in 2023. Jack is a force for change. He runs Move The Needle, a consultancy focused on high-impact projects. He also serves on the board of the National Disability Authority and leadership development organization Common Purpose Ireland. His healthcare background has led him to collaborate with the World Health Organization on digital and assistive technologies, and he is currently innovating accessibility advancements in aviation through the AeroFix Project. Yet, through it all, one thing has remained a constant, Jack’s passion for adventure. Whether hand-cycling, sailing, or mastering the art of sit-skiing, he refuses to let limitations stand in his way. This September, he set himself a formidable challenge, cycling 380km along the Danube river to raise funds for Spinal Injuries Ireland. Completing this goal stands as one of his proudest personal achievements in recent years.
Kieran Gilmurray - Kieran is a consultant, educator, and author specialising in practical AI adoption for professionals. He helps organisations improve efficiency and decision quality by applying Generative AI responsibly, with clear workflows, governance, and measurable outcomes. Kieran delivers executive and practitioner training across AI strategy, productivity, and risk, translating complex concepts into tools that professionals can use immediately in day to day work.
Dympna Cassidy, Deloitte - Dympna is a Managing Director in the Financial
Reporting Advisory team in Deloitte and as over 12 years’ experience providing
audit and advisory services with a focus on International Financial Reporting
Standards. Dympna has 12 years’ experience in practice including time in
audit and accounting advisory and significant experience in respect of
International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union
(“IFRS”), the suite of Irish GAAP frameworks (including FRS 101 and FRS 102) and
US GAAP. Dympna provides CPD and training sessions on a wide range of accounting
topics in various industries.
ROI Stream
Morna Ahern - Morna is a Chartered Accountant, Chartered Tax Consultant, and
Lecturer in Taxation at TUS. Morna is the owner of Brass Tax Consultancy, a
boutique tax advisory firm based in the Mid-West. She is also a Member of
Mid-West Society for Chartered Accountants Ireland.
John Darby, Solicitor - John Darby is a senior legal counsel with PM
Group. He graduated with an Honours BCL law degree from University College
Dublin in 1994 and was admitted as a solicitor in Ireland in 1997. John
has advised both domestic and international companies in all aspects of
corporate and commercial law across the full lifecycle of business and in
diverse sectors including project management, construction, retail, media,
hospitality, healthcare, financial services and entertainment.
John is a
lecturer in Business Law at the Law Society of Ireland.
NI Stream
Tom Penman Tax and Training Ltd - Tom specialises in complex tax planning,
structuring groups of companies, international tax, enquiries, providing tax
efficient succession and inheritance tax planning and deals with all aspects of
income tax and capital gains tax.
Cathy Murphy, Elliotts Legal - Cathy is a corporate and commercial lawyer specialising in
mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and group reorganisations, alongside a
broad range of commercial matters including shareholders’ agreements,
partnership arrangements, IP and IT contracts, charity law compliance, and
corporate governance. She also has significant experience in banking and
finance, advising banks, borrowers and financial institutions. Dual
qualified in England and Wales and Northern Ireland, Cathy is a member of the
Corporate & Commercial Lawyers Group for Northern Ireland. She holds an LLB
from the University of Liverpool and completed her professional training at the
Institute of Professional Legal Studies, Queen’s University Belfast.
Note for legacy CPA members
Members who joined Chartered Accountants Ireland following the amalgamation on 1 September, please contuine to book on the CPA Portal here
to ensure you receive your member discount.
Contact us
If you have any questions regarding this or any other CPD course or
requirements, please feel free to contact the team here or call us at (+353) 01 523 3930
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