This week Chartered Accountants Ireland was delighted to host the 28th Audit & Assurance Conference of the British Accounting & Finance Association (BAFA). This is a major event in the academic conference calendar which attracts academics from Ireland, the UK, and beyond.  The Institute welcomed some 90 leading academics specialising in the area of statutory audit and who received a number of academic research papers and case studies on statutory audit and the role of auditors. Plenary sessions addressed the future of audit and assurance, and the future of audit standard setting and included contributions from Big 6 audit partners, regulators, and standard setters. At the commencement of the 2 day conference, Dr Ilias G Basioudis, chairman of the Auditing Group of BAFA said: "This conference is taking place at a critical time for the auditing profession.  Over the next two days we shall be discussing major challenges facing audit and possible measures that might be considered to underpin public confidence in the profession and provide a greater understanding of the role of audit.  "Crucially, we shall also debate what more can done by auditors to provide assurance on company viability, recognising that this debate will require legislative change and input from audit practitioners, regulators and legislators.  The fact that this conference has attracted contributors from around the world also demonstrates the global nature of the auditing profession and the importance of identifying confidence building measures and initiatives that have global acceptance and are capable of global application." Click here for images from the conference. 

Agreement follows landmark MRA with US CPA bodies Chartered Accountants Ireland is pleased to announce the signing of a Mutual Recognition Agreement with its counterpart in Singapore, the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) today (Monday 20 November 2017). The MRA will enhance the global portability and international stature of the Chartered Accountant designation, and follows on the recent renewal of our recognition agreement with the biggest professional accountancy bodies in the USA. The MRA was signed on Sat 18 November by Mr Barry Dempsey, Institute Chief Executive with Mr Lee Fook Chiew, Chief Executive Officer of ISCA and  at a Chartered Accountants Worldwide global meeting in Brussels. Both ISCA and Chartered Accountants Ireland are members of Chartered Accountants Worldwide, a global body which brings together 12 chartered accountancy bodies connecting and representing the interests of over 1.7 million members and students globally. Commenting on the signing of the agreement with the Singapore Institute, Chartered Accountants Ireland President Shauna Greely said: “On behalf of my fellow members across the globe, I welcome the announcement of this important recognition agreement with ISCA in Singapore.  For Irish Chartered Accountants, this agreement with ISCA further underlines the international credentials of the Irish Chartered Accountancy qualification, and will facilitate our members to progress their careers in one of the most exciting and dynamic of financial hubs, not only in Asia but anywhere in the world." Dr Gerard Ee, President of ISCA, said, “The RMA with Chartered Accountants Ireland further enhances the career mobility of Chartered Accountants of Singapore and reinforces ISCA’s position as a globally recognised professional accountancy body. ISCA members who have completed the Singapore CA Qualification can now attain Chartered Accountants Ireland’s Chartered designation, in addition to the chartered accountancy designations conferred by ICAEW and ICAS. The MRA is also in line with our strategy to better prepare members for the future economy, as the business environment becomes increasingly globalised.” ISCA is the designated entity to confer the CA (Singapore) professional designation. Presently, ISCA has over 32,000 members. ENDS Reference:  Bryan Rankin, Marketing Manager, Chartered Accountants Ireland, T: +353 1 637 7268

Irish Chartered Accountants discussed the role of the profession in supporting the UN Global Goals in London this week, as part of a Chartered Accountants Worldwide (CAW) event.  Welcoming participants to the debate, Institute CEO and CAW Chairman Pat Costello gave an overview of the work that CAW does bringing together the 11 leading Chartered bodies from around the world. In 2015 the 193 members of the United Nations General Assembly formally adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This included 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development with   the principle that no one will be left behind.  The Goals were developed over two years by an open working group, with representatives from over 70 countries. The consultation on the Goals was the largest to date in the UN’s history and reached over 8 million individuals. The vision the Goals paint of the world we want by 2030 is hugely ambitious and very different from the world we know today.  The Event Michael Izza ICAEW, CEO addressed the group on the goals and highlighted how they are the vision of what the world wants by 2030. The goals are framed by values of fairness, justice and inclusivity. The vision is one of economic prosperity, which speaks to ICAEW's vision of a world of strong economies. Richard Spencer and Francesca Sharp of ICAEW’s sustainability team facilitated the session and introduced the UN Global Goals and why they matter for the accountancy profession. The audience of over 80 Chartered Accountants were split into groups of 8 and each group  was asked to discuss which of the Goals they found most related to them personally and then the accountancy profession, followed by a discussion on how they are all connected. Some tables focused on economic growth, while others felt quality education should be the focus for the profession. The key takeaway question was “How can we as CAW reach more accountants and therefore more businesses to start embedding the Goals?” Photos of the event are available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/charteredww/albums/72157682301718530 So what’s the role for the accountancy profession? The profession has a history of coming together to serve the public interest by creating public goods in the form of common bases of measurement, reporting and assurance. As countries measure progress on the goals statistically, and business measures progress using accounting tools, the accountancy profession will have a substantial role in aligning these systems of measurement. Understanding the Goals’ interconnectivity and measuring progress will require huge amounts of data which will need to be trusted. The profession is at the forefront of applying new technology in information gathering, processing and assuring. Strong local institutions, including those that make up the accountancy profession will be essential to achieve the goals. Find out more information at: http://charteredaccountantsworldwide.com/globalgoals/ 

What leaders say is important – this was the key message from Institute president Liam Lynch when he addressed meetings of members in New York and Boston last week. Mr Lynch emphasised the need for trust in all aspects of society, but particularly business life, and the role Chartered Accountants can play in developing that trust. Brexit, the Trump tax proposals and regulatory reform were also discussed at both events in the US, which underline the global nature and reach of the Chartered Accountants qualification.   Full house in Boston with the Ulster Society, Invest NI and Boston-based members Institute President speaking with members at the Cornell University Club in New York

Chartered Accountants Ireland President Liam Lynch is meeting with members at events across Dubai, Auckland, New Zealand and Melbourne, Australia. Some photos captured below.   Member in Melbourne   Aoife Dunne being conferred in Melbourne   Members in Dubai     Members in Auckland   Members in Melbourne    Members in Melbourne 

As I look back on my career to date and look at all of the things that I have been lucky to achieve both personally and professionally,  it got me thinking about the value of being a Chartered Accountant and also the benefits I have as a result of gaining this professional qualification. It also got me thinking about how I got here, where I am now sitting. Old SchoolNot many will admit it but I will – I loved Accounting when I was in school, primarily due to the fact that I had a teacher that made it fun to learn but also it was a very logical subject. It was easy to decide what I wanted to do for my degree which was Accounting and Finance. Once that was done like most of us that end up doing the CA route, we join a firm. I chose a small/medium size practice which was a great choice for me, as it gave me the option to work on various areas within Finance & Accounting. We learned the basics from bottom up with wonderful support and training from the partners who owned the firm.  I had always wanted to travel and even during my 3.5 years of training and studying I knew that I wanted to set my sights on working overseas. This was not because I did not want to live in Ireland but I always knew I wanted to have an adventure by using my professional education. However at that time I did not realize the benefit of being a Chartered Accountant was but now I do. When I set my sights on leaving Ireland I was drawn to a job which was a 100% Internal Audit role in Financial Services, they were looking for Qualified Accountants. I remember when I started the job search saying to the recruiter that I did not want an audit role nor a financial services role but I ended up with the role that I didn’t exactly want – The learning that I got from that was don’t always be so quick to say what you don’t want as you may chose that exact option, which I did.  Internal Audit It was honestly one of the best choices that I could have made. Thanks to that role I got to travel with work and see approximately 30+ countries. This opportunity gave me the time to develop myself personally, mainly learning how to adapt very quickly, the ability to work with many varied nationalities and personalities. Something that you cannot read /learn from a book and sit an exam on. I also learned a good work ethic of work hard and play even harder, all within a team environment. We only had a limited time in a place to get an assignment done but likewise we only had a limited time to see the place we were working in. So we balanced it with work hard /play hard and always got the job done. This is an important lesson that we all need to learn at an early stage in our careers that you do have to work hard but likewise we still need to make time for our own personal life. The role of an Internal Auditor has given me a great opportunity to learn about Risk, Controls and Procedures within an organization. It is also a very varied role as no one audit is the same. You get to know an organization very well. It gives you a wonderful outlook and opportunity to broaden your horizon into other areas other than a finance department.  London CallingThanks to the role in Internal Audit I took up my next position in Operational Risk Management. ERM is an area that has received a lot of focus since the crisis in 2008, however accountants and auditors have always been involved in risk management likewise the industry which I work in are the original risk managers. This role came with less travel and was based in London. London was not a city I would have chosen initially but working in London which is possibly one of the greatest cities in the world, brought new challenges, particularly as I did not have a wide network of friends which of course changed in a very short space in time.  It was in London where I saw significant value in being a CA and realized the network of other CA’s that existed in London. Through our membership and professional qualification we are opened up to a network of other likeminded professionals through the various links that the Irish Institute has with the other institutes, there is also the Irish /London Society who hold frequent events. The links that the Institute has, still continue to support me now in my current role and this is something I can see assisting me for the future. What we don’t realize is the network that being a qualified Chartered Accountant opens us up to when we are training. It is a network that continues to grow year on year and will certainly be there to support you throughout your career no matter where in the world you are.  DubaiMy current role is now back in Internal Audit where I have the opportunity to live and work in Dubai. Dubai was always a place that intrigued me from my first visit here in 2008. When the opportunity to work here arose I was immediately excited but sad to leave London. Dubai is a total contrast to London. London is an old and historical city versus Dubai which is a new city built in a very short time with a great vision by its leaders, and has been able to put itself on the world map as being a city where things happen and is certainly an innovative and growing Logistical and Financial Hub of the Millennium years. However there are similarities. Dubai and London are definitely multicultural cities, where you have the opportunity to work with many nationalities from across the world. This is one of the benefits of working overseas as we get the opportunity to learn other cultures and ways of working.  We also learn to adapt to the day to day challenges that any big city throws at you.    Moving to Dubai also made me reach out to the Institute, as I needed to build a team. Thanks to the Recruitment Service in the Institute, I was able to quickly organize a call to Karin Lanigan and the team, advertise the role immediately and had potential candidates and interviews lined up within a short space of time.  This was critical for me as we needed to get the team built fast. I did end up recruiting another Irish Chartered Accountant thanks to the leads Karin gave me. He too made the jump from Ireland and is enjoying living and working here. Another wonderful thing about being a Chartered Accountant is that you are more inclined to hire a fellow member because you know the training that you have to go through to get there. The majority of my team are qualified Chartered Accountants not all Irish, I am lucky to work with some fantastic Indian Chartered Accountants. The Indian Institute has a strong network of Chartered Accountants here in Dubai.   Just Do ItIf I were to look at the tips that are needed when considering a move overseas – 1) You will miss your friends and family but they are at the other end of a phone/skype so you can talk to them 2) If you have a family you certainly need to consider the cost of education /childcare as these are relatively expensive in both of the cities I have lived in. 3) Children probably fit in quicker to places than adults but it is fun when you get to start meeting new adults who are in a similar situation to you. 4) Living in both of these cities has thought me that the cost of living can be high so it might be an obvious one but do your research on where you want to live and prices before you say yes to the job 5) The most important thing to remember though is to just have fun and jump at the opportunity after you have weighed up the options but don’t, overthink things. We end up sometimes losing out on fantastic opportunities. In today’s world life moves fast – hence we have to learn to keep up with it. If you want to move overseas then JUST DO IT. So in a nutshell the Value /Benefits of being a Chartered Accountant – •         It does open up doors to you.•         It allows you to work anywhere in the world in total last count of countries I have been to 64 countries. •         It allows you to have a network no matter where in the world you are with other CA Institutes.   •         It allows you to work in many various industries as you always need an accountant no  matter what industry you are in.  •         It is a career that is challenging and allows you to develop professionally and personally.    Remember you do have the support of the team within the Institute who are always a phone call away. They can help you with recruitment and building a team as well as advising you in relation to a potential mentor. They can also help you keep up with you CPD through online training, your weekly newsletters to keep you up to date with what is happening in Ireland within the Finance World. These are just a few of many offerings that the Institute has provided me with whilst living overseas.  It does take a special kind of person to decide to seek a career in accounting but once you’re in that group the world really is your Oyster – Last time I checked, I don’t know of many other Qualifications that can offer that. Louise O’Donnell, ACA is Head of Internal Audit at Oman Insurance Company PSC and is based in Dubai, UAE.