The Balance + Allies Network Group was established in 2021 to promote the needs and interests of LGBTQ+ members and students, and reports into the D & I Committee. Here we meet the group's current chair, Conor Hudson to hear more about group and how he got involved with it.
I’m Conor Hudson and I'm originally from Dublin. My route into Chartered Accountancy wasn’t completely straightforward. While studying, I completed a summer internship with a firm called Upton Ryan (which was based on Adelaide Road in Dublin at the time), and after finishing college I initially went in a different direction, working in media for a year. However, I quickly realised I didn’t see the long-term career path I was looking for there, which brought me back to accountancy and ultimately to a training contract with Upton Ryan, and qualified in 2012. Fast forward to now and I'm currently working with Grünenthal, a German-based pharmaceutical company, where I’m part of the M&A and Licensing Finance team. My role involves supporting transactions and licensing activities from a finance perspective, and I work mainly remotely with regular travel to Aachen, Germany.
When I reflect back now, I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to change course in my career. One of the things I’ve enjoyed most about being a Chartered Accountant is that it opens doors well beyond traditional accounting roles.
At its core, Balance is about creating a sense of belonging within the Chartered Accountancy community, whether that's students or members at any stage in their careers. It provides a space where LGBTQ+ members and allies can connect, share experiences, learn from each other and help create a more inclusive profession.
The group works to raise awareness and understanding of LGBTQ+ issues through networking events, information sessions and publications, while also encouraging visibility of LGBTQ+ members and senior role models within the profession. The group also provides an opportunity to connect with people across different firms and industries, which is particularly valuable because everyone can learn from the different approaches organisations are taking around inclusion and belonging. We hope that people can take learnings from those they meet in Balance and bring them back to their organisations, giving it an impact far beyond its membership.
How did you become involved? What are you particularly proud of as part of that involvement?
I first became aware of Balance around four years ago when I was becoming more involved with Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) in my own organisation. I reached out to find out more and became an active member shortly afterwards.
When I was studying, this type of visibility and support network wasn’t something I was aware of within the profession, so it was exciting to see that these resources were now available for current and future students and members.
One of the things I’ve really enjoyed is connecting and reconnecting with the wider Institute community through Balance. It has been a great opportunity to meet other like-minded Chartered Accountants, expand my network and share experiences from different organisations. I’ve also enjoyed getting involved in areas I never expected to. Contributing to Accountancy Ireland articles has been a great experience. It has been a rewarding challenge to approach topics from a different perspective and use a different skill set.
One highlight was MC’ing the panel discussion on intersectionality that Balance hosted last year. It was a great opportunity to help facilitate an important conversation and hear different experiences from across the community.
For anyone interested in getting involved with the group, what sort of commitment is involved?
The level of involvement is very flexible and depends on what is happening within the group. We typically have short virtual meetings every one to three months, with additional meetings if we are organising events or working on specific projects in the lead up.
For anyone considering getting involved, there is no expectation that you need to commit a huge amount of time. You can simply join meetings, listen and stay connected, or get more involved in helping organise events and initiatives. We try to schedule meetings around lunchtime where possible, with events generally organised outside normal working hours, so it should not take up too much of anyone's time.
The backing from Chartered Accountants Ireland is also a huge benefit. The Institute provides a lot of support around organising events and communications, which allows members to focus on creating meaningful content and connections.
How would you like to see the group develop/progress?
Going forward, I’d love to see Balance continue to build on the great work already being done by creating more opportunities for both education and connection for new and existing members. I think there is a real opportunity to continue developing a mix of informative sessions, networking opportunities and more social events where members can connect in a more informal setting.
To give an example of the type of things we have done over the past while, we had great success with our Drag Spin Class earlier this year (while raising funds for BelongTo), and I am helping facilitate the next meeting of the inclusive book club next month also. These are brilliant examples of bringing people together in a fun and different way while still creating visibility and awareness. We want to try out new ideas so we'd welcome new members and new perspectives. As you can see, we're happy to try anything!
Ultimately though, I’d like to see Balance continue growing as a welcoming space for LGBTQ+ members and allies, while encouraging more people across the Chartered Accountancy community to get involved and be part of the conversation.
Key information about the committee
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