Welcome to the series which will introduce members of the Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies – Ireland (CCAB-I) Insolvency Committee over the coming months. We hope to provide information on the work of the Insolvency Committee and insights into the careers and experience of our Committee members.
Today we will hear from Cormac Mohan. Cormac is the managing partner at Fitzwilliam Corporate Insolvency, a Dublin based corporate restructuring practice. He is an experienced Insolvency Practitioner; Past President of CPA Ireland and is a member of the CCAB-I Insolvency Committee since 2016.
Tell us about your career to date and your route to being an Insolvency Practitioner
I grew up in a family business along a border village in Co. Monaghan. I was exposed to a business environment from a young age. I graduated with a business qualification and decided to pursue an accountancy qualification through CPA Ireland while working at the Coca-Cola concentrate plant in the early ‘90’s .
After qualifying as an accountant, I took up several international roles with the Coca-Cola Company, setting up new operations as financial controller, mainly in the Nordic countries - Norway, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland. This was my first exposure to corporate restructuring including acquiring , reorganising, and downsizing businesses.
The opportunity then arose for me to return to Dublin and work with Microsoft European Operations Centre as a senior business manager.
After the Tech bubble crash in the early 2000’s, I set up a city-centre based Accountancy practice which has now evolved into FM Accountants & Business Advisors. Overtime I diversified the business, as an Insolvency Practitioner, into corporate restructuring under Fitzwilliam Corporate Insolvency. I always had a keen interest in this area. The company specialises in the area of independent expert reports, examinership, members voluntary liquidations and broadening the service level to creditor Liquidations. Completing a diploma in Corporate Restructuring & Insolvency with the Law Society of Ireland 2012, a Diploma in Forensic Accounting & Commercial mediation enhanced my skillset. This was my circuitous route to becoming an Insolvency Practitioner.
Are you where you expected to be in your career?
When I started, I did not have a clear career path mapped out. It was the flexibility and mobility of an accountancy qualification that allowed me to build the career that I have today. It enabled me to work in varied industries around the world. That has been of significant benefit and the corner stone for the role as an Insolvency Practitioner in my career to date.
Having spent more than a decade working in a multinational environment with both Coca-Cola and Microsoft, I changed career path to set up my own practice . Over the last 20 years , I have repositioned our business model on several occasions based on market needs and client expectations against the background of the economic external environment.
This has led me to the route of an Insolvency Practitioner in which I would argue that the skillset required is as much about problem solving and business recovery focused as its about liquidation or the winding up of companies. This skillset is often overlooked in the context of the work carried out by Insolvency Practitioners. One must pivot in both directions depending on the circumstances.
What was the best career advice you got along the way?
While I was working in the Nordic countries with Coca-Cola, I was lucky to have had a trusted mentor, a senior colleague from Iceland. He encouraged his key management team to be business leaders.
His guiding principles were to be result-driven, don’t get lost in the detail and look beyond the numbers using intelligence coupled with the subject matter knowledge. This is what I would advise any aspiring Insolvency Practitioner.
As a professional, you need to understand your limitations while recognising the commercial aspects of decision-making. It is about developing your skills to evaluate situations based on a limited amount of information which can give a competitive advantage. Recognise the difference between intelligence and knowledge is necessary to grow your career in any business.
As Practitioners, we can rely too much on the more analytical side of the brain. We are not always aware of the importance of judgement and creativity in our work.
Most important is to be yourself. Don’t oversell your ability to meet expectations. Prospective clients will appreciate the honesty.
It is equally important to let your results speak for themselves. Be realistic about your ability to deliver and keep your ego in check.
Based on your own experience, what advice do you have for young professionals looking to build a career in corporate Insolvency?
My top tip for any recent graduate would be to consider a professional qualification, whether it be in Accounting or Law. It will give you a platform to build your skillset as an Insolvency Practitioner and grant you the flexibility to pursue varied career paths within the corporate restructuring and Insolvency arena.
Work in an environment that builds a culture of learning and development within your team.
Encouraging transparency and even frankness will avoid misunderstandings. It helps everyone get to the crux of the issue, particularly when there is not always a black and white scenario.
To a degree Insolvency Practitioners are trained to analyse numbers based on a formulaic approach. While a deep understanding of a company’s balance sheet and trading performance of a business is a key ingredient of a Practitioner’s skillset, my advice is to develop the ability to look beyond the numbers and learn to make intuitive decisions.
The Insolvency profession is becoming more diverse with the emergence of new technologies like artificial intelligence and robotic process automation. These technologies over time will give professionals more time to provide value-added business advisory and strategic services to their employers and clients.
Lastly, I believe in the power of positivity and the importance of managing failure as well as success. When commitment and effort has been to the fore, it should be recognised, even if something has gone wrong. This approach will instil confidence and resilience.
How would you define your work style, and how has this evolved over the years?
I try to structure my work in a strategic way by prioritising the key tasks and eliminating possible risk early on. I focus on the objective and the ‘roadmap’ of how we are going to execute the strategy.
Over the years, based on experience, you learn to manage risk and the downside, looking at the longer-term strategy while also being conscious of your limitations.
Delegate. You can’t do everything yourself. Empower and encourage your team, giving them responsibility and ownership while holding them accountable.
In terms of managing teams and individuals, what are your insights and views?
Prioritise your team’s growth and development, looking beyond your own needs. If you don’t delegate, you will not scale your business.
Let’s face it, today’s business world is set on a global stage. Technology is playing just a small role in making our world smaller. This has granted companies of all sizes the freedom to recruit the best people, wherever they are. Millennials are shaping the workplaces of today and the future.
Equally, if not more important, is to promote and embrace gender equality in the workplace. Both culture and gender diversity are what shapes us. It is the reason we hold certain beliefs and diversity influences how we behave and is what gives us our identity.
Historically, the trend in Insolvency has been male dominated. However, this trend has begun to reverse over the last number of years.
In my view, both culture and gender diversity should be prioritised over the next decade to develop the profession further and attract new talent as a rewarding career path. It is a key priority and objective at present for the CCAB-I Insolvency Committee.
What about communication and negotiating the typical ups and downs of working life?
Key to effective communication is avoiding the ‘take it or leave it’ approach. It is about being persuasive, so that people can adapt.
You also must stay engaged, particularly when someone doesn’t buy into your approach. It may take time to get to the position you want while recognising the opinions and perspectives of those around you.
Be persuasive and independent in your thinking, but don’t be overly opinionated. Make your points based on evidence and deep understanding while simplifying the message.
Has networking played an important part in your career?
All consultancy and professional businesses are essentially people focused. We all like to do business with someone we know, like and trust. So networking and making personal connections are a crucial part of the job.
Most important is to be yourself. Don’t oversell your ability to meet expectations. Prospective clients will appreciate the honesty.
What is the current position with regards to the level of insolvencies in Ireland?
Based on the latest industry data, there has been a 33% increase in insolvencies in the year-to-date compared to the first three quarters of 2022.
The topical discussion amongst Practitioners at present is the Revenue debt warehousing as it needs to be phased out by May next year. Recently the Minister for Finance confirmed that, as of the end of September 2023, almost 94 per cent of that debt has been repaid, leaving €1.87 billion still warehoused through the scheme.
There is an expectation that the volume of work for Insolvency Practitioners will increase significantly over the coming months as these debt positions will need to be crystallised.
Against the background of rising interest rates, a global economic downturn in certain sectors, some legacy taxation debt coupled with highly geared property debt certainly will have an impact on several businesses which will shift into insolvency certainly in Q1 /Q2 of next year in my view.
Disclaimer: The views of contributors to this series of articles may differ from official Institute and Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies - Ireland (CCAB-I) policies and are not necessarily endorsed by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland, its Council, its committees or any other person or entity associated with the Institute. The publishers, editor, and authors accept no responsibility for any errors or omissions or any loss resulting from any person acting, or refraining from acting, because of views expressed or advertisements appearing in this publication.
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