The annual “Chartered Star” prize has been jointly awarded to two entrants from Co. Donegal and Co. Down by Chartered Accountants Ireland. The decision reflected the high calibre of entrants this year, and both winners will now go on to represent the Irish chartered accountancy profession at the ‘One Young World’ conference in Munich next July.
The winners are Aisling McCaffrey, Associate Director with Grant Thornton and Dr Caroline McGroary, Assistant Professor of Accounting in Dublin City University (DCU).
The ‘Chartered Star’ award recognises exceptional achievement amongst young and trainee accountants around the island of Ireland. Each year, it is awarded to someone who will lead, motivate, and inspire as they build their career. In 2020, entrants were challenged to demonstrate to the judging panel the ways in which they are making a difference and working towards, or supporting, the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Paul Henry, President, Chartered Accountants Ireland said
“My heartiest congratulations to both winners. It is in all our hands to create a strong and sustainable accountancy profession into the future and Aisling and Caroline’s achievements at a still relatively early stage in their careers are to be commended. I look forward to following their achievements in the coming years, and on behalf of the Institute I wish them success in their engagements in Munich in July. We are fortunate as a profession to be so ably represented on a global stage.”
Aisling McCaffrey, Associate Director with Grant Thornton is originally from Holywood, Co. Down and works in Dublin. A member of the FinBiz2030 Irish taskforce, she is also a NextGen committee member for 100 Women in Finance, a global network of professionals in finance working together to empower women at every stage of their career. Sport also plays a huge role in her life. A tag rugby player, she has represented Ireland in two World Cups and is a World Cup silver medal winner.
Her work to support the Sustainable Development Goals is focused on achieving gender equality (SDG 5) and empowering women and girls, as well as climate action (SDG 13). She currently acts as project manager for the team responsible for the creation of the Green Team Network – a forum for connection and empowering change towards a sustainable environment within the Irish Funds Industry. In Grant Thornton, she sits on an internal ESG working group through which she promotes sustainable activity across the firm.
Aisling commented
“I feel really proud and humbled to have been awarded Chartered Star for 2020/21 by Chartered Accountants Ireland. My qualification has provided me with technical knowledge and skills that I have been able to utilise in all aspects of my life and I am delighted to be representing the profession on an international stage at the One Young World Summit. I am really excited to collaborate with other young leaders at the summit who are passionate about making a social impact and finding effective solutions to global issues.”
Fellow winner, Caroline McGroary, originally from Donegal, is an Assistant Professor of Accounting with DCU. Before joining DCU she trained as a Chartered Accountant with Deloitte. Over the last seven years she has worked between Ireland and Saudi Arabia through a partnership between DCU and Princess Norah University (PNU), the largest female only university in the world. Caroline particularly impressed the judging panel with an initiative she developed to help women at risk of financial exclusion in Saudi Arabia. The initiative, which was supported at governmental level, had a social media campaign which reached over 1 million users, was nominated for a number of awards and was presented at international conferences.
Her work to support the UN SDGs is focused on SDG 4 Quality Education and SDG 5 Gender Equality by improving the financial literacy levels of students; educating students about the UN SDGs; empowering them to help achieve the goals through community engagement; while her PhD research is centered around professional education. In addition, Caroline promotes the UN SDGs in the business community in Saudi Arabia and Ireland, and was a founding member of the Irish Business Network - Saudi Arabia.
Caroline commented
“This is an award that I am immensely proud to hold and I look forward to representing the profession at the One Young World Summit in Munich, in 2021. I hope to use this summit as a platform to meet with leaders and activists from all over the world, and to identify ways in which we can work together to achieve impact. I'm also looking forward to working with the FinBiz2030 taskforce, whose aim is to mobilise the finance and business community globally to help achieve the UN SDGs.”
ENDS
About Chartered Accountants Ireland
Chartered Accountants Ireland is Ireland’s leading professional accountancy body, representing 28,500 influential members around the world and educating 7,000 students. The Institute aims to create opportunities for members and students, and ethical, sustainable prosperity for society. An all-island body, Chartered Accountants Ireland was established by Royal Charter in 1888 and now has members in more than 90 countries. It is a founding member of Chartered Accountants Worldwide, the international network of over one million chartered accountants. It also plays key roles in the Global Accounting Alliance, Accountancy Europe and the International Federation of Accountants.
About One Young World:
One Young World is an international conference that brings together inspiring young people from 190+ countries that are committed to making a difference.
The summit will take place in Munich in July 2021. One Young World provides a platform for young leaders to speak alongside Presidents, Nobel Prize Winners, Global business leaders and other inspiring global leaders. Delegates are an international cohort, sharing their impactful work, personal experiences, views and opinions with around 1,300 Summit attendees and an audience watching around the world.
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