Ronan Guilfoyle was inspired by a friend who made the move to the Cayman Islands, so when the opportunity arose to do the same, he took the leap. We caught up with Ronan to learn a little more about his life and work in the Caribbean.
1. Where did you grow up and where do you live now?
I was born and raised in Douglas in Cork. In 2002, I moved to the Cayman Islands where I still live.
2. Can you tell us a little about how you got to where you are today – both the geographical relocation and career path. And, looking back, what advice would you give your 20-year-old self?
It's a long story! I got my degree in accounting from Universtity College Cork and then became an Auditor with EY in Cork, and passed my FAEs in 2000. Just the next year, a friend of mine who was also an accountant moved to the Cayman Islands and as we kept in touch I became more and more interested in that kind of work and lifestyle. And a year after that, an opportunity came up to work in Cayman in fund administration. At that time, the Cayman Islands was the leading offshore fund domicile, primarily serving a US client base. It's a highly successful international financial centre, due to its flexible regulatory framework- based on UK common law, a stable political climate and its tax neutral status.
When I arrived, I first worked with a boutique fund administration firm, which was later taken over by a larger more established player. Over the next four years, I rose to Senior Manager level and was offered the opportunity to return to Ireland to open an office for the firm. At the same time, I was also approached by a former employer to join him at DMS (now Waystone), which was one of the larger governance firms in Cayman. I was really enjoying my time in Cayman and I wasn’t ready to come home yet, so I stayed.
Cayman is an incredible place to live, with good weather all the time, beautiful beaches and a great community of professionals working in the financial services sector. The infrastructure and amenities here are first class and we are just an hour away from Miami. I had also established a life here, with friends and hobbies, plus a good standard of living.
Part of my mandate at DMS was to expand the firm outside of Cayman as then it was only operating from one jurisdiction. I opened the first international office in my home town in Cork, shortly afterwards another one in Dublin, and by 2012 there were a further six offices across the network and a significantly larger team. In 2010, I was made a partner.
After 10 years with the company, I felt the time was right to start my own firm. I invited a colleague, Wade Kenny, to join me and we started Calderwood in 2016 as a specialist fund governance firm. Fast forward to now, and by the end of this year, we will have 14 people in the team, and we're winning awards for our work. We have expanded our presence to the US, Asia and the UK.
Thinking about what advice I would give my younger self is an interesting exercise because I’ve been quite successful and have enjoyed the things I have done. I’ve learned that nothing comes for free and in order to progress at any level at any firm, I think you have to be willing to work incredibly hard, but also efficiently – to maximise the effort. Sometimes that entails some sacrifice, but in my case I feel it has been worth it.
I think one of my key strengths is to trust my gut and make decisions quickly. That’s not to say haven’t made any mistakes, but it’s about what you do with each lesson. That’s the most important thing to take forward.
3. What made you choose to become a Chartered Accountant?
It was always a favourite subject at school and something that I to excelled at. A friend’s father had a small accountancy office and I did some work experience with them. It was administrative work, but I really enjoyed working with the accountants there. This all drove me to the career decision, and I was able to formulate a plan for how to get there. I chose accountancy as a Leaving Certificate subject, then I did a specialised degree focused on accounting so I could complete the first two years of my accountancy exams sooner. I think the combination of my natural aptitude, plus my enjoyment of the subject matter really helped me to accelerate my learning and kick start my career.
4. What do you value most about your membership of the profession and how do you think those benefits can be used to support the economy and society?
Being part of this industry group and the association is very important to me. I remember reading many years ago that 60% of Fortune 500 CEOs were accountants, and I was very impressed by that. The designation certainly helps open doors for you, particularly through fellow members of the Institute. And as we all know, the designation is recognised all around the world, which is useful.
5. As a member living away from Ireland, can you talk to us about how your membership has been of value to you living overseas?
The membership really helps me feel connected with what’s happening in Ireland. The emails and other publications are very useful to keep up with things from a tax perspective. I may well return to Ireland one day, so keeping the connection active is important to me. I have always maintained my designation with the Institute and appreciate being part of this elite group of Irish accountants.
When I heard that a member chapter had established in Bermuda, I thought to myself that as we have lots of accountants here, it would make sense to start our own group in Cayman: to have a Cayman voice for our Irish Institute members. We hope to hold our first meet-up event soon. The Irish community here is already very close and I think this is a great way to strengthen those ties and mentor some of the newer Irish accountants who have just come to Cayman. We can advise them and be a resource as they navigate the industry here for the first time. The Irish community here gave me an excellent welcome and that was also one of the things that inspired me to set up this new chapter.
6. What were the most significant/noticeable differences you encountered doing business and networking away from home and back in Ireland?
I have spent the majority of my career in the Cayman Islands and people do make the predictable jokes, but it’s not about all sitting on the beach and drinking cocktails. While I can’t deny it’s a fabulous place to live, the truth is it has taken many long days and long nights for me to achieve success, which of course is the case anywhere. Having support from other Irish people in all sides of life was great.
I think pretty much anywhere you go in the world you can find a great community of Irish people and that is certainly the case over here. A lot of the networking in Cayman revolves around the Irish pub and the Gaelic Athletic Association, which is one of the biggest clubs on the Island.
Ronan Guilfoyle is Co-Founder and Director of Calderwood.
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