On 16 June the Ulster Society hosted the next in the Inspiring Excellence Webinar Series featuring social media expert, Will Francis. Packed with actionable tips and tactics, this webinar will help you (finally!) get some genuine value out of social media for your business. A recording of this webinar is available to view, for free and on demand, HERE A pdf copy of Will's slides from this presentation are available HERE  

On 10 June the Institute and Ulster Society hosted a webinar providing an update on HM Government's Trader Support Service (TSS) which aims to help firms involved in the movement of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. This webinar includes an overview of a new tool, Trader Journey Assistant, and recent policy updates.  A recording is available to view, for free and on demand, HERE A copy of the slides from the presentation are available to download HERE  

“Focus must be on backing business and supporting a positive vision for NI” says new Chairperson. Emma Murray has been elected Chairperson of Chartered Accountants Ulster Society at its 115th Annual General Meeting. The Ulster Society represents 5,200 local Chartered Accountants and is a district society of Chartered Accountants Ireland, the largest and oldest professional accountancy body in Ireland. Ms Murray, who takes over as Chairperson from Maeve Hunt, is Partner with PwC in Belfast. She leads PwC’s Northern Ireland audit practice, having joined the firm after graduating from University College Dublin in 2000. She becomes the fifth female Chairperson of the Ulster Society. Addressing the Society’s AGM, held in-person for the first time since COVID-19 restrictions were introduced, Ms Murray said that the key priority would be to help to build a strong local economy which creates opportunities for people: “In the year ahead, we’ll be working hard to support our members working across every sector of Northern Ireland business and we’ll be supporting those who have a positive vision for Northern Ireland. “We need to ensure that we have a stable society which allows people to create opportunities, build confidence and encourage talent. “We know that there are a number of key challenges for Northern Ireland, including the impact of the pandemic on business and society; the cost-of-living crisis; the impact of Brexit and the workings of the NI Protocol; and of course, the breakdown of the Northern Ireland Executive when it is needed more now than ever. These are all challenges, but none of them are impossible. “We continue to live in unpredictable times. We are moving into post-pandemic recovery, and over the last couple of years how we work and engage with each other has changed. As a professional body, our focus will be on helping business to move forward and to bring through talent so that they can encourage jobs and foster growth for everyone in our community.” Ms Murray said that she would be working to build on the success that the Ulster Society has enjoyed during the leadership of her predecessor, Maeve Hunt: “The health crisis changed everything. We had to adopt a new way of working and it changed how members interacted with us.  “The pandemic vastly increased our engagement with members as they had more opportunity to link in virtually to our events. We will continue to provide a busy programme of both virtual and in-person events and provide a strong voice for members across Northern Ireland.” Ms Murray has been in accounting practice for over twenty years and is also a Board member of Trócaire and a member of the organisation’s audit committee. Outside of work, she is a mum, loves to travel and is a passionate supporter of Tyrone GAA.