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Chartered Accountants Ireland

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Council

The Institute is a body incorporated by Royal Charter and operates under the terms of its Charter, bye-laws and regulations. The Council is the highest government organ of the Institute, determining its strategy and policy, and deciding on the allocation of resources to its various programmes. Council in turn has delegated certain functions to a number of boards and committees. The overall governance structure of the Institute is set out in the Governance Framework 

The Bye-Laws make provision for a geographical spread of Council members between the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Great Britain and for a balance between members in practice and members in business.

Council usually meets every two months but more frequent meetings can be called if the need arises.

Pamela McCreedy – President

Barry Doyle

Joined Council 2018

Chief Operating Officer, Police Service of Northern Ireland

Pamela is Institute President 2025-26, having been elected to Council in 2018. Pamela serves as Chief Operating Officer of the Police Service of Northern Ireland since March 2021 having previously held roles as Chief Operating Officer of the NI Audit Office and Deputy Chief Executive of the Northern Health & Social Care Trust.

Pamela chaired the Institute’s Advocacy & Representation Board from 2019-2023 and previously chaired the Strategic Communications Committee and the selection of the 2019 Chartered Star.

Pamela trained as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG, following which she held several roles of Chartered Accountants Ulster Society. She chaired the Ulster Society in 2017/18.

Pamela McCreedy – LinkedIn

Joan Curry – Deputy President

Joan Curry

Joined Council 2018

Finance Officer, Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport

Joan is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland and Deputy President for 2025-26. She trained with a mid-tier Dublin practice and then gained extensive finance function experience in a large multinational FMCG company.  She is now head of finance in the Department of Transport, having gained public sector experience across a number of government departments along the way.

Joan was first elected to Council in 2018.  She won a competitive appointment to the 20-member Board of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) in November 2019. IFAC has a membership of 180 accountancy institutes in more than 135 jurisdictions and represents more than 3 million professional accountants worldwide. Joan is also a senior member of the IFAC Planning and Finance Committee.  She prioritises public financial management and the development of Environmental, Social and Governance reporting and assurance in her work with IFAC.

Joan is a founding member of the Public Sector Committee of Chartered Accountants Ireland and chaired the committee from 2018 to 2023. Her focus has been to work with the Institute to identify issues of concern to public sector members. Joan collaborates on Institute and IFAC events to meet these needs and opportunities for Chartered Accountants.

Joan will continue to focus on promoting the work and contribution of Irish Chartered Accountants in the public sector and internationally, and expanding the All Island contribution of the profession to Public Financial Management.

Joan Curry – LinkedIn

Niall Walsh – Vice President

Kieran Wallace

Joined Council 2018

Global Assurance Quality & Risk Leader, Deloitte Ireland

Niall is Institute Vice President 2025-2026. He is a partner in Deloitte Ireland, having joined Deloitte in 1987. Niall has worked in various roles within Deloitte including two stints in the US. Niall is an Auditor and currently works with Deloitte Global as the Deloitte Global Audit & Assurance Risk Leader.

Niall joined the Institute Audit Committee in 2001. Since then, he has worked with a member of various technical committees including chairing the CCAB-I Business Law Committee for two years. He chaired and was a longstanding chairperson of the Institute Audit & Assurance Committee until his election to Council in 2018. He currently serves on the Advocacy & Representation Board and is the senior Council member on the Professional Standards Board. He has also served on the Audit Risk & Finance Board, the Education & Lifelong Learning Board.

Niall graduated from UCD with a B.Comm. He also holds a Diploma in Professional Accounting and a M. Comm degree from the same university.

Niall Walsh – LinkedIn

Barry Doyle – Immediate Past President

Pat O'Neill

Joined Council 2015

Investment Director, MASV

Barry was President of the Institute for 2024-25. Barry is Investment Director at MASV where he manages a family office and works with early stage and scaling technology and internationally focused businesses. He formerly held C-level roles in some of the fastest growing businesses in Ireland, including as CFO of the SaaS company xSellco, and the social media news and content agency, Storyful.

Barry currently chairs the Institute’s Digital Steering Group and chaired the Members Board until 2022. He has chaired many Institute committees including the Members in Business committee and the Strategic Communications committee.

A graduate of Accounting and Finance from DCU, Barry trained as a Chartered Accountant with EY in Dublin before relocating to Australia where he was the regional Finance Manager for Fox International Channels in Australia and New Zealand.

Barry Doyle – LinkedIn

Brendan Brady

Sinead Donovan

Joined Council 2024

Founder and Principal, Brady & Associates

Brendan is the founder and principal of Brady & Associates, an Audit, Tax, and Insolvency firm established in 2013. With over a decade of experience prior to founding his own firm, Brendan has a strong background in both large accounting firms and major Irish corporations. He qualified as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in 2006 and became a Chartered Tax Advisor (CTA) in 2009.

He has also been an active contributor to the profession through his roles on the Council of CPA Ireland, the CPD Committee, and the Taxation Subcommittee.

Brendan Brady – LinkedIn

Gillian Cregan

Sinead Donovan

Joined Council 2024

Director of Finance and Operations, Law Society of Ireland

Gillian has nearly 25 years’ experience as a Financial & Operations Executive within the global banking, insurance and legal industries, 18 years of which she held senior roles as CEO, CFO and COO of Cunningham Lindsey Ireland. 
Gillian was appointed Vice President of CPA Ireland at the CPA Ireland AGM 2024 having joined Council in 2019.

Gillian qualified as a Certified Public Accountant in 2001 and holds a Master of Business from UCC. She is also a member of the Institute of Bankers and Institute of Directors.

JP Donnelly

Sinead Donovan

Joined Council 2024

Non-Executive Director  

JP was Country Manager of WPP in Ireland, Ireland’s largest communications group for over 16 years. He is also Chairman of Prominate Ltd, a global promotional materials network, Alexandra dental group and Zelfio, a self-coaching platform. JP also sits on the Board of the Dublin Business Innovation Centre, Furthr and the Commercial & Marketing Committee of Leinster Rugby. He is a B.Comm graduate from UCD and holds an MBA from UCD Smurfit School. JP joined Council as an extraordinary member in 2024.

Sinead Donovan

Sinead Donovan

Joined Council 2005-2010 and 2017

Non-Executive Director

Sinead was President of the Institute for 2023-24. She became the first female partner in Grant Thornton in 2005 and was Chairperson of Grant Thornton in Ireland until 2025. She acted as an audit partner for 10 years before founding the Financial Accounting and Advisory Services (FAAS) team, a multi-disciplinary team servicing multi nationals.

Sinead has held several positions in the Institute since qualifying in 1996. She is a current Board member and Past President of Accounting Technicians Ireland and member of Diversity & Inclusion committee, and the Strategic Communications committee. Sinead formerly chaired CA Support and is a strong advocate for mental health matters.

Sinead Donovan – LinkedIn

Wendy Galbraith

wendy galbraith

Joined Council 2019

Non-Executive Director

Wendy is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland, having trained with Price Waterhouse in Belfast. She has extensive Board level experience across a range of strategic financial management, risk, governance, and corporate wide challenges. Currently acting as strategic Board advisor/independent non-executive director to a small number of public, private and voluntary sector bodies.  

She chairs the Audit and Risk Committee of Ulster Rugby and has joined the Audit and Risk Committee of Bus Eireann as an independent member.

As a senior finance leader, Wendy was appointed as the first Executive Director of Finance, and laterally Deputy Chief Executive, of the Belfast Trust, a major UK healthcare provider with a budget in excess of £1bn and over 20,000 employees. She then became Director of Finance for Queen’s University Belfast, a member of the prestigious Russell Group of UK research intensive universities and an anchor institution in the economic and social fabric of NI, holding that post for over 10 years, during the most turbulent times within higher education.  

She was co-opted onto Council in 2019, having served on the Ethics and Governance Committee and was subsequently elected to Council in 2020.

Wendy Galbraith – LinkedIn

Christiaan Gouws

Christiaan Gouws

Joined Council 2023

Partner, EY

Christiaan is a Partner at EY Dublin with fifteen years of experience serving large public and private companies, with an emphasis on digital transformation. He started his EY career in South Africa, was seconded to Seattle in 2014, and relocated to Dublin in 2017.

Christiaan is the first member, who qualified with another chartered body, to attain RI (Responsible Individual) status with the Institute, and also the first reciprocal member to serve on Council. He was elected to Council in 2023. He is a member of the Advocacy & Representation Board.

Christiaan holds an honours B Compt. (Accounting) degree from his native South Africa and qualified as a member of the South Africa Institute of Chartered Accountants. He is passionate about the global transferability of the ACA qualification.

Christiaan Gouws – LinkedIn

Michael Hayden

wendy galbraith
Joined Council 2025

Lecturer in Accounting, Maynooth University

Dr Michael Hayden is a lecturer in accounting at Maynooth University. Prior to joining academia, he qualified as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG. Post qualification he worked with MK Brazil Accountants and as a Financial Controller in the construction sector. Michael completed his PhD in Accounting at DCU by examining financial management practices in agriculture. Post PhD he has secured significant research funding and published his research in leading international academic journals.

Michael has been involved in the Institutes professional examinations process for over 15 years. In 2024 he joined the Institutes Professional Exams Committee which has the responsibility for the content, standard and conduct of examinations. Michael has also been an exam board member of CPA Ireland to oversee its Professional Examinations for several years.

Michael was Chairperson of the Irish Accounting and Finance Association from 2022 to 2024, an academic organisation whose aim is to promote high quality research and teaching of accounting in Ireland. As Chairperson Michael worked closely with the Institutes Education Department to host events to promote excellence in accounting education. Michael also liaised with Chartered Accountants Ireland Educational Trust on funding arrangements to support research of contemporary issues facing the accounting profession, including AI and sustainability. Michael is the national representative for Ireland on the Board of the European Accounting Association, an association that supports high-quality accounting research, teaching and knowledge exchange with practice.

Clodagh Henehan

Pauline Madden
Joined Council 2024

Clodagh graduated with a BA from UCC and went on to train in practice in Cork before qualifying as a CPA in 1990. 

She later worked in a number of roles across the public sector including serving as Head of Finance for South Dublin County Council from 2004 to 2015. Clodagh was selected to attend the Leadership Programme for Senior Executives at Harvard Kennedy School in 2017 shortly after her appointment as Divisional Manager in Cork County Council.

Clodagh served on a number of state Boards and Committees during her career including the National Maternity Hospital Ethics Committee; the General Accounts Working Group with the Department of Environment and Local Government; the Housing Finance Agency; and the Housing Agency. Clodagh has chaired the Audit & Risk Committee for the Housing Agency and the Audit, Finance & Risk Committee for CPA Ireland. 

Maeve Hunt

Pauline Madden

Joined Council 2022

Director, Grant Thornton

Maeve is a Director with Grant Thornton in Belfast having joined in 2016. She has significant experience working with corporates of all sizes, focusing on the manufacturing, retail and property development and technology sectors.

Maeve was elected to Council in 2022, having served for two years as chair of the Ulster Society from 2020. Her Institute contribution started as a student, as Vice-Chair in her local student society and Chartered Accountants Ireland Student Society. She joined the Ulster Society main committee in 2009 and also served on the Institute’s Education, Training and Lifelong Learning board of the Institute from 2009 to 2013.

Maeve is keen to help refine the member experience, drive engagement, develop young talent and foster a strong voice for the profession, particularly on issues such as sustainability.

Maeve Hunt – LinkedIn

Michael Kavanagh

Pauline Madden
Joined Council 2024

CEO of Compliance Institute

Michael is currently the CEO of the Compliance Institute (the professional body for compliance professionals), Chair of the IIPA (Irish Inter Professional Association - the Association for Professional Bodies in Ireland and a member of the Insurance Ireland Talent Steering Group.  Up to recently he was vice chair of the Sport Ireland/FAI Governance Oversight Group. 

Prior to that he was Director of DPP with KPMG Ireland, CEO of IAASA (The Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority) having previously been Head of Financial Reporting Supervision with the organisation. Michael established Ireland's statutory accounting enforcement function (tasked with examining whether the financial reports of listed entities comply with financial reporting standards) and oversaw the establishment of Ireland's statutory Audit Inspection regime (tasked with inspecting the quality of audit work conducted by Ireland's large audit firms) .  For 12 years, Michael was the Irish Observer at the Corporate Reporting Council of the FRC which produces UK and Irish accounting standards and also Ireland's representative at ESMA's European Enforcers Co-ordination Sessions which is tasked with coordinating accounting enforcement across Europe having chaired a number of ESMA sub-committees.

Michael is immediate past Vice-President of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants (CPA Ireland), Chair of their Education Committee, and was a member of a number of  CCAB-I committees. He has acted in the past as examiner, lecturer, solution writer and moderator for a number of accountancy bodies’ professional exams and was a frequent presenter on auditing and accounting matters at accountancy body Continuing Professional Development events.

Michael holds a B.Comm degree from UCG and holds the ICAEW and CPA qualification. 

Michael Kavanagh – LinkedIn 
 
 

Andrew Keating

Pauline Madden

Joined Council 2022

Chief Financial Officer, Musgrave Group plc.

Andrew Keating is Chief Financial Officer of Musgrave group, having previously held senior roles as Executive Director and Group Chief Financial Officer of Bank of Ireland plc and Director of Group Finance with CRH plc.

Andrew joined Council as an extraordinary member in November 2022.

Andrew has a B. Comm degree from UCC and a Master of Accounting degree from UCD. Andrew trained as a Chartered Accountant with Arthur Andersen. From 2016-2019, Andrew was a Non-Executive Director of the Irish Management Institute and, since 2024, he has served on the Finance, Planning and Resource Allocation Committee of UCC.

Andrew Keating – LinkedIn

Shane McAleer

Ian Slattery-min

Joined Council 2018-2022 and 2023

Managing Director, McAleer Gibney Chartered Accountants 

Shane is Joint Managing Director with McAleer Gibney Chartered Accountants, and prior to this was Managing Director of Somers, Murphy & Earl Corporate Services Ltd. He previously worked in practice with mid-sized firms including RSM Ireland, Moore Stephens and BDO.

Shane chaired the Institute’s Young Professionals group in 2011 and was on the committee of the Leinster Society for several years, serving as Chair in  2016-17. He has served on several Institute committees, including the Members in Practice committee and currently sits on the Advocacy & Representation Board. He also acts as Deputy Chair of the CCAB-I Insolvency committee.

Shane gained his primary degree in Accounting at the University of Dundee and qualified with BDO in Dublin in 2004.  

Shane McAleer – LinkedIn

Neillus McDonnell

Philip Maguire

Joined Council 2025

Neillus qualified with KPMG in Dublin and worked in a number of roles in London afterwards, including as EY Audit Manager.

He has held senior finance roles in Fyffes plc, Boxmore International PLC and CRH PLC, as well as Finance Director roles in Alchemy Partners, BHC and W&R Barnett. He has considerable experience of working with finance and management teams in small, medium and large sized enterprises, and of working with a wide range of accountancy and professional services practices, from sole practitioner to Big 4, on a wide range of subject matter areas including internal audit, cybersecurity, tax and audit.

Neillus has operated at board level with many companies across the island of Ireland, with involvement in key strategic, investment and corportate governance decisions. 

He has extensive experience working with qualified and trainee accountants, from Ireland and other countries, in many jurisdictions, and is very involved with the Ulster Society, including as Convenor of Members in Business in 1999-2000. 

Neillus holds a Diploma in Law from Kings Inns Dublin and an MBA from Cranfield University.

Conall McGonagle

Philip Maguire

Joined Council 2022

Chief Finance and Administrative Officer, The Ireland Funds, New York

Conall is the Chief Financial and Administrative Officer in The Ireland Funds America, a charity that makes most of its grants in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Before that, he worked in various roles in KBC Bank USA, including CFO, COO, CRO and Chief Audit Executive.

Conall was elected to Council for the first time in 2022 and serves also on the board of Chartered Accountants Support DAC. He is a board member of the Chartered Accountants Worldwide (CAW) Network USA and is a Past President of the Association of Chartered Accountants in the USA (ACAUS).

Conall trained with KPMG audit in Dublin, Luxembourg and Chicago. He studied Business with French in the University of Galway and has a Masters of Accounting degree from the Smurfit Business School. Conall is a US CPA and a member of ISACA, GARP, ACAMS and the IIA.

Conall McGonagle – LinkedIn

Dr Caroline McGroary

Philip Maguire

Joined Council 2024

 Lecturer in Accounting, DCU

Dr Caroline McGroary is a Chartered Accountant and Lecturer in Accounting at Dublin City University (DCU). She joined DCU in 2010 after training as a Chartered Accountant with Deloitte. Since then, she has completed a PhD in Professional Accounting Education, as well as lecturing on a range of programmes across the Business School and with industry. In 2013, Caroline moved to Saudi Arabia to set up a division of DCU Business School in collaboration with Princess Nourah University (PNU), the largest female only university in the world. While in Saudi Arabia her role was centered around the education and empowerment of Saudi women. She was also actively involved in the business community, including being a founding member of the Irish Business Network, Saudi Arabia.

Caroline is also Fulbright Scholar and Research Fellow at Boston College. A key part of this role is liaising with academia, the private sector and government agencies to develop an understanding of the cybersecurity landscape globally and the role of the accountant in this field. 

Caroline has recently been appointed to the Board of Donegal 2040 Strategic Development DAC; an organisation set up by the Donegal County Council to promote economic development in the region. She also sits on the Board of Cancer Fund for Children and the Audit and Risk Committee of The Arts Council of Ireland and Tusla. 

Caroline currently Chairs the Education Quality Assurance Committee, she sits on the Education, Training and Lifelong Learning Board and is a member of the Ethics and Governance Committee.

Caroline McGroary – LinkedIn

Eoin McMullan

Philip Maguire

Joined Council 2025

Partner, Hill Vellacott

Eoin is a Partner at Hill Vellacott, specializing in Advisory and Corporate Finance. A Queen’s University Belfast graduate, he is a member of Chartered Accountants Ireland and holds Diplomas in Forensic Accounting and Corporate Finance.

Eoin plays a key role in governance and academia, serving as a member of Senate and Chair of Convocation at Queen’s University Belfast, representing nearly 250,000 graduates. He is also a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee of QUBIS Ltd, supporting innovation and entrepreneurship.

With extensive financial expertise and strategic insight, Eoin contributes to the development of businesses and institutions across Northern Ireland, and beyond. His leadership in governance and finance continues to shape key sectors, ensuring strong financial stewardship and sustainable growth.

Eoin McMullan – LinkedIn

Pauline Madden

Pauline Madden

Joined Council 2020

Financial Consultant, Nutrias Limited

Pauline is a consultant working with Nutrias Limited, a biotechnology company. Previously, she worked as Group Financial Controller with ESS Modular and as Financial Controller of Valeo Foods, Sisk Group and Origo. She also volunteered on the Board of Directors at Kilnamanagh Credit Union.

Pauline joined Council in 2020 and has served as a member of the Institute’s Members Board since then.

Pauline holds an honours Bachelor of Business Studies from the University of Limerick and a Diploma in IFRS from Chartered Accountants Ireland. She also completed the Chartered Director programme with the Institute of Directors. She qualified with PwC in Dublin.

Pauline Madden – LinkedIn

Brian Murphy

Philip Maguire

Joined Council 2024

Audit & Assurance Partner, Deloitte

Brian is an Audit & Assurance Partner with Deloitte Ireland. Brian works predominantly with the firm’s largest privately owned businesses, both family and private equity backed, often internationally focused. He also has experience with public interest and listed entities. 

Brian is also Lead Partner for Ireland’s Best Managed Companies programme. Brian has been actively involved in the education of Chartered Accountants Ireland students and members as set out below and has also guest lectured at several universities including UCD, TCD and Maynooth University. 

Brian joined Deloitte eight years ago from EY. Before this Brian held senior roles at PKF O’Connor Leddy & Holmes, RSM Ireland and Mazars. Brian also operated a pizza franchise for several years gaining valuable commercial experience running his own business. 

Brian is past Chair of Chartered Accountants Ireland Leinster Society and is the current Chair of CA Support. 

Brian Murphy – LinkedIn

Tom Murray

Philip Maguire

Joined Council 2024

Corporate Advisory partner, ifac accountants and financial advisors

Tom is head of corporate recovery and insolvency with the firm and is the partner in charge of ifac’s corporate advisory subsidiary Friel Stafford. Tom is a multi-disciplinary practitioner practicing in Corporate Restructuring & Insolvency, Corporate Finance and Forensic & Expert Witness services.

Over the past 25 years, he has been appointed as Insolvency Practitioner to over 2,000 companies and has acted as an expert in many commercial and family law disputes and has given expert evidence in the High Court, Circuit Court, and the Tax Appeal commission. He is the Chair of the Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies Insolvency Committee.

Tom qualified as an accountant in 1997 with ACCA.  A past president of ACCA in Ireland, He has previously served on ACCA’s Global Council (2013 – 2016) and CPA Ireland’s Council (2023 to 2024). He is a Certified Mediator and holds both a Diploma in Forensic Accounting and a Diploma in Tax from Chartered Accountants Ireland.  Tom is a speaker on the Institute’s Diploma in Corporate Finance and has delivered CPD to accountants for over 20 years. 

He is a non-executive Director of the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research for Training (“NIBRT”) having been appointed by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. As a NED, he chairs NIBRT’s Resource Oversight Committee having previously chaired the Audit Committee. 

Tom Murray – LinkedIn

 

Barrie O’Connell

brid munnelly

Joined Council 2021

Partner, KPMG

Barrie is a Partner, Head of Clients and Markets and a member of the Executive leadership team in KPMG Ireland. He is partner-in-charge of KPMG Cork. He provides audit and advisory services to indigenous, listed, and multi-national businesses headquartered in Ireland.

Barry was elected to Council in 2021 and is the Institute representative on the Ireland for Finance 2025 Industry Advisory Committee. He is a member of the Institute’s Audit, Risk & Finance Board, having previously served on the Advocacy & Representation Board.

Barry holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from University College Cork and is a fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland. He is a Past President of the Cork Chamber of Commerce. Barrie is a member of the IRFU national referee panel and a member of the Munster Rugby Finance Committee. He is also Director of the Crawford Art Gallery, and a member of the Cork University Business School Advisory board.

Barrie O'Connell – LinkedIn

Orla O'Connor

brid munnelly

Joined Council 2023

Solicitor & Partner, Arthur Cox

Orla is a professional services leader and law firm partner with over 25 years’ experience holding divisional and firm leadership roles including roles on the firm's management committee. Orla is currently Chair of Arthur Cox law firm and is a partner in the firm’s Finance Group. Orla is responsible for chairing the firm’s board which deals with new partner appointments, partner remuneration and other strategic matters for the firm. She also leads and chairs all partnership meetings and as Chair, works closely with the firm’s managing partner.

In addition to her role as Chair, Orla also practices in the firm’s Finance Group advising banks, private equity firms and corporate clients on financing and restructuring transactions, on M&A transactions in the financial services sector and on regulatory issues such as anti-money laundering and compliance with Central Bank regulation.

Prior to being elected Chair, Orla served on the firm’s management committee from 2013 – 2018 and on the firm’s conflicts committee for 10 years and chaired the firm's legal tech and innovation steering group from 2016 – 2018.

Orla is a board member of AsIAm, Ireland’s national autism charity, and sits on the electoral committee of the Football Association of Ireland.

She received her LL.B. from Trinity College Dublin and her B.C.L. from Oxford University.

Orla O'Connor – LinkedIn

Suliyat Olalekan

brid munnelly

Joined Council 2022

Chief Accountant SFL

Suliyat is the Chief Accountant of SFL Corporation Limited, a large NYSE-listed corporate in the maritime industry. She manages a US GAAP accounting and reporting team in London and Oslo. Before moving to industry in 2014, she worked in both corporate finance and audit for Deloitte, Dublin.

Suliyat was first elected to Council in 2022 and serves on the Education, Training and Lifelong Learning Board. She became chair of the Strategic Communications committee in 2023 and joined the Advocacy & Representation Board. Suliyat is an active member of the London Society of Chartered Accountants Ireland where she enjoys a sense of connection to Ireland whilst supporting the Irish Chartered Accountants based in London, professionally and socially. In this role she also enjoys the opportunity to work with other international bodies.

Suliyat qualified as an ACA with Deloitte, Dubin in 2012. She holds an honours Masters degree in Accounting from UCD Michael Smurfit Business School and also a first-class honours degree in Accounting & Finance from Dublin Business School.

Suliyat Oyin Olalekan – LinkedIn

Geraldine Ruane

brid munnelly

Joined Council 2024

Founder, Gallatina Ltd

Geraldine is an experienced Executive, Non-Executive Director, Strategic Advisor, and Chartered Accountant with over 30 years of leadership across the public and private sectors. She is the founder of Gallatina Ltd, where she supports boards and senior executives on strategic transformation, financial governance, and leadership development.

She held executive leadership roles in global pharmaceutical companies including Novartis, Mallinckrodt, and Chanelle Pharma, and later brought her international expertise to the public sector as CEO of Ordnance Survey Ireland, COO of Trinity College Dublin, and CEO of the Royal Dublin Society. Across these roles, she led large-scale capital programmes, financial turnarounds, and institutional reform.

Geraldine Ruane was appointed to the Council of Chartered Accountants Ireland in 2024 and serves as a member of its Members Board. As an experienced Non-Executive Director, she currently serves on several boards, including Horse Racing Ireland, and has previously held board roles with Science Foundation Ireland, Genio, and Trinity College Dublin’s Grand Canal Innovation District. Geraldine brings extensive expertise in strategic infrastructure development, public interest governance, and stakeholder engagement across both public and private sectors.

She holds an MA from Trinity College Dublin and is a Chartered Director with the Institute of Directors.  `

Geraldine Ruane – LinkedIn

 

Michael Shovelin

brid munnelly

Joined Council 2022

Lecturer, Strategy & Finance, Atlantic Technological University

Michael has 35 years’ experience in teaching modules in financial reporting, business strategy and related areas at undergraduate, postgraduate and professional level in Ireland, Malawi, Austria and South Africa.  He has a proven track record in accounting education, research supervision and promoting accounting as a career and area of study. He currently chairs the Education, Training & Lifelong Learning Board.

Michael is currently lecturer at Atlantic Technological University, (formerly GMIT). He has been a visiting lecturer at Vorarlberg University, Austria and Durban Technological University. 

Michael trained with EY, working mainly in Audit. He subsequently took a lecturing post in DCU where he taught on the Accounting and Finance degree and the MBS in Finance programme. Michael was subsequently seconded to a World Bank funded capacity building project between DCU and The University of Malawi, becoming the project manager. He participated in establishing a faculty consulting unit, obtaining exemptions from professional bodies and re-validating the B.Comm degree programmes.

He currently serves on the North-west Society Committee and was chairperson in 2021/2022.

He has also developed and delivered CPD modules to colleagues in the North-west Society including Economic Updates and Outlook as part of post-budget seminars, ‘Strategic Management Toolkit for Chartered Accountants’ and ’10 Books Every Chartered Accountant Should Read And Why!’

Michael lives in Sligo with his wife Aodhmar and their sons Cathal and Aodhan. He is an avid reader, a jazz enthusiast, enjoys sea swimming and walking.

Michael Shovelin – LinkedIn

Ian Slattery

Ian Slattery-min

Joined Council 2020

Executive Coach, Praesta, and former Managing Director, Accenture

Ian is an Executive Coach, Management Consultant, business leader and former partner in Accenture Ireland, where he worked for 30 years. As an Executive Coach he works with senior executives and senior leadership teams to improve performance and also conducts external, independent board effectiveness reviews. A former Managing Director with Accenture, Ian led the Systems Integration and Technology practice of Accenture Ireland and worked on strategic planning, systems integration delivery, organisational change and effective risk management.

Ian was appointed as an extraordinary lay (non-accountant) member of Council in 2020 and also sits on the Audit Risk and Finance Board.

Ian holds a BA in Political Science & Business from Trinity College Dublin, a Diploma in Executive & Leadership Coaching from The Coaching & Mentoring Partnership, Dublin and an accreditation in Emotions & Behaviours at Work from Brentfield Consultancy.

Ian Slattery – LinkedIn

Áine Spellacy

Kieran Wallace

Joined Council 2023

Executive Director, UKI Assurance, EY

Áine is an Executive Director in Assurance with EY in Limerick since 2020. She rejoined EY in 2009 following international post-qualification experience with EY (Toronto) and a period in industry.

Áine joined Council in 2023 having been a committee member of the Mid West Society from 2016 to 2021. She currently serves as a member of the Institute’s Audit, Risk & Finance Board.

Áine attained a BSc. in Accounting from UCC in 2003 and subsequently qualified as an ACA with EY in 2007.

Áine Spellacy – LinkedIn

Eoin Tippins

Kieran Wallace

Joined Council 2024

Audit Partner, PwC

Eoin is a member in practice and based in Dublin. Eoin completed a BA in Accounting in the National College of Ireland and joined PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2006. 

Eoin is a partner in the audit practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers and specialises in the Asset and Wealth Management industry. Eoin has worked in Ireland and the US and has a diverse portfolio of clients across the asset management industry. 

Eoin has been involved with the Irish Funds industry association (“IF”) and has served on committees at IF. 

Eoin Tippins – LinkedIn

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