Global business centres in Ireland booming, finds survey

Global business services centres based in Ireland are “on a clear expansion path”, but many professionals in the industry are not happy with how they use technology within their organisation, according to a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The accountancy giant says 78 per cent of global business services executives in Ireland say their organisation will expand their activities in Ireland, with almost two-thirds planning to hire more people.

But 80 per cent are not satisfied with how their company uses technology, a joint PwC and Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (Acca) survey of 120 professionals found. Cloud computing and robotics are among the technologies expected to have an impact on global business services in the future.

The centres, often referred to as shared services facilities, are mainly operated by multinational companies, which use them to centralise certain backroom operations such as accounting, HR, payroll, supply chain management and procurement.

Such internal support functions can represent 10-15 per cent of a company’s cost base.

"Continued investment in talent management will be critical for Ireland to secure our global business services growth potential," said PwC partner Alisa Hayden.

Access to talent was cited by two-thirds of respondents as the main factor vital to Ireland’s success. Almost one in five said competitiveness was the critical factor, while one in 10 identified Ireland’s connectivity to markets such as the rest of Europe, the US and Asia.

Meanwhile, half of those surveyed said they believed performance measurement at their centres needed to be improved.

Jamie Lyon, the Acca's head of corporate sector, said it was important to keep track of how shared services centres were influencing career paths in finance, as this would have implications for where the next generation of chief financial officer (CFO) leaders would be sourced from.