Grant Thornton hosts a rather intriguing sounding conference next Thursday in the Conrad hotel in Dublin on the impact of "illicit trade" on the economy, covering money laundering, cybercrime, intellectual property crime and other naughty stuff.

It isn't just the subject matter that's intruiging, but also some of the speakers. Listed amongst the standard line-up of accountants, economists and other such rock stars is one Vanessa Neumann, the founder of Asymmetrica consultancy and chair of an OECD task force on illicit trafficking. Neumann, a sassy Venezuelan-born socialite, is an old favourite of the British red tops because of a past high-profile fling with Mick Jagger. It earned her the glorious nickname the "Cracker from Caracas", which apparently she revels in.

In other Grant Thornton news, I hear Paul McCann – the Cracker from Clontarf – has been re-elected for another term as the firm’s managing partner in Dublin. The insolvency specialist will be in the role until at least 2018, by which time the “companies going bust” boom will probably be over.