On Thursday May 16th, the annual Irish Accountancy Awards returned to celebrate high achievers in the Irish accounting profession.
An audience of 425 accountancy leaders gathered to honour the teams and individuals who have been leading lights within the Irish accounting profession over the past 12 months. Now in its fourth year, the awards were presided over by an expert judging panel, with 16 winners announced on the night.
As professional partners for the awards, both Chartered Accountants Ireland and The Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Ireland were delighted to be involved, with Barry Dempsey, chief executive of Chartered Accountants Ireland saying: “Chartered Accountants Ireland is delighted to partner on 2019 Irish Accountancy Awards. The awards showcase and celebrate the best in the profession, from part qualified students to seasoned business leaders. This year we were pleased to honour Dr Laurence Crowley’s outstanding contribution to Irish accountancy, business, business education and all island collaboration.”
CPA Ireland’s CEO, Eamonn Siggins, also mentioned how this was the ideal opportunity to promote the sector as a whole: “CPA Ireland were delighted to support the Irish Accountancy Awards again this year and would like to congratulate all those who were shortlisted and won awards on the evening. We are happy not only to support our CPA members on an annual basis but also to profile the accountancy profession in Ireland as an extremely rewarding career.”
Financial services firm, Fexco, were honoured with two awards at this year's ceremony – namely Finance Team of the Year and Employer of the Year. Their chief financial officer, Ger O'Sullivan, was not only proud to win but also delighted to see accountancy teams across the board get such recognition: "The work of finance teams can fly under the radar, due to its sensitivity and complexity. Events, like the Irish Accountancy Awards, are invaluable in recognising the work of our finance professionals. I want to thank the Fexco team for their dedication and to offer my congratulations on their success at these Awards."
It was also a big year for Fenero, who celebrated their tenth year in business by also picking up two awards. Their CEO and founder, Sinead Doherty, gave her reaction to their Practice of the Year and Medium Practice of the Year accolades: “These awards are a fantastic showcase for all the amazing, progressive work being done within the accountancy sector in Ireland. We are thrilled and honoured with such special recognition in winning the overall Practice of the Year award as this is our 10th year in business.”
The awards covered a variety of different professional aspects, including corporate social responsibility. KPMG Ireland took home the CSR Initiative of the Year award, with managing partner, Seamus Hand saying, “I’m thrilled that we were awarded the ‘CSR Initiative of the Year’ award for our Bold Girls initiative. We’re very proud of our people and their commitment to skills-based projects that benefit communities throughout Ireland.”
PKF-FPM Accountants won on both a team and individual level, with the company winning Large Practice of the Year, while their managing director, Feargal McCormack, won Accountant of the Year.
Feargal graciously accepted his award by highlighting the effort of everyone in the company: “I was truly humbled to be nominated by my colleagues and awarded Accountant of the Year at the Irish Accountancy Awards 2019. I consider the award, a recognition of the collective Team PKF-FPM. This honour coincides with the conclusion of my very enjoyable term as President of Chartered Accountants Ireland.”
Reacting to their Large Practice of the Year win, PKF-FPM Accountants director, Michael Farrell said “PKF-FPM are honoured to be recognised as Large Practice of the Year at the prestigious Irish Accountancy Awards 2019. This award reflects the collective passion of Team PKF-FPM, indeed such an accomplishment has further energised the team for continuous improvement to exceed client expectations, delivering excellence in our industry.”
The accounting sector is rapidly evolving in response to the changing needs of businesses
As one of the sponsors of the awards, Sage are more than aware of the new challenges faced by the accounting sector. Their managing director, Barry Murphy, spoke about how they can help: “The accounting sector is rapidly evolving in response to the changing needs of businesses. Sage is privileged to be working alongside over 1,000 practices across Ireland, helping them on this digital journey, enabling them to add even more value to help businesses shape their own success stories. The Irish Accountancy Awards celebrates those practices that are leading this evolution from the front.”
Among this year’s event sponsors are Xero who are experiencing an expansion of their business network from their association of the awards. Glen Foster, partner sales director at Xero, said, “Xero’s accounting partner channel is fundamental to our success. We’re seeing amazing growth in Ireland from a large number of Irish accounting firms now recommending Xero to their clients. We get enormous value supporting the Irish Accountancy Awards as we continue our expansion into Ireland.”
The quality of entrants increases year on year and is a testament to the high regard the Irish Accountancy Awards holds amongst the accounting sector across Ireland
A judging panel made up of experts from across the accountancy sphere presided over the awards, and were led by Pharmapod CFO and COO, Anne Keogh, FCCA. Reflecting on the night as a whole, Anne said, “The quality of entrants increases year on year and is a testament to the high regard the Irish Accountancy Awards holds amongst the accounting sector across Ireland. A fantastic achievement and well done to everyone connected with the profession, 2019 proved to be a showcase event once again.”
Full judging panel:
- Nano Brennan, past president, CPA Ireland
- Joan Curry, council member Chartered Accountants Ireland / Department of Public Expenditure and Reform
- Cathy Byrne, principal, KPMG Ireland
- Mary Rose Burke, chief executive officer, Dublin Chamber of Commerce
- Evelyn Cregan, director of Corporate Affairs, Institute of Banking
- Richard Day, partner, Data Analytics & Risk Assurance, PwC
- Anthony Doherty, group corporate finance director, NTR plc
- Catherine Guy, lawyer and chartered director
- Karen Hennessy, chief executive officer at Design & Crafts Council of Ireland
- Dan Holland, partner, Audit and Assurance Services, Grant Thornton
- Jack Massey, lecturer, UCD Smurfit School and nonexecutive Director iNua plc
- Paul McClatchie, director and founder, Engage People
- Kieran O'Brien, partner, KPMG Ireland
- Michael J Walls, founder and chief executive officer, Dappr
To read about other BusinessRiver events visit their news hub.
The full list of winners is available below.
1. Practice of the Year / Sponsored by Capitalflow
Fenero
2. Outstanding Contribution to Accountancy / Sponsored by Chartered Accountants Ireland
Dr. Laurence Crowley
3. Large Practice of the Year / Sponsored by Circit
PKF-FPM Accountants
4. Medium Practice of the Year / Sponsored by Relate Software Group
Fenero
5. Small Practice of the Year / Sponsored by Big Red Cloud
Quinlan & Co Accountants
6. Accountant of the Year / Sponsored by Sage
Feargal McCormack - PKF-FPM Accountants
7. Finance Director of the Year / Sponsored by AccountsIQ
Melanie Sheppard - Pfizer Healthcare Ireland
8. Finance Team of the Year / Sponsored by Axon Outsourcing
Fexco
9. Advisory Team of the Year / Sponsored by Xero
RSM Ireland Management Consulting Unit
10. Tax Team of the Year
HLB Sheehan Quinn
11. Employer of the Year / Sponsored by Cpl
Fexco
12. CSR Initiative of the Year
BOLD GIRLS - KPMG Ireland
13. Best Use of Technology in Accountancy & Finance / Sponsored by Confirmation
IT Sligo
14. Excellence in Education & Training / Sponsored by CPA Ireland
Bachelor of Business (Honours) - GMIT Mayo Campus
15. Young Accountant of the Year / Sponsored by CPA Ireland
Kelly Mitchell - OASIS Group
16. Part - Qualified Accountant of the Year
Michael Dunphy - ifac
