Profile Adrian Burke
Author:
Adrian Burke
[Excerpt] I was born in Dublin in 1941. On my father's side my family are Dubliners for at least four generations. He was an executive in Dublin Corporation and took early retirement in 1960. My mother was also a Dubliner. Unusually for a woman in the 1930s she worked as manager of her father's small lithographic business until the arrival of the third of her four children (me) in 1941. Her parents had emigrated to New York in the late 1890's but returned to Dublin after a few years because her mother didn't like it!
We lived in Mount Merrion then an almost rural environment. My early schooling was at St. Theresa's national school. I then attended Willow Park and Blackrock College where I played rugby for the junior and senior cup teams and developed an enduring interest in the game. The school placed great emphasis on the personal development of students as well as academic performance and I continue to have the highest regard for my friend Fr.Tom Nash and his colleagues in Blackrock.
Like most Irish parents of that generation, mine were focused on the need for education. We were encouraged to get a university degree and I registered for a B.Comm at U.C.D. The choice was determined more by the fact that the registration queue was short, than by any overwhelming career motivation.
My social life at U.C.D. revolved around the rugby club with which I am still associated. It was a golden era for rugby in UCD with players of the calibre of Bill Mulcahy, Ray McLaughlin, Mick Doyle and Jimmy Kelly who not only played for Ireland but also captained the national side. I am a past president, former Hon. Treasurer for about 20 years and currently the Hon. Senior Secretary. Indeed it was after a U.C.D. vs. Cambridge University match in 1963 that I met my wife Barbara. We have four adult children - Alan married in London, David resident in New York and Jennifer and Nigel based in Dublin
It was my involvement in U.C.D. rugby that indirectly led me in to a career in accountancy. At that time, the senior partner in Reynolds McConnor and Co. (now part of Ernst and Young), was Niall Hogan who was a council member of the Institute. More importantly he was an active member of U.C.D. rugby club!. He offered to take me on as an articled clerk at the princely sum of �£2 per week. It should be noted that in terms of student currency, �£2 was the equivalent of 10 pints in 1963.
The 1960s were great years to be a student in Dublin. The economy was recovering from the tribulations of the 1950's, incoming investment was building up and the nation's confidence was developing. It was also the era of the Beetles and mini-skirts. However, emigration was still the norm for most graduates and after qualification as a Chartered Accountant I went to London where I joined the small business division of Arthur Andersen in 1966.
I spent my entire post qualification professional career with Andersen, six years in London and the balance in Dublin. The training was superb. The work ethic was fantastic. The emphasis on quality and professional integrity was outstanding. We recruited and trained wonderful men and women over those years.
Andersen opened in Dublin in 1969 with a team of seven led by Frank Barrett (Institute president 1982-83). I was, and am, very proud to have been a member of that team. We caused quite a stir in Dublin by offering London salaries to our trainees. At �£1200 per annum these were three or four times the salaries for trainees in Dublin at that time. Andersens were to the fore in the development of auditing standards at the time. It is hard to believe now that some of the 'modern' auditing procedures introduced by Andersens then were not applied generally on audits in Ireland. These included such basic procedures as attendance at stock counts and independent confirmation of debtor balances. How times have changed. Andersens also bought a sharp focus to the provision of quality taxation services under the direction of James Gallagher (Institute president 1989-90) who had been recruited by Frank from the Revenue authorities, where he had been one of their top inspectors. Andersens also developed the most successful consultancy practice in Ireland specialising in IT. The number of employees of the combined firm in Dublin had grown to over 700 at the time that the consultancy side went its own way.
The combined firm moved in 1991 to Andersen House in the IFSC when the Centre was established. This helped to enhance our image and status and I joined the committee of the Financial Services Industry Association formed to ensure that an appropriate focus was maintained on its development. We used the expertise of our taxation colleagues and the international network to encourage inward investment -as did our professional colleagues in the other accountancy firms.
I retired from Andersens in 1997 after an exhilarating career, twelve years of which were as managing partner in Dublin preceded by three years as partner in charge of the audit division. This also involved international responsibilities at various stages including Director 'Small Business Europe' and membership of the worldwide Chairman's Advisory Council. One particularly fascinating project was a visioning exercise 'Creating the future'. This involved meetings in Chicago, Singapore and Berlin of 100 partners, managers and staff to discuss the future of the accounting profession in the year 2020. It involved eminent academics from a range of countries and specialists in futurology.
Unfortunately we could not predict Enron. However, among our many predictions we did envisage the continuing consolidation of the profession and technological advances that by 2020 could mean serious audit competition from technology companies and rating agencies.
I am still shell-shocked by the recent events in the US, which are leading to the disintegration of an excellent firm.
Accountancy Ireland Vol 34 No 3 June 2002.