Supporting Younger Chartered Accountants
Author:
Louis O'Neill
Louis O'Neill, Head of Transaction Services at BDO Simpson Xavier is Chairman of the Young Professional Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland which focuses on addressing issues and providing support to young CAs.
Someone recently asked me why was I involved in the Young Professionals Committee, that surely the day job was too busy for 'all the extra work involved'. The answer when I thought about it came in three parts.
Firstly, it is genuinely good fun! When David Simpson initially asked me to join as part of his sales pitch he promised me a lively and interesting bunch of young CAs drawn from all sectors and levels of Irish business. The committee is disbanded and reformed each year with new members ensuring a constant stream of new ideas and initiatives.
Secondly, while the committee does require some extra time and effort, the areas we focus on are interesting and relevant to all young CAs - me included!
Issues like career progression, networking, mentoring, business development which fall within the remit of our committee are relevant to everyone in my age bracket no matter where they work. Addressing these issues through the Committee allows me benefit and plan my own future career along with everyone else.
Finally, on a purely selfish note as a corporate financier in practice I am always looking for the next deal or transaction. Working with my peers allows me identify and assist young chartered accountants who equally are looking at creating opportunities for themselves by growing their existing business, or setting up their own business or buying a business. The entrepreneurial culture is alive and well in young CAs based on a number of conversations at our regular evening meetings!
My career path to date and the issues facing me would be typical of modern CAs.
Having trained in the audit practice of BDO Simpson Xavier I stayed on for a couple of years post qualification to get a bit more experience - in my case in our BES fund. This was a lot of fun as I spent two years travelling the country seeking out young growing Irish businesses for investment purposes. Thankfully they have all survived and are still successful today.
At the age of 27, having got itchy feet, I headed off for a year and a half working in South Africa. It was a fantastic experience and great fun. When the time came to return home, similar to a lot of other returning emigrants, I found it very difficult to come back - probably because the focus for 18 months had been predominately on the social side rather than on my career! Returning to Dublin at 29 however the focus returned to career opportunities, broadening my experience and finding something interesting to do. As a result I joined the BDO Simpson Xavier corporate finance department.
Recently I have taken over responsibility for the Transaction Services or due diligence practice within corporate finance and the challenge now is to grow that business.
So how does the Young Professionals Committee help young CAs realise their ambitions?
Our main focus to date has been on providing opportunities for members to network and while learning what their peers and business leaders are doing. All very important for any young chartered accountant. Evening meetings are scheduled regularly with speakers ranging from Ossie Kilkenny, Charlie McCreevey, Sean Fitzpatrick to high profile business executives all providing an insight into their own careers and advice on new directions.
While there is a formal presentation side to these meetings they also tend to be very social and lively.
We've also covered issues such as property, pensions, career opportunities, institute development and basically anything our members are interested in. Feedback is our lifeblood and a new website (address to be submitted) will (hopefully) continue to provide new ideas and topics for discussion through our feedback report.
An annual Young Professionals conference provides an all day networking opportunity in a soft skills learning environment which has been very well attended to date. Future initiatives and events include - an evening with Leo Martin the CEO of Heitons, career mentoring, a charity social event and a conference focusing on raising your profile.
So if you still consider yourself a young CA check out our section on the Institute website (www.icai.ie) let us know what you're interested in and come along to our next evening event.