Practice Profile visits Anne Brady McQuillans DFK
Author: Shane McGinley
Dublin based Chartered Accountants - Anne Brady and Natalie Kelly - decided to merge their respective firms earlier this year. Both firms were part of the DFK international network. Shane McGinley asked them about the recent developments and about the advantages of networking in a professional practice.
“May you live in interesting times” is a phrase that was popularised in the 1960s by the politician Robert F. Kennedy and this has certainly been the case for Dublin based accountant Anne Brady. Earlier this year Anne's firm Anne Brady DFK, which she set up in 1992, merged with McQuillans DFK and on July 1st 2005 Anne Brady McQuillans DFK was born.
“It made a lot of sense for a number of reasons”, says Anne, “primarily because both of us are member firms of DFK.”
McQuillans DFK was established by the late Ken McQuillan in the 1960s. Natalie Kelly trained with McQuillans and was subsequently appointed a partner in 2003.
“Natalie and I had known each other for a number of years so, for that reason it was a comfortable merger”, explains Anne. “We both believe in the personal approach and we share the same emphasis on things like the ethos of the firm, how we treat staff, having a proactive approach to our clients, who are mostly in the SME sector, and being committed to delivering value and cost-effective services.”
“Natalie and myself felt comfortable working together and believed we could offer the same services to our clients and that it would be much more cost effective to do it on a larger scale. And it is always nice to have someone to bounce ideas of.”
Complacency is not a word that sits well with Anne and a brief look at her CV shows that it is not something that she could ever have been accused of. Anne qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Stokes Kennedy Crowley (now KPMG) before striking out on her own. She set up Anne Brady DFK in 1992 and has served as a member of both the Educational and Training Directorate and the Information Technology Services Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland. Anne and Natalie are both tax consultants, and Anne herself has completed exams in everything from information technology to catering!
“One of the biggest challenges facing accounting firms now is not to become complacent. It is important to continue training and development in all areas to ensure that you and your staff are
competent and challenged so that your clients can benefit from best practice and advice.”
FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
The newly merged firm has a staff of over 30 staff and recently moved into modern offices in the heart of Dublin City, just off Harcourt Street. This is a far cry from Anne's early days when she first took the gamble to go out on her own.
Back then, the majority of Anne's clients came from referrals through family and friends, but eventually these initial clients led to further referrals and once her name and reputation was established she became very busy.
“It developed little by little; I had one employee in the beginning and started from my mother's back bedroom. Then we moved out to rented accommodation and employed another few people and eventually bought our own premises and it has grown from there. I also joined Business Network International (BNI) which was helpful as regards networking and obtaining
new clients.”
MERGERS AND THE ROLE OF NETWORKS
Networks have always been important to Anne and have brought her into contact with like minded people who offer mutual support and advice. The recent merger would not have been possible without the series of networks which Anne was part of.
“In a merging situation I would feel more comfortable with someone who is already within an existing network that we are used to dealing with and we would know.”
In the general market many commentators have observed that the days of the sole trader are getting more and more difficult and large franchises and chains are the way of the future. This is a trend which Anne believes also prevails in the accountancy sector:
“I think mergers will become more common with networks operating pretty much as franchises. There are huge benefits in that as a lot of
the marketing is done for you
in advance.”
The newly merged firm Anne Brady McQuillans DFK is one of 280 independent accounting firms in the DFK international network. As well as generating work from clients abroad, being part of the DFK network also has the advantage that if Anne and Natalie's Irish clients have dealings abroad, they can avail of the advice and support services from the affiliated firms in that
particular country.
“Not only can we get tax advice we also have access to notaries, solicitors and banks in those countries.”
It also works in reverse with referrals coming in through the firm’s international contacts. For example, Anne recently helped set up bank accounts for an Italian company referred to her through the DFK International network.
On a more general note, if a client is looking to invest in foreign property the firm can use the network to get impartial advice from local firms in the specific market.
The firm is also part of a local network, the Thursday Network Group [TNG] - a group of nine accountancy firms within the Dublin 2 and 4 area. Anne says: “Although you might think that we are competing with the other firms in the network it is an excellent forum for mutual support and cost
effective training.”
Through TNG the firms cooperate on staff training, pool expertise and even hold joint social events!
The two networks - DFK and TNG - offer different advantages: DFK provides a broader international pool of knowledge and clients, while the TNG offers a local perspective and a local pooling of resources.
MERGER BENEFITS
Anne and Natalie both see advantages in having merged. The new entity can offer a broader spectrum of services as they pool together the different specialisations that the previous firms operated.
“From early on I had developed a niche market installing computerised accounts systems and selecting accounts packages that were suitable for the legal profession or medical clinic or what ever”, explains Anne. “Now, with Natalie’s expertise in the mix - (McQuillans DFK had a dedicated company secretarial department, which has now been merged into the new firm) - far more of our work would be in compliance - but originally about 70% would have been in information technology.”
A larger firm also allows the managers and partners freedom to expand the practice's services. Anne specialises in the area of business development and strategic planning, which she has always been interested in.
“I like hand holding people at the beginning and then after a while they don't need as much attention.’
Natalie, on the other hand, is passionate about using audit and taxation compliance services to drive additional value out of the businesses for clients.
The firm draws on the expertise of the full team to produce a complimentary quarterly client e-zine called 'Newsdesk', the most recent issue of which included articles on Audit Exemption, Benefits in Kind, Finance Bill 2005, Planning for Profit and Starting your own Business.
TRAINING & STAFF DEVELOPMENT
Training and staff development are a priority for both Anne and Natalie.
“We have put a lot of effort into training and fostering a learning environment and on the whole the students who train with us do very well in their exams. It is important to realise that training is not just an academic exercise - it is a commitment to develop future managers and leaders.”
In common with other firms in the financial services sector Anne Brady McQuillans DFK is not immune to competition for staff.
Staff turnover is high within the accountancy sector as a whole and Anne and Natalie find that on average two years is usually about as long staff members stay with any one firm at the beginning of their career.
“Most people leave, not because they are unhappy but because of travel and personal circumstances. Chartered Accountancy is a global qualification and it is quite normal for people to move about. At the moment the market is buoyant and there are lots of jobs for Chartered Accountants. That means people have opportunities to move and perhaps get a higher salary but I don't think salary is necessarily the first consideration for people these days.”
For clients, cash flow, staffing, profitability and compliance are the
main concerns, according to Natalie.
When it comes to the relationship between Irish companies and accountants she believes that it is up to the accountants to position themselves correctly with their clients and to provide the proper service.
“If companies have a negative view of their accountants often it is because the accountant has not leveraged the relationship properly,” says Natalie. And with competition from many other sectors such as IT and banking encroaching on their business
Natalie believes developing and maintaining the client relationship is a top priority.
GLASS CEILING?
We have all heard about the 'glass ceiling', but does it make a
difference being a woman and being an accountant?
“In a small to medium sized firm it is not an issue at all,’ says Anne, ‘if anything it is an advantage as if there are ten firms pitching for something and we're female and the other nine are male I think we have a better chance of getting it. That's my own personal opinion maybe I'm wrong.”
While in larger firms there maybe a higher ratio of men Anne believes this is changing. In one medium to large firm a woman was recently promoted to partner and she was the first female partner out of 22. With women representing well over 50% of accountants and more women entering the profession the next generation of accountants will be a more balanced group.
“Often it is a good to send a mixed team out to a job as they see things from different approaches.
“ Men tend to get a good overall impression but women are better at the detail and finer points.”
So do Anne and Natalie have any plans to develop the firm, foster any more mergers and add another name to the title?
“We don't want to grow to be a huge firm but it would be nice to have five or six partners, preferably coming from within the firm.”
“If you're not in you can't win and the biggest mistake of all is not taking a risk,” says Anne. And with increased competition in the sector, a growing portfolio of services and specialisations and a bigger firm to work within, it certainly is ‘interesting times’ at Anne Brady McQuillans DFK.