“The role of Chartered Accountants as business partners is set to become more prevalent”
Twenty-five years after relocating from Dublin to New South Wales, Conor Keenan is celebrating the launch of his latest Australian venture
What started as a short-term work assignment turned into a long-term love affair for Dublin-born Chartered Accountant Conor Keenan. Originally from Swords and now based in Sydney in New South Wales, Keenan initially travelled to Australia in 1998 on a one-year work and travel visa.
On his subsequent return to Dublin, however, he struggled to readjust to life back in Ireland.
“I came back to Ireland in 2000 and, while everyone I knew in Sydney was watching the Olympics, I was working in an industrial estate in Coolock,” he recalls. “I said to myself, ‘I don’t want to do this anymore.’”
Within months, Keenan was back in Australia and, in the years since, has pursued a successful career working for some of the country’s leading corporations and establishing NIOSMO Group, his own financial advisory business.
Keenan has now launched MyMoneyMedic, his latest venture, to provide holistic financial health and wellbeing services to businesses and individuals experiencing financial stress. The venture is, he says, “underpinned by a hybrid AI-powered platform focused on financial wellness”.
Transforming financial health
If you’re wondering why Niosmo looks strangely familiar, it is because the name is derived from the Irish phrase “níos mó”, meaning “more” or “better”.
“I wanted something that meant better or stronger,” Keenan explains, “NIOSMO is dedicated to transforming financial health. It is about creating the tools, resources and partnerships that can empower people to take small steps to build the balanced, fulfilling life they deserve.
“After years in finance and technology, I’ve seen how financial stress can impact every aspect of life. It’s not just about numbers—it’s about clarity, confidence and creating space for what truly matters.”
Keenan’s affinity with accounting goes back to his schooldays. “It was always there,” he says.
“I did a degree in accounting and finance at Dublin City University and a master’s after that. I started with EY in 1990 and did my articles and training there. Even though I started in audit, I moved into consulting pretty quickly.” Moving to Australia full-time over two decades ago proved a relatively smooth transition.
“I had no problem getting a job. Over the years, I’ve worked for prestigious companies such as EMC, Qantas and DXC Technology,” Keenan says.
“I went out on my own a few years ago, and found a niche carrying out financial health checks for companies and coming up with recommendations for improvement.
“By the time the underlying recession kicked in here in Australia about two years ago, I had built a strong client base of SMEs.”
Niosmo and MyMoneyMedic: origins
The downturn prompted Keenan to pivot his business towards supporting businesses experiencing financial difficulties in a more challenging market. This, in turn, led to the establishment of NIOSMO Group and MyMoneyMedic.
He describes MyMoneyMedic as a “hybrid AI-enabled financial wellness platform”, combining financial health with physical and mental wellbeing.
“We bring people on a journey that starts with our PulseCheck self-assessment, an AI-informed tool that captures behavioural and financial health data,” he says.
“This data provides personalised insights into their financial health, and we then put together a plan to help them improve their financial health over time.”
According to Keenan, MyMoneyMedic goes beyond standard financial planning. “Financial stress is all-encompassing. It impacts personal relationships, physical wellbeing, mental health—the whole lot,” he says.
“When Covid kicked in, I went through significant financial stress personally, and I learned a lot the hard way.
“MyMoneyMedic is the culmination of that personal journey, and we partner with other organisations in areas like mental and physical health to help people address those issues as well.”
It is, Keenan says, a “powerful combination,” and demand is strong in a financially stressed and uncertain economic environment.
Impact of Australian downturn
“We have had an underlying recession in Australia for the past two years, with thousands of companies struggling to stay afloat and needing help,” Keenan says.
“We have also had a considerable post-COVID housing bubble, which is very concerning from a leverage perspective. There are many similarities with the Ireland experience many years ago.
“When Ireland joined the euro in 2002, people started borrowing a lot of money at low rates and drove house prices up. The same has happened in Australia in the past few years.
“A lot of people took out interest-only mortgages for three or four years. They are now going back to full repayments at much higher rates and coming under a lot of stress as a result. This is why they need a Chartered Accountant to help.”
Compounding these challenges are inherent weaknesses in the Australian economy.
“Australia is very dependent on mining and prospecting. It doesn’t really have a competitive advantage in other industries,” Keenan says.
“It is very dependent on iron ore and coal exports to China. If China slows down, it will have a massive impact.”
Australians did put a lot of money away, however. “The State superannuation fund has more than a trillion dollars in it. The big downside risk is in inflated property valuations,” Keenan says.
Chartered Accountants Ireland: global brand
Reflecting on the evolution of his career to date, Keenan notes that his qualification as a Chartered Accountant has served him well, both at home and abroad.
“The Chartered Accountants Ireland brand is very strong in Australia. Our members enjoy a good reputation here,” he says.
“I was Chair of the Institute’s Australia Chapter for four years and we hosted several Institute Presidents during that time. The chapter is strong—we have about 1,000 members, the majority of whom are employed as CFOs or in other senior positions.
“I have found on my own journey that people tend to trust me because I am a Chartered Accountant. Being Irish brings an additional element of commercial savvy to the mix. Irish Chartered Accountants can not only get by but get ahead pretty much anywhere in the world.”
For those in the profession opting to relocate to Australia in the months ahead, however, Keenan sounded a note of caution.
“Australia is facing some challenges right now,” he says. “Twenty-five years ago, when I moved here, Chartered Accountants from Ireland could literally walk into well-paying jobs.
“Those coming here in more recent years have found it more challenging to secure roles and get ahead. The recession means it is now more difficult to get a good job and sponsorship.
“Accountants from the UK have an advantage in this regard because they can get a three-year visa, but the bottom line is that Chartered Accountants Ireland is still a very highly regarded brand throughout Australia.”
Start-up ecosystem
While his experience setting up his own business has been “relatively straightforward”, Keenan believes start-ups in Ireland have the benefit of access to a stronger support structure.
“I don’t think the support networks here in Australia are as good as they are in Ireland. You have to know where to look, and it takes time,” he explains.
“Setting up on your own is no easy task. Working in a corporate background is a very different ballgame.
“As a business owner, you are the master of your own destiny, but you become a lot more aware of the importance of cash flow and relationship-building.
“It can be hugely rewarding, though, and recognition of the Chartered Accountants Ireland brand does make it easier to get ahead as a founder, particularly when it comes to raising money and getting investors in,” he says.
“Also, because Australia is a lot bigger than Ireland, you can scale a business much more easily. A lot of overseas companies use Australia as a testing ground for global expansion.”
Future plans and vision
The future looks bright for NIOSMO Group and MyMoneyMedic, and it is an exciting time for Keenan.
“As a start-up, we are now in the high-growth phase and scaling our team. The traction we are getting in the market is powerful,” he says.
“We are in the process of raising capital to develop the technology platform that will enable us to scale the business globally in a cost-effective manner.”
Artificial intelligence (AI) is key here. “One thing I have not been able to do is to ‘scale myself’ as one person, and that’s why I have started to integrate a lot of technology,” Keenan says.
“We’ve created a very smart platform to capture and analyse data—but there will always be a human involved, either myself or another member of our team. AI does good work, but it needs to be reviewed, overseen and monitored by humans.
“Our investment in technology will hopefully allow us to scale overseas, and we are currently talking to a credit institution in Ireland and another potential partner in the US.”
“I HAVE FOUND ON MY JOURNEY THAT PEOPLE TEND TO TRUST ME BECAUSE I AM A CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT. BEING IRISH BRINGS AN ADDITIONAL ELEMENT OF COMMERCIAL SAVVY TO THE MIX. IRISH CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS CAN NOT ONLY GET BY BUT GET AHEAD PRETTY MUCH ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD”
AI and new opportunities
Technology will play an increasingly important role in practice in the years ahead, Keenan believes.
“The partner model will always be needed, but you have to leverage AI to make people more effective at what they do,” he says.
“The reality is that AI is here now and it’s here to stay. Humans won’t be replaced, but we will need to learn to work in a more tech-savvy manner.
“There is no point in working against the technology; we need to work with it. Some elements of traditional audit and tax work will be subsumed by AI.
“It will also generate opportunities for Chartered Accountants, however, who will be needed to carry out audits on the use of AI itself, and ensure compliance with the new ISO/IEC 42001 International Standard for Artificial Intelligence Management Systems (AIMS).
“I think the role of Chartered Accountants as commercial business partners will also become much more prevalent.”
Given his continued success in his adopted country, would Keenan ever consider a return to Ireland?
“Never say never. I’m Irish and still have family and friends in Ireland. I love going home and I’m a very keen golfer, so I might be open to spending three months a year in Europe, split between Ireland and Portugal perhaps—but we’ll have to see.”
No matter where he is in the world, however, he will always be a proud Irishman.
“Being Irish, being a Chartered Accountant, having graduated from DCU and qualified with EY in Dublin—I really cannot quantify the benefits that these foundations have brought me over the years.”
As he builds out MyMoneyMedic’s technology roadmap, Keenan is also opening the door to strategic investment.
“This is an exciting time; we’ve validated the problem and we’re now building the holistic financial health and wellbeing solution,” he says.
“Now, we are looking for investment partners who share our vision of redefining financial wellness through AI and human care. We’re just getting started.”