“Your career journey doesn’t have to be linear to be valid”
Career paths aren’t always linear. Moving from hospitality management to Chartered Accountancy, and family business to academia, Emma Lericque has built a successful career with diverse experience and deep insight
I’ve run two marathons in my life: one in 2004, with my amazing mum by my side, and a second in 2024, on my own. The first was about proving I could; the second was about proving I still could.
My accounting journey has followed a similar path. In 2011, I qualified as an Accounting Technician to upskill into a finance role. Thirteen years later, I became a Chartered Accountant to prove I truly belong in the finance industry.
In fact, my career path began in the hotel industry with a degree in hospitality management. I relished the opportunity to travel and learn languages. I loved the fast-paced environment of hotels, but after ten years, I felt it was time to find a 9-to-5 job with free weekends and bank holidays.
I started working on the sales team for an internet travel company in 2009. Not long after, thanks to my French fluency, I moved to the accounts team supporting the French market.
From there, I quickly decided I wanted to pivot my career into finance rather than hotels or sales.
After researching local courses, I enrolled in a part-time Accounting Technician course with Dublin Business School in Swords and graduated with honours in 2011.
I then joined the team at Hertz’s European Services Centre (HESC), where I worked as a General Accountant until 2015. It was a great learning experience and I started thinking about continuing my studies to become a Chartered Accountant.
At the time, however, I was also caught up in the milestones of life: buying a house, getting married and starting a family. As a result, my career progression took a back seat, but the desire to grow professionally never left me.
The journey begins
In 2016, I joined our family business, Halligan Insurances and Investments. My dad, Michael Halligan, founded the business in 1981, starting in a portacabin in our back garden.
Over the course of 40 years, he built a company rooted in trust, service and professionalism.
During those years, the business relocated to offices on O’Connell Street in Dublin city centre and now operates from the historic William Norton House on North Circular Road.
That journey from back garden to one of Ireland’s most respected brokerages is a testament to my dad’s vision, resilience and relentless work ethic.
My brothers and I spent summers working in the family business, stuffing envelopes and answering phones, but I knew I didn’t want to sell insurance. My brother Brian had taken on that role, and Gerard was the IT manager.
As an Accounting Technician, I felt ready to join the company in my own right. From the outset, however, I felt it was important to do more than balance the books. I saw opportunities to streamline processes, strengthen reporting and apply strategic thinking to the financial side of the business.
I wanted to make my dad proud and offer the business the best possible financial management, and I set my sights on qualifying as a Chartered Accountant.
There, my marathon journey in finance continued and, in July 2016, I attended an open night at Chartered Accountants House and signed up for the Flexible Route pathway.
I loved attending the in-person lectures on evenings and weekends. I quickly met other Flexible Route students. We were the classic mature students: front-row seats, copious notes and post-class chats with the lecturers.
Together, we supported each other throughout the course, sharing notes, meeting up to discuss case studies, holding Zoom calls during study leave and offering each other tips on managing exam stress.
Qualifying in COVID times
I’m proud to say I passed all my exams the first time—even my FAE exams in 2020 during lockdown. That was a major milestone and lifted my spirits amid the stress of COVID.
Working part-time with Halligans, I had been chipping away at my professional diary but after completing my exams—with the pressure to balance working from home with homeschooling my two young children—I put completing my professional diary on hold.
My mentor, Kevin, and I agreed I would come back to it when the pandemic was over. From September 2022 to May 2023, my life became busier and more stressful than I had ever experienced.
Dad, operating in Ireland’s volatile insurance sector, decided to sell his business to a UK investment company.
I played a pivotal role in the sale to PIB Insurance. It was a crash course in high-stakes finance, and I learned more in those months than I ever imagined possible.
After the sale, I trained the new finance team and handed over duties. I was exhausted. I decided to take a well-deserved career break. I needed time to breathe, reset and reconnect with my husband and children.
I was delighted to use all the wonderful experience gained during the sale of our family business to finally complete my professional diary.
I also signed up for the 2024 Dublin City Marathon. I wanted a goal outside work or family to aim for and it would be 20 years since I last ran it, so the timing was perfect.
Running has always helped me decompress and training with the local club in Lusk became a new source of joy and support.
Finding the right fit
I officially qualified as a Chartered Accountant in June 2024 and I was over the moon with relief and pride, but I wasn’t sure where to begin in finding a role that truly fit.
Thankfully, I wasn’t alone. I had always felt a connection to Chartered Accountants House, especially after years of in-person lectures. So, when I saw the invitation to a Women’s Mentoring Evening run by the Institute, I knew it was where I needed to be.
That first mentoring evening in June 2024 was a transformative experience. I walked in feeling like an imposter and worried I had taken too long to become qualified.
However, as we all sat and shared our stories through the topics brought up by Charlotte Rose, the mentor leading the session, I felt inspired. Through the Women’s Mentoring evenings, I have met fellow members, swapped LinkedIn profiles and begun building a network that has become a lifeline.
I met the brilliant Sinead from Munnelly Coaching. We had one-to-one sessions where we discussed my goals, values and beliefs.
We looked at where I had come from and where I wanted to be. Sinead helped me take a step back and fully appreciate my achievements without feeling I should have done it better or faster. I realised that confidence isn’t something you earn once; it’s something you build again and again.
A quiet revolution
I believe the Flexible Route to qualifying as a Chartered Accountant is a powerful enabler for women like me who are mature students going into accounting and finance roles— and especially for those balancing complex personal and professional lives.
It is not just a pathway to qualification but a kind of “quiet revolution” that is helping dismantle barriers that have historically kept women out of senior finance roles.
The landscape is shifting, but there’s still more to do. We need greater visibility for women with unconventional career paths, stronger support for those re-entering the workforce and deeper recognition and better pay that reflects the unique value women bring to leadership.
I would encourage any woman to consider a career as a Chartered Accountant. Whether you are fresh out of university, returning to work after a career break or pivoting from another industry, this profession has room for your voice, your perspective and your leadership.
Your journey doesn’t have to be linear to be valid. The skills you’ve gained—from life, parenting or other careers—all count. And they make you stronger.
“THIS WORK-LIFE BALANCE HAS BROUGHT A RENEWED SENSE OF FULFILMENT AND PERSPECTIVE TO MY CAREER. I CAN CONTRIBUTE AS A MENTOR TO YOUNGER CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS, AND I AM AN ASSISTANT ATHLETICS COACH TO THE JUNIORS AT LUSK ATHLETICS CLUB”
The non-linear journey
Today, I work in research finance at Dublin City University (DCU), a role that aligns with my values and gives me purpose. I love knowing my support allows Principal Investigators to focus on their research. I feel proud to be part of a team again, contributing to something bigger than myself.
Life is busy with two children aged 10 and 12 and I’m grateful our household moves to a rhythm that balances work and family life.
I work flexitime with remote working one day a week, and my husband works remotely three days.
We’re lucky to have a brilliant childminder, and our evenings are filled with family mealtimes and kids’ activities. Our darling cockapoo ensures we get out for a walk every day, and weekends bring more kids’ activities and family time.
I also carve out space for myself through running, coaching, sea swimming, book club gatherings and the monthly Women’s Mentoring Evenings at Chartered Accountants House.
This work-life balance has brought a renewed sense of fulfilment and perspective to my career. I can contribute as a mentor to younger Chartered Accountants, and I am an assistant athletics coach to the juniors at Lusk Athletics Club.
Helping others grow, whether professionally or on the track, gives me a sense of purpose that extends well beyond the office.
My own career journey hasn’t been linear, and it certainly hasn’t been “textbook”, but it is mine. Every mile, every meeting, every mentoring moment has helped shape the Chartered Accountant I am today.
If I’ve learned anything from running marathons and balancing spreadsheets, it’s this: the finish line is never really the end. It’s just where you take a breath, tie your laces and start again.
If you’re standing at the starting line, wondering if you belong—if you’re ready or if it’s too late—know this profession needs you and we will be cheering you on every step of the way.