“We have taken a quantum leap in terms of the scale of our business”
Neil Hughes, Chief Executive at Azets Ireland, talks to Accountancy Ireland about a new era of growth for the firm as it continues to create jobs and expand its footprint nationwide
The announcement in March 2025 that Azets Ireland had acquired Dublin-based accounting and advisory firm Cooney Carey marked a personal milestone for Neil Hughes, Chief Executive of Azets Ireland.
Hughes had trained as a Chartered Accountant with Cooney Carey before partnering with his father Kevin—also a Chartered Accountant—to set up Hughes & Associates in Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford, in 1998.
Having taken over as Managing Partner following the firm’s 2005 merger with Dublin’s FG Blake, he has since led the business through two further iterations—first, as the Irish member firm of Baker Tilly International and, more recently, as Azets Ireland following its acquisition by the Azets Group in 2023.
The Cooney Carey acquisition followed the firm’s 2024 merger with PKF O’Connor Leddy & Holmes, another Dublin practice, marking the latest phase in its growth as Azets Ireland.
Compelling proposition
“When we were approached by Azets Group in 2023, they presented us with a very compelling proposition—a five-year vision that would see our firm take a quantum leap in scale,” Hughes says.
“Our profession is fundamentally changing and staying ahead of this transformation requires greater investment in skills and technologies, such as automation and artificial intelligence. Ability to scale is paramount.”
Since the acquisition, Azets Ireland has tripled both its headcount and turnover to 300 and €36 million, respectively.
“Welcoming Cooney Carey into the fold, in particular, felt like a kind of homecoming for me,” Hughes says. “I trained under Tony Carey’s leadership and learned from him the importance of core values like client service, technical excellence and creative problem-solving.
“Now, we want to take these values forward into an accelerated growth phase for the firm and make Azets a household name in Ireland.
“We plan to double the size of our business again by 2028. We already have some momentum in terms of mergers and acquisitions (M&A), but we think there is also tremendous opportunity in the Irish market for organic growth.”
Proud family legacy
Hughes grew up in Enniscorthy where his father was employed as Financial Controller at S&AG Davis Flour Millers.
“My father got the job at the mill when I was just one after he qualified with Coopers and Lybrand in Dublin and we moved to Enniscorthy in the seventies,” Hughes says.
“I remember watching the film Brooklyn a few years ago, which was partly shot in and around Enniscorthy. Saoirse Ronan’s character Eilis had a sister, Rose, and both worked at the mill in finance.
“Seeing that on the screen brought back a very early memory for me. I was maybe three at the time, standing in the mill looking up at the financial controller’s desk–my father’s desk—above me.”
Inspired by his father’s career, Hughes would go on to study accounting and finance at Dublin City University before qualifying as a Chartered Accountant with Cooney Carey.
Crucial support for SMEs
“I really did find the joy in the profession in my final year at college. I remember thinking I would be very happy to forge a career in accounting,” he says.
“The order and rigour—the idea of ‘fixing things’—really appealed to me, and even more so later in my career when I got into restructuring.”
Today, Hughes says Azets Ireland is a market leader in handling examinerships and the Small Company Administrative Rescue Process (SCARP), introduced in Ireland in 2021 to support SMEs through financial difficulties.
“From the word go, our firm has focused very much on company restructuring and recovery and I have dedicated much of my own career to saving viable business from potential closure,” he says.
“These businesses employ people in their communities; they provide livelihoods for families and key services in local areas. We see first-hand the benefits the right advice can bring to these businesses when they are struggling.
“When you are speaking to their employees, you know you are also speaking to their spouse or partner at home, and to their children and other dependents.
“That, for us, is very meaningful. We are proud that we can step in and support struggling businesses at risk of closing down and return them to viability wherever possible, saving jobs and livelihoods.”
“I WOULD SAY MY APPROACH TO LEADERSHIP IS TO APPOINT THE BEST PEOPLE I CAN TO THE KEY ROLES AND GET OUT OF THEIR WAY… WE TRUST THE OUTSTANDING PEOPLE WE ARE FORTUNATE TO HAVE”
Greater investment for growth
In addition to restructuring, Azets Ireland specialises in advisory, outsourcing and compliance services for entrepreneurial, owner-managed and family-owned businesses.
“Our ethos is that the SMEs we deal with—those outstanding mid-market businesses in the Irish market—deserve the very same level of support larger corporates can avail of right across accounting, tax, payroll, audit and advisory,” Hughes says.
“That is why joining the Azets Group appealed so much to us. We understood the group could give us much greater investment capacity to open up new service lines for our clients.”
Established in 2018 in response to growing demand for digitalised financial compliance processes, Azets Group is backed by private equity shareholders PAI Partners and Hg Capital and employs 9,000 people across eight countries in Europe.
Four of the group’s 190 offices are based in Ireland, where Azets Ireland is headquartered on Mespil Road in Dublin city centre with a second Dublin location in Sandyford and two further offices in Enniscorthy and Waterford.
The firm recently announced the appointment of several new partners. Craig Bale’s appointment as corporate finance partner marked a strategic expansion of Azets’ transaction advisory services.
Conor Noone and Sarah-Jane O’Keeffe were also appointed as partners in the firm’s advisory and restructuring practice, and Diarmuid Guthrie as a partner in litigation support, specialising in forensic investigations, expert witness testimony, restructuring and shareholder disputes.
“Our clients are crying out for these services,” Hughes says. “We are very fortunate to be dealing with thousands of ambitious, entrepreneurial businesses in Ireland and our strategy is to help them go from good to great and maximise shareholder value.”
Evolving leadership style
Today, Hughes’ role at the helm of a fast-growing firm continues to evolve. “I’ve moved from a Managing Partner role to Chief Executive, leading Azets’ group strategy here on the ground in Ireland,” he says.
“I would say my approach to leadership is to appoint the best people I can to the key roles and get out of their way. Azets is a people business and, as such, we trust the outstanding people we are fortunate to have.
“This is a strategy that has never let me down. I’ve found that, if you give people the right support alongside the responsibility, they won’t let you down.
“I would also say my leadership style is collegiate; I try to listen to all the voices in the room. I am very keen on consensus, which comes from my background as a Managing Partner, but when a decision needs to be made, I will make it.”
Pivotal crossroads for profession
On a wider level, Hughes recognises that accounting has reached a pivotal crossroads as the profession responds and adapts to emerging technologies, greater regulation and new business models within practice.
“I am very aware that our younger colleagues’ careers will unfold in ways completely different to my own,” he says.
“I started out with a big red ledger, a Collins Cathedral analysis book. Today, we know automation will take care of a lot of those ‘debits and credits’ for younger accountants while client-facing skills instead take centre-stage at a much earlier stage in their career.
“It is really too late to start talking about those client-facing skills only when these young professionals are moving into management roles. As leaders, we have to be teaching these skills from day one—focusing on critical strategic and advisory skill sets that can genuinely benefit our clients.”
Sustainability, DEI and social impact
For younger professionals in particular, Hughes recognises that employer values are more important than ever.
Earlier this year, Azets Ireland announced increased investment in sustainability, social impact and responsible business practices.
Publishing the latest Azets Group ESG impact report in May, Azets Ireland announced that it was cutting its carbon footprint, aligning with the Science-Based Targets initiative and investing in renewable energy and waste reduction.
The firm has also rolled out learning and development programmes, such as the Azets Ireland Academy graduate training programme for accountants, and has expanded its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) leadership programmes. “Joining Azets Group has opened up opportunities for internal promotions across our firm here in Ireland. Compared to the traditional partnership model, it has allowed us to fast-track our rising stars with new partner appointments,” Hughes says.
“We are able to promote people to the top levels of the firm at a rate we were not able to do operating under a partnership model, and we want to do everything we can to ensure we have a fair and equitable culture and balanced leadership.
“We are proud of our progress, but we are not complacent. The barriers that have existed in our industry for decades won’t disappear overnight, but we are committed to breaking them down.
“Through initiatives like the Azets Ireland Academy, and the expansion of our DEI leadership programmes, we are building an inclusive culture that can support underrepresented talent and ensure real progress.”