Mary Blyth is Partner, Business Outsourcing Services, with S&W in Ireland. Originally from Cork, Blyth qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Parfrey Murphy in Cork in 1994, aged just 21.

She then worked overseas for several years in financial reporting and corporate finance roles in England, Scotland and Australia, before returning to Cork where she rejoined Parfrey Murphy Chartered Accountants in 2003 as manager.

The firm was subsequently acquired by MC2 Accountants in 2022 and, more recently, by S&W in October 2025. Blyth has been a partner with the firm since 2021.

Q Why did you decide to become a Chartered Accountant initially?

I studied accounting and business at secondary school and really enjoyed it. We had a fantastic, enthusiastic and engaging accountancy teacher—John O’Riordan from Waterfall in Cork.

He ingrained the basics of double entry in our heads at a young age, and accounting just made sense to me. It was logical and suited my way of thinking and organising information.

Q Did you have a career plan at the outset?

I never had a detailed career plan but quickly realised I liked working with different clients and business partners. I knew I didn’t want to be ruled by month-or year-end reporting timetables, so, even in industry, I sought out client-facing roles.

I enjoy making the numbers make sense but also getting behind them to understand and support what a client business is actually doing or planning to do. I’m grateful these opportunities are part of my working life to this day at S&W.

Q Tell us about your current role: what does your work involve day-to-day?

Every day is different but there is a consistent theme—serve clients well. My role today is mainly advisory.

Advisory makes it sound like I walk into every client meeting as an expert with all the answers. I don’t, but I do spend a lot of my time listening to my clients, asking questions and understanding their business so I can point them in the right direction.

We help them devise and implement tax-efficient financial plans to support them, their business and their family. This can include anything from succession planning and cash flow management to overall business structure.

Our job is ultimately to manage risk. We support clients with focused technical advice, advise on decisions and identify opportunities. I like being able to play a part in influencing meaningful outcomes for our clients on their terms.

Q Among the people you have worked with over the years, who has inspired you?

Without a doubt, my biggest mentors and supporters have been Seamus Parfrey and Noel Murphy.

Seamus has an immense capacity and enthusiasm for work and his energy is infectious.

I worked with Noel for a long time. He is a person of great intelligence and integrity who has been very generous in his willingness to share his knowledge with me.

Noel was always keen to support the people on his team so we could do our best work. At a particularly busy time in my personal life, he suggested I work from home. That was over 15 years ago when very few people had this flexibility in their working lives.

Q Tell us about the challenges you have faced: how did you overcome them?

I returned to work after maternity leave around the time of the financial crash of 2008 and found the world changed. We had to support our clients, but we also had to work very hard to mind our own business.

We had daily quickfire meetings with daily targets and deliverables. It was tough; it was a worrying time, but we did it.

In many ways, the Covid pandemic was easier than that experience in 2008. By the time the lockdowns were announced, we had already moved everything to the cloud, becoming a largely paperless office—unusual for a firm of our size.

Our team left the office with new tech kit and worked from home for two years. We kept up good communication, educated ourselves on the Government’s myriad Covid schemes, supported our clients and kept talking.

In all that time, we didn’t miss a single filing deadline or lose a single client.

For me personally, I would say it hasn’t always been easy to balance a busy family and professional life. Sometimes one wins over the other, and you have to make compromises on both sides.

Showing up, maintaining a positive head space, setting your own goals and not comparing yourself to others all helps.

Q Who do you admire most in business or public life?

I love to see the younger generation of successful female entrepreneurs, such as Aimee Connolly, founder of Irish make-up brand Sculpted by Aimee, and Ashley MacDonnell of VYKO, the luxury goods brand—but the standout person in public life for me has to be Mary Robinson.

I vividly remember when Mary Robinson was elected Uachtarán na hÉireann in 1990 and the impact it had on women’s lives in Ireland. My mum and grandmother were both so excited and very proud. Like many other women, they had given up their jobs when they got married.

At every single stage in her professional life, Mary Robinson has excelled. She is still contributing at the highest possible level as a member, and former Chair, of The Elders, while many people younger than her have already retired for a quieter life.

For me, Mary Robinson is the epitome of intelligence and integrity wrapped in compassion. She has always truly been her full self in her public life.

Q How do you expect the role of the Chartered Accountant to evolve in the years ahead?

Despite the increased focus on technology and, in particular, artificial intelligence (AI), Chartered Accountants will continue to be trusted business advisers and leaders— people want to talk to, and work with, people.

The technology landscape has evolved hugely over the course of my career, from the days of the red book ledger and Lotus 123 to today. My advice to other accountants is to treat AI as a work tool in your everyday toolkit—learn it, use it and don’t get left behind. I think it is important to maintain an openness and curiosity throughout your working life .

Q What advice can you offer Chartered Accountants starting out their career today?

Say yes. Take the opportunity, learn something new and don’t let fear of change take over. If you say no, you could be missing out on the most magical experience, professional or personal.

• Prioritise client service and remember reliability tops perfection in most cases. The client is paying for a service. Your job is to make their life easier by giving them the best information, options and solutions they can rely on in a timely manner.

• Try to manage your own career. Share good news and success stories. Don’t assume that, because you are working hard, others will see and reward this. Be your own best friend and back yourself.

• If you make a mistake, own it. We all make mistakes— that’s how we learn—but you never want to lose the trust of a client or peer, so don’t hide it. Own it, learn from it and move on.

Q How have your own early ambitions evolved over the years?

I am probably busier today than I have ever been in my career. S&W has brought a new energy to our practice, and we have new opportunities and ambitious growth plans that really excite me.

I consider myself a positive person. I tend to say “yes” to opportunities that come my way but, these days, I would say I am also more aware of the importance of personal boundaries and taking the time to rest, recover and go again. I haven’t always appreciated the importance of pacing myself in the past, but this is changing as I learn to take my own advice and strike a better balance.