Accountants Who's Who - Business Plus Online

MARCH 2013
SURVEY
Accountants
Who’s Who
Detailed Listing of Ireland’s Top Accountancy Firms
and the Views of Managing Partners

BP SURVEY
ACCOUNTANTS
Top Firms Back On
A Growth Curve
Ireland’s largest accountancy firms returned to modest growth in 2011/12,
recording the first rise in fee income since 2008. CHRIS SPARKS finds out from
the managing partners where the improvement has come from
Ireland’s Top 20 accountancy firms
recorded fee income of around €1.1bn
in the 12 months to June 2012,
according to a recent report on the
sector by Finance Dublin magazine. Of that
total, €820m was accounted for by the Big
Four – PwC, KPMG, Deloitte and Ernst &
Young. These accounting goliaths racked
up fee income of €970m in 2008, so like
the rest of the economy they’ve been
feeling the pain in recent years. With a few
exceptions, smaller, mid-market accountancy
practices have also endured major
fee slippage since the recession started,
but now most of the top firms report that
the worst is behind them.
Ernst & Young, with annual fee income
of €130m, says that it posted a 12%
increase in revenue for its Irish practice
over the past 24 months (5.7% for FY12).
The firm has enjoyed significant client
wins and an increase in revenues achieved
by all its service lines, particularly
Transaction Advisory Services (up 29% in
financial 2012) and Advisory (up 14%).
Managing partner Mike McKerr anticipates
a tough operating environment for
the foreseeable future, but the firm is in
recruitment mode as it seeks to expand
market share. “Ernst & Young has significantly
added to its talent pool with the
arrival of new partners: Graham Reid to
our TAS team, Frank O’Dea to our
Performance Improvement Advisory
division and Herman Sidiu to the Assurance
division. They bring unique expertise
and specific sector experience that will
allow us to provide clients with the insight
and advice they need to grow the business,”
says McKerr.
“In our transaction advisory practice
there has been an increase in demand for
our services from debt-burdened companies
seeking positive solutions to help
Brendan Jennings, Deloitte
restructure their balance sheets. In addition,
Ireland continues to produce vibrant
companies that require high-quality corporate
finance advice as they seek to assess
new opportunities for growth. This is
especially the case in the technology, services
and food sectors, which continue to be
a strong backbone for the Irish economy.”
The firm also has buoyant demand for
R&D and transfer pricing services and in the
assurance practice strong growth has been
achieved with export-focused domestic
clients and shared service centre activity.
Fraud prevention and detection services
have also been in demand. Another income
stream has been working with clients on
corporate reorganisations and the implementation
of new rules around the future of
UK and Irish GAAP.
At Deloitte, managing partner Brendan
Jennings says good growth was achieved in
2012. “The firm has been extremely focused
on capitalising on market opportunities and
making the necessary investment in terms
of talent and facilities to ensure that we are
best placed to realise our potential in what
remains an intensely competitive environment,”
says Jennings.
Strong service areas for Deloitte during
the past year have included debt restructuring
and advisory, finance transformation,
strategy and operations, technology integration,
regulatory and compliance services,
and transaction support. “We are seeing
strong interest in information technology
services, including web, mobile and digital,”
adds Jennings.
“There is also an increasing demand for
analytics services, such as helping clients
increase sales by analysing customer
retention and product pricing. Clients are
implementing strategic changes to their
operating models, including shared
services and outsourcing.”
According to Jennings, the management
of risk is a critical issue for clients.
BUSINESS PLUS MARCH 2013 56

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ACCOUNTANTS
Those risks range from cyber security to
social media to legislative compliance
through to inefficient strategy setting and
the efficient use of capital. Separately, the
firm sees SMEs looking at key issues of
performance, financing and personal tax
planning as important. “We have aligned
our Deloitte Private offering with the
bespoke needs of SMEs to ensure they
receive a holistic service,” he explains.
Derry Gray, managing partner of BDO,
says that 2012 saw further refinement in
the service needs of clients of advisory
firms. “More and more, the clients looked
for specialism and specific expertise, both
in service area and in sector knowledge. At
BDO we found considerable traction in
our new service area of Risk & Advisory, as
more and more emphasis is placed upon
corporate governance and best practice in
Irish business.”
Grey adds that in specific key growth
areas there will be an improvement in
trading conditions and a subsequent
increase in business in 2013. “We have
pinpointed the financial services sector
as one such area, where we believe there
will be a particular emphasis on Ireland
delivering excellence in fund auditing.”
TOTAL STAFF
PricewaterhouseCoopers 2,674
KPMG 1,848
Deloitte 1,248
Ernst & Young 1,053
BDO 432
Grant Thornton 417
Mazars 218
RSM Farrell Grant Sparks 188
Moore Stephens Nathans 119
Russell Brennan Keane 117
Baker Tilly Ryan Glennon 85
Source: Finance Dublin Accountancy
Survey 2012
According to managing partner Paul
McCann, Grant Thornton enjoyed solid
trading in 2012. “Everyone in the firm
worked really hard to ensure a good
result was attained. I am hopeful of more
business activity in 2013, in particular
more transactions,” says McCann.
The services offerings currently
showing growth for Grant Thornton are
tax, FAAS and business consulting. “I
think it’s important that all professional
services firms ask themselves, ‘Are we
adding value to our clients’ The challenge
for Grant Thornton is to ensure that we
are. A lot of SME owner-managers are
reluctant to talk about succession and the
moving of the business onto the next
generation, and in my opinion this is
where accountants can add a lot of value.”
Mark Kennedy, senior partner at
Mazars, says that performance last year was
bolstered by an increase in the number of
organisations seeking advice on how to
restructure their business to ensure their
survival. “We also had strong demand for
our financial outsourcing services,” adds
Kennedy. “These services are used by our
clients as a mechanism to drive down costs.”
The current environment has meant
that Mazars’ services in the insolvency and
business restructuring areas have grown
“significantly”, according to Kennedy, with
more staff being added to the unit in
recent months. He adds: “SME ownermanagers
are facing new challenges that
they have never dealt with before. We
provide our employees with continuous
training on how to help SME owners to
identify and address key challenges in the
current environment.”
continued on page 58
Farrell Grant Sparks
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Dublin 01 418 2000 • Longford 043 334 1900 www.rsmfarrellgrantsparks.ie
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by the network which is not itself a separate legal entity in any jurisdiction. © RSM Farrell Grant Sparks 2013.

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ACCOUNTANTS
Jim Mulqueen, RSM Farrell Grant Sparks
Jim Mulqueen, managing partner of
RSM Farrell Grant Sparks, says that the
practice did well in 2012 but trading
conditions continued to be challenging for
many clients and this had a knock-on
effect on RSM’s business. He explains:
“There was a strong flow of new business
but margins continue to be under pressure
in most areas. We expect trading conditions
to improve slightly in 2013, with
margins remaining tight. We have good
visibility in our pipeline for new business.”
Restructuring & Insolvency and Audit &
Advisory have shown the best growth at the
firm. “Our service offering has been tailored
to assist companies in restructuring their
business, helping them to cut costs and
restructure their debt facilities,” says
Mulqueen. “Many companies with an
export focus have done reasonably well in
the past few years, and we work closely with
them on their growth plans internationally
through the RSM network.”
Mulqueen believes that economic
green shoots are emerging, with more new
businesses being created. “Irish people
possess a certain resilience factor and most
people just want to put the head down
now and keep pedalling.”
Managing partner Andy Quinn says
that the pipeline of activity at Moore
Stephens Nathans is stronger than it
was a year ago. “Consequently we
would be more optimistic about the forthcoming
year in terms of growth and in
terms of seeing an increase in the number
of transactions and general activity in the
economy,” says Quinn.
“Most of our growth and development
in the last number of years has been in
consultancy and niche areas such as FDI,
medical, ICT, and credit unions, as well as
liquidations, receiverships and restructuring.
The compliance side of the business,
such as audit and tax, is showing
modest growth again, which we believe is
an interesting barometer in terms of the
underlying domestic economy,” he adds.
“We are placing great energy into being
what we call ‘real time advisors/specialists’.
Our focus is to assist clients to grow and
build their enterprises rather than just
deliver them historical information.”
Baker Tilly Ryan Glennon enjoyed
growth of 5% in 2012, according to
managing partner John Glennon. “This
growth rate benchmarked well within the
mid-market accounting practices,” he
adds. “Corporate recovery and restructuring
continued to achieve steady growth.
We have noticed a pickup in risk appetite
and M&A activity in the mid-market
sector, while our HR business grew by
30% over the past year.
“The audit and compliance business is
still very competitive. We have invested
considerably in recent years in attracting
foreign direct investment clients to Ireland
with a focus on the US and Germany. This
is now beginning to pay dividends, and we
experienced a steady flow of new midmarket
FDI clients in 2012.”
Glennon says that many of the firm’s
mid-market clients are looking abroad in
order to seek growth. “We share our
network of contacts with them, both in
Ireland and globally, to help them to grow
their business. We also work hard to
improve and innovate our service offerings
so that they bring real solutions to the problems
our clients are facing. For example,
succession is a big issue for a lot of business
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people because many entrepreneurs have
suffered an erosion of their wealth as a
result of the collapse of the economy and
have found it necessary to delay retirement
plans. We are working with a lot of family
businesses to assist them with their succession
planning and related tax planning
issues.
“A lot of businesses have survived the
recession but now they need to relook at
their structures, which were often
designed at the height of the Celtic Tiger.
There is a lot of restructuring and tax planning
involved in this process,” says
Glennon.
Crowe Horwath also experienced growth
in revenue and headcount during 2012,
according to managing partner Brian
Conroy. “Fees are still very competitive,
particularly in compliance areas, but
have definitely stabilised. We invested in
new service lines over the past few years and
refocused parts of the practice. This is now
paying dividends and during 2012 we saw
growth across our advisory services. We
expect continued growth in all areas of the
firm in 2013, which reflects the positive
John Glennon, Baker Tilly Ryan Glennon
sentiment amongst our clients,” says Conroy.
He adds that the firm’s wealth management
division has expanded its offering to
include asset management in addition to
its traditional private client business. “Our
dedicated film financing department is the
number one player in the industry and is
extremely busy servicing this sector. Our
insolvency and restructuring teams have
grown significantly over the last couple of
years to meet the demand for services from
banks, Nama and business owners.”
In traditional compliance service lines,
Crowe Horwath’s strategy is to focus on
developing its expertise and offering to
specific sectors such as media and advertising,
the not-for-profit sector and inward
investment. “We have a very loyal client
base and tend to develop longstanding relationships
with our clients,” says Conroy.
“We have a partner-led approach and for
many of our clients we are the key ‘trusted
advisor’.”
At OSK, managing partner Tadhg
O’Sullivan concedes that 2012 was a tough
year in practice, reflecting the difficult
times that the majority of the firm’s clients
are going through. “Internally we have
reduced costs and at the same time
increased efficiency through the increased
efforts of our staff and better use of technology,”
says O’Sullivan.
He adds: “We have developed some
niche service offerings over the years with
experienced and specialised staff in each
area. The areas that have shown particular
growth relate to debt negotiation, occupational
pension schemes, property managecontinued
on page 60
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ment companies, sporting bodies, IT
contractors, trusts and estate planning and
VAT advice. Tax consultancy services have
also shown significant growth.”
O’Sullivan says that OSK is the first
port of call when a client has financial
issues to deal with. “This is an indication
of the strong relationship clients have at
many levels in OSK,” he explains. “We find
that there is more of a trend for clients to
outsource to OSK activities such as financial
advice, management accounts, payroll
and bookkeeping. The client can receive a
service for a fixed fee and does not have to
consider staffing issues such as holidays,
sick days and confidentiality.”
McInerney Saunders performed well in
2012, according to managing partner Gerry
McInerney, and consolidated the changes
introduced over the past few years. “These
have largely focused on cashflow management
and improved efficiency to enable us
to continue to deliver quality compliance
services at fees that clients believe give real
value,” he explains. “We have also continued
to develop our insolvency and recovery
services.”
McInerney adds: “We are committed to
expanding our services to be able to look
after our clients’ needs in terms of
increasing the value of their businesses
and also their personal balance sheets. We
also aim to fulfil the privileged role of
trusted adviser to our clients, and our advisory
services are a particular focus for us.”
The recurring compliance part of
Coney Carey’s practice performed well
in 2012 as the firm attracted new large
and medium-sized clients. According
to partner Paul Leonard: “Clients are
focused on brand, service and price and
we are very focused on building trusting
relationships that meet their needs. We
saw growth in other service areas too,
including financial restructuring, change
management, workouts with banks and
Nama, tax advice to receivers and liquidators
and forensic accounting.”
Another specialism at Cooney Carey is
forensic accounting. Leonard explains:
“When the flow of money stops, frauds
become more apparent. Personal credit
distress can lead employees to undertake
fraudulent activities in their workplace.
Our forensic accounting team have been
very busy investigating corporate frauds and
advising management on ways to tighten
controls.”
Another unfortunate reality of recessionary
times is the increase in disputes
among shareholders and business partners.
“We have a team of accredited mediators
who work with the parties and
enable them to devise a solution tailored
to their circumstances. As the parties
themselves craft the solution, it should last
the test of time,” says Leonard.
At Delaney Locke & Thorpe, partner
Patrick Thorpe reports that over the past
year the practice has deepened its skill
base across the capital formation and
deployment areas. “We have broadened
our relationships with banking and legal
colleagues as we all work with clients to
protect and nurture their business interests,”
he explains.
Thorpe adds that ‘Balance Sheet 101’ has
been a key offering for DLT in recent times.
“We have been engaged in promoting the
building up of the business balance sheet
and fortifying the capital structure of many
business entities,” he says. “How we do
that is simple, logical and disciplined.
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Entrepreneurs cannot advise themselves
and we believe our role is to facilitate our
clients’ progress through logical, commercial
and easy-to-understand advice.”
Though the lineup up the big accountancy
firms in Ireland rarely changes, that
doesn’t mean the market lacks innovation.
TaxAssist Accountants is a chain of high
street walk-in accountancy shops around
the country. Six new branches were
opened last year, bringing the network to
23. The business was founded in 2010 by
Greg Murphy and Roddy Comyn and offers
a range of tax and accountancy services to
small firms and the self employed.
“We are now servicing over 3,000
clients and have reached the €3m mark in
overall fees,” says Greg Murphy. “Clients
have really taken to the concept of a dropin
shop, where they can have all of their
accountancy, tax returns, payroll and bookkeeping
needs looked after. Our aim is to
appeal to the small business owner and we
want to demystify accountancy and talk to
him or her in plain English. I expect us to
grow at the same pace in 2013.”
Disputes among
shareholders and
business partners
have increased
TaxAssist offers clients a free business
‘health check’ service outside of regular
interaction in order to discuss the client’s
business in more depth. “In particular we
focus on larger challenges such as getting a
handle on debtors or researching new
funding opportunities,” says Murphy. “We
also launched a TaxAssist-branded, cloudbased
bookkeeping package. The software is
really easy to use and is compatible with
iPhone and iPad.”
Another accountancy startup is Only
Audit, established by chartered accountant
Barry McCarthy in 2011. “By focusing
purely on audits, we can ensure we provide
an expert service at a reasonable price,” says
McCarthy. “We’re working with accountancy
practices who want to outsource their
audit function and we are also working
directly with clients. Often these clients
have a financial controller in place – they
are looking to appoint a new auditor to do
the audit only. That way, they control their
costs and reduce duplication.”
The compliance associated with the
audit has increased in recent years, so
small accountancy practices may prefer to
farm out the audit while retaining accounts,
tax and general advisory work with
clients. “There has obviously been significant
pressure on the fees charged by
accountancy firms,” says McCarthy. “The
practices that seem to have performed best
through the downturn are the ones that
have focused on a particular sector or
service. Many accountants spend so much
of their time reviewing the businesses of
their clients they can forget to review their
own business model.”
Survey continued on page 62
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‘My perception is that liquidity and credit
conditions have deteriorated in the past year’
Credit supply is central to the revival of the Irish economy. NICK MULCAHY
canvassed managing partners in leading accountancy firms for their insight
into bank lending and general liquidity
Jim Mulqueen
RSM Farrell Grant Sparks
What people need to realise is that the
conditions for lending have changed, and
unless the funding proposition stacks up
commercially then it will not get banked.
Fundamentally this will involve
demonstrating the capacity to repay, and
the provision of tangible security in some
form. In addition, the Central Bank has
placed restrictions on sectoral lending,
which can limit the banks’ appetite in
certain instances. In summary, lending is
generally available for propositions that
make sense.
My perception is that liquidity and
credit conditions have deteriorated for
many in the past year. The real problem
faced by businesses is the legacy debt
being carried from years ago and the
inability to meet banking requirements
for any potential to refinance or
restructure facilities. SMEs probably have
four banking options available today,
compared with nine or ten banks open for
business five years ago. While there has
been some element of tolerance and
forbearance applied by many banks in
dealing with these facilities, we have also
Jim Mulqueen, RSM Farrell Grant Sparks
seen more pressure brought to bear in
recent months. In many cases the
customer has nowhere to turn.
One feature that crops up regularly is
the property overhang, where the
business owner has purchased the
property that the business operates in,
and the debt associated with the property
is making the refinancing proposition for
the business unbankable. In these cases,
the business has usually restructured its
costs and is viable, but the loan on the
property purchased during the boom is
dragging the business down. This is the
reality for many businesses.
While there is funding available for the
right propositions, there are many
existing SME bank facilities that are
under pressure with no real prospect of
refinance. This will only be solved when
banks agree to restructure these facilities,
but this will have to involve write-off or
deferral of bank debt. Some businesses
feel that this can is being kicked down the
road at present, and this is not helping
the growth or survival prospects for many
SMEs.
Brendan Jennings
Deloitte
Businesses in the real economy are
continuing to find it more difficult than
was previously the case to get access to
credit. anks need to lend to have a
sustainable business going forward and
it’s critical that they achieve that. The
banks have had to re-engineer their
people and processes away from lending
on asset values to assessing lending based
on business cashflow and sustainable
business model. In our experience they
have been working hard to do that and
have made good progress. The leaders of
the banks have acknowledged that they
can improve further.
Brendan Jennings, Deloitte
There is no doubt the banks have funds
to lend and are keen to lend where there is
a viable business. It’s important that
businesses have a good understanding of
their cashflow and have a wellstructured
plan which will meet the
bank’s credit evaluation standards. This
is where an advisor can really make all the
difference to a business in meeting these
objectives.
Our experience with our clients is that
when there is a clearly defined business
strategy in place, the banks are very willing
to engage in meaningful discussions about
the future funding profile of the business,
including additional lending where
required. Companies need to accept that
credit should only be given where the risk
of repayment default is at an acceptable
level from the lender’s perspective.
We have seen many situations where
credit has been denied where the default
risk is low, but in many cases this was
because the applications for credit were
poorly prepared. It pays to get professional
support when making loan applications in
the current environment. It is always easier
to get credit well in advance of when you
need it.
continued on page 64
BUSINESS PLUS MARCH 2013 62

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ACCOUNTANTS
John Glennon
Baker Tilly Ryan Glennon
The
government
will have to
remain actively
involved in a
policy of
encouraging
lending until
the
deleveraging
process within
the economy
is complete.
Otherwise,
recovery will
John Glennon, Baker
be delayed.
Tilly Ryan Glennon
The banks are
still involved in repairing their own
balance sheets and are somewhat
constrained by stricter regulatory policies
on lending. The National Pension
Reserve Fund intervention in the market
is a positive development as, in my view,
investment decisions are being stalled
because of the lack of available funding
for large, employment-generating
projects.
In recent years our SME and midmarket
clients focused on maximising
cashflow as opposed to profit generation.
Most businesses have improved their
working capital management and a
majority have worked to build up safety
reserves. I have noticed an improvement
in risk appetite amongst business, but
securing bank finance for investment-type
decisions to move their businesses onto
the next level is still quite difficult.
The prophets of doom who suggested
we should default on our sovereign debt
have proven to be alarmists. The recent
Promissory Note deal has removed an
uncertainty which was a drag on the
recovery.
Mike McKerr
Ernst & Young
Businesses are
cautious, recognising
that the
ultimate resolution
of the
financial crisis is
outside their
control. Ernst &
Young’s global
structure and
scale in the
emerging
markets means
the Irish firm
can provide
advice and
assistance to
Mike McKerr, Ernst &
Young
Irish exporters, multinationals and
entrepreneurs alike, wherever they need it.
Conditions have changed very little
over the last 12 months in terms of
liquidity and access to credit. Businesses
that performed well last year and
continue to perform well this year are
still accessing credit to some extent,
particularly from foreign banks.
Businesses that are still seen as
‘unbankable’ 12 months on continue to
struggle to access credit. We see an
increasing demand for our services
from debt burdened companies
seeking positive solutions to help
restructure their balance sheets in
order to allow their businesses to move
forward.
The public and private sectors are
undertaking unprecedented
transformation with scarce financial
resources. A new wave of consulting is
required which optimises scarce
resources to achieve the best impact and
ensure the people in these organisations
are equipped for the future.
Terence O’Rourke
KPMG
Across our audit,
tax and advisory
practices we see
evidence of the
two-speed economy.
Parts of the
Irish economy
are performing
very well and our
teams have been
busy supporting
such clients as
they strengthen
their product
portfolios and
develop their
presence
Terence O’Rourke,
KPMG
internationally. However, the domestic
economy remains fragile and the transac-
Guiding Your Business Through Uncertain T imes

BP SURVEY
ACCOUNTANTS
tions market in 2012 continued to suffer
from the fact that the banking sector, and
funding availability generally, is not yet
fully stabilised. We expect 2013 to be another
busy but challenging year for us
and our clients.
A good accountant should be able to
bring their experience to bear on any
given situation, more a trusted business
advisor than just an auditor or tax expert,
and clients of any practice get the best
value when they see their accountant in
that light. Accountants typically not only
have a very good understanding of how a
business creates value and generates
margin but they usually have a keen
commercial nose and can help owner
managers with their key strategic and
tactical challenges.
In my view it is not the lack of bank
funding that is the constraint but the
lack of opportunities for good businesses
to put together convincing
business cases and create the trust and
relationships with their banking teams to
be able to get their backing. So more to
be done by the banks in training their
loan specialists to improve their understanding
of SMEs, and more to be done
by SMEs (with the help of their
accountants!) to put together compelling
business cases for new extended
financing facilities.
Andy Quinn
Moore Stephens Nathans
We are seeing some small signs of more
lending by the pillar banks but they are
still being very selective about the projects
they support. Our sense is that credit
conditions have stabilised somewhat, but
this obviously depends on the sector. For
clients in the retail and construction
sectors, conditions are still challenging.
Increasingly businesses either have or
are in the process of adapting to the new
normal. The economy is close to
stabilising and it is only by being capable
of adapting that clients are saving and
building their business. We would see
great flair and ingenuity being
displayed by business people as they
develop their enterprises.
We are dealing with an increasing
number of smart entrepreneurs who have
Andy Quinn, Moore Stephens Nathans
recognised the opportunities that exist in
the economy at present. Increasingly, we
find ourselves engaged in a CFO type role,
which could involve everything from
dealing with operational risk (financial
and otherwise) to monthly management
accounts, to funding proposals and
working capital management.
continued on page 66

Audit Tax Advisory
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Derry Gray
BDO
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for each of the BDO Member Firms. BDO, a partnership established under Irish Law, is a
member of BDO International Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, and forms
part of the international BDO network of independent members firms.
A major consequence of
the new economy is the
real need to drive
efficiency and value for
money in all businesses.
One particular area where
we believe the
accountancy practices can
help their clients is in
relation to managing their
banking relationship. More Derry Gray, BDO
and more we are being asked
to help support our clients in this area. Accountants sometimes
forget that their clients do not have the understanding of the
demands and the needs of the banking sector that they will
have through their interaction with many clients.
Business outsourcing is another accountancy service area that is
seeing an increase in demand for BDO services and we would
envisage that this increase will continue. Should the recent
damage to the Irish agrifood sector’s reputation prove a short-term
occurrence, we would see continued growth here, as well as the
long-overdue start to re-growth in the hospitality, tourism and
leisure sector.
Another area where real benefit can be brought is in relation to
client networking. The network an accountant has is considerable,
and at BDO we put a concerted effort in facilitating our clients to
meet and network with like-minded firms. If your accountant is
not doing this then perhaps you should ask why.
Brian Conroy
Crowe Horwath
Our experience is that the
pillar banks, AIB and Bank
of Ireland, are lending and
we are aware that they
have new lending teams.
However, lending
parameters are tighter
and the credit process
tends to be longer. We
have helped many clients
refinance loans from other
institutions, and with the Brian Conroy, Crowe Horwath
liquidation of IBRC many borrowers will be concerned to establish
new banking relationships. Overall we see an improvement in
credit, although the credit market is still extremely difficult. Banks
are still trying to contract their balance sheets and realign their
debt-to-deposit ratios. Amongst the active lenders in the market,
lending criteria are very onerous.
By and large, optimism is up. Consumer confidence and business
confidence trends support this. However, a small number of
individuals and businesses with significant bank debt are becoming
weary. In the absence of formal restructuring, it is difficult for
them to see any light at the end of the tunnel. Retaining an

BP SURVEY
ACCOUNTANTS
external adviser to help in their negotiations can improve things,
as there is less emotional attachment and they can get to the root
of the issues. We have had a number of recent successes in such
scenarios.
Paul McCann
Grant Thornton
Banks are in the business
of getting their money
back once they lend it
out. Credit conditions are
definitely improving and I
think that pillar banks are
lending, but carefully and
selectively. It is difficult to
blame them for this, given
the need to improve their
balance sheets.
Paul McCann, Grant Thornton
In my experience,
people have long since passed talking about the recession. It is
the new normal and people are just getting on with it.
Businesses are more aggressive, determined and hardworking
then they were, which is a good thing in the long run. The new
personal insolvency regime will take time to run smoothly but
inevitably it will become part of the fabric of business life. It will
give many entrepreneurs a second chance. I only hope that they
will wait the five or six years it will take to complete the process.
Mark Kennedy
Mazars
The credit situation still
remains very challenging
for domestic SMEs.
Often the differentiator
between successful and
unsuccessful credit
applications is the quality
of the business case.
Putting forward
the best case for your
business is something that
we actively help clients
with on a daily basis.
Mark Kennedy, Mazars
I think that there has
been a psychological shift amongst business people regarding
the economy, and many are getting back to business, treating
the environment as a ‘new normal’.
Accountants as a profession tend to be very conservative and
my own view is that the relationship between accountants and
their clients is too focused on providing services such as
accounting or audit. We believe instead that clients should
capitalise on the deep knowledge – both technical and business –
and expertise of their accountants. At Mazars, we train our teams
to focus not only on technical services but also on how to help
clients with sector and business issues.
continued on page 68

BP SURVEY
ACCOUNTANTS
Tadhg O’Sullivan
OSK
Existing customers with a reasonable track
record are being supported by the banks
but many businesses are wary of taking on
additional borrowings. Increased
regulatory requirements are putting
further strains on smaller businesses, and
liquidity and credit conditions for most
SMEs have deteriorated over the past year.
Extended credit days being taken by
customers has put a significant strain
on working capital requirements.
The priority for our clients has been to
make significant cuts to their overheads
over the past few years. They are now
looking at opportunities to grow their
business and are more willing to allocate
funds to discretionary spending, such as
marketing their businesses. I would
expect trading conditions to improve in
2013 and to date we have had a positive
start this year. A large number of our
clients have shown remarkable resilience
and will come out of this recession
stronger and leaner.
Tadhg O’Sullivan, OSK
Anne Brady
Anne Brady McQuillans DFK
Trading for our practice was constant and
consistent in 2012 and current indications
suggest a marginal increase for 2013. Te
changing needs of SMEs, coupled with a
reduction in regulation for micro
businesses, means that our practice is
moving more from compliance work to
business advisory services, including forming
business plans and financial forecasts,
tax planning, information technology and
identifying and managing risk. We are very
aware of price sensitivity amongst our
clients. We too have a greater focus on cost
control and debt management.
While banks say the money is there to
lend, the conditions attached to the
agreements are way beyond most SMEs.
This means it is impossible for them to
agree to such conditions. A consequence
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BP SURVEY
ACCOUNTANTS
of this is that we are beginning to see an
emerging burst of innovation in SME
finance, with a wider choice available for
raising equity and debt finance.
Gerry McInerney
McInerney Saunders
Businesses that have weathered the storm
of the last few years have learned to live
within their credit limits and are focused
on accumulating cash reserves rather than
increasing their borrowings. For those that
are expanding from a profitable base, I see
no more difficulty for them in funding
growth now compared to a year ago.
Invoice discounting coupled with assetbacked
finance will increasingly be the
norm. Banks want to lend but within the
institutions the tolerance for getting a
decision wrong is very low. Consequently
the lending process will ensure that only
the really good cases get through and
others will be frustrated.
Many of our clients have accepted the
new state of the market and have adapted
Gerry McInerney, McInerney Saunders
to it. They recognise that volumes are
down but so too are costs, and their
objectives are to maximise profitability,
pay down debt and build sustainable
businesses.
I think there is reluctance on the part
of the SME business owner to seriously
engage with business planning in a
systematic fashion. Business owners who
face up to this challenge generally find
the assistance of a commercially focused
business adviser or coach to be of
enormous benefit. Having independent
advisers participating at regular formal
meetings of the board of directors and
senior management can have a very
powerful and positive influence on
outcomes.
Paul Leonard
Cooney Carey
The banks are looking to lend and we are
aware of the investment in people they
have made in this regard. While cashflow
lending is their focus, the banks rarely
lend on this alone. They want security
and unfortunately there is still a demand
for personal guarantees. People have seen
the difficulties that personal guarantees
have caused in the past and are less willing
to borrow if they are demanded.
There has also been a tightening of insurance
products available to the banks and
this has restricted the availability of invoice
discounting and trade finance-type
facilities.
continued on page 70

BP SURVEY
ACCOUNTANTS
that has a successful track record in
negotiating solutions with lenders. In
some cases, the borrowers are
emotionally charged and are under
tremendous stress and are not able to
rationally discuss their position directly
with their lenders. Our role is to listen,
collate the relevant information, review
and discuss options with the borrower,
present to the lender, follow up and, in
most cases, negotiate a solution.
Paul Leonard, Cooney Carey
Liquidity at the SME level has improved
slightly but not nearly enough. SME
owners are using internally created
cashflows to develop new products and
markets, which means a longer
turnaround time and ultimately a slower
recovery. The majority of the clients we
talk with have developed and sought out
new markets, new products and new
business models. Most if not all of these
are now stronger and wiser and they all
have less competition.
Debt is clearly still a huge problem in
Ireland and we have an experienced team
Jim Stafford
Friel Stafford
As a specialist insolvency practice we have
never been busier.We work on both sides
of the fence, on behalf of banks but also
on behalf of borrowers in financial
difficulty. A major growth area for our
practice in the past two years has been
personal bankruptcy. We have carved out
a reputation for being specialists in the
area, and for generating solutions to
complex problems.
Another major growth area is the
massive amount of property work. During
the Celtic Tiger period, approximately
40% of our work was construction-related.
Now approximately 90% of our company’s
Jim Stafford, Friel Stafford
work for the banks is related to
construction/property. As a result of the
extensive property work we have
established a property management
division, which is headed up by an
experienced quantity surveyor.
During the Celtic Tiger we could sell
properties quickly. It is now much more
difficult to sell secondary commercial
properties, and thus the portfolio of
properties that we are managing is ever
increasing. We are finding that
residential property will move quickly if
it is correctly priced.
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38 Main Street, Swords, County Dublin, Ireland.
T: +353 1 840 4029 F: +353 1 840 7496 E: info@mcinerneysaunders.ie W: mcinerneysaunders.ie

BP SURVEY
ACCOUNTANTS
Greg Murphy
TaxAssist Accountants
I think people
have come to
accept the
new normal
and we have
seen lots of
clients
readjust quite
dramatically.
That said, I
think there is
still a lot of
weariness out
there, both
with the
length of the
recession and in particular with the issue
of lending. Despite all the noise, this
issue has not improved quickly enough.
It’s still very difficult to get paid. For us
and for our clients, getting a handle on
debtors is an ongoing challenge.
As we have grown and opened shops
in different locations, we have worked
with Bank of Ireland on our funding
requirements and we have developed a
very good working relationship. On the
other hand, we see plenty of
reasonable, well-thought-out
applications rejected every week by
the two pillar banks. From what I can
see, lending is only happening to very
established business models, with startup
finance much harder to come by.
Paul Wyse
Smith & Williamson
Greg Murphy,
TaxAssist Accountants
SME owner-managers need their
accountant for financial advice, especially
in today’s environment. Accountants can
help SME owners with their knowledge of
what is going on in the marketplace and
what funding is available, and how they
can improve the financial performance
and results in their organisations. One of
the difficulties for SME owner-managers is
that they have made significant cuts in
costs, including reducing their professional
fees and hence access to advisory services
at a time when they need it most.
My view of the pillar banks is that Bank
of Ireland has clear messages about the
types of businesses it is keen to support
and the type of funding the bank is
Accountants have to find ways to
communicate that we can offer more,
and we have to be able to do that in plain
English. In my experience, clients
benefit from help in understanding their
accounts better.
Patrick Thorpe
Delaney Locke & Thorpe
The balance
sheets of
many SME
businesses
are
repairing,
and a key
risk to
business
stability is
where debt
providers
see viable
business as
a means to
resolving
the owner’s
Partick Thorpe, Delaney
Locke & Thorpe
personal debt positions. We like to think
of the economy as represented by 20
engine pistons: although there are a
number of them misfiring, an evergrowing
number are beginning to fire up.
The entrepreneur cohort is the most
necessary group in our society, and one
that the economy needs for prosperity.
Before many have opened an eyelid, these
people have already dreamt of many
prepared to offer. There is less clarity with
AIB, though the organisational changes in
the second half of last year have improved
matters. It is still difficult to obtain funds
from banks. It takes times time, patience
and a lot of toing and froing.
It is still a very tough domestic market.
Liquidity and credit conditions remain
tight and while there has been a slight
improvement, the domestic economy
remains in a deep recession. It will take
time for confidence to return, for funding
to be more accessible and hence liquidity
and credit conditions to improve.
The weariness factor at the ongoing
recession is evident. People have much
less money in their pockets, with lower
incomes, increased taxes on income, VAT
increases, property taxes and water
charges. People are trying to survive. The
banks need to deal with consumers who
impossible things. Good accountants
realise that these people love to know
there is someone right by their side –
listening, prompting, suggesting,
encouraging, learning and stimulating.
Tom Fitzpatrick
FMB
Trading was stable for our firm over the
past year and we’ve weathered the
downturn quite well. New business is
coming in but generally they are smaller
clients. Overall we’re down about 20%
since 2008 and we’re having to work
harder and smarter to earn less money.
We have shared the pain curve with
clients who are losing money. By and
large they are making an effort to pay us,
though cash collection is slow.
Compliance work such as audit has been
steady and where small firms avail of the
audit exemption they still want an
accountant to review the books and
ensure there are no problems.
SME owner-managers probably don’t
consult with accountants as often as
they should, but a lot depends on the
chemistry. Some of our clients consult
with us very regularly while others are
self-contained. However, I believe that it’s
very important that when people are
doing deals that they consult with their
accountant beforehand.
The economy is bottoming along, even
in retail, though there’s no consistency
cannot repay
their debts.
Hopefully
with the
personal
insolvency
legislation
being
enacted,
solutions will
be found
rather than
deferring the
problem and
not dealing
with it. People
accept that
continued on page 72
Paul Wyse, Smith &
Williamson
there is a new norm and are trying to get
on with their business, but for most it is
still very much a question of trying
to survive.
BUSINESS PLUS MARCH 2013 71

BP SURVEY
ACCOUNTANTS
from month
to month. My
perception
from talking
with clients is
that they feel
that the rot is
out and there’s
a resignation
to get on with
it, which is
good. There’s
a realisation
that what we
have now is Tom Fitzpatrick, FMB
the new norm for the next few years.
Only businesses that are superefficient
in the way they operate and
control their overheads are going to
survive and prosper. Unfortunately,
some business models with high fixed
costs won’t be able to make it work. I’m
thinking here of retailers with onerous
leases or companies with property-related
borrowings within their own business.
Most of the individuals in these
situations were good business people.
They were not speculating. They honestly
believed in property as a long-term
investment and they never suspected
there was potential for the country to
become almost bankrupt due to a banking
sector that was acting injudiciously.
Hopefully with the new personal
insolvency regime, banks will park or
write-off debt where the borrowers are
good people who have a viable business.
In my experience, the banks are trying to
be helpful and will lend money where
they feel they can get it back.
What tax reforms would you
suggest to generate more
economic activity in Ireland
Terence O’Rourke (KPMG): If we want
to deliver on our aspirations to be the best
‘little’ country in the world to do business
in, then we have to stop creeping personal
tax rates – however you describe them.
Fostering innovation, job creation and
growth are just aspirations. The world is
competitive and if it’s more attractive to
start a business in Copenhagen than in
Cork because of tax, then that’s what
people will do. Once the rates goes over
50% you pass a psychological tipping point
and that’s dangerous.
Paul Leonard (Cooney Carey): I would
like to see tax incentives to encourage
investment in private companies, such as
lowering CGT rates to 20%. Additionally,
I would suggest that relief is granted at
income tax rates for any losses incurred
investing in a private company over the
next two years. This would encourage
private investors to fill the gap while the
banks fully recover.
Mike McKerr (Ernst & Young): In light of
an increasingly competitive landscape, we
need to consider our R&D tax credit
regime. The regime could be enhanced by
the removal of restrictions on the level of
qualifying spend for R&D activities performed
by Irish universities and subcontractors.
Also, if we similarly fail to enhance
our IP regime to a competitive footing, we
are going to continue to lose the
ownership of IP that is developed in
Ireland and the profits that arise from its
ownership.
Anne Brady (Anne Brady McQuillans
DFK): Reduce costs and regulations
associated with employment. The high
employers’ PRSI rate coupled with
excessive employment regulations are a
deterrent to taking on extra staff.
Tadhg O’Sullivan (OSK): A new ‘Special
Dividend Regime’ for close companies
could be introduced. The payment of a
dividend of up to half of a close
company’s reserves to its ordinary
shareholders on or before the end of the
current tax year would attract a flat rate
of income tax in the hands of the
recipient shareholder of 25%, and would
be exempt from USC and levies. This
would encourage owner-directors to
release profits to family members to
alleviate personal debt burdens and
increase spending capacity generally.
Gerry McInerney (McInerney Saunders):
I would commit more resources to
seriously tackle the black economy and
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BP SURVEY
ACCOUNTANTS
welfare fraud to drive more activity to
tax-compliant, law-abiding businesses.
Andy Quinn (Moore Stephens Nathans):
The Special Assignee Relief Programme
does not go far enough. We should have a
far-reaching incentive programme giving
holidays from USC to attract into Ireland
the right talent, coupled with a review of
the visa and work permit rules.
John Glennon (Baker Tilly Ryan
Glennon): We need better incentives for
early-stage startups and mid-market
businesses that have an appetite to make
investment decisions.
Mark Kennedy (Mazars): I would propose
a temporary average combined personal
tax rate (including income tax, USC and
PRSI) of 25% for the entrepreneur for a
period of two years, where an
entrepreneur generates five new jobs.
Paul McCann (Grant Thornton): I would
cut the levies on ordinary people. People
want to spend money and enjoy their
lives, so a cut in levies would let them
increase their disposable income, and
thus enable them to spend more, which
is a good thing for the economy.
Jim Mulqueen (RSM Farrell Grant
Sparks): Targeted supports to assist
buyers in the residential market, and also
to support investment in home improvements
and energy retrofitting, merit
consideration. These policies would drive
employment in construction labour and
ultimately drive tax revenues. The one
thing that I would not do is levy any
additional taxes on individuals, as nobody
can bear any further deterioration in
disposable income.
Brendan Jennings (Deloitte):
Entrepreneurs need to be better
incentivised and rewarded for creating
prosperous businesses. A tax package for
this segment could include a 10% CGT
rate on disposals if they reinvest 50% of
the proceeds in a new business within a
defined period, more flexible tax reliefs
to encourage investment and a subsidy
equivalent to 100% of social welfare
benefit if they take on the long-term
unemployed.
Survey continued on page 74
ISIP Welcomes Insolvency Act
The Personal Insolvency Act has been
keeping the Irish Society of
Insolvency Practitioners (ISIP) busy
over the past year, according to the
society’s chairman, Barry Cahir. He
hopes that the new act will bring
resolution to distressed borrowers
who’ve been living in “debt limbo”.
“We very much welcome the passing of
the Personal Insolvency Act and the
creation of the Insolvency Service,
which should ensure a regulated and
consistent approach in addressing the
matter of personal insolvency,” he adds.
The ISIP was set up in 2004 to
improve knowledge and expertise
among accountants and lawyers who
specialise in the areas of turn-around
and insolvency. The society started with
25 members and has grown over the
past nine years to 360 members.
ISIP members deal with the full
range of insolvency procedures, and it
has several sub-committees that cover
education, law reform, company law,
bankruptcy and representation.
Details: www.isip.ie.

BP SURVEY
ACCOUNTANTS
Do you think the new Personal Insolvency Act
will give indebted entrepreneurs a second chance
Jim Stafford (Friel Stafford): The new Act
is a step in the right direction. However,
the law fails to rehabilitate financially
distressed entrepreneurs back into
business, as some banks may exercise their
right of veto to block schemes, particularly
if they are the only creditor. The
government’s insistence on only allowing
arrangements for secured debt of less than
€3m is particularly unhelpful.
We will continue to see more and more
business people move over to the UK to
either avail of Individual Voluntary
Arrangements or bankruptcy, as the UK
procedures are tried and tested. As a bankrupt
businessman may not act as director
for three years under Irish legislation, he
may be better off going to the UK and
being discharged after just one year.
Borrowers who owe several banks have
a greater chance of successfully using the
personal insolvency arrangements,
particularly if they can persuade one large
lender to vote in favour of a scheme. As
matters stand, the banks have started to do
debt forgiveness-type deals in advance of
the legislation coming into force.
Jim Mulqueen (RSM Farrell Grant
Sparks): While the state-owned banks
should engage in the right spirit to make
the new insolvency arrangements work,
there is the potential for other banks to
refuse to agree to any propositions that
write-off bank debt to an extent greater
than the provisions they have already
made. This factor is fundamentally what
will make this scheme a success or not.
Mike McKerr (Ernst Young): The current
regime is punitive, but this new insolvency
regime looks to give a level of
rehabilitation. In this country, we
sometimes put our head in the sand and
hope these things will go away. This
personal insolvency problem is not going
away. It needs to be addressed.
John Glennon (Baker Tilly Ryan
Glennon): It is very difficult to predict
the banks’ stance in relation to personal
insolvency arrangements. They will
effectively have the power to veto and
force formal bankruptcy and it is likely,
therefore, that these non-judicial
arrangements will not apply to many of
our entrepreneurs. Payments orders postbankruptcy
are likely to be a feature under
the Irish regime, similar to the UK.
Gerry McInerney (McInerney Saunders):
The new regime should provide entrepreneurs
with certainty in situations where
uncertainty abounds around unsustainable
debt. However, credit providers and
suppliers will be aware of the risks they
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ACCOUNTANTS
face in dealing with someone who has
availed of a remedy under the new regime.
Mark Kennedy (Mazars): It will take a
while for entrepreneurs to gain confidence
in the new personal insolvency regime. If
the entrepreneur has enough time left in
their career to recover from their financial
problems when they emerge from the
process, then they may very well consider
engaging in the personal insolvency
regime.
Brendan Jennings (Deloitte): We are
focused on ensuring that we have the
capacity to support agreements reached
under the new rules, but also to provide
advice on the full range of potential
solutions which banks and borrowers will
need to consider. The personal insolvency
arrangements, which will concern secured
debt up to a limit of €3m, envisage some
form of debt write-off. There is definitely
an appetite for PIAs among people who
are insolvent.
Brian Conroy (Crowe Horwath): We
expect the new regime will facilitate direct
Mark Kennedy: “It will take a while
for entrepreneurs to gain confidence
in the new insolvency regime”
negotiation between the borrower and
banks. The banks want to have the full
picture before they will engage in
restructuring discussions and borrowers
need to be mindful of this.
Paul Leonard (Cooney Carey): The
question is how long it will take for the
banks to embrace the Personal Insolvency
Act, rather than fear it. At the moment,
most banks only allow debt forgiveness in
exceptional cases. So some borrowers can
get stuck in “limbo”, i.e. if they can’t repay
all of the debt, why should they repay any
of it This legislation will allow banks to
develop solutions to ensure their
borrowers are motivated to repay as much
as possible.
Tadhg O’Sullivan (OSK): The new law
finally clarifies the previous uncertainty
brought about by the absence of nonjudicial
debt settlement arrangements,
the lack of which was a barrier to both
borrowers and lenders. However, I would
have reservations about how the regime
will operate in practice.
Andy Quinn (Moore Stephens Nathans):
The personal insolvency legislation will
work in giving beleaguered entrepreneurs
a second chance if the banks act promptly
and realistically in putting debt settlement
and personal insolvency arrangements in
place. I also think that the future profits of
the banks will benefit from allowing debt
write-downs now.
Survey continued on page 76

BP SURVEY
ACCOUNTANTS
LISTING DATA
Descriptions are drawn from
submissions and the firms’
websites. Fee income figures
compiled by Finance Dublin
magazine relate to period
ending June 2012, with the
previous year’s figure in
brackets.
Accountants
Who’s Who
PricewaterhouseCoopers
www.pwc.com/ie
Fee Income: €300m (€299m)
Managing Partner: Ronan
Murphy
The largest professional services
firm in Ireland, PwC provides
integrated audit, tax and advisory
services across all industries. In
2012 the firm launched a China
practice in Dublin, as a response
to increased interest among Irish
firms in doing business in China.
PwC continued its graduate
recruitment drive in 2012, making
280 places available.
KPMG
www.kpmg.com/ie
Fee Income: €246m (€233m)
Managing Partner Designate:
Shaun Murphy
Shaun Murphy takes over from
Terence O’Rourke as managing
partner in May. O’Rourke’s
swansong was impressive:
winning KPMG the government
contract to wind up IBRC. Says
Murphy: “Terence has very
successfully led KPMG through a
period of huge change for the
Irish economy whilst
strengthening our market
position.”
Deloitte
www.deloitte.com/ie
Fee income: €144m (€135m)
Managing Partner: Brendan
Jennings
Deloitte has offices in Dublin, Cork
and Limerick and is perennially
named as one of Ireland’s best
workplaces. In 2012 the firm
founded the Deloitte Gallery as
part of TCD’s rolling exhibition
and events programme to
promote public engagement in
science. The firm also collaborated
in the establishment of the
Deloitte Analytics Lab at UCD
Quinn School of Business. The
firm’s Limerick office on Charlotte
Quay was transformed last year,
with a new client conference suite
on the ground floor.
Ernst & Young
www.ey.com/ie
Fee Income: €130m (€125m)
Managing Partner: Mike McKerr
Ernst & Young provides assurance,
tax, audit, transaction and
advisory services, covering all
industry sectors. In November
2012, the firm announced 30 new
senior roles across advisory,
assurance and business support
services to support the 115 new
client-serving roles created in FY
2012.
An important hire in 2012 was
Graham Reid, formerly a director
of AIB Corporate Finance. “We see
an increasing demand for our
services from debt-burdened
companies seeking positive
solutions to help restructure their
balance sheets in order to allow
their businesses to move
forward,” says Reid. According to
managing partner Mike McKerr:
“We’ve had a good year in
challenging economic times. I am
optimistic that we can continue to
shape and positively support the
future direction of our clients’
strategic agenda, the way that our
people work, and the social and
business issues that impact on the
recovery of the Irish economy.”
Grant Thornton
www.grantthornton.ie
Fee Income: €82.1m (€71.0m)
Managing Partner: Paul McCann
Shaun Murphy (right) takes over from Terence O’Rourke
(left) as managing partner of KPMG in May 2013
Grant Thornton’s reported fee
income jumped last year on the
back of acquisitions in the firm’s
Belfast office. The company also
has offices in Dublin, Limerick,
Kildare and Galway. The firm was
named Irish Tax Advisory Firm of
the Year in the 2012 ACQ Global
Awards, reflecting Grant
Thornton’s growing reputation as
a leading provider of tailored tax
solutions. Tax partner Peter Vale
commented that the ability to
focus on the differing needs of
individual clients has helped
Grant Thornton to consistently
grow its tax advisory business in
recent years. In 2012 the firm
relocated to new offices in
Galway. “We plan to recruit 150
people over the next three years,
with 15 new hires in Galway to
meet local demand for our
specialist services,” says
managing partner Paul McCann.
BDO
www.bdo.ie
Fee Income: €50.6m (€54.6m)
Managing Partner: Derry Gray
Working out of offices in Dublin,
Limerick and Belfast, BDO’s 40
partners and 432 staff offer
expertise and advice to
entrepreneurial and growing
owner-managed businesses, as
well as the people behind them.
2012 saw the addition of six
new partners and 80 staff to the
firm. The firm added to its partner
group key knowledge areas such
as in healthcare consultancy,
technology and telecoms auditing,
as well as bringing in two leading
names in corporate recovery and
corporate finance, Brian McEnery
and Con Quigley, to the firm’s
teams in Dublin and in Limerick.
In the past year BDO has also
launched specialised business
service areas such as a new Risk
BUSINESS PLUS MARCH 2013 76

BP SURVEY
ACCOUNTANTS
and Advisory offering, and
expanded the scope of its
Business Outsourcing services.
RSM Farrell Grant Sparks
www.rsmfarrellgrantsparks.ie
Fee Income: €32.0m (€32.0m)
Managing Partner: Jim
Mulqueen
The firm has offices in Dublin,
Belfast and Longford and recent
insolvency wins include the
examinership of the Ritz Carlton
hotel. According to Jim Mulqueen:
“In audit and advisory we have
grown our business in financial
services, including the appointment
of the firm as auditors to the
Central Bank. The international
dimension of our business has
grown significantly in recent times
and the RSM network has played a
significant role in this. In the
past year the firm has had
significant wins with inward
investment clients in the
technology sector.”
RSM FGS is a founder member
of the British Irish Chamber of
Commerce, corporate partner to
Retail Excellence Ireland and
annual conference sponsor with
the Irish Internet Association.
Mazars
www.mazars.ie
Fee Income: €27.5m (€27.5m)
Managing Partners: Mark
Kennedy and Simon Coyle
Simon Coyle and Mark Kennedy
were appointed to lead Mazars in
October 2012, taking over from
Joe Carr. Coyle is one of Ireland’s
most senior insolvency
practitioners while Kennedy
specialises in working with
organisations in the banking and
insurance sectors. The firm says
that its business serving clients in
the financial services, higher
education and food and drink
sectors has grown significantly.
Internationally, Mazars is one of
the fastest-growing professional
services firms in the world, with
13,000 people working in 236
offices and 71 countries.
Baker Tilly Ryan Glennon
www.bakertillyrg.ie
Fee Income: €14.3m (€13.7m)
Managing Partner: John
Glennon
With 120 staff and 16 partners,
Baker Tilly Ryan Glennon is located
in Dublin, Offaly and Belfast, where
it offers accountancy and business
consultancy services. In recent
years the firm has been expanding
its HR consultancy, with senior
hires including Ray Flaherty, Gerry
Rooney and Raymond McGee,
former deputy chairman of the
Labour Court. “These additions to
our team are to boost resources in
alternative dispute resolution,
which is an increasingly popular
mechanism for resolving both
workplace and commercial
disputes” says managing partner
John Glennon.
Moore Stephens Nathans
www.moorestephensnathans.com
Fee Income: €13.8m (€13.7m)
Managing Partner: Andy Quinn
Moore Stephens Nathans has a
team of 10 partners and over 100
staff, with offices in Dublin and
Cork.
According to managing partner
Andy Quinn, the firm has
readjusted its focus in recent years
to position itself as ”real-time
advisors” to clients, with an
emphasis on assisting clients to
grow their business.
Crowe Horwath
www.crowehorwath.net/ie
Fee Income: €13.0m (€12.6m)
Managing Partner: Brian Conroy
Formerly Horwath Bastow
Charleton, the firm rebranded as
Crowe Horwath in May 2012, as
part of a worldwide branding and
quality initiative. With a presence
in Ireland for over 70 years, the
Dublin-based arm of Crowe
Horwath offers tailored financial
and business advice to clients
across a range of sectors, delivered
by a staff complement base of
more than 100. Managing partner
Brian Conroy says that the rebrand
has been well received. “The
change has gone very well within
the market. Our clients know that
they are getting the same great
service and commercially driven
solutions paired with partner-led
relationships.” Crowe Horwath
International is one of the world's
top ten networks of accountancy
and advisory services firms,
incorporating more than 160 firms
with 650 offices in more than 100
countries around the world.
IFAC Accountants
www.ifac.ie
Fee Income: €12.0m (€12.1m)
CEO: Willie Fahey
IFAC specialises in accountancy and
taxation service for farmers, and the
practice has an extensive network
of offices around the country.
Russell Brennan Keane
www.rbk.ie
Fee Income: €9.6m (€9.5m)
Managing Partner: Liam
Rattigan
Comprising 11 partners and more
than 140 employees, Russell
Brennan Keane offers accountancy
and advisory services from offices
continued on page 78

BP SURVEY
ACCOUNTANTS
in Dublin, Athlone and
Roscommon. The firm’s services
span audit, corporate compliance,
corporate finance, restructuring,
HR solutions, strategic planning,
taxation, technology solutions and
wealth management.
Smith & Williamson
www.swf.ie.
Fee Income: €7.0m (€6.8m)
Managing Director: Paul Wyse
In November 2012 the firm
dropped the ‘Freaney’ part of its
name, four years after S&W
merged with Oliver Freaney,
which traced its roots back to
1958. According to Paul Wyse:
“The merger has worked very
well for our practice and most of
the core staff of Oliver Freaney &
Co continue to serve our clients.”
Also in 2012, Smith & Williamson
Investment Management was
launched and it now has €170m
under management. Smith &
Williamson has 11 offices in the
UK and Ireland, with a total
workforce of about 1,500 people.
PKF O’Connor Leddy &
Holmes
www.pkf.ie
Fee Income: €5.1m (€4.9m)
Managing Partner: Donal
O’Leary
The firm works mainly with
medium-sized owner-managed
businesses from a variety of
sectors, specialising in audit and
accounting, taxation, private client
services, insolvency and corporate
recovery, corporate secretarial and
other business services.
JPA Brenson Lawlor
www.brensonlawlor.ie
Fee Income: €4.7m (€4.6m)
Managing Partner: Patrick
Lawlor
Established over 30 years ago, this
four-partner firm employs over 60
people in Donnybrook and the city
centre. Says the firm: “We have
carefully assembled a team of
specialists in such areas as corporate
and personal taxation, corporate
finance, financial management,
information technology, marketing,
audit and company secretarial and
corporate legal.”
Ormsby & Rhodes
www.ormsby-rhodes.ie
Fee Income: €4.6m (€4.7m)
Managing Partner: Geoffrey
Lewis
Ormsby & Rhodes specialises in
audit compliance, taxation services,
payroll services, wealth management
and conflict resolutions
among other areas and is based in
Dublin, where it employs five
partners and over 50 staff.
OSK
www.osk.ie
Fee Income: €3.8m (€4.3m)
Managing Partner: Tadhg
O’Sullivan
OSK specialises in providing
accountancy and business
consultancy solutions to
progressive, owner-managed
businesses. A dedicated niche in
the firm is looking after the
financial affairs of sole traders
and contractors. During 2012, OSK
added a number of service
offerings, including debt
negotiation, trusts and estate
planning and corporate tax
planning. The practice has also
been involved in the submission
of a number of government
tenders. OSK is a social media
enthusiast, with a presence on
LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. An
SEO revamp of the website
resulted in a significant increase
in online enquiries, according to
the firm.
Hughes Blake
www.hughesblake.ie
Fee Income: €4.0m (€4.0m)
Managing Partner: Neil Hughes
The firm recently established a
new office at 5 Lapps Quay, Cork,
headed up by Kieran McCarthy.
This is a full-service office,
including insolvency, corporate
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ACCOUNTANTS
recovery and independent
business review services.
McInerney Saunders
www.mcinerneysaunders.ie
Fee Income: €3.0m (€2.9m)
Managing Partner: Gerry
McInerney
This Swords-based firm has six
partners and employs 31 people. It
provides accountancy, taxation
and business advice to a range of
Irish and international companies.
According to managing partner
Gerry McInerney: “We are
committed to expanding our
services to be able to look after
our clients’ needs in terms of
increasing the value of their
businesses and also their personal
balance sheets. We also aim to
fulfil the privileged role of trusted
adviser to our clients and so our
advisory services are a particular
focus for us.”
Cooney Carey
www.cooneycarey.ie
Managing Partner: Tony Carey
Begun as an advisory and
corporate recovery service, Cooney
Carey has since grown to offer
auditing, taxation, company
secretarial and general business
advisory services. Headquartered
in Dublin, it currently comprises
50 staff and five business leaders.
According to partner Paul Carey:
“One of the most important
things we do each year is
investment in staff training to
ensure high service levels for our
clients. The key for any advisor is
to know their clients and stay
relevant to their needs.”
TaxAssist Accountants
www.taxassist.ie
Fee Income: €3.0m (€2.0m)
Directors: Greg Murphy and
Roddy Comyn
Established in 2010 by directors
Greg Murphy and Roddy Comyn,
TaxAssist is a network of 23 small
business accountants operating
from shopfronts across Ireland. The
target market is small businesses
and the self-employed and in 2012
the network added six new
branches, 1,000 new clients and
grew fee income by €1m.
Anne Brady McQuillans
DFK
www.annebrady.ie
Managing Partner: Anne Brady
2012 saw the firm shift focus from
traditional compliance work to the
provision of more business
advisory and financial planning
services. These include mentor
programmes for startup businesses,
business plans and financial
forecasts, financial planning, tax
planning and cost management
reviews. According to managing
partner Anne Brady: “We
encourage clients to meet with us
regularly throughout the year, so
that we know them and they can
gain regular access to our
knowledge and support services. In
order to make good business
decisions, business owners need
reliable accounting information as
well as an independent sounding
board to bounce ideas off.”
Friel Stafford
www.frielstafford.ie
Partners: Jim Stafford,
Tom Murray
The firm provides the full range of
corporate recovery and insolvency
services, including liquidation,
receivership and examinership. Friel
Stafford also has extensive
experience of cross-border
insolvencies. It has particular
expertise in the area of personal
bankruptcy. A dedicated forensic
accounting team, with extensive
experience in carrying out
investigations and providing expert
witness reports, forms part of its
service.
Delaney, Locke & Thorpe
www.dlt.ie
Managing Partner: John
Delaney
Operating from Sandyford in
Dublin, the firm provides business
solutions for clients across
corporate finance, auditing,
restructuring and taxation. The firm
has three partners and organises its
service range to end at the business
lifecycle requirements of its clients.
This involves providing assistance
with business strategy and financial
modelling. Profitability and wealth
management advice is also
provided.
FMB Chartered
Accountants
www.fmb.ie
Managing Partner: Tom
Fitzpatrick
FMB is regarded as one of
Ireland’s top 10 mid-tier
accountancy firms. FMB’s primary
service areas are audit and
accounts; taxation; corporate
finance; management services,
such as preparation of business
plans; insolvency; and company
secretarial. With a broad client
base across a great variety of
sectors, the firm works particularly
closely with professionals and
legal practices, distribution, hotel,
travel industries and credit unions.
The firm has four partners and
more than 20 staff.
Only Audit Ltd
www.onlyaudit.ie
Managing Partner: Barry
McCarthy
Established by chartered
accountant Barry McCarthy in
2011, Only Audit is aiming to plug
a gap in the market by becoming
Ireland’s first audit only firm. “By
focusing purely on audits we can
ensure we provide an expert
service at a reasonable price,”
says McCarthy.