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BP SURVEY ACCOUNTANTS 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. Moore Stephens Nathans The smart choice for business Moore Stephens Nathans – Dublin Ulysses House, Foley Street, Dublin 1 Republic of Ireland T +353 1 888 1004 F +353 1 888 1005 Moore Stephens Nathans – Cork 83 South Mall, Cork Republic of Ireland T +353 21 427 5176 F +353 21 427 7305 www.moorestephensnathans.com PRECISE. PROVEN. PERFORMANCE.
BP SURVEY ACCOUNTANTS 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 <strong>Accountants</strong> 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 Did you know that Mazars in Ireland today Mark Kennedy, Head of Audit Each of our clients is unique. We ensure our clients get the insights they need from their audit. Mark Kennedy Phone: 01 449 4400 Email: mkennedy@mazars.ie mazars.ie Harcourt Centre, Block 3, Harcourt Road, Dublin 2 Mazars Place, Salthill, Galway
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