PwC appoints 12 partners in Irish business and grows Cork office

PwC’s assurance, advisory and tax practices in Cork is experiencing strong growth, which is reflected in the recent appointment of three new partners in the firm’s Cork office. The Irish arm of PwC has been seeing sustained growth more generally, thanks to uncertainty faced by clients resulting from Brexit and a changing data and tax regulation landscape.

Earlier in 2017, Big Four consultancy PwC’s Irish arm inducted 12 new partners to the firm, effective from 1 July 2017. The new partners hail from all areas of business and include appointments in Dublin, Galway, Kilkenny, Limerick, and three in Cork, reflecting a period of sustained growth in dividable profits for the firm in the locale.

PwC’s new partners include Amy Ball (Advisory), Colm O'Callaghan (Tax), Declan Maunsell (Assurance), Doone O'Doherty (Tax), Fidelma Boyce (Assurance), Gillian Lowth (Assurance), Ilona McElroy (Tax), Ken Tyrrell (Advisory), Nicola Quinn (Tax), Olivia Hayden (Assurance), Ronan Mulligan (Assurance), and Sinead Ovenden (Advisory).

Speaking at the announcement, PwC Managing Partner Feargal O'Rourke said, "We are admitting a record number of new partners due to significantly increased client demands. Our focus is helping our clients manage and grow their businesses in the current volatile economic environment."

With the three additions at the local wing of the firm, PwC Ireland’s Cork office, a state-of-the-art premises in One Albert Quay that opened last year, now hosts 160 professional staff. While changing landscapes in taxation and data regulations are increasing demands for specialist services from both international and domestic companies for the firm across the Republic, and digital disruption everywhere also leading to strong growth is in advisory, new Cork Partner Nicola Quinn believes the pickup has been most notable in the Cork region, with economic momentum resulting from trading conditions for indigenous business becoming less stable for the port city, due to Brexit and other international developments.

Cork has also seen large public spending on consulting and professional services in recent years, further stimulating consulting practices in the area. According to records released to the Irish press under the Freedom of Information Act, Cork City Council spent a total of €26.3 million on external consultants between January 2009 and June 2016.

Quinn added that the firm is continuing its expansion in order to meet the growing demand, stating, “We are continuing to recruit across all lines of service and we have a number of vacancies for experienced hires in the tax and advisory areas to meet the increased demand for services from our clients. Our focus is to continue to help our clients have sustainable business models in a more volatile economic environment.”

“We see very few companies having a fully developed Brexit strategy in place, though some companies are creating a base line set of assumptions and analysing all of the core elements of their P&L, highlighting the areas of greatest risk and developing a set of mitigating actions,” she continued. Despite Brexit concerns however, Quinn concluded that many indigenous business leaders she works with are positive about rolling out investments. “There has been an increase in the number of cranes visible on the skyline, which is always a good indicator of an improving economy,” she adds. “Big capital projects underway or planned contribute to the strong economic vibe that exists in the region.”