PwC stops sponsor partnership with Irish university society
Global professional services firm PwC has announced it is ending its sponsorship of the Dublin University Philosophical Society, having partnered the society for the last five years. The move comes as the firm looks to find savings amid the economic downturn brought on by Covid-19.
PwC is the largest professional services firm in Ireland, and provides integrated audit, tax and advisory services across all industries in Ireland and internationally. In 2019, PwC Ireland reported a turnover of €564 million, and stated it employed 5,000 people across its seven locations in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Kilkenny, Limerick, Waterford and Wexford.
However, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, 2020 has been a challenging year for the Big Four player, in Ireland and globally.
As the firm looks to downsize its spending to adapt to the sustained economic uncertainty its operations face in Ireland, PwC has called time on its sponsorship of Dublin University’s Philosophical Society. Through the partnership with PwC, the society was previously able to offer students opportunities to meet PwC representatives and gain key insights into the company’s world-renowned graduate programme.
Speaking to Ireland’s University Times, Philosophical Society President Phil Kate Maher said, “PwC were disappointed to end their sponsorship with us but unfortunately they have been hit hard financially by Covid-19 and can no longer afford to continue with their headline sponsorship… There was no wrongdoing or upset on either side, it is just an unfortunate reality that coronavirus is hitting the economy hard and costs need to be cut… We maintain a great relationship with them and hope to work with them again in the future.”
Although the sponsorship has been a welcome financial supplement to the society in recent years, the group is confident it will be able to move forward without it. According to Maher, the society has already been in talks with “a number of other exciting graduate firms,” and is looking to forge new links for students to graduate and internship opportunities.
In the meantime, while PwC has wound up its partnership with Philosophical Society, PwC has said that it looks forward to “continuing to work with Trinity College with the Student Management Fund Society.”
Commenting on the news, PwC explained, “As part of our continued sponsorship programme for education, we support a range of universities across Ireland, including Trinity College. We continue to keep this programme under review to ensure cross representation of a range of stakeholders we work within, including third level institutions.”
