When people come into our Monaghan office to meet with me, they may well see a host of qualification and certificates on the wall, but at the end of the day, it’s ME they’re buying into – not my academic qualifications. So it really helps when they realise that I know about the sector and that I’m sympathetic to the very specific challenges of the farming community
“It’s so much easier building a relationship of trust when my clients know that I appreciate what their working life is like"
I understand the financial background to their business. In a typical meeting with clients, much of the chat is about farming matters and not about accountancy issues at all.
I am very much a client-facing member of the ifac team and spend most of my week in our Monaghan office. In working in what some might perceive as a man’s world, I've only ever had one client who didn’t want to work with a female accountant. Once people know you know about farming and you know about accountancy, your gender very quickly becomes something of an irrelevance.
I joined ifac from a small accountancy practice – Hugh Lennon and Associates in Cavan – following my studies at Maynooth University, where I qualified with a BA in Finance and Accounting. Over the past six years, I can confidently say what sets ifac apart is their determination to see their clients do well for themselves. The only way WE can succeed is when THEY do, so it’s very much a Win-Win situation.
I take a very personal interest in my clients and regard myself as an advisor and a confidante as much as an accountant. It’s very often the case that if a farming couple have a major financial challenge, I may be the only one who they’ve shared their dilemma with. That’s a great honour, in some ways, but it also places an extra onus of responsibility on my shoulders.
I’m very acutely conscious of the emotional strain they may be under, and will often check in with them to see how they’re doing – and to make sure that they know they have someone in their corner who’s working to get them to a better place business-wise.
I believe that companies like ifac have a social responsibility to the sector we serve, and from my own personal experience to date, I’m very definitely not the only one in the company to have this view.
