‘We are always in motion’
CEO & Managing Partner Ifac
ACTIVITY Ifac had a great year in 2023. Our business lines grew significantly. Outsourced services, advisory, tax, and financial planning stood out as big winners. Our reputation for delivering high-quality advisory is also growing fast, and we are engaging in myriad projects, from business transformation to digital transition and new business generation in the SME and family business sectors.
Our acquisition of Friel Stafford was also an important moment in 2023. Our insolvency, corporate recovery, and forensics business lines under the Friel Stafford banner are all growing quickly too. We are recruiting across the firm and have many opportunities for highquality professionals. Ifac is an entrepreneurial place where we encourage team members to push the boundaries and create new service lines when they see an opportunity.
We will be launching some new business lines in 2024, and we will also continue to acquire businesses that add expertise or niche services or new client segments to the firm.
OPERATIONS We are always in motion and developing new service lines, and ensuring our clients win in their sector is also a core focus. We are a large and ambitious business with over 500 people, 30 locations, and more than 22,000 clients. As a co-op owned by our clients, we also have a unique ability to reinvest profits into continuous improvement.
From an operational perspective, it’s about moving fast enough in building capacity and developing systems to keep pace with our growth. As a purpose-driven organisation, we understand operational issues must be identified and solved so we can continue to make an impact in the communities we serve.
AI We have just built and launched a new app called Ifac Mobile. The app collects data directly from banks and suppliers, ensuring that our clients in the SME market can access up-to-date financial information anytime they need it. This speed is a game changer for turnaround times on finance applications, credit approvals, and decision making.
We are also using machine learning in the next generation of our accounting and CRM software, both of which are in-house products developed by our teams using sector-specific knowledge and software expertise. Our
marketing team and consulting teams are also using artificial intelligence. In a full employment economy, AI is a capacity builder and a massive enabler for human expertise, particularly in understanding and using data sets to inform decision-making. That said, you can’t beat sitting with an advisor who knows your business and understands your goals.
OUTLOOK Ireland Inc. looks like a great business, and it is an economic miracle, but it’s also over-trading. We don’t have the services we need to sustain long-term growth. Our health system, housing, and education all need major surgery if we want to be a destination for global talent. All three are overburdened, undermanaged, and displaying all the signs of an absence of leadership.
The short-term economic outlook is okay, and confidence is reasonably high. The US election will have long-term global implications. In many ways, Ireland is the 51st state, and we will feel the winds of change if they come. Whatever the macro environment might be, for clients it’s the old story that with a strong balance sheet with the right blend of debt and equity, and good people, you will survive and might even thrive.