IE_COM_Clements_1


This article was first published in the July/August 2020 Ireland edition of
Accounting and Business magazine.

As restrictions ease and our economy slowly comes back to life, many will reflect on what the experience of lockdown tells us about the direction we should now take as a society.

Those heartwarming ads on TV, featuring video calls between families and friends, remind us how we have all embraced technology at a pace never experienced before and point to a transformation for the long term. In the ACCA Ireland committee, we have seen digital adoption among members accelerate hugely. Since 18 March, ACCA Ireland has delivered more than 20 webinars to 7,800 attendees. Three of these involved more than 1,000 delegates each. Having participated in a number of virtual ACCA regional panel meetings, I’ve been impressed with the can-do attitude among members and their efforts to continue to provide services to clients.

Looking to the future, we believe a blend of online live webinars and larger one- or half-day events will be central to CPD delivery. We know our members appreciate the ease of online meetings, but also wish to retain opportunities to network, to meet with peers and to make real connections.

In the broader world, there’s an active debate about returning to the office, when and how it happens, and whether it happens at all. There is no doubt the experience of the last few months has the potential to instigate a massive social shift. The opportunity for parents to spend more time with their children, to avoid the drudge of a daily commute and to live more sustainably in smaller communities is a tantalising one and will have major implications for planners and service providers around the country.  

This bright new future is, of course, contingent on the restarting of the economy. Investment will be key. In the funds industry, we’ve seen investors increasingly drawn towards environmental, social and governance (ESG) as an investment strategy in recent years. Very positively, funds that follow ESG parameters outperformed others by between 5% and 8% in Q1 2020. This tells us there’s a ready market for governments looking to raise debt for investment in public infrastructure, public transport, energy, childcare and healthcare provision, and that they should capitalise on the goodwill towards the green agenda.  

For SMEs, funding initiatives at EU and government level will be pivotal and we are already seeing positive developments. Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprise Offices currently have funding available for firms to upgrade their technology, while the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland has begun offering working capital support in response to the pandemic.  

Much more will be needed and the role of many ACCA members, in business or in practice, will be key in terms of orienting organisations to their future, reworking budgets and cashflow plans, developing strategies for growth and working with finance providers to access resources.  

In this focus on business recovery, however, we shouldn’t lose sight of some of the positive personal experiences the lockdown has provided. Let’s hope that we continue to walk, cycle and garden more, spend more time with our family, appreciate the natural beauty around us, and continue to take pleasure in baking bread (banana or brown soda!) long into the future.

I wish you and your families a great summer and a safe and healthy year ahead. Ní neart go cur le chéile – There is no strength without unity!

Tara Clements FCCA is associate director, service and technical training, RBC Investor & Treasury Services and chair of ACCA Ireland.