Alastair Mac Donald, Managing Partner, talks about MKO’s rebrand to EisnerAmper Ireland

As MKO joins EisnerAmper Global and rebrands to EisnerAmper Ireland, the firm has a client roll that includes some of the world’s leading financial services and trading companies in addition to state bodies in Ireland. 

As the team prepared for the changeover, Alastair Mac Donald, Managing Partner, sat down in the boardroom of their Dublin office with Colin Murphy, columnist with the Sunday Business Post, to talk about why he is willing to change to the EisnerAmper brand, and where he thinks the firm is heading.

Colin: Let’s get the basics right first.  What is happening to MKO?

Alastair: We’re joining with a leading US accountancy firm, EisnerAmper LLP, to form a new global network called EisnerAmper Global.  As founding members of that network, we’ve decided to change our name to EisnerAmper Ireland from today.

Colin: Is this a merger or acquisition, or simply a partnership?

Alastair:  None of the above.  We remain an independent Irish firm owned by our partners.  Along with EisnerAmper LLP and Cayman we founded EisnerAmper Global.  Through our membership of EisnerAmper Global we will work together to share work and intelligence to facilitate international trade.

So we have the same service and ethos – but now with global connectivity.

Colin: Who are EisnerAmper LLP in the US?

Alastair: EisnerAmper are one of the US’s leading accounting firms, with over 1300 professionals and 200 partners. They are based in New York, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Grand Cayman. They focus on two areas that are key to us: international trade and financial services.  Their collegiate culture and values are very close to our own. Through working with them on joint projects in recent years, we have come to see them as a natural fit with our firm and our clients.

Colin: There’s clearly some risk involved – you are giving up your own brand, and joining with a much larger firm.  So why take on this headache?

Alastair: We don’t consider this is a headache at all!  While it’s been hard work it’s both exciting and invigorating.

The bigger question is: why do this at all?  As part of our commitment to continually develop our expertise and offering to our niche markets, we realised that to be “best in class”, we need to be globally best in class. As a growing Irish firm already playing a key role in bringing international financial services and trade to Ireland, we realised that we needed global perspective and relevance. So as a firm that has always been committed to innovation in professional services, we see this as a logical and important next step in our journey.

Colin: That makes sense, but why the name change?

Alastair: While we remain an independent Irish firm owned by our partners, it makes sense for us to work with our international colleagues under a single brand to clearly position our global offering to our clients and financial services markets.

Initial client feedback suggests that EisnerAmper is one of those names you won’t forget because it’s hard to remember – that’s been an unforeseen benefit!

Colin: How does this position you with the Big Four – how do you compete?

Alastair: We are executing a strategy we call “global niche” – offering specialist services to niche markets in the key global hubs.  For example, in Ireland we primarily focus upon financial services, international trade and government work.  Increasingly, conflicts of interest and the evolving regulatory environment mean that clients need an alternative auditor or an additional advisor.  Upcoming EU audit reform is bringing this to the fore.  So competition is always there but, just as often, our peers and markets will see us as complementary.

Colin: How will this affect your existing clients?

Alastair: On a practical level, not at all. The same team will be available in the same way at the same place. Our personal touch and responsiveness won’t be changing.

On a more fundamental level, this will allow us to deepen and broaden our expertise, whether bringing that back to the Irish market, or helping Irish clients expand into international markets.  We already bring international trade and financial services to Ireland, so this will enhance our international presence and help us attract new clients to Ireland, along with bringing first-hand experience of global best practice in regulation and related areas.

For Irish clients trading internationally, or hoping to, EisnerAmper Global’s offices give us boots on the ground in the key hubs, allowing us provide local insight and create relationships there for our clients.

Colin: How has the rest of the firm reacted to the move?

Alastair: We operate an “open architecture” approach to the execution of firm plans, so the team at all levels has been engaged for more than two years.  So firm buy-in has been exceptional and, to my mind, is a reflection of our collegiate culture.

We invest a lot in our trainees: they work hard and we give them a lot of support and a lot of opportunity. With six staff just back from three months seconded to EisnerAmper Global’s New York and San Fran offices, technical and development opportunities are only going to grow.

Colin Murphy is a columnist with the Sunday Business Post (http://www.businesspost.ie/) and a writer of a current affairs documentaries.

CASSD Carnival Ball 2015

Ten members of MKO (now EisnerAmper Ireland) attended the CASSD Carnival Ball on 7 March 2015.  The ball was hosted in the main Ballroom of the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel on Burlington road.  Over 700 attendees were greeted with

a champagne reception followed by a fabulous three course meal.  The evening entertainment included carnival style dancers and a magician who

did not fail to amaze.  A portion of the ticket price for each member was donated to the National Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation.

MKO (now EisnerAmper Ireland) leads trade mission to India – February 2015

Frank Keane and Cormac Doyle, Partners at MKO (now EisnerAmper Ireland), travelled to India on a trade mission from the 8^thuntil the 13^th February.  The purpose of the trade mission was to meet existing clients, to attend major conferences (such as Nasscom, Bio Bangalore and Plast India) and to run trade investment workshops.  Frank and Cormac were accompanied by Robert MacGiolla Phadraig (Sigmar Recruitment), Derek Collins (Bank of Ireland) and Brian Harrison (HiTech Health Ltd).

MKO (now EisnerAmper Ireland) Christmas Party 2014

MKO (now EisnerAmper Ireland) staff opened the Christmas season’s celebrations with the Firm Christmas Party on the 19^thDecember 2014.  The evening kicked off with pre-dinner drinks and refreshments in Kiely’s in Donnybrook, followed by dinner in The Greenery Restaurant, Donnybrook.  The agenda for the night included some brilliant singing performance from the 2014 new joiners, who demonstrated their musical talents with a vast repertoire of Christmas Carrols.  Later that night, everyone was presented with a Kris Kindle gift that had to be opened publicly.  The event provided a pleasant and enjoyable occasion to exchange Christmas wishes and celebrate the end of 2014.

US Secondment Programme 2015

Six members of MKO’s (now EisnerAmper Ireland’s) Financial Services team have been selected to travel to the United States in January 2015 to partake in a 12 week Funds Audit Secondment Programme with EisnerAmper LLP (“EisnerAmper”). EisnerAmper is a leading full-service advisory and accounting firm, and is among the largest in the United States, with nearly 1,200 employees, including 180 partners. Recognised internationally as one of the premier firms providing advisory, audit, and tax services to financial services entities and portfolio companies, EisnerAmper serves more than 1,000 hedge funds, private equity funds and other fund entities.

Assistant Managers Karl Purcell and Roisin Cahill will travel to EisnerAmper’s office in San Francisco, while Andrew Duignan, Michael O’Malley, Louise Reynolds and Josie Egan will be based in EisnerAmper’s New York City office. EisnerAmper team members at both locations will be joined by Secondees from firms located in Europe, South Africa and New Zealand.

The Secondment Programme will begin with a week of in-house Hedge Fund Audit Training provided by EisnerAmper’s Learning & Development Team.  Upon completion of training, MKO (now EisnerAmper Ireland)secondees will join EisnerAmper’s Hedge Fund Audit Teams to manage and work on a range of audits over the course of their secondment.

To learn more about the services offered by EisnerAmper to companies and service providers in the Financial Services sector, visit this page.

Ireland France Business Awards 2014

Roisin Cahill, Assistant Manager, and Orla Brennan, Supervisor, both members of MKO’s (now EisnerAmper Ireland’s) International Business team, attended the Ireland France Business Awards 2014 and Gala Dinner on Thursday, 27 November at The Royal Hospital, Kilmainham. The annual event is organised by the France Ireland Chamber of Commerce and NetworkIrelande.
Guests were joined on the night by An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny TD (pictured below with Roisin Cahill), H.E. Jean-Pierre Thébault (Ambassador of France to Ireland), H.E. Geraldine Byrne Nason (Ambassador of Ireland to France) and Matthias Fekl, the French Minister of State for Foreign Trade.

MKO (now EisnerAmper Ireland) is an active member of the France Ireland Chamber of Commerce. For more information on MKO’s (now EisnerAmper Ireland’s) International Business service offering, please visit our website.

Run in the Dark 2014

On the 12th of November 2014 Emanuela Zamboni and Patrick Thornton participated in the Dublin Run in the Dark 5k race. Over 3,000 runners participated in the event. Emanuela and Patrick both had stellar performances finishing 29th and 7th in their respective divisions!

The Life Style Sports Run in the Dark raises awareness and funding for Mark Pollock’s mission to cure spinal cord injuries.

http://www.runinthedark.org/about/

Dublin Marathon 2014

Congratulations to Cormac Doyle and Emanuela Zamboni who ran the Dublin Marathon on the 27^thOctober, a second marathon in 7 months for Cormac, and a third in 12 months for Emanuela! Both Emanuela and Cormac managed to finish under 5 hours, despite the challenging weather conditions, injuries picked up during training, lack of training, and some trials and tribulations along the way on 26.2 miles course!

Junior Achievement Ireland (JAI) Programme

Members of MKO (now EisnerAmper Ireland) have been participating in the JAI Programme throughout 2014. Several members of staff completed the Easter and Autumn term programmes, with more members of staff scheduled to participate during the coming months. Sarabeth McGuire completed the Easter term programme in the Guardian Angels National School in Blackrock, which involved teaching 30 students  as part of ‘Our Families Programme’ over a period of 6 weeks. ‘Our Families Programme’ discusses the role of families in the local economy. The programme involved visiting the school and teaching a 5 week lesson plan. Following the completion of the programme, each member of the class received a participation certificate and a party was organised for the students by MKO (now EisnerAmper Ireland).

JAI is part of a worldwide organisation reaching out to 9.3 million young people each year, encouraging them to remain in education. The next round of participation for MKO (now EisnerAmper Ireland in the JAI programme will be November 2014, with additional volunteers from MKO (now EisnerAmper Ireland) participating in several schools across Dublin.

Ireland Fund Young Leaders, Irish Run the World Global 5k

Congratulations to Dean Roche and Patrick Thornton for taking part in the Ireland Fund Young Leaders, Irish Run the World Global 5k, that took place in the Leopardstown racecourse on Saturday 4 October 2014.  The event span over 20hrs, and covered over 50km, in 11 different cities and 4 different countries. Patrick Thornton won the Dublin race in an impressive time of 17:17, with Dean Roche finishing in the Top 10.