Chartered Accountants Ireland has admitted its 31,000th member, Simon Kearney, who trained as a chartered accountant on the Aer Lingus graduate programme.

Kearney is among c.600 new chartered accountants who will be conferred in the coming days in Dublin, Cork and Belfast.

“I have had a lifelong interest in aviation, and training as a chartered accountant in the industry with Aer Lingus allowed me to combine that interest with my goal of working in finance,” said Kearney.

“Through three rotations in the finance function, I had exposure to technical accounting as well as learning about all aspects of the business.”

The accountancy body said it had 21,005 members (fully qualified accountants admitted) in the Republic of Ireland and 4,814 members in Northern Ireland at the end of 2021.

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The Institute’s market share on the island now stands at 52%, comprising a 50% market share in the Republic of Ireland and 63% in Northern Ireland.

CAI said this represents 30% growth in ROI market share and 22% growth in NI since 2015.

Director of Members, Brendan O’Hora, commented: “In a highly competitive market, it is extremely encouraging to observe the continued growth of the Chartered brand.

“The upwards movement is driven by strong admissions, as well as members maintaining and valuing their membership throughout their career.”

Despite the new members, accountants are included in the DETE’s Critical Skills Occupations List.

“Despite growth in the community of chartered accountants, supply constraints remain, and we hear this anecdotally on a daily basis,” said O’Hora. “In recent months, the processing time for permits has been reduced to 6-8 weeks, which is very positive.”

In addition to its membership on the island of Ireland, Chartered Accountants Ireland has almost 5,000 members working in industry, practice, and the public sector in other countries.

Photo: Simon Kearney (centre) with Karin Lanigan, CAI head of member experience, and Brendan O’Hora. (Pic: Iain White)