2023 National Accounting Competition
CPA Ireland once again partnered with gamification app Quitch to bring the National Accounting Competition Ireland. The competition was greatly received with participants from 21 colleges across Ireland and Northern Ireland. The winning student from this year’s competition was Chenlu Lin from Technological University of the Shannon Midlands Midwest, making them the ‘Winning College’ for the second year running. Congratulations to all participants and we look forward to the 2024 competition.
Mark Gargan appointed President of CPA Ireland
Mark Gargan was appointed the 50th President of CPA Ireland, at the 80th Annual General Meeting of members. Throughout the year Mark spoke strongly about the risks facing SME’s due to pandemic tax debts this year, alongside the issues around an outdated leaving cert accounting syllabus. “Ireland’s Leaving Cert syllabus for accounting dates back to the 1990’s. It is closer to a history lesson than a depiction of 21
st century accounting. The misconception it creates is leading to the growing shortage of accountants in this country”.
Partnered with Capital Credit Union
We partnered with Capital Credit Union to allow CPA students to avail of their student finance scheme and a streamlined application process. Capital credit union also opened their higher education scholarship to CPA Ireland students allowing them to be in with a chance to win €500 towards their CPA studies - Find out more
here.
New Marketing Campaign – Switch Your Perspective
We launched a new CPA marketing campaign “Switch your Perspective, Change your Future”. The campaign aims to defy the perceived perceptions of a career in accounting. With help from some CPA members, we used profiles from some of our members to showcase the breadth of paths you can take with your career as a CPA Accountant. Thank you to our members who took part to date, and we look forward to expanding on the campaign in 2024 - Find out more
here.
Launched Sustainability Micro Credentials
In today’s rapidly changing world, it’s crucial to stay ahead of the curve and demonstrate your commitment to sustainability. The Micro Credentials are a flexible way to acquire specialised knowledge and skills in the field of sustainability. We thank Skillnet Ireland for their support on this programme - Find out more
here.
Networking Events – Business Breakfast and Women in Business
Throughout 2023, CPA Ireland held numerous networking events around Ireland, The Summer Socials in May & June, the Business Breakfast in Cork as well as two Women in Business events, one in Cork and one in Dublin. The positive atmosphere, the enjoyable networking and the exceptional speakers all contributed to these wonderful events.
Strong College Presence
The business development team maintained a strong presence throughout Irish colleges in 2023. Attending numerous career fairs and presentations in colleges nationwide, alongside sponsorships for highly achieving students in some of these colleges. Thank you to all colleges for being so accommodating and we look forward to collaborating more in 2024.
Announced sponsorship of the CPA Finance Award for the 2024 SEP programme
CPA Ireland is delighted to be working with the Student Enterprise Programme to sponsor an award for the best finance plan in the 2024 finals. 25,000 second level students take part in the competition run by the local enterprise offices every year. The competition gives students nationwide a chance to set up their own business and by taking part CPA Ireland want to give students the finance skills to make their business a success and make them aware of the career possibilities available to them in the future as a CPA Accountant. - Find out more
here.
2 MRA renewals with SAIPA and ICMA Pakistan
CPA Ireland CEO Eamonn Siggins and CPA Ireland President Mark Gargan were in Vienna, Austria at the IFAC Council Meeting and completed the signing of the Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) with the South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA) on November 16
th, 2023. December 2023 also saw the renewal of the Mutual Recognition Agreement between CPA Ireland and the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan (ICMA Pakistan) through a virtual signing. The agreement was originally entered into in 2015. We look forward to the continued success of these partnerships in 2024 - Find out more
here.
Launched the CPA Metaverse
CPA Ireland launched a new bespoke training service that exists entirely in the Metaverse, accessed through VR headsets. The new CPA Metaverse programme, a first of its kind in Ireland, had its initial launch at the CPA Ireland President's Dinner in September. The CPA Metaverse has been developed by CPA Ireland in conjunction with Sia Partners and Skillnet. The programme focusses on Robotic Process Automation (RPA), once learners have studied the theoretical content, they can enter the virtual world to apply what they have learned - Find out more
here.
Launched TikTok Channel
To expand our reach within the graduate market we launched the CPA Ireland TikTok channel. With the help of some of our CPA students we created some “Day in the Life” content to showcase what it’s like to be a CPA student. Our content to date has been well received and we look forward to sharing more in 2024 - Follow us on Tiktok
here.
Looking forward to all that is to come in 2024.