KPMG in Galway has announced that three of its people have achieved some of the highest results in Ireland in the final accounting exams of The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI ). Galway based Caoimhe McLoughlin (second place ) John Harney (third place ) and Maria Morris (joint eighth place ) are all based at the accounting firm’s Eyre Square offices.
In addition, candidates from the firm’s Dublin and Belfast offices have also achieved places in the top 10 results in the country. More than 1,300 candidates North and South sat the exams and this unprecedented achievement means that KPMG people secured seven of the top ten places in the ICAI rankings. Caroline Kelly, who is based at the firm’s Belfast office achieved first place.
Speaking at the announcement of the results, KPMG Galway’s Brian Thornton said a lot is written about the knowledge economy and how Irish business needs to continually invest in training, research and development in order to compete.
“We are committed to this principle because particularly in a downturn, business in the west of Ireland demands access to the best people for the advice, insight and support needed in a challenging business environment.”
According to the 2006 census figures, there are almost 670,000 people in the Republic’s labour force with a third level qualification, testament to many decades investment in third level education.
‘The west has achieved a huge amount in terms of our economic development,” said Mr Thornton. “Despite challenging economic circumstances, for this to continue we need to be able to provide those looking to invest in the region with a range of highly specialised and skilled professionals. In many cases this means enhancing the value of a third level education through further training and we in KPMG remain totally committed to further investment in our people,’’ he concluded.
