Accountancy firm to create 300 jobs

More than 300 jobs are to be created by leading accountancy and consultancy business Ernst & Young, the company revealed today.

The firm is to take on employees in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford and Belfast over the next 18 months in order to meet expected demand in the economic recovery.

Mike McKerr, the company’s managing partner in Ireland, said management was already seeing a rapid growth in new business opportunities.

“Although it has been a difficult few years for our profession, we are seeing new opportunities arise as businesses seek advice on cost reduction, growth and recovery from the financial crisis,” he said.

Ernst & Young said half of the new employees would be graduates taken on next year. Other positions being offered include qualified accountants and senior executives in assurance and tax and key roles in fraud investigations and dispute services teams.

Fifty jobs will be created in the advisory practice in the next 18 months and the firm is also planning to take on another 50 staff in the same division after that.

Despite its primary focus on accountancy and consultancy, Ernst & Young said it was also looking for applications from graduates in engineering, IT, legal, business, accounting and finance.

Mr McKerr added: “We have largely achieved our goal of protecting our capacity during the downturn by carefully managing our cost base and increasing the throughput of work.

“Whilst we have continued to maintain our graduate recruitment numbers, our more conservative approach to overall hiring in recent years has ensured that we are in a position to make this substantial investment in our business and our people.”

Other positions being created by the investment drive include advisory roles in the performance improvement division in domestic and international sectors and client accounts. Other positions are also available in IT risk and business risk advisory teams.

The recruitment drive is part of wider investment across Ireland and the UK and will boost Ernst & Young’s workforce in Ireland of 1,100 by a third.

In 2008, the company announced the integration of all its 87 Europe, Middle East, India and Africa country practices, including Ireland, into a single unit made up of 3,500 partners and 60,000 employees.

Elsewhere global insurance firm Global Indemnity is to create 30 new positions over the next five years through the establishment of an IT development operation in Cavan.

Agriculture Minister and local TD Brendan Smith said the announcement was excellent news for the north-east region.

“The company’s decision to locate in Cavan is an endorsement of the attractiveness of the area to global investors,” the minister said.

Larry Frakes, Global Indemnity President and chief executive, said the company was drawn to the area because of the highly skilled workforce.

“Ireland is an excellent locale for our headquarters with a supportive environment and infrastructure from which to conduct an international business,” he said.