“Sometimes it is underestimated how many females are in important positions in Northern Ireland,” explains Angela McGowan, whose place at the province’s top table was secured when she took over as the CBI’s director for Northern Ireland in October last year. McGowan makes her case well, reciting a list of women holding leadership roles […]
Máirtín Ó Muilleoir, Northern Ireland’s new finance minister, is tall, thin, charming and seemingly addicted to social media (Twitter, especially). Ó Muilleoir also gives the impression of being his own man – as we sit over a coffee and tea in Belfast’s Europa Hotel he is without any civil service minders, almost uniquely for an
Few events other than war have had such profound and far reaching consequences as the UK’s Brexit vote. The British prime minister has been replaced, the value of the pound has fallen and the market value of some banks in the UK, Ireland and elsewhere has plummeted. Moreover, the IMF warns the decision “could dampen
“Accountants fill a vast array of posts across central government departments,” says Christos Malakouna, director in Deloitte’s public sector finance team. “Public sector CFOs are now expected to be at the heart of decision-making. The finance teams supporting them require diverse skills and capabilities, building on technical skills, but fundamentally ensuring they have wider stakeholder,
Peace does not come easy after conflict. It is a gradual process, requiring patience and assistance. That is one clear conclusion from Northern Ireland’s attempts to slowly leave the Troubles behind. The European Union’s PEACE programmes have played an important role in that journey. In fact, PEACE I began in 1995, preceding by three
There is nothing new about reform in the world of local government – far from it. Local government reform is so common that it sometimes seems more like permanent revolution. Major reorganisation in the 1970s was followed by the poll tax, the council tax, more reorganisation, city mayors and, recently, devo. Now comes another reform
Cuts in government grant and increased demand for social services mean that local authorities are dealing with an ever worsening financial squeeze. Many councils recognise the need to improve the quality of their finance function, offering new opportunities for finance professionals. PwC’s latest annual Local State We’re In survey found that a mere 18% of
Ireland is in the midst of a housing crisis that is getting worse. With the Government about to publish its new housing strategy, those in the sector are urging it to make an effective intervention. One indicator of the scale of the challenge is the rise in housing costs. In the year ending April,
During the Celtic Tiger years, the construction sector was both a driver and a symptom of the booming economy. Things are very different today, but the sector is bouncing back. Not even the industry, though, wants it to return to the heady days of 2006 – when activity was both unsustainable and unhealthy. That
Universities and further education colleges are a central part of the UK economy – and not just because they develop the skills needed to sustain and grow our economy. They are themselves big businesses. UK universities have an annual income of more than £30bn[1]. The FE college sector is smaller, but still very large: its
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West Ham United has just finalised its lease of the Olympic Stadium. It cost £700m to build and £272m to convert for football, yet West Ham paid just £15m towards the capital costs and an unknown – but probably modest – amount for the lease. The Government declines to say how much West Ham is
Public bodies across the world are developing new strategies to deal with the loss of traditional sources of revenue, such as taxes and central government grant. Many are considering innovative approaches to raise new sources of income to enable them to maintain long-standing spending commitments. Some are turning to fines for misbehaviour as a way