“Your reputation as a leader is everything; your honesty is paramount”

Managing Partner Frank Walsh's interview with Elaine O'Regan, Accountancy Ireland

For Frank Walsh, Managing Partner of Walsh O’Brien Harnett, nurturing the next generation of leaders and leading by example are key priorities

As Managing Partner of Walsh O’Brien Harnett since 2011, Frank Walsh has guided the firm from strength to strength culminating in its recent double win at this year’s Irish Accountancy Awards, where it took home the top prize, Practice of the Year, and also topped the Large Practice of the Year category.

Commending its ability to blend “professional excellence with human connection”, the judging panel further noted the firm’s focus on “people, purpose and progress”.

For Walsh, who leads a team of more than 60 professionals at Walsh O’Brien Harnett’s Dublin headquarters on Baggot Street, the awards brought welcome recognition for the entire team.

“The awards are very welcome. They recognise our team’s talent, hard work and dedication. They also recognise the wonderful, loyal clients we are fortunate to have; we can really only perform well as a firm because of the trust they place in us.”

Just as the dust was settling on the double award win, announced in May at a special awards ceremony at the Radisson Blu Royal Convention Centre, however, Walsh was already looking ahead to future plans and achievements.

“Recognition like this means a lot to the entire team, but we know we have to start again the next day, and to continue performing and growing—we go again, so we can continue to deliver for our clients,” he says.

About the firm

One of Ireland’s top 20 accountancy and advisory practices, Walsh O’Brien Harnett employs a team of just over 60 professionals and has six partners.

The firm’s corporate clients range from growing entrepreneurial businesses, through to established companies with turnover in the tens of millions, and multinationals with operations in Ireland.

The firm also works with charities and not-for-profit clients, including religious congregations, schools and community support organisations, alongside high-net-worth individuals.

“Focusing on specific sectors has allowed us to develop deep expertise in specific areas, and this has really supported our growth over the years,” Walsh says.

“A big growth area for us right now is foreign direct investment (FDI). We work with a lot of multinationals with operations here in Ireland and we always have new FDI clients coming through.

“We also have owner-managed and growing family businesses across a range of sectors, and we look after high-net-worth individuals.

“We are a mid-tier firm at this stage, but we still think like an owner-managed business, so we are accessible, and this helps us to build and maintain strong relationships with our clients,” he says.

“We have a good reputation, and this is important to us. I would say 95 percent of our business comes from referrals which means our clients are happy to recommend us to others.”

Nurturing the next generation

The Walsh O’Brien Harnett team comprises Chartered Accountants, registered auditors and chartered tax advisors.

“We always take the view that customer service is paramount, but the growth of our team is equally important. I say we have two assets; our clients and our team—and we need to look after both. If we do that well, everything else will follow,” says Walsh.

“I try to put myself in their shoes and think about my own experiences when I was at their stage in my own career.

“It’s about making sure there is a pathway for them, helping them develop along the way and giving them interesting, challenging work that will help them grow as professionals.” For Walsh, leading Walsh O’Brien Harnett entails a “fiduciary duty to mind the practice” for future generations.

“We won’t be here forever, so it is the job of the current leadership team to bring our people forward and encourage their development,” he explains.

“We are fortunate to have great people. Some of our partners today trained with the firm and have stayed with us right the way through their career.

“We recognise how important this pathway is for our continued success—making sure there are no obstacles or blocks in the way of our team’s progress, and that they get the encouragement they need all the way.”

Positive leadership

Walsh places immense importance on integrity as a core trait of positive leadership.

“As a leader, your reputation is everything. Your honesty is paramount, and you can never take for granted the trust people place in you,” he says.

The same is true for the firm as a whole. “I often think of that Warren Buffet quote, ‘We can afford to lose money…but we can’t afford to lose reputation’.

“We take the view that, if we look after your clients always, everything else will fall into place.”

Continuous learning is another priority for Walsh, as a leader. He sees knowledge acquisition, expanding skill sets and developing a growth mindset as essential in today’s professional world.

“It is important not to fear trying new things. Just try it. It may not work, or it may take time, but it is essential to keep trying and developing a growth mindset,” he says.

“You are far more likely to find enjoyment and fulfilment in your work when you continue to learn and expand your scope and capabilities.”

For leaders, in particular, Walsh believes many leadership skills can be learned through real world experience and an open mindset.

“I am a different Managing Partner today to the Managing Partner I was when I took on the role in 2011,” he says.

“We all evolve and, while I think some people are natural leaders, I also believe others can learn to develop the skills for effective leadership—even natural leaders can benefit from continuous learning.”

Innovation team

This focus on continuous learning and improvement is embedded in Walsh O’Brien Harnett’s workplace culture. The firm has a dedicated innovation team, led by Partner Ronan O’Brien. “Our innovation team focuses on what we can do better internally and for our clients,” Walsh explains.

“We recently moved our servers from Azure to a multiserver platform, for example, and we are also moving to SharePoint so we can improve our data use and enable better collaboration across our teams.

“We are rolling out Copilot, Microsoft’s artificial intelligence (AI) companion, and also using other AI tools like DataSnipper.

“Our innovation team tests and evaluates all of these technologies in the first instance and then brings ideas and proposals to the wider firm.”

This approach to collaborative learning and knowledge-pooling is at the heart of Walsh O’Brien Harnett’s approach to innovation.

“We always want to ensure that we are learning from everyone right across the firm. Decisions, ideas and knowledge don’t have to come only ‘from the top’,” says Walsh.

“Sometimes, the best decisions will come from a suggestion or insight from the most junior person in the organisation. They may be just in the door but, if they have a great idea, it needs to be heard.”

“Minders, finders and grinders”

Nurturing talent at all levels of the organisation is another key priority for Walsh. “I have been fortunate enough to play both rugby and Gaelic football myself,” he says.

“I love sports, particularly team sports, and that’s given me a solid grounding in the value of strong teamwork.

“I’ve learned that good leadership really comes down to understanding each individual on your team and what motivates them, because people are different—there is no one-size-fits-all and you need all shapes and sizes to succeed as a whole.

“We have some people who are technically brilliant, we have other who are brilliant at explaining and communicating information, imparting knowledge and training or coaching. Others are very skilled at managing clients and strengthening those relationships.

“For me it’s about having the right mix of minders, finders and grinders, as they say, on your team, and making sure each one person is given the right opportunities to focus on what they are good at and grow in their role.”

Education and career

Walsh studied business and economics at Trinity College Dublin before qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in 1997 with Sherry O’Connor & Associates.

“My degree gave me a general grounding in business, including economics and accounting and I found I really enjoyed the latter in particular,” he says.

“My father was an accountant and partner with Robert J. Kidney and Co., and I had a natural interest in maths and solving problems. I also wanted to work in a people-focused area, and I could see that my dad’s work brought him into contact with different clients and he enjoyed that.”

Walsh was also attracted initially to the security and opportunities offered by a career as a Chartered Accountant.

“I started my degree in 1988, and, at that time, the Irish economy wasn’t doing well. People were being forced to emigrate to find work, so the security of an in-demand career like accountancy appealed to me ever more so.

“That said, I don’t think I fully realised when I qualified as a Chartered Accountant, just how many opportunities this career would give me to work across so many different areas and expand my skills and experience. I was lucky; It just sort of fell into place for me.”

Walsh joined Deloitte Touche Tomatsu after qualifying to further his experience in audit and consulting, but soon found himself back at Sherry O’Connor & Associates, where he was appointed Audit Partner in 1999—just one year after qualifying.

“I was lucky to work with two great partners in Brendan Sherry and Patrick O’Connor. They were very good to me and, when I subsequently joined Deloitte, I was equally fortunate to work with great people there like Ronan Nolan and Brendan Jennings.

“After I had joined Deloitte, Patrick stepped back from the firm and Brendan approached me to rejoin as a Partner. I’ve been with the firm ever since and am immensely proud to have been a part of its continued growth and evolution.”

The future for Walsh O’Brien Harnett

Walsh spearheaded the firm’s 2003 merger with Joy McNabola Murray & Co. to form Sherry McNabola Murray & Co., and was appointed Managing Partner in 2011. In 2017, he led another merger with O’Brien Harnett & Associates to form Walsh O’Brien Harnett.

“In more recent years, we’ve seen more private equity firms investing in practice here in Ireland, but we want to remain independent. We like being independent; we like paddling our own canoe,” he says.

“We are fortunate that succession is something we actively plan for. We have a very good team whose talent, commitment and hard work points to a bright future ahead.

“My job now is to bring the next generation of leaders through the organisation so that, when I am eventually ready to step away, the firm is in the best possible hands.”

As a Chartered Accountant, Walsh is equally positive in his views of the profession and its future.

“If I was to start my career again tomorrow knowing what I know now, I would choose this profession all over again,” he says.

“I remember my daughter describing my job to one of her pals when she was about five. She said, ‘My dad counts other people’s money every day’. That still makes me smile, but the reality of a career as a Chartered Accountant is very different.

“I have been fortunate to receive so many opportunities, meet different and often very interesting people, work with them, help them and learn from them,” he says.

“No matter how technologies like AI change the way we work, there will always be a need for Chartered Accountants and I think that is really down to the strength of our training.

“The role of the Chartered Accountant may change, but there will always be opportunities in our field for young professionals.”