The Young Women of Fitzgerald Power on The Women Who Inspire Them

We pass the mic to the younger female cohort of the Fitzgerald Power office, to credit the women who allow them to look forward.

For most of civilisation (and often still today), the question was never about what women could do, but what they were allowed to do.

Stay at home, work, have children, don’t have children, run for president: a woman’s choices have often been circumscribed by the time in which she is born. As for the lives of women on the breadline, or those in minority groups, their lives are circumscribed further, still.

In many ways, being a woman means looking backwards; to remind us where we were, how far we’ve come, and the women who changed things to make that so. However, International Women’s Day, is all about looking forward – as part of the ongoing exercise of hope that is also intrinsic to womanhood.

Here, we pass the mic to the younger female cohort of our office, to credit the women who allow them to look forward.

1. Aoife Ormond, Team Lead SME Department.

“I first joined Fitzgerald Power during my third year of college to fulfil my degree’s work experience requirement. After finishing my degree, I rejoined in June 2021, taking on the role of trainee accountant in the SME department. In January 2024, I was promoted to Team Lead.

“Accountancy had always been in the back of my mind as a career option, and I always enjoyed my accountancy modules in college. I didn’t have a specific industry in mind that I wanted to work in but I realised all industries have a common thread – they all need accountants to function properly. By working in an accountancy practice like Fitzgerald Power, I get a glimpse into a huge range of industries. In the SME department, we provide services to businesses ranging from tech start-ups to brick-and-mortar retailers and everything in between. I enjoy the challenge of working to understand a business and the sector they operate in.

“The female leader who inspires me is Chupi Sweetman, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Chupi, a fine jewellery company that was recently nominated in the Irish Times Business Leader Awards 2024. In a recent social media post, Chupi wrote ‘When I was growing up business leaders didn’t look like me. They weren’t women. They weren’t young. They weren’t mums’. I am a big believer that you can’t be what you can’t see. In order to encourage more women to take the leap into leadership positions, we need to be able to see that it is possible. I admire Chupi’s dedication to encouraging other women to take up leadership positions and encouraging female entrepreneurship. She is a lead entrepreneur with Going for Growth, an initiative to support women entrepreneurs with their ambitions to grow their businesses, co-funded by Enterprise Ireland and KPMG.

“Additionally, I think her commitment to doing things her way and not compromising on who she is to fit into a corporate box is admirable. To quote Chupi herself. “If at this season in my life I’m going to be spending a lot of time on the corporate side of my darling Chupi, I’m damn well going to do it wearing sequins. Who decided grey suits were the only acceptable way to dress anyway?’”

2. Anna Tolson, Assistant Manager SME Department.

“I joined Fitzgerald Power in December 2023. My role is focused on providing accounting and business advisory services to SME clients. This includes a number of different tasks including year-end/annual statutory accounts preparation, monthly management accounts preparations, financial health checks, online accounting services and much more.

“I chose to study accountancy as I have always been drawn to numbers and figures. Over the years of working in accountancy, I have enjoyed working across a number of different sectors and the wide range of experience this has given me. There are lots of opportunities to grow and progress within the profession.

“The female leader who inspires me is Gráinne Mullins, the CEO & Founder of Grá Chocolates. I came across Grá Chocolates on social media during COVID and decided to place an order. I was very impressed by the handmade Irish product. Since then, I have followed Gráinne’s journey and watched her business grow from making chocolates in her parent’s shed to building a successful business doing what she loves. She has won numerous awards including Forbes’ 30 under 30 and is now stocked in Brown Thomas and members of the Leading Hotels of the World group. It is very inspiring to see an Irish woman reach this level of success by following her passion.”

3. Rebecca Duggan, Assistant Manager Pharmacy Department.

“I’ll have been with Fitzgerald Power for one year at the end of this month. My day-to-day role involves organising, planning, executing and completing audits, accounting, managing accounts, tax and other assignments. I also capture and report all information and KPIs relevant to the firm’s Key Performance Management.

“I chose accountancy because I have always had an eye for numbers but after choosing Accounting as a Leaving Certificate subject, I realised that I was not only good at it, but I enjoyed it.

“A female leader who inspires me is fellow Kilkenny woman, Siobhán Talbot, the now-former CEO of Glanbia. She was the second female CEO of an Irish-listed company and was pivotal in nearly doubling the group’s revenue during her time as CEO. She comes across as a very values-driven leader which was replicated in the culture she brought to Glanbia. She was a female CEO in an industry mainly dominated by men and she not only succeeded, but she set the bar for female CEOs in business across the country.”

4. Aoife Dullaghan, Team Leader Pharmacy Department.

“I’ve been in Fitzgerald Power since August 2022. My work involves executing and completing year-end and management accounts, submitting taxes such as VAT and CT and other assignments that may arise for pharmacies across Ireland. I also train and mentor team members within the pharmacy department, especially new graduates who join the pharmacy team.

“I chose accountancy because I always loved the subject in school and found the challenge of figuring things out exciting. I also enjoy working with numbers. I like how there is always something new to learn – it keeps the challenge of everything alive. I used to go to Cork during the summer holidays to help my uncle in his accountancy office, and from the first summer I worked with him, I knew I would choose accountancy to be my profession in some way or another.”

“The female leader that inspires me is Aimee Connolly, CEO & Founder of Sculpted by Aimee. Aimee is confident, courageous, energetic, dedicated, ambitious, determined and, most of all, she has an incredible drive and work ethic. These are characteristics I drive to achieve and improve upon within my personal and working life. Aimee inspires me most of all with the respect she has for her mother, and how her mother is one of her biggest role models. Aimee has a stellar reputation and is an inspiration to every female in Ireland. Her ability to educate, encourage and support other females is admirable. She is the full definition of female empowerment.”

We’ve spent the last few decades building up a world-class team here at Fitzgerald Power, making a name for ourselves as one of the top accountancy firms in Ireland. We’ve built a team that combines expertise with a deep understanding of our clients’ businesses to deliver strategic insights for growth. A team that focuses on offering expert services. Who will always go the extra mile for you and your business.