Accountants warn over pressures on small and medium business

“The scales are tipping ever more closely to Ireland being seen as a difficult place in which to start a new business,” accountancy chief Clodagh Henehan has said.
Speaking at the last annual president’s dinner of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Ireland (CAP Ireland), Ms Henehan, the current president, said a whole-of-government approach to supporting Ireland’s SME sector was required. CPA Ireland is merging with another industry group, Chartered Accountants Ireland, on Saturday after 98 years as an independent organisation.
“We have all seen the unintended consequences of policy decisions,” Ms Henehan said. “The burden on a small business is unquestionable and it is growing. While no one would argue against measures such as a minimum wage, enhanced leave entitlements or the introduction of a mandatory pension scheme, it is hard not to feel that Government believes that business owners have a bottomless purse in which to pay for these measures.”
Ms Henehan said supporting entrepreneurs and SMEs was “in the DNA of CPA Ireland, and we will continue to champion this vital sector of our economy as Chartered Accountants Ireland”.
CPA Ireland is one of a number of bodies representing the accountancy sector. It has 5,000 members and students. Chartered Accountants Ireland represents almost 33,000 members in over 100 countries and 6,000 students.