By Business & Finance 
Pictured (L-R): Joanne Sheahan, Enterprise Ireland, Lawrence Vesey, Sia Partners, Minister Dara Calleary TD, Yvonne Holmes, DCC Plc, and Michael Kavanagh, Compliance Institute.
The Museum of Literature, Dublin, was host to a special event celebraring the launch of the CFO 100 Index 2024, in association with Sia Partners.
On 10th October, the Museum of Literature, Dublin, played host to a special event celebrating the launch of the CFO 100 Index 2024. Presented by Business & Finance, in association with Sia Partners, the event celebrated the announcement of the listing, which showcases the top chief financial officers operating across Ireland and the UK today.
Dara Calleary TD
Lawrence Vesey, Partner, UK & Ireland, Sia Partners, hosted proceedings and introduced Dara Calleary TD, Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation.
Minister Calleary delivered a keynote address on the theme, “The Strategic Importance of CSRD for Irish CFOs” to an attentive crowd of financial experts.
He spoke about events unfolding in Florida, in which numerous homes were destroyed and millions were left without power as a result of Hurricane Milton, a powerful Category 3 storm that reached winds of 120mph. He cited it as a reminder as to the importance of CSRD.
“There is a danger we get immune to it,” he said. “We get immune to the language of record surges. The language of two major hurrican events in one week.”
He said this speaks to the “urgent need for climate action.”
“We need to be creative, we need to challenge, and we need to bring people with us on this journey.”
Attendees at the CFO 100 2024 event
He spoke candidly about the European Climate Law mandate, which sets an EU-wide, legally binding target of ‘climate neutrality’ or net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 across all EU states.
On how this relates to the digital transition that is underway, he said the two are “aligned” and “connected”, he said.
“We are really living through another industrial revolution.”
He said that digitisation and climate harm reduction were two “key pillars” of the government’s White Paper on Enterprise 2022-2030, which was published in December 2022.
“So that is driving our policies and driving our approach to some of the arguments you’ll be discussing today.”
“As a citizen,” he said, “you do not have the luxury of burying your head in the sand … As a business, you certainly don’t.
Those businesses that lead out on this, from a CFO, right down to the bottom line … You will see the returns
“For those of you in the HR side or the people side of business are constantly over last two years, been getting feedback from employers, who, interviewing candidates, find that candidates are interviewing them, about their climate policies, about their sustainability policies, about their digital policies.”
Panel
Lawrence Vesey (Sia Partners) guided Yvonne Holmes (DCC Plc), Michael Kavanagh (Compliance Institute), and Joanne Sheahan (Enterprise Ireland) in a panel discussion on “Increasing Climate Regulations – The Good, The Bad, and The Promising.”
Holmes said it’s important to have “clarity on your targets … If you haven’t got targets in place, work those through, and have a firm basis. Within governance, you need to get it integrated into your performance measurement. It all takes time, but if you don’t have the targets pinned down and right from the start, then it’s going to very hard to tell your story.”
On sustainability measures, Kavanagh said: “These are enforceable regulations, whether we like it or not. This isn’t going away. This is legislation and the legislation has been enacted … But they are going to drive change. Companies reporting on these areas and how they’re meeting requirements.”
Sheahan encouraged companies to “just start”. She continued: “Start your sustainability journey, and engage with Enterprise Ireland. If you’re a smaller company, engage with your local enterprise office. There is a huge range of supports available there … Take a look at how you’re going to take this forward.”
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CFO 100 Index 2024 in association with Sia Partners
Minister Dara Calleary to address attendees at CFO 100 Index 2024 event, in association Sia Partners
