Growth and investment
The past year has been one of significant progress and investment for BDO Ireland, as we continued to strengthen our core services, expand specialist capabilities and respond to the increasingly complex needs of our clients.
Demand remains strong across Audit, Tax, Deals and Consulting, Risk & Outsourcing, with Financial Services among the areas of high growth. We have continued to invest in specialist expertise, including a new and enhanced Aviation Advisory offering, strengthening our ability to support clients in a sector where Ireland has significant international standing. This investment reflects a wider focus on developing capabilities in areas where evolving regulation, technology, internationalisation and changing client requirements are creating new opportunities.
A defining development during the year was the merger of BDO Ireland and BDO UK, effective from 4 July 2026. Now one of the largest accountancy and business advisory organisations in Europe, we operate from 19 locations, with approximately 8,500 people and revenues of nearly €1.26 billion. This merger helps us ensure our clients have greater access to specialist and sector expertise across both markets and we have increased capacity to invest in technology, digital capabilities, quality and talent.
Looking ahead, our ambitions for Ireland are significant. We aim to double the size of the Irish business over the next five years and increase our number of partners from 43 to 70. Growth will be both sectoral and geographic, with continued investment across our people and capabilities and a focus on opportunities that complement our culture and the evolving needs of our clients.
Our priority remains sustainable growth that strengthens the services we provide and creates long-term value for our clients and people.
Building our Financial Services capabilities
Financial Services continues to be an important area of growth and investment for BDO Ireland. Ireland has developed a sophisticated financial services ecosystem and a strong position as an international financial centre, creating opportunities for firms that can combine deep sector expertise with multidisciplinary and increasingly international support.
Our strength lies in bringing together expertise across Audit, Tax, Deals and Consulting, Risk & Outsourcing around the needs of Financial Services clients. We have established capabilities across key areas of the market, including asset management, banking, insurance, private capital and structured finance, with continued demand being driven by regulatory change, increasingly complex transactions and the international nature of the sector.
We see significant scope to build on this position. Financial Services remains a priority for continued investment in specialist expertise and talent, supported by greater access to capabilities across the combined UK and Ireland firm. This also enhances our ability to support larger, more complex and international mandates.
The development of European capital markets presents a further opportunity. Ireland is well positioned to benefit from efforts to increase investment and capital formation across Europe, given the depth of its existing financial services sector and its role as a base for international businesses. This has the potential to generate additional activity across investment, financing and private capital, while increasing demand for the supporting audit, tax, deals, risk and regulatory expertise.
As Financial Services businesses respond to regulatory change, pursue new investment and operate across increasingly interconnected markets, our focus is on deepening the specialist expertise and multidisciplinary capabilities required to support that growth.
The opportunity from Europe’s Savings and Investments Union
The Savings and Investments Union represents a significant opportunity for Ireland. With an established international financial services ecosystem and a highly internationalised economy, Ireland is well positioned to benefit from efforts to channel more European savings into productive investment and address fragmentation across EU capital markets.
The scale of the opportunity is significant, with Europe requiring substantial additional investment to support growth, innovation and competitiveness. If successfully implemented, the SIU should improve access to capital and stimulate greater investment and cross-border activity. For BDO, this creates opportunities to support clients as they raise, deploy and manage capital across a more integrated European market.
BDO Ireland has deep expertise in advising on finance raising and scaling advice for indigenous businesses. We believe the SIU is strategically important to help the financing of Irish businesses.
Content adapted from Finance Dublin.