Aidan
McCarthy

Who I help:

Construction & Real Estate. Industrial & Manufacturing. Hospitality. Leisure. Professional Services. Family Businesses. Owner-managed businesses.  

How I help:

Audit & assurance. Business advisory. Sustainable value growth. Growth strategy. Cross-border coordination. Global expansion.  

“As you grow, we grow.”

Audit Partner, Aidan, is based in our Dublin office and joined in 1998. Appointed partner at just 29, he built his experience quickly, helping to develop a fast-growing practice, taking on responsibility early in his career.

Today, he supports a broad portfolio of SMEs and large international clients across construction services, manufacturing, distribution, hospitality, and professional services, including a number of UK and international groups. His work spans audit, commercial advisory, and supporting clients with strategic and sustainable growth plans, both domestically and internationally. Alongside his client-facing responsibilities, Aidan is part of the senior leadership team, supporting the business finance function, ensuring performance metrics align with our growth strategy, and contributing to M&A activity as the business continues to scale. 

Straight into the deep end

“I qualified at a small firm and joined in 1998 to further my ambition. I was appointed partner at 29, so it was very much a sink-or-swim situation. On reflection, thankfully I swam!” 

Building experience in a fast-growing practice at that age meant you had to learn quickly and be willing to adapt to positive change. You were dealing with clients, managing teams, making commercial decisions, and maintaining professional standards all at once. 

That early responsibility shaped how I work today. I developed a strong work ethic, but it also reinforced the importance of attention to detail and staying grounded in the fundamentals, as well as the importance of relationships with clients and the team. When you step into leadership early, you learn very quickly that credibility comes from consistency.” 

A commercial focus

“I trained as an auditor, but over time the role becomes much broader than that. 

Yes, there’s the technical review work and making sure everything goes out on time and meets the required standards, but there’s also the commercial side. You’re looking at KPIs, margins, growth strategies, both for clients and within the business.   

One of my strengths is being able to see the wood from the trees. When an issue arises, I try to step back, understand the commercial reality and focus on practical resolution rather than getting lost in minor challenges.” 

Auditor or accountant?

“One common misconception is that some clients don’t always distinguish between the role of an auditor and the role of an accountant. 

If you act as someone’s accountant, they may still refer to you as their auditor or assume the two roles are the same. From a professional perspective, they’re very different services with different responsibilities and different boundaries. 

Part of the job is helping clients understand that distinction; what we can do, what we can’t do, and why independence matters. Clarity around roles protects both the client and the integrity of the work.” 

Going the extra mile

“One of my long-standing clients went through a very challenging period. There was significant business debt and personal pressure alongside it. 

The key was keeping the client positive and motivated, making sure they stayed informed and had a clear roadmap forward. It went beyond technical advice, helping the client stay steady and focused when things were tough. 

We came out the other side, and he often introduces me to colleagues as ‘the man that saved me.’ That’s something that stays with you. It shows that sometimes the role goes beyond the numbers, particularly when the business situation starts to affect the person behind it.” 

Growing together

“Being part of a larger group brings access to additional services that weren’t previously available at the same scale, particularly in corporate finance and cross-border support. 

I have a number of UK clients and international groups, so being able to draw on broader expertise strengthens what we can deliver. It means we can support clients at different stages of growth without having to look externally. 

If a client is growing, we need to grow with them. That’s always been my approach, as you grow, we grow.”