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Saturday, 27th April 2024 |
| Real economies built on trade |
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| Michael Sheary joined the then Dublin Port and Docks Board, now Dublin Port Company, straight from school and has served in a variety of roles until his appointment eight years ago as chief financial officer and company secretary. During his time there, the organisation has gone through unprecedented change including introducing nine competing terminals, reducing its staff by two thirds while handling five times the volume of trade, finding €250 million for investment in infrastructure and building a €200 million pension fund. All while not increasing costs to the unitised trade for twenty years. |
What is your educational background? I was educated by the Christian Brothers at St. Joseph’s in Nenagh and joined the then Dublin Port and Docks Board straight from school in 1982. I studied accountancy at night and qualified as a member of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants ( ACCA ) in 1988. | | Michael Sheary |
What has been your career path to date? I worked in a range of roles and departments to get to know the business. I had experience in the engineering, stores and secretariat departments before I moved to the finance function. I was appointed to the role of assistant financial controller in 1994 and then became chief financial officer and company secretary in 2001.
How would you compare career prospects internationally to those in Ireland? Given the economic growth Ireland experienced, ambitious and talented Irish people were able to realise their career potential here in a broad range of fields, rather than having to go overseas for career advancement. This will obviously be more difficult to achieve in the current global downturn for our upcoming graduates.
Have you undertaken any additional professional training since assuming your current role? Following my accountancy qualification I was fortunate to spend two six month secondments with the then Coopers and Lybrand now part of PWC. I’ve undertaken a postgraduate diploma in information technology in accounting and currently undergo regular continuous professional development through ACCA.
What skills/aptitude would you identify as being key/beneficial to a career in your sector? Technical skills are one thing, but they need to be balanced with a passion and commitment for your work and a constant desire to seek improvement.
What aspects of the job do you like most? Dublin Port handles over two thirds of Ireland’s containerised trade so we really are at the heart of the trading economy. It’s no exaggeration to say that if Dublin Port isn’t working the economy isn’t working. I get huge satisfaction from working on the finance of the major capital projects we’ve embarked on. In the last fifteen years we’ve spent over €250 million on port infrastructure so it’s great to see these through and see the benefits they have brought to our business and to our customers.
What aspects of the job do you like least? Have you ever met a CFO who enjoyed audit season?
How do you define success in your sector? Through our capital investment programme, by reducing costs, and delivering competition we have achieved significant growth in throughput and won market share which has driven our profitability.
Is there anyone in particular you admire in your industry? Ports are part of the broader transport business. For me, fellow Tipperary man, the late Tony Ryan stands out. Many people can be successful but it takes something really special to come back from the huge setbacks he experienced. He flew with an idea that we all fly with today.
What advice would you give to others who might like a career in your sector? I’d advise any accountancy professional to get behind the raw statistics and get to know your business and market really well. In my case, it’s more than the number of trucks and containers we handle each year but what’s in them that counts. What comes through the port is the food we eat, the clothes we wear and the other goods we buy from retailers. By managing this port effectively we ensure that Dublin Port is the cleanest, greenest, most efficient and cost effective way of getting goods to the heart of Ireland’s largest market.
In what areas are there the most opportunities in Ireland? IFSC/domestic etc. For too long business and markets were blinkered by the value of property assets rather than the intrinsic value of businesses themselves. We called it the ‘valuation distraction’ during the boom. Thankfully we’re waking up to the realisation that real economies are built on trade, not property speculation. For me, focus on real businesses of trading goods and services is where the greatest opportunities lie in the future. |
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