Sage has been announced as impact ambassador for the Irish Accountancy Awards 2026 programme, which culminates with an awards ceremony on Thursday, May 21st at the Dublin Royal Convention Centre.
The Irish Accountancy Awards recognise and celebrate excellence in the accountancy profession in Ireland. Launched in 2016 the awards garner entries from large and small firms, teams and individuals who have provided the highest quality of service and can demonstrate they have added significant value and competitive advantage to their clients.
Since their inception, the Irish Accountancy Awards have been synonymous with honouring and celebrating excellence within the accountancy profession over the past year. The awards cover 26 categories and offer an opportunity for professionals to have their work reviewed by an expert judging panel, garner recognition from peers, benchmark against competitors and attract top talent and clients to their organisations.
This year’s judging panel is led by John Gaynor, a lecturer on the BA in Accounting at Atlantic Technological University Sligo. He served on Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) committees for nine years and was ACCA Ireland chair in 2017. In addition to the category awards one firm will be selected as practice of the year and there will be an individual presentation for outstanding contribution to accountancy
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Chris Downing, director for accountants and book-keepers at Sage, said: “Entering our sixth consecutive year as awards sponsor and this year as impact ambassador reflects a long-term commitment to the Irish accountancy profession. More importantly, it reflects the moment the profession is in. Accountants and book-keepers are being asked to do more compliance, more insight and more support for clients than ever before, often in real time. That shift is redefining the role of the profession and it’s why our commitment matters.”
Downing noted that there is continued momentum across the sector around cloud, automation and artificial intelligence but the real shift is how firms are moving from compliance at the end of the year to insight throughout it. “The best firms are building services around real-time data and improving how they engage with clients,” he explained. “What hasn’t changed is that trust, judgment and relationships remain at the core.”
Downing said that the Irish Accountancy Awards are important because, in his words, “taking a moment to step back and recognise what you’ve built matters”. He added: “These award do more than celebrate success. They surface the ideas and the progress that make a big difference and they give others something to learn from.”
Kevin O’Driscoll, director of partner programmes at awards organiser Business River, said: “The Irish Accountancy Awards celebrate the brightest and the best. Having an organisation of the calibre of Sage supporting us for a sixth year is an extremely important validation of the event. Together with Sage and all our sponsors and partners we now look forward to the eagerly anticipated gala awards night in May.”
The finalists for the Irish Accountancy Awards 2026 have been announced and are available to view at accountancyawards.ie. The black-tie awards gala will take place at the Royal Convention Centre Dublin on May 21st
