Accountancy firm EY to create 270 jobs by June 2017

Accounting and consulting firm EY plans to add 220 jobs in Ireland over the next 12 months while also opening new offices in Dublin and Galway.

This will take its head count to just below 2,100 by next June.

In addition, the firm plans to increase its graduate intake in September from 200 to 250.

Speaking to The Irish Times, Mike McKerr, EY’s managing partner, said the firm has 135 “open” roles that were ready to be filled.

In addition, another 85 positions would be created in the coming months due to increased demand from clients for its services.

“We’ve grown 16 per cent per annum over the last three years and we’ve probably put about €100 million on our top line over five years and that’s huge growth,” he said.

“All parts of the business are growing and there are specific pockets that are growing strongly such as data analytics and cyber security. We’d have 100 people between those two areas, which didn’t exist for us two years ago.”

The firm’s performance improvement business is also growing, and recently secured a significant client win with ESB. “That in itself will lead to another 25 people being recruited into that unit,” he said.

The additional staff will be based across EY’s seven locations in Ireland, including its new offices in the Station Building on Dublin’s Harcourt Street and Eyre Square in Galway, where 25 people will be located.

In addition, EY has signed the lease on a new office in Limerick city that will allow it to double its head count to about 100.

Mr McKerr predicted that EY’s revenues (excluding Belfast) for the year to the end of June would show a 16 per cent rise to €220 million.

The new roles on offer will include accounting, finance, engineering, IT, consultancy and business. The firm recently hired partner Feargal de Freine from Baxter Healthcare, reflecting its investment in the life sciences sector.

EY said the salaries for the new hires would average more than €50,000 annually. The firm has grown its workforce by 27 per cent in the past two years.