Breffni is an Assurance Partner at EY Ireland, serving large corporate plc clients across a variety of international sectors, including construction and life sciences.
As Head of Assurance, he oversees his teams’ work in areas including financial reporting, FIDS and CCaSS. His own client work has required a deep knowledge of IFRS, US GAAP, internal controls and due diligence reviews.
With the breadth of skills leveraged in the firm’s audits today, and the skills required for the future, Breffni believes the profession’s continued success lies in being able to attract and develop the right people within diverse and high-performing teams.
He has held a number of leadership positions including two periods as Head of Assurance for EY Ireland (excluding Financial Services), initially from 2008 to 2014 and as our current Head of Assurance since July 2018. Under Breffni’s leadership, the Assurance practice has enjoyed significant growth in several measures including market share, range of services offered and new client wins.
Breffni has more than 25 years’ of audit experience, and holds a FCA from Chartered Accountants Ireland. Breffni also has a Bachelor of Commerce and a Masters of Accounting, both from UCD.
How Breffni is building a better working world
“I am a passionate believer in the power of emerging technology to improve audit quality and help with building a better working world through bringing a new level of insight and perspective to audit committees and management. In particular, the opportunities provided by data analytics to examine full populations significantly enhances all aspects of our audit, including the development and engagement of our people.”
