Cliff Wilson is the incoming Chair of the Australian Society, and here he tells us more about his career journey.
Where did you grow up and where do you live now?
I had a nomadic childhood, born in Kilkenny, moved to Wexford at age five, then on to Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow at 10 and then went to boarding school at Kilkenny College. I now live in Sydney, with two girls and one on the way!
What made you choose to become a Chartered Accountant?
It was subliminal and meant to be. I always had a love of business and commerce. As a young boy I was very interested in how business worked. I suppose I got exposed a lot to people in business through my Dad, who worked with Bank of Ireland. For as long as I can remember, I was always asking questions of people in business. As a boy hanging out with his friends, I would often stay at their kitchen table if there was something I could learn about business from their mum or dad. I spent a lot of my youth watching my dad: how he managed people, and listening to the various challenges he was working through. The opportunity to understand a business through an audit at the time was my way of figuring out what I wanted to do and with what type of business.
Can you tell us a little about how you got to where you are today – both the geographical relocation and career path?
In my Leaving Cert year, I did not know what I wanted to do, so a B Comm in Business Studies felt safe. There is a part of me that enjoys being technical; economics and accounting found that part of me in uni and I really enjoyed it. Soon, I was offered career opportunities with the Big 4 and from a few of the banks.
At that age, you want to make the best decision for your future, and it was the first time I remember feeling a little overwhelmed. The training program at KPMG was impressive and stood out to me. I made a strong connection with the people I met, their values and it just felt right for me.
Qualifying as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG opened the door to opportunities to work in many great cities, Dublin, London, Singapore, Hong Kong, Delhi, Chennai, New York, Houston, Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.
I believe the real message here for me is always hold goals lightly, let them be a compass but not the destination. An opportunity to work on an engagement with KPMG London was presented to me. The London market then produced some incredible options which resulted in an opportunity to go to New York in Product Control. Further travels (leisure and professional!) to Australia followed, and next thing, I am working in banking in Sydney.
My technical knowledge and experience provided a great path to securing a working visa. Some experience of travelling through Asia alongside my work in London and Sydney really changed my mindset, specifically my "soft skills" around understanding others. I always felt safe being technical; recently, as part of a leadership programme I developed a regular routine to spend time reflecting.
This was all a catalyst to a career change in 2006. I did a full pendulum swing from a technical accountant to recruitment. At that time my identity was heavily integrated with what I did for work. This made a change in career challenging. During the first two years the goal of returning to Ireland and building an accounting practice kept me going. In 2008 while the economy was in such flux, I decided to stay in Sydney.
Wilson Select was founded in 2010 and has grown into a business offering recruitment, advisory and coaching services in a way that aims to meet the needs of a business looking to create a strategic advantage through people.
4. What do you value most about your membership of the profession and how do you think those benefits can be used to support the economy and society?
The profession is a part of my foundation of who I am and how I conduct myself. The people I meet, the opportunity to make real connections with other members helps how I think about some of the challenges business and life throws at me.
As an overseas member, that connection with other Irish Chartered Accountants facilitates a space to grow and be vulnerable in a city over 17,000 kilometres from a place called home. Having a safe place is a basic need in any society.
In relation to an economy, accountants can bring a different lens to a subject. Membership of the profession helps you acquire multiple perspectives, supporting diversity and fostering better decision making.
As a member living in Sydney, can you talk to us about how your membership has been of value to you globally and what do you value about it now that you’re living overseas (and what would you like to see more of)?
Membership has provided the opportunity for me to travel and work in places I wanted to give a go and experience living there rather than a flying visit.
For me, the real value is the connections.To walk into an event and have some common ground with most of the people there. It also brings out the Irish in me, which is everything from keeping up to date with what’s happening in Ireland to spending time with people who know how to have the craic without talking about the craic!
And finally, if you weren't an accountant, what do you think you would be/would have been?
Probably a retail or corporate banker. If I had understood computer science before selecting a course at uni, possibly a career in software as a service.
Cliff Wilson is Director of Wilson Select.
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