At Baker Tilly Mooney Moore, we value the relationships we have built over the past few decades, and we are lucky enough to still have the expertise of some of our past retired leaders on our team. This week, we sat down with our longest serving team member, Anne Fitzpatrick, after 47 years of dedicated service.
Anne joined us in 1976, as a trainee, and was a Partner at Baker Tilly Mooney Moore for over 28 years.
Having specialised in Tax and Audit and Assurance, Anne has provided specialist advice to a range of high-profile clients for many years, working across various sectors including education and the third sector.
A witness to the expansion of Baker Tilly Mooney Moore and the dramatic evolution of the accounting industry, Anne recalls that since she joined, the firm has grown to sixty team members, and also became a part of the Baker Tilly International network.
“The global image of the network has allowed me to develop international connections and build meaningful relationships all over the world. This network of professionals has been invaluable in connecting clients who require specialist advice with skilled experts in the field.”
Anne has continually supported the next generation of accountants in their career journeys, and says guiding and mentoring students in the tax department has been a career highlight. She has enjoyed seeing the young people through their studies, and still stays in touch with many of them – including her very first trainee!
As a team member at Baker Tilly Mooney Moore from the very beginning, Anne reflects on the beginning of her career, and credits the successes of the firm to the founders.
“For me, Desmond Mooney and John Moore have been instrumental. We still have a close relationship and are in touch regularly. When I started out in the field, there were few women working in the industry, and even fewer women made it to become Partner at a medium sized firm. Desmond Mooney didn’t differentiate by gender and promoted Joanne and me to Partner level. I have found that hard work has always been rewarded and recognised, and the environment has always been open, inclusive, and fair.”
Anne’s talents are no secret to us here at Baker Tilly Mooney Moore. A bridge competitor, Anne represented Ireland in the Bridge World Championships in 2016 and played in the European Bridge Championships in Strasbourg. She describes her dedication to the game as a “consuming passion” and has even passed on her love for bridge to her colleagues.
We have no doubt that Anne will keep her weeks busy, whether it be salsa or ceroc dancing, participating in park runs on Saturdays, line dancing on Tuesdays, or learning Irish on Wednesdays!
As well as continuing her sporting and dancing endeavours, Anne plans to continue her travels around the world, with an upcoming trip to Japan to visit family, as well as Romania, Denmark and Lisbon with the Friends of the Linen Hall Library.
Anne offered some words of advice and encouragement to those starting out in the field. “Accountancy is a continually evolving practice. My one key piece of advice is to do what you enjoy. There are so many different aspects, so find your specialty and make this the focus of your career. In any profession, things can get tough, but I have loved every day of my 47 years at Baker Tilly Mooney Moore, and the people are now like my family.”
We take this opportunity to thank Anne for her dedication over the past 47 years, and we wish her well in her retirement.