One thing I noticed about business culture in Dublin is my company’s close relationship with their clients.  Most of the economy is made up of small businesses so firms develop a lot of personal relationships with each other. Irish people also like to get to know you and offer advice. Before meetings, there’s usually quite a bit of conversation and small talk before the meeting begins. Developing these types of good relationships with clients is key for my firm in order for it to compete with larger firms, since it is so small (less than 10 employees).  Although there are many small businesses, currently a lot of large corporations are moving offices into Ireland for a number of reasons. Competing with firms like the big four can be tough, but having a loyal client base certainly helps.

One thing that also sets Kilbride Consulting apart is that it offers more than just tax consulting. It also does personal tax returns, bookkeeping and restructuring of businesses. Offering such a wide arrange of services definitely gives them a competitive advantage over some other local tax consulting firms. Kilbride takes on international clients as well, mostly in the U.K. Obviously the tax laws have subtle differences across countries which can present challenges, but this is pretty standard in the industry especially in Europe where the countries are smaller. I’m looking forward to start learning the process of filing corporate tax returns this week, and to see what other common industry challenges there are.