Oonagh Carney, Partner & Head of Indirect Taxes

Growing up in Sandymount, Dublin as the fourth of five children, Oonagh had an early introduction to the world of business. Her father was a Chartered Accountant who ran his own small practice, while her mother, a teacher by profession, gave up her career to look after what was inevitably a busy household.

Her father, in particular, would have a lasting influence on how Oonagh approached her own career.

“My Dad had a tremendous work ethic and a very strong sense of integrity. He believed that your reputation was your most important asset. His approach was very much about client service, integrity and building long-term relationships and that’s something I’ve always tried to bring to my own career.”

At school, Oonagh’s interests were broad. She loved French and the sciences and gravitated towards slightly less traditional sports, including netball and table tennis – although, with two brothers at home, throwing a rugby ball around the garden was also a regular occurrence.

She went on to study Business and Law at UCD, using her college summers to experience life further afield, working in France, the US and Canada. After graduating, she spent a year working in Sydney and travelled solo around Australia, New Zealand and Thailand before eventually returning to Dublin.

That international outlook has stayed with her. Once fluent in French, she is now enjoying the opportunity to put it back into practice with colleagues across the Forvis Mazars network.

“The vocabulary comes back surprisingly quickly,” she says. “Although I still need to get over my fear of making mistakes!”

Oonagh began her career with Merrill Lynch before joining KPMG’s VAT department in 1999. Over the following decade, she progressed to Director, building her career and expertise in indirect tax.

Then, in 2009, at the beginning of the financial crisis and while pregnant with her first child, she was made redundant.

What could easily have been viewed purely as a setback became the catalyst for one of the defining periods of her career.

Seven months after her daughter was born, Oonagh established her own VAT practice.

“I really started with very little more than a laptop, a website, a phone and a small rented office – but no clients! Then, nine months later, my husband lost his job too, so there was plenty of motivation to make it work!”

With a young family, mortgage and childcare costs, there was little room for hesitation.

“It was a real sink-or-swim moment. Looking back, it taught me a huge amount about resilience, adaptability and self-belief.”

Building that practice from the ground up remains one of the achievements she is most proud of. It also gave her first-hand experience of many of the realities facing the owner-managed and entrepreneurial businesses she would later advise.

Alongside her client work, Oonagh became increasingly involved with the Irish Tax Institute, joining its VAT Committee in 2012 and being elected to Council in 2017. Her involvement has given her an opportunity to contribute to the profession while developing a network of colleagues and friendships that have lasted throughout her career. Most recently, she was appointed Vice President of the Institute.

After many years running her own business, joining Forvis Mazars represented another significant career decision – but one that Oonagh says felt like a natural fit.

“I had spent much of my career working with owner-managed and entrepreneurial businesses, so I was attracted by the firm’s people-focused culture, ambitious growth plans and relationship-driven approach to client service.”

As Partner and Head of Indirect Taxes, Oonagh now leads the firm’s indirect tax offering, helping clients navigate increasingly complex VAT and indirect tax issues.

For someone who has spent much of her career working independently, one attraction is the opportunity to collaborate again.

“I love working with clients, solving problems and helping people navigate complex VAT issues. But after so many years running my own practice, it’s also been great to be part of a team again and to work with colleagues across the firm, both in Ireland and internationally.”

For Oonagh, it brings together two things that have been important throughout her career: the depth of expertise that comes from a larger international organisation and the personal relationships she learned to value from watching her father run his practice.

“Forvis Mazars combines the scale and expertise of an international firm with the personal approach that has always been important to me. I think that combination is really powerful.”

Away from work, family life remains busy. Oonagh and her husband John, an engineer, met through mutual friends in Cassidy’s on Camden Street in 2001. Today they have three teenagers – Sadbh, Daire and Keelin – as well as Molly, their blue roan Cocker Spaniel.

Although the family lives in Sandymount, they spend as much time as possible on Valentia Island in Kerry, where Oonagh’s interests tend to involve being on, or in, the water. Sea swimming, skiing, travelling and baking all feature prominently, as do family water sports. Having previously kitesurfed, her latest challenges are wing-foiling and learning to sail.

“I’m working on my wing-foiling skills at the moment, although my son is progressing much faster than I am these days!”

It is perhaps fitting for someone whose career has involved more than one leap into the unknown. From travelling solo after college to starting a business in the middle of a financial crisis, Oonagh has rarely been afraid of a new challenge – even if, these days, some of them come with a wetsuit.