ACCA’s Advocate of the Year award recognises individuals whose commitment to ACCA and its core principles benefits the general membership and the public good. This year’s recipient, Laura Ward (née Kelly) FCCA, senior sustainability consultant at ESB Networks, sees a natural fit between those principles and her personal worldview.
‘ACCA’s purpose – to be a force for public good – aligns with my own ethos of making a positive impact in anything I am working on,’ Ward says.
‘To hear something new inspires you to try new things yourself’
Becoming a member in 2016, Ward joined and subsequently became chair of the ACCA Leinster member network panel that same year. Her first experiences were decisive in shaping a long-term commitment. ‘I remember, at the very first ACCA networking event I attended, being inspired by the energy in the room and feeling the community was one I wanted to be part of,’ she says.
‘It’s always inspiring to hear someone else’s story: their struggles and how they overcame them, their wins, their top tips. To find similarities to your own situation is always reassuring. To hear something new inspires you to try new things yourself.’
Insight and connection
Following a move to the west of Ireland, Ward was elected to, and subsequently became chair of, the ACCA Connaught member network panel in 2021. Her passion for bringing people together saw her take a central role in organising the first ever ACCA Red Box member networking event in Ireland, in Galway City in 2021. She was also closely involved in setting up the Galway practitioners’ network for SMPs and is active in ACCA Ireland’s Schools Initiative.
‘Laura has been tireless in encouraging networking, the sharing of ideas and problem solving,’ says Caroline McNulty FCCA and last year’s winner of ACCA’s Global Public Sector Advocacy Awards.
Former ACCA Ireland Chair Stephen Doyle FCCA also pays tribute to Ward’s achievements. ‘By providing a platform for networking and connection, Laura has promoted inclusivity among ACCA members, strengthening the organisation and the bonds between members,’ he says. ‘All who work alongside her and benefit from her hard work warmly congratulate her on this deserved accolade.’
‘My hope is to help ACCA students access guidance, mentorship and career development opportunities’
More recently, Ward played a significant role in setting up an ACCA Ireland Employer community at Grant Thornton, her former workplace, only a few weeks before going on maternity leave. ‘My hope with this initiative was to help ACCA students in particular to access guidance, mentorship and career development opportunities,’ she says.
New ideas, higher standards
Having achieved the ACCA Certificate in Sustainability for Finance, Ward sees active participation in events promoting sustainability as ‘an opportunity to bring focus to how we as accountants can optimise business strategy while improving or mitigating possible impacts on people and planet’.
‘I was fortunate to have worked with strong female role models when I started out’
And as a former panellist at one of ACCA Ireland’s International Women’s Day lunch events, Ward is also hoping to inspire other women, reflecting that ‘I believe if you can see it, you can be it. I was fortunate to have worked with strong female role models when I started out.’
Like many, given her longstanding commitment to ACCA, side by side with the other demands of life, Ward admits that ‘work/life balance has always been a bit of a struggle for me, mainly as I’m passionate about helping people and find it hard to say no’.
Balancing act
However, with two young children, a new chapter has opened in her life. ’I spend as much time as possible with them and their social life is now mine!’ she says. ‘I’m all too aware they grow up so fast, so I’m trying to treasure every moment.’
