Background
Dara is Managing Partner of Grant Thornton (Cayman) LLP’s Audit team in the Cayman Islands. He has over 20 years of finance, accounting, audit and advisory experience. Dara qualified as a chartered accountant in 2000 following a three-year training contract with a big-4 firm in Ireland and spent much of his professional career within the insurance sector both in industry and in professional practice.
Experience
Dara joined Grant Thornton (Cayman) LLP as Managing Partner in January 2017, harnessing the opportunity to use his entrepreneurial passion to grow the business. Prior to that Dara has experience working in practice and in industry in roles involving assurance, finance and risk management.
Dara has also been involved in publishing various magazines and information on the financial services industry in the Cayman Islands, and has presented on numerous topics including technical accounting, strategic and other topics at various industry associations including the Cayman Islands Banking Association (CIBA). From 2019 to 2023 concurrently, he was awarded winner in the ‘Accountancy, Audit & Tax Advisory Specialist' category of the Captive International Cayman Awards.
Industry experience
Dara has worked with companies operating in banking, re/insurance and other financial services industries, local tourism industry and governmental regulated entities in the Cayman Islands and across the Caribbean. His experience includes assurance, financial reporting on both a statutory accounting and GAAP basis, risk management, governance, capital modeling and other assurance related advisory services.
Professional qualifications and memberships
- Fellow Chartered Accountant, Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland
- Licensed practitioner and council member, Cayman Islands Institute of Professional Accountants
- Masters in Accounting, Smurfit School of Business, University College Dublin
- Bachelor of Commerce, National University of Ireland
