Amy Carroll
Age: 29
College Attended: DIT Aungier Street
Degree: B.Sc. Management & Marketing (Hons) June 2007
ICSA Qualified: August 2009
Joined Pearse Trust: September 2007
Current Role in Pearse Trust: Senior Supervisor, Company Secretarial
"I joined Pearse Trust as part of the Graduate Training programme in September 2007. Pearse Trust gave a graduate recruitment presentation in D.I.T. during my final year and the role of a company secretary appealed to me because of the variety of work involved in the role and the international aspect of the ICSA qualification. I was also particularly interested in working for a corporate services provider in order to deal with a varied portfolio of clients, and to therefore learn as much as possible.
To qualify as a Company Secretary, it is necessary to complete the ICSA examinations. I was fortunate in that I was granted a number of exemptions due to the exams I completed in college. I completed the remaining exams within two years of joining Pearse Trust, largely as a result of the study leave and support provided by Pearse Trust. There is an atmosphere of study in all the offices as most people are sitting some sort of exams such as ICSA, Tax or Accounting exams.
Training is also very important in Pearse Trust and as well as the ICSA exams, there is the opportunity to attend external company law seminars to keep up to date with any changes in company law. On the job training is also provided by the various departments on a regular basis.
Over the past four and a half years, I have worked in the Company Secretarial and Domestic Incorporations Department in the Bray office, and the Company Secretarial, Offshore Incorporations and Anti-Money Laundering and Compliance Departments in the Dublin office. Working across various departments in two of the Offices has greatly improved my knowledge and technical skills.
I deal extensively with a large portfolio of international and domestic Clients and incorporate and maintain structures in Ireland and other jurisdictions such as Canada, New Zealand, Seychelles and Cyprus. I also work closely with the Deputy Managing Director on a variety of tasks.
The main benefits of working with Pearse Trust are the opportunities to learn a lot in a friendly environment, with lots of interaction between our teams, supervisors, managers and directors. Educational development is promoted and good support is provided for completion of further qualifications. There is also the opportunity to change and develop within the company, working in the various offices and in new departments.
I was appointed a Supervisor in 2010 and, having taken on additional responsibilities was promoted to Senior Supervisor in 2011."
Jenny Monaghan
Age: 28
College Attended: University of Ulster
Degree: LLB Law and Economics July 2007
Masters: MSc Management and Corporate Governance / Grad ICSA December 2008
ICSA Qualified: March 2008
Year Joined Pearse Trust: September 2008
Current Role in Pearse Trust: Supervisor, Company Secretarial
"A keen interest in Company Law and business led me to complete a Masters in Management and Corporate Governance. This course enabled me to become a Graduate Member of the ICSA in March 2008. Following a presentation we received at University from Pearse Trust, I applied for a position on the Graduate Company Secretary programme.
In my first year with Pearse Trust I worked in the Company Secretarial department of the Dublin office. During this time I learnt a wide range of tasks which are associated with the role of a Company Secretary. In my second year with Pearse Trust I rotated to the Company Secretarial department in the Bray office. In the Bray office I was able to improve my skills learnt in my first year and was also introduced to the more complex tasks which a Company Secretary encounters. I am glad to say that my colleagues in both offices were tremendously knowledgeable, approachable and helpful.
I returned to the Dublin Office for my third year, where I am still located. In my role I am responsible for such tasks as filing Statutory documents with the Companies Registration Office, administering AGMs, preparing Resolution of Directors, amending Memorandum and Articles of Association, liaising with clients and auditors, transferring shares, maintaining Company Registers, preparing Trust Deeds and reviewing the graduates work. In addition, to Irish Company Secretarial services, Pearse Trust also provide services for a wide range of jurisdictions, including Ireland, the UK, the USA, Canada, New Zealand, Seychelles and Cyprus. I feel that the opportunity to learn the Company Secretarial procedures in these jurisdictions is an additional benefit of working in Pearse Trust.
I value companies which invest in the training and development of their employees. I feel that a key attribute of Pearse Trust is the resources which they invest in their training programmes. Personnel regularly attend internal and external training sessions. In addition to this, the Managers and Supervisors in Pearse Trust invest their time and effort into supporting their staff and providing on the job training.
The Graduate programme enabled me to transfer my knowledge and skills from University into the workplace and it gave me the opportunity to work with very knowledgeable Company Secretaries. I feel that my experiences in Pearse Trust have helped me develop into a more confident and informed member of the Company Secretarial team."
Catherine O'Neill
Age: 25
Colleges Attended: University College Cork & University College Dublin, Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business
Degree: Bachelor of Civil Law
Masters: Masters in Management
ICSA Qualified: August 2011
Joined Pearse Trust: September 2009
Current Role in Pearse Trust: Senior Administrator, Company Secretarial
“I developed a keen interest in Company Law and administration during the completion of my Law Degree and Masters in Management and, as a result, I decided to pursue a career as a Company Secretary. Having learnt about the Graduate Programme offered by Pearse Trust, I applied for the position and joined the Company in September 2009.
I spent my first year in Pearse Trust working in the Banking Department in the Dublin Office. As a member of the banking team my tasks included performing bank transfers, reconciling bank statements and opening bank accounts on behalf of our clients. I found this experience very valuable as it afforded me the opportunity to become familiar with a large number of our clients and the various fields of business in which they are involved. The nature of the tasks in this department also meant that I had a considerable amount of interaction with people working in other departments in Pearse Trust, for instance during account opening processes, I would liaise with members of the various Company Secretarial Departments in order to arrange for the preparation of relevant Resolutions of Directors and to arrange for corporate documents to be notarised and apostilled for use in overseas jurisdictions. Not only did this help me gain a better understanding of company secretarial tasks, it also helped me settle into my new job as I became familiar with many people across various departments in Pearse Trust quite soon after joining the company.
In my second year of the Graduate Programme I rotated to the Company Secretarial Department in the Bray Office. In this role I became familiar with the various aspects of Irish company compliance and company secretarial tasks, including the preparation of AGM documents and Resolutions of Directors, filing statutory documents in the Companies Registration Office, issuing Powers of Attorney, effecting share transfers and performing changes of corporate officers. In this role, I also increased my interactions with clients as I was responsible for tending to tasks from the initial client request right through to completion. This has helped foster my relationship with our clients and also increase my confidence.
Now in my third year of the Graduate Programme, I have rotated to the Company Secretarial Department in the London Office where I am building upon the knowledge gained in my previous roles and becoming familiar with UK compliance and company secretarial requirements. I have also been given additional responsibilities in this role, including dealing with companies in overseas jurisdictions.
While working in Pearse Trust I have had the opportunity to undertake a wide variety of other ad hoc tasks and this has really appealed to me. Pearse Trust has a diverse portfolio of clients and provides services in a number of jurisdictions, which provides for a dynamic working environment. The opportunity to work and learn in a friendly workplace, surrounded by knowledgeable and approachable colleagues is another valuable aspect of working in Pearse Trust. In addition, the company provides an excellent study package for the completion of the ICSA examinations. I sat my first ICSA exam in November 2009 and qualified in August 2011 and in May 2011 I had the honour of being presented with the ‘Roy Wilson Memorial Prize’ for Best Paper in the Corporate Administration exam in the November 2010 examination sitting. Overall, I feel that the Graduate Programme has been pivotal in helping me attain my ICSA qualification and that by working in Pearse Trust I will continue to develop my confidence and knowledge as a Company Secretary.
Deborah O’Kane
Age: 25
College Attended: National University of Ireland, Galway.
Degree: B.A., L.L.B.
Joined Pearse Trust: September 2010
Current Role in Pearse Trust: Administrator, Company Secretarial
“I first came across the role of Company Secretary when studying Company Law, at N.U.I.G. As a law graduate, I was keen to explore alternative careers in the legal field. I wanted a career that built on my legal skills, but was more 'commercial' and portable than training as a solicitor, or barrister. I became aware of Pearse Trust Company Secretarial Graduate Programme through the University’s careers service and applied after returning from a legal internship in Cape Town, South Africa.
I joined the Company Secretarial Department in Pearse Trust’s Dublin Office in September 2010. During my first six months I became familiar with different company structures and the differences in the administration of companies in different jurisdictions, by assisting with maintaining the statutory compliance of large portfolios of Companies. Daily tasks included statutory filing of company documents, maintenance of the statutory registers, minute preparation and assisting with corporate changes such as share transactions and changes in the officers of the companies.
Although initially I was assisting my colleagues with their clients’ requests, I was given the opportunity early on to independently complete company secretarial tasks end-to-end, which were then reviewed before being finalised. Having been given real responsibilities from the beginning of the Graduate Programme, I quickly developed confidence and acquired technical knowledge.
It is customary for graduates to rotate between the different offices and departments in Pearse Trust, in order to experience different areas of company secretarial work. However, towards the end of my first year, a colleague transferred to New Zealand to set up our Wellington office, creating a vacancy in our team and so I remained in Ballsbridge. I am now responsible for the compliance and administration of an international portfolio of companies. Now that I have my own portfolio, I have direct contact with clients and deal with their requests. I also look after the incorporation of Irish companies for our domestic clients.
Although I have responsibility for the satisfaction of the clients in my portfolio, I am provided with plenty of guidance from my colleagues. My manager acts as my day-to-day ‘coach’; providing support and technical assistance and my ‘buddy’ is available for any ‘settling in’ issues that may arise.”