“BDO Ireland’s core purpose statement is ‘we advise and challenge because we are passionate about your [our clients’] success’, and I felt that same commitment came from The Pudding.” A conversation with Stephen O’Flaherty, Partner Corporate Finance at BDO Ireland, and client of The Pudding. 

Today we sat down with Stephen O’Flaherty, Corporate Finance & Recovery Partner at BDO Ireland and client of The Pudding, to learn more about his journey working with us, the key findings uncovered, and what challenges have been overcome through our partnership.

BDO is a world-leading business advisor, employing nearly 100,000 people across the globe in over 165 countries. BDO Ireland’s corporate finance & recovery department, based out of Limerick, came on board as a client of The Pudding’s amid the pandemic. Here, we explore their experience working with us over the past eighteen months. 

1. Can you tell me about BDO Ireland,

what it does and what defines your brand?

BDO are a multidisciplinary professional services firm in the accountancy space. We do everything from tax and corporate finance to payroll and outsourcing. 

We are passionate about our company and our client’s success. All of our team adopt that approach: we are here to add value and help our clients – that is what sets us apart in many respects. It is the culture within BDO Ireland. We go that extra mile, we care, and we are passionate.

2. Can you tell me about your partnership

with The Pudding and how it began?

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, it had a huge impact on business. It made us look forward and consider what we needed to do in our next stage of business growth for our corporate finance department, based out of Limerick. 

Through our discussions, we came across The Pudding and decided to reach out. We wanted to work with someone independent, who would be able to look at our business with fresh eyes – someone who had worked with a lot of different companies, in a lot of different sectors.

3. What have been the benefits of working

with The Pudding from an impact perspective?

Between BDO Ireland and The Pudding, there were similarities in terms of internal mission statements. BDO Ireland’s core purpose statement is “we advise and challenge because we are passionate about your [our clients] success”, and I felt that same commitment came from The Pudding.

Through strategy sessions and facilitated workshops with The Pudding, it became apparent that we could enhance the communication of our Corporate Finance & Recovery services and core messages in the marketplace. This, we are now a lot clearer on, and we have no doubt we will continue to work with The Pudding in the future.

4. What challenges has your business

overcome since working with The Pudding?

We are innovative and dedicated to our clients, and we achieve successful outcomes. But, to do that, we need to get the word out there, and that was where we had room for improvement. When The Pudding came in, they were able to assist with this. 

I think the work we have done with The Pudding will bring us into our next stage of growth. I would absolutely recommend working with The Pudding; they are a very professional team to engage with, but most of all, I would say that they are challenging. You don’t want someone saying “yes” to everything – you need someone to challenge you to think again. That thought process is what leads to better outcomes.