Director Profile: Kevin O’Neill

The latest ModSquad Director in our profile series came to us with accounting experience at a broad range of companies, including the esteemed accounting firm Ernst & Young, a manufacturing organization, and a multi-faceted family-owned group with businesses in healthcare, construction, property, and even horse racing! That last bit’s appropriate, because we feel like we won the trifecta when Kevin O’Neill joined ModSquad in 2015. 

When he’s not crunching numbers as ModSquad’s Director, Accounting or spending time with his family, you’ll find Kevin out on the football pitch; he’s played for local Gaelic football and soccer teams for years. “Unfortunately,” he laments, “injuries mean a game of five-a-side is about as much as I can manage now!” We grabbed some time with Kevin to learn more about his work for ModSquad and why it’s probably kinder to leave the accounting folks alone at the start of each month. 😉

Tell us about yourself. What was your background before coming to ModSquad?

After completing my accounting degree, I joined Ernst & Young as an auditor. I got to work with companies across a range of industries and of various sizes, which was a great starting point in my career. After seven years in Belfast, I moved back to Derry in Northern Ireland.

When did you start with ModSquad?

I joined ModSquad on June 1, 2015 as Accounting and Office Manager. That was the first day that anyone worked in the Derry office! I was joined by ModSquad folks from the U.S., who had come over to help get the European Operations Center up and running. Those early days involved quite a bit of office administration, as we worked hard to build the office and grow the U.K. operation. It’s great to look back and see how far we’ve come since then. In 2016 I was named Senior Manager, and then Director, Accounting a year later.

What are your primary responsibilities here? What is an average day like for you?

I oversee the U.K. finance side, everything from management and year-end accounts preparation to payroll, tax returns, accounts payable, and banking. An average day depends on the time of the month. For the first half of the month, I’ll normally be finalizing project margins and closing out our management accounts for the prior month. The second half of the month is usually when I get time to focus on more forward-thinking items and improvement initiatives. That’s the part that I really enjoy, trying to see how we can do things better and more quickly.

What sets ModSquad apart, in your opinion?

Our flexibility and adaptability. The can-do attitude expressed by the Mods runs throughout the company. It really sums up what we’re about and what makes us successful. Our worldwide Mod pool means we can ramp up and down at short notice, add support in new languages, or find Mods with unique interests and skill sets to meet client needs in a way that only ModSquad can.

What has been your most rewarding experience here at ModSquad?

The most satisfying thing for me since joining ModSquad has been to see and be a part of the growth of the Derry office since it opened. We have grown the U.K. operations significantly. I helped out with inductions for new Mods, and seeing many of them develop and be promoted has been great.

The other highlight for me has been the flexibility the role has afforded me, particularly when it comes to my family. We recently welcomed the birth of our third child, and I was lucky to have the flexibility to both stay on top of my work and to be there to support and spend quality time with my family. A former very successful work colleague told me on the day he retired that his one big regret in life was that he never attended a school play or a football match, as he was always working. I’m extremely thankful that this isn’t the case for me.