Partner Profile – Lisa Kinsella

Lisa is a partner on the tax team and is the tax lead on the firm’s receivership and liquidation services.

Lisa Kinsella is originally from Leixlip, Co Kildare, and is the eldest of three girls – her younger sisters being twins, whom she is exceptionally close with. Her mother left Bank of Ireland to become a stay at home mom, while her father managed his own business, which he sold a number of years ago. “My parents are hugely supportive of all of us,” she says. “My father Luke is my biggest mentor. He has always pushed me achieve my full potential in everything I do, offering me advice on all aspects of my life and career.”

For secondary school, Lisa attended Our Lady’s School in Terenure, which she loved. “Our Lady’s is a big sporting school. I tried many sports but unfortunately I wasn’t blessed with the Kinsella sporting gene,” (her cousin Mark Kinsella played for the Irish soccer team and her uncles played hurling for Dublin and Kilkenny). Instead, as a youngster she had a keen interest in dance, with hip hop being her forte. She attended the Digges Lane Dance School and performed in many school musicals.

But Lisa’s strengths primarily lay in her people skills and her ability to work as part of a team. She showed herself to be a natural leader having served as a member of her school council, as a Cuintor in charge of a house of younger girls one summer in the Gaeltacht, as well helping organise a fundraising auction for the school in her fifth year. She continues her association with her school as part of the alumni, “Lots of talented career-driven woman have passed through the doors of OLS and it is important for us to meet, share experiences and see how we can assist one another in furthering our careers.”

While studying Economics & Finance in Maynooth University, Lisa found a natural aptitude for accountancy so decided to pursue a career as a Chartered Accountant. She started her career in Meagher Moynihan – a small practice which gave her exposure to a variety of work on both the accounting side and the tax side.

She soon realised that it was the tax side that she felt most at home so she decided to sit the Chartered Tax Advisor exams, funded her own training as the firm did not have a dedicated tax department. “Perhaps it was spending my own money that focussed my efforts, because I managed first place in my Part 2 examinations and second overall in my Part 3s.”

After a brief stint with a Big Four practise, Lisa joined Crowe as a senior in April 2012 and quickly moved through the ranks, becoming tax director in May 2016, before her recent promotion to partner in October 2018.

“As a generalist tax practitioner I am fortunate in that I deal with a variety of different tax issues – no one day is the same. I work with private individuals, US multinationals, SMEs and not-for-profit organisations”, she says. “I have a keen interest in employment taxes and intellectual property taxes, having completed an extra qualification in both these areas.”

Lisa is passionate about developing and nurturing talent in others – something she looks forward to continuing in her partner role. “We are only as strong as the team we work in. Since joining the firm 6 years ago, I have learned a lot from partners such as Andrew Whitty and John Byrne. I look forward to developing the existing talent that we have within both the tax department and the firm.”

Outside of work, Lisa has been married to Sean for seven years. They have two children, Liam (4 years) and Cliodhna (18 months). Sean, who works in the music industry, shares a passion for music with Lisa. “Prior to having children we spent a huge amount of time going to gigs and festivals, our favourite being Primavera in Barcelona. We still get out to the odd gig from time to time and are very much looking forward to seeing U2 in November.”

In her spare time Lisa loves fashion, reading and practicing yoga. “I’ve been practicing yoga for over 10 years now – it’s a great way to unwind after a long day and keeps me fit.” But also keeps time for catching up with her friends, “I have a solid group of girlfriends, most whom I’ve been friends with for over 20 years. We’re all short on time these days, but we always manage to get an annual girls weekend away, sometimes in Ireland and sometimes abroad”, she says. “Being an accountant at heart, I manage the money for these trips, using my trusty spreadsheet to keep track of it all. Our next big trip will be for our fortieths so we’re planning on going all out.”