National Day marked with celebration of Welsh success

ACCA Cymru/Wales marked St David’s Day by bringing together the business community in Wales to celebrate the contribution business makes to the community and to celebrate Wales’ national day.

At a breakfast event held at the Hilton in Cardiff, supported by Menzies LLP, over 140 attendees heard from guest speaker Rhian Wilkinson, manager of the Wales Women’s football team. In December last year, the team made history by qualifying for a first major tournament, Euro 2025. Later this year the team will be taking its place amongst the best teams in Europe and putting Wales in the spotlight.

Attendees heard about the success of the Wales Women’s football team, to learn about how the game can grow, and encourage more participation in sport, as well as some lessons for business leaders from the team’s success.

Rhian spoke of her managerial approach which incorporates storytelling, a focus on development, setting a clear vision and instilling a sense of belief within the team. While sport and business are similar in approaches to vision, data, leadership, expectation and performance, Rhian highlighted the importance of legacy to the national side.

Both Rhian and the team are particularly committed to creating a lasting legacy of increased accessibility and participation in sport for the next generation, exemplified in the team’s motto: For us, for them, for her.

Rhian said: “It’s a privilege to have this job. I inherited a team who are committed to being better, united by a purpose to support the future of the sport. It’s not just our journey, it’s Wales’ journey.

“There are 170,000 teenagers aged 12-16 in Wales, with 30,000 taking part in organised sport. Out of the 30,000, just 17% are girls. This is an inequality we need to address and by taking every stage as it comes, our progression, warrior mindset and belief as a national team can inspire the next generation.”

ACCA Global Council member Helen Morgan spoke about the role that accountants play in supporting businesses and organisations of all sizes and in all sectors in challenging times, and in helping the Welsh economy to thrive.

In Wales, ACCA has over 3,500 members and around 2,500 students and works closely with a range of partners across Wales and beyond, many of whom were in attendance at the breakfast. In the spirit of St David’s famous guiding words ‘gwnech y pethau bychain – do the little things’, ACCA members showcased how they embody Welsh values in business and the community by sharing their ‘Acts of Welshness in Business’: small yet powerful ways that they support local businesses, champion Welsh culture, and drive economic impact.

As well as reflecting on sporting success and the lessons for business, the event was supporting Ysgol Y Deri, which is the UK’s largest SEN school which caters for students aged 3-19 years with a range of learning and physical needs and autism.

Attendees heard from Claire Cummings, chair of the school’s PTA – a registered charity, who shared how the school creates lifechanging opportunities, makes memories that last a lifetime and removing barriers to allow its 540 pupils to achieve the best of their ability.

Bethan Evans, partner at Menzies LLP, said: “Rhian’s speech was very moving and there are many aspects that we can all take back and apply to our businesses.

“We are delighted to support the Saint David’s Day Breakfast and ACCA’s work in Wales. We have a number of ACCA members and trainees at our Cardiff office and are proud to play our role in supporting Welsh businesses.”

Lloyd Powell, head of ACCA Cymru/Wales, said: “It was a pleasure to hear from Rhian about the achievements of the team, and we wish them every success at the Euros this summer. There are so many lessons businesses can learn from successful sporting teams, as we continue to work towards a prosperous future for Wales.

“We were delighted to work again with our longstanding partners Menzies on the event. It was great to see so many guests taking time to join us and to celebrate Welsh success and our National Day. It is so important for the business community to come together to celebrate Welsh success.”