Ian Browne became technical advisor to the Chair of the IPAE in January 2026, nominated by Chartered Accountants Ireland.

Ian Browne is the Director of Education at Chartered Accountants Ireland, where he leads the strategic transformation of professional education for over 8,500 students across the island of Ireland. Since joining the Institute in 2015, Ian has been instrumental in modernising the education framework, overseeing a major syllabus re-launch, and pioneering the shift to digital assessment.

Through Project Athena, Ian has championed the integration of AI driven adaptive learning technologies into the Institute's curriculum and Edtech platform. This platform personalises the educational journey for students, using realtime analytics to tailor content delivery and enhance mastery of complex topics. The adaptive model represents a significant leap forward in professional education, aligning learning outcomes with the evolving needs of the profession. Ian is a passionate advocate for innovation in education.

Ian's background spans both academia and industry. Prior to his current role, he served in academic roles at Dublin Business School and lectured at UCD Smurfit School and Trinity College Dublin in accounting.

Ian holds an MSc in Strategic Management from UCD Smurfit, a BBS in Accounting and Finance, and is a qualified Chartered Management Accountant.

Ronan O’Loughlin has been Director of Education and Training at CAI since 2003.

He qualified as a chartered accountant with KPMG in 1981 and spent many years working overseas in various accounting education projects.  He joined the Institute from the Irish Taxation Institute where he was Director of Education.  

Since joining the Institute Ronan was responsible for the development and enhancement of syllabi, examinations, education programme and training arrangements including alignment with the national education framework, an elective education model and increased international recognition of the Irish ACA.  

Ronan was a previous Technical Advisor to the IFAC Education Board Chair Henry Saville.