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ANNUAL READER AWARDS

Accountancy Age Personality of the Year
Winner: Alex Horne, Wembley Stadium
This was the closest vote ever in this category had and special mention must go to Michael Izza, chief executive of the ICAEW. But the winner is Alex Horne. He joined the Football Association in 2003, became group finance director three years later and then took on the role of interim managing director at Wembley Stadium the end of 2006. He trained at Coopers and Lybrand and specialised in business restructuring while in practice. His job at Wembley was to see the stadium through the tricky financial stages of completion and handover, a task for which he has now been rightly recognised.

Employer of the Year
Winner: BDO Stoy Hayward
'BDO's employees have provided the firm with a great recruitment advert, backing them far more strongly than those of other firms this year, despite the strength and depth of competition'

SPECIAL AWARDS

Outstanding Industry Contribution
Winner: Sir Mike Rake, chairman of BT, former chairman of KPMG International
'His lasting legacy is making KPMG one of the best places to work. The firm is consistently voted one the top employers in the country.'

PRACTICE AWARDS

Global Firm of the Year
Winner: KPMG
The judges said: 'KPMG showed phenomenal client development that made for significant achievements. They have moved to a new structure and showed examples of new services, innovation and great customer delivery. This is a firm demonstrating what it means to lead as a global player.’

Large Firm of the Year
Winner: Smith & Williamson
The judges said: ‘This is a firm that has made great efforts to equip itself for the future. It has focused itself on key markets and exploited them with great success. Smith & Williamson is a great example of how firm make itself stand out through innovation and a clear approach to its business.’

Medium Firm of the Year
Winner: Silver Levene
The judges said: 'They have put in some really significant effort. There was clear evidence of a client focus and they demonstrated some real innovation, knew where their strengths lay and played to them superbly.'

Small Firm of the Year
Winner SJD Accountancy
The judges said: ‘This is a unique and special firm which has shown excellent growth and demonstrated it can satisfy clients. It has found a creative way to run a team and it really felt like this was passed on to the clients.’

Tax Team of the Year
Winner: PricewaterhouseCoopers
The judges said: 'The standard in this entry was incredibly high and demonstrated an innovative approach. This is a team that clearly has some very bright people in it.'

Audit Team of the Year
Winner: KPMG
The judges said: ‘This was a team with excellent growth achievements, clear signs of innovation and great testimonials from clients. There’s a real sense of change going on in the team with some bold initiatives. An entry that could not be ignored.’

BUSINESS AWARDS

Annual Report & Accounts: Business
Winner: WPP
The judges said: ‘This report is beautifully presented and really gives a flavour of where the business was going. It rejects jargon and offers excellent detailed breakdowns of the company’s performance. It clearly states the opportunities and foreshadows the risks to the business. It demonstrates that WPP really know what their business and amounts to a cracking report.’

Annual Report & Accounts: Public & Voluntary
Winner: Learning & Skills Council
The judges said: 'The size of this report was just right and the key performance indicators were crystal clear. The inclusion of brail, printing on recycled paper and plotting achievements on a timeline were clear signs that this organisation is using some original thinking.'

Corporate Finance Deal of the Year
Winner: KPMG
The judges said: ‘KPMG’s work on acquiring Provident Financial for GMAC was a huge deal that beat the competition from the investment banks. They took the initiative and the pace at which they got the deal through was extremely impressive. KPMG’s knowledge of the market was clearly second to none.’

Finance Team of the Year: Business
Winner: RBS Insurance Finance
The judges said: ‘RBS won this award by some considerable distance. They were clearly a focused and committed team. This was terrific work. They paid attention to their customers’ views and placed that at the forefront of their plans for change. A great performance.’

Finance Team of the Year: Public Sector
Winner: Ealing Homes
The judges said: ‘The team was focused on its objectives and made great savings while beating all the targets set for them. A real team effort that rose head and shoulders above the rest of the field.’

Business Bank of the Year
Winner: Barclays Bank
'It was no surprise that voting in this category was extremely close as most providers of banking services have raised their game in recent years.'

SOFTWARE AWARDS

Enterprise Software Package of the Year
Winner: Coda Financials
The judges said: 'This is a great all-round product with excellent support - a good package. It is 100% web-enabled which means there is very low total cost of ownership. Very impressive. There is strong evidence of excellent product development and a clear roadmap for where the company is going.'

Mid-tier Software Package of the Year
Winner: HansaWorld
The judges would like to make a special mention for Rugged Logic but of the winner they said: 'Excellent overall functionality with very positive customer feedback. It is so easy to implement and offers multiple platforms. Really innovative and incredibly wide-ranging.'

Small Software Package of the Year
Winner: MYOB
The judges said: 'So easy to use. The software has shown impressive sales growth and is going to become a big leader in this area. Phenomenal sales growth. Its simplicity is a real plus. It enables non-accountants to do accounting.'

Practice Management Software Package of the Year
Winner: Iris
The judges would like make a special mention for APS (Advanced Professional Solutions) and said: 'The clear market leader. Excellent functionality and a wide range of applications. High customer retention and 15% growth in its user base. Great functionality.'

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

Accountant of the Year
Winner: Catherine Burnett, KPMG
The judges said: 'Catherine completed some huge projects demonstrating that she is a high level operator obviously heading for big things. She's very talented and clearly has an immense appetite for work and getting things right. You can’t help but be impressed with what she’s done.’

ACCA Member Achievement of the Year
Winner: Lorraine Taylor
The judges said: 'Lorraine, by her work at Standard Chartered, is a perfect illustration of ACCA's values of providing opportunity.'

AAT Accounting Technician of the Year
Winner: Nick Perrott, South Devon Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
The judges said: ‘This is a man who has demonstrated a superb degree of professionalism and made an enormous contribution to his organisation. His loyalty has been exceptional, he’s worked hard to foster a strong team spirit and his managers clearly believe his work is exemplary.’

Finance Director: Blue Chip (over £50m turnover)
Winner: Ian Dyson, Marks & Spencer
The judges said: 'This is a man way ahead of anyone else, it's impossible to see past him to any other candidate at this moment. He has put an enormous amount into the company and is part of a team that has been transformational. There are other great FDs out there, but Ian Dyson currently stands out like a beacon.'

Financial Director: Growing Business (under £50m turnover)
Winner: Katherine Lee, YouGov plc
The judges said: ‘This is an FD that is going places. She has played an exceptional role and achieved an exceptional standard of work. She stands from everybody else as the winner. What she has delivered clearly amounts to great work.’

Financial Director: Public Services
Winner: Mark Lumsdon-Taylor
The judges said: 'Mark has an excellent record of achievement that really made him stand out from the crowd. He looks as if he has single handedly saved his college and gone way above and beyond what might be considered his role.'

ONLINE AWARDS

Best Use of Internet: Practice
Winner: Goodman Jones
The judges said: 'Professional, well-designed website with great functionality. The combination of the SME Blog, secure online meeting services and podcasts are impressive. Good use of technology. A well-structured site that is easy to navigate. The screens look really good and there are good, clear visuals. The blog and online meetings are excellent features.'

Best Use of Internet: Business
Winner: Validis
The judges said: ‘This technology could change the way businesses operate. The use of the internet to deliver the product and the flexible approach is very inventive.'