IT HAS BEEN another glittering night in the accountancy calendar. A range of practices big and small, plus outstanding individuals, have been rewarded for their efforts in the British Accountancy Awards 2016.
Outstanding Contribution Award
Winner: John Whiting
Editorial comment: The undisputed king of tax punditry who was a fixture of the BBC’s Budget Day broadcasts for many years. His 25-year career with PwC as a tax partner never stopped him from being a man of the people – someone who cut through the haze of technical obfuscation to bring clarity to the masses.
Global Firm of the Year
Winner: BDO
Editorial comment: Congratulations to BDO, who have come top of the pile following a satisfaction survey of finance directors and CFOs by our sister brand Financial Director.
Shortlist: Deloitte; EY; Grant Thornton; KPMG; PwC
National Firm of the Year – Qdos Vantage
Winner: Menzies
Judges’ comments: Menzies evidenced their success – and importantly highlighted their investment in young people. There was also transparency in the financial information they provided the judges.
Shortlist: Francis Clark; Johnston Carmichael; Mazars; Saffery Champness; Smith & Williamson
Mid-Tier Firm of the Year – sponsored by Iris Software
Winner: Jeffreys Henry
Judges’ comments: They told a story of how to deal with what is happening in the profession: They’ve invested in IT, worked towards specialisms, and are concerned with staff wellbeing. They explained and evidenced this really well.
Highly commended: Crunch Accounting
Shortlist: Bishop Fleming; Ensors Accountants; Kreston Reeves; PKF-FPM; Price Bailey; Shorts
Independent Firm of the Year (overall)
Winner: JF Hornby
Judges’ comments: They demonstrated strong use of social media, tax savings for clients, impressive profits, along with both a local and international view. The standout practice.
Shortlist: Farnell Clarke; Inspire Professional Services; Nicolson Accountancy; Nordens; Salhan Accountants; Wilson Wright
Independent Firm of the Year East, England
Winner: Farnell Clarke
Judges’ comments: They managed to combine not only tremendous growth, but were strong on people and management. A welcome team for new clients was also a nice touch.
Shortlist: 1 Accounts Online; aa Chartered Accountants; Aston Shaw; Watermill Accounting
Independent Firm of the Year Greater London, England – sponsored by Global Infosys
Winner: Wilson Wright
Judges’ comments: A firm that showed it is trying to build a sustainable business model, which included consistent growth and office expansion.
Shortlist: DH Accounts & Legal; Taxfile
Independent Firm of the Year Midlands, England
Winner: Salhan Accountants
Judges’ comments: They are highly professional and have shown integrity is vital to their values.
Shortlist: Coalesco Certified Accountants; Denarius Consulting Group; Poole Waterfield
Independent Firm of the Year – North, England
Winner: JF Hornby
Judges’ comments: The firm demonstrated a good family feel, while also balancing that out with leveraging technology to grow their business.
Highly commended: Woods Squared
Shortlist: Bishops Chartered Accountants; CS Accounting Limited; DEB Chartered Accountants; Mossley Tax Shop; Northern Accountants; Walker Begley Limited
Independent Firm of the Year – Scotland
Winner: Nicolson Accountancy
Judges’ comments: They showed good growth, alongside user-friendly and flexible services. A professional firm looking to grow.
Shortlist: Callan Accountancy; Infinity Partnership
Independent Firm of the Year – South East, England
Winner: Nordens
Judges’ comments: Lots of innovation combined with great client care – congrats!
Shortlist: Ad Valorem Accountancy Services; Champ Consultants; Clemence Hoar Cummings; Fiander Tovell; Global Infosys; Reid & Co; Swindells
Independent Firm of the Year, Wales and South-West, England
Winner: Inspire Professional Services
Judges’ comments: Client fees strong for a small firm. Judges were also impressed by the commercial awareness demonstrated by staff, in the entry.
Shortlist: Evans & Partners; Harland Accountants
Most Innovative Practice (overall)
Winner: Farnell Clarke
Judges’ comments: A close call, but Farnell Clarke looking to use tech to drive forward; and has a ‘trendy’ feel that stands it out from other practices.
Shortlist: Deloitte; Cooper Parry
Most Innovative Practice (Large firm) – New
Winner: Deloitte
Judges’ comments: Judges were impressed at the joined-up approach Deloitte took to delivering clients with analytics and manage audit risk.
Shortlist: KPMG; Smith & Williamson
Most Innovative Practice (Mid-tier Firm) – sponsored by Wolters Kluwer – New
Winner: PKF Cooper Parry
Judges’ comments: Described by the judges as a “funky workspace”, designed to empower people. They have also shown how to achieve behavioural change across the business.
Highly commended: Crunch Accounting
Shortlist: HURST; Old Mill; Rouse Partners
Most Innovative Practice (Independent) – sponsored by Energy Scanner – NEW
Winner: Farnell Clarke
Judges’ comments: They transferred their key accounting software provider and have the changed their culture to attract younger, more tech-savvy staff. A practice that is actually undertaking innovation – rather than paying it lip service.
Highly commended: Woods Squared
Shortlist: Ad Valorem Accountancy Services; Aston Shaw; DEB Chartered Accountants; Leavitt Walmsley Associates; Quantify R&D; Square Mile Accounting; Woods Squared
Best Employer – sponsored by Accountancy Age Jobs
Winner: PKF-FPM
Editorial comment: In collaboration with Best Companies Group, an extensive survey was sent out to employees of practices earlier this year. PKF-FPM has topped the overall scoring – well done!
Shortlist: Armstrong Watson; Charterhouse Accountants; The Fish Partnership; HURST; Inspire Professional Services; PKF-FPM; PM+M Solutions for Business; Price Bailey; RDP Newmans; Whitley Stimpson
Most Socially Responsible Practice – New
Winner: Harland Accountants
Judges’ comments: They showed that social responsibility was embedded into their practice. The firm also illustrated how their shared values were measurable.
Shortlist: Aston Shaw; Mossley Tax Shop; Price Bailey; Sayer Vincent; Warner Wilde
New Practice Award – sponsored by Iris Software
Winner: 1 Accounts Online
Judges’ comments: Good growth, a feeling that it is really driven, with a clear strategy. They demonstrated a variety of tools in their armoury to support their direction of travel.
Shortlist: 1 Accounts Online; Francis Bookkeeping Solutions; Integro Accounting; Joshua Leigh & Co; Mantax Consulting; Portt Payroll & Bookkeeping; Quantify R&D; The Accountancy Cloud
Client Software Product of the Year
Winner: Xero
Judges’ comments: A great entry showing innovation and success – it’s no doubt they are still setting the benchmark in the cloud accounting software market.
Shortlist: Adaptive Insights
BlackLine; Expenses by Software Europe; FinancialForce Financial Management; FreeAgent; Thomson Reuters
Practice Software Product of the Year
Winner: Inform Direct
Judges’ comments: They have shown technology can deliver solutions to clients alongside growth. A fantastic entry and a package that practitioners need – but might not know that they need yet.
Shortlist: FreeAgent; Gbooks Cloud Practice Plus; IRIS Software; Keytime; Reckon Virtual Cabinet; TaxCalc; Wolters Kluwer Open Integration Programme; Xero
Top 50 Tax Team of the Year
Winner: Mazars
Judges’ comments: Mazars looks to deal with the major challenges of delivering a modern-day tax service, that of transparency and ethics. Alongside their approach they also illustrated their success with impressive figures.
Highly commended: PKF-FPM
Shortlist: James Cowper Kreston; MHA MacIntyre Hudson; Moore Stephens; Price Bailey
Top 50 Audit Team of the Year – Sponsored by CareersinAudit.com
Winner: MHA MacIntyre Hudson
Judges’ comments: There is an ethical approach to audit that makes the firm stand out from its peers, while also showing a focus on sectors.
Shortlist: Bishop Fleming; haysmacintyre; Kreston Reeves
New Practitioner of the Year – in partnership with the ACCA
Winner: Chris Barnard, Crunch Accounting
Judges’ comments: Chris showed impressive responsibility for dealing with technical issues, and in leading the responses to them. He has played a strong role in expanding Crunch and its technical training.
Highly commended: Greg Houston, Infinity Partnership
Shortlist: Charlotte Wilmot, KPMG; Greg Houston, Infinity Partnership; Michelle McGregor, Lloyds Banking Group; Sophia Spyrou, Nordens
Practitioner of the Year
Winner: Simon Cowie, Infinity Partnership
Judges’ comments: Simon showed that he is leading innovation in what is a very troubled oil industry.
Highly commended: Lee Manning, Raffingers
Shortlist: Anita Brook, Reid & Co; Lisa Emery, Baldwins; Paul Hornby, J F Hornby & Co; Simon Weaver, KPMG