The awards
Celebrate Your Achievements
The Accounting Excellence Awards covers 21 categories that recognise the achievements of accounting firms, individuals, teams and projects from across the UK accounting profession. All categories are judged by an outstanding line-up of experts and senior professionals covering a range of specialisms from within and outside of the accounting community.
Categories
Firm Awards
Service Line Awards
Individual Awards
Small Firm of the Year
Who can enter:
Small firms with a fee income of between £250k and £1m.
What are we looking for:
Entries that demonstrate the strength and quality of your firm and client vision. Show us the defining qualities that help you stand out in a crowded market.
Include tangible evidence to support your claims, for example measures of success that are in addition to the required performance measures set out elsewhere in this form – around client/staff retention or profitability, for example, and where possible include testimonials that illustrate the impact of your work on clients.
Mid-Tier Firm of the Year
Who can enter:
Mid-tier firms with fee income of between £1m-£8m, typically with multiple teams and locations.
What are we looking for:
Entries that demonstrate the strength and quality of your specialist strategy. Show us the defining qualities that help your team stand out in a highly competitive market.
Include tangible evidence to support your claims, for example measures of success that are in addition to the required performance measures set out elsewhere in this form – around client/staff retention or profitability, for example, and where possible include testimonials that illustrate the impact of your work on clients.
Large Firm of the Year
Who can enter:
Large firms with fee income of £8m+, typically with a broad range of service lines and locations across multiple regions.
What are we looking for:
Entries that demonstrate the strength and quality of your firm and client vision and the defining qualities that help you stand out in a highly competitive market.
Include tangible evidence to support your claims, for example measures of success that are in addition to the required performance measures set out elsewhere in this form – around client/staff retention or profitability, for example, and where possible include testimonials that illustrate the impact of your work on clients.
New Firm of the Year
Who can enter:
Firms that have been trading for a minimum of one year and a maximum of three years.
What are we looking for:
Entries that demonstrate they are targeting a gap in the marketplace with a unique vision and a sustainable business model.
Include tangible evidence to support your claims, for example measures of success that are in addition to the required performance measures set out elsewhere in this form – around client/staff retention or profitability, for example, and where possible include testimonials that illustrate the impact of your work on clients.
International Firm of the Year
Who can enter:
Firms that actively look to support either UK based clients doing business in overseas markets or that work with international business that are investing or growing into the UK.
What are we looking for:
Judges will be looking for international initiatives that have driven your firm’s success and tangible examples of how you have leveraged your expertise and international connections to the benefit of your client base. Your case will be strengthened by testimonials illustrating your impact on clients and data based evidence of how your international work has boosted the firm’s performance.
Employer of the Year
Who can enter:
Bookkeeping/accounting firms and finance teams in industry who are fostering talent and supporting career progression.
What are we looking for:
Tell us what you do to motivate your team to deliver exceptional service and how you equip them for the job. Judges will also want to know what strategies you use to ensure you retain your staff.
Share the details of your organisation’s training and development strategy and how that benefits your team, the individuals within it, the firm or business as a whole and your clients. Plus, share quantifiable measures specific to this category which demonstrate the impact learning and development activities have had within your organisation.
Client Service Award
Who can enter:
Accounting and bookkeeping firms that put client service at the heart of their business. You don’t have to have complicated systems in place, but you do need to demonstrate strategies that enable your team to deliver exemplary client service.
What are we looking for:
How you build your service vision into the fabric of your firm and the results your approach has achieved. The category is open to firms of all sizes, so present evidence that allows the judges to compare the value your service has delivered to other entrants.
Sole Practitioner of the Year
Who can enter:
This category is for a single principal/partner who earns <£250k a year, with or without a supporting team.
What are we looking for:
Entries that demonstrate the strength and quality of your work and client relationships. Show us the defining qualities that help you stand out in a crowded market.
AccountingWEB Pride Award – DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion)
Who can enter:
Accounting/bookkeeping firms and in-house finance departments that can demonstrate they are doing their part to improve access routes into the profession.
What are we looking for:
This is an opportunity to inspire others with what is possible. We want to highlight those entrants that display an innovative, collaborative and proactive approach – something different to the norm.
The entry should demonstrate it has had a significant positive impact or show that an individual or organisation has made a significant change either within the organisation, in terms of its ways of working – with demonstrable outcomes – or in terms of out reach work in the wider community.
AccountingWEB Pride Award – ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance)
Who can enter:
Accounting/bookkeeping firms and in-house finance departments that can demonstrate a successful internal ESG strategy.
What are we looking for:
This is an opportunity to inspire others with what is possible. We want to highlight those entrants that display an innovative, collaborative and proactive approach – something different to the norm.
The entry should demonstrate it has had a significant positive impact or show that an individual or organisation has made a significant change either within the organisation, in terms of its ways of working – with demonstrable outcomes – or in terms of out reach work in the wider community.
Digital Transformation Award
Who can enter:
This category hones in on the business improvements a firm has brought to its clients, as a result of the technology solutions it has introduced them to, converting them from software sceptics as a result.
What are we looking for:
Specific business case studies that really tell the story of how your introduction of a new tech or software process to the client positively impacted your relationship with the client, your business, and importantly, theirs. The case study can be anonymised if required, although as much information about the client’s circumstances and quantifiable information about the impact of a particular technology or software had on the client should be retained.
This category is open to firms of all sizes, so present evidence that allows the judges to compare the value your service has delivered to other entrants.
Client Transformation Award
Who can enter:
Accounting and bookkeeping firms whose trusted advisory skills have had a transformational impact on a client’s business.
What are we looking for:
Highlight the achievements of a specific client and demonstrate how close advisory relationships with clients can be transformational for the businesses that they work with.
This category requires a client case study submission – it can be anonymised if required although as much information about the client’s circumstances and quantifiable information about the impact on the client should be retained.
Judges will be looking for specific business case studies that really tell the story of the your relationship with the client and the impact you have made. How have you helped the business, how has the relationship evolved, what are the issues you helped them to solve? Tell us about the success that your client is enjoying today.
Bookkeeping Team of the Year
Who can enter:
It is not practice specific and is open to any specialist bookkeeping practice or to bookkeeping departments that operate within practices with teams of more than two people. This category seeks to celebrate the essential work that helps keep the accounting wheels turning.
What are we looking for:
Judges will be looking for teams that do more than just keep the books and can demonstrate how their service contributes to the wider success of client businesses.
Tax Team of the Year
Who can enter:
Teams that have mastered self assessment season or have navigated clients through the increasingly complex tax landscape. It is not a practice specific and is open to any specialist tax teams or to tax departments with teams of two or more people.
What are we looking for:
Judges will be looking for teams that have demonstrated exceptional tax work and have added value to their clients.
Payroll Team of the Year
Who can enter:
This category is not practice specific and is open to any specialist payroll firms, teams or payroll departments with teams of two or more people. This category is to recognise excellence in payroll.
What are we looking for:
Judges will be looking for teams that can demonstrate how their service contributes to the wider success of client businesses.
Progressive Audit Firm of the Year
Who can enter:
This award is open to any audit firms, teams or audit departments that are driving progressive and positive team culture and innovation in audit quality and client service.
What are we looking for:
At time of significant change and challenge for the audit profession, this award highlights how progressive firms are responding to embrace the new audit quality and regulations to ensure they are well placed to consistently deliver high quality audits which serve the public and other key stakeholder interest.
Hallmarks of a progressive audit firm might include: culture, tone from the top, leadership and governance, linking rewards to quality, innovation, working practices more generally, IT, methodology, delivery, thought leadership – internal and external, a demonstrable commitment to audit quality and staff development & engagement.
In-house Marketing Team of the Year
This category is open to any in-house marketing teams or individuals.
This award celebrates the unsung marketing heroes within accounting and bookkeeping practices. They shine a light on your firms and the good work you do for your clients on a daily basis, it’s time to show your recognition and appreciation and to turn the spotlight on them!
Finance Director of the Year
Who can enter:
This category recognises the stand-out individual contribution of an in-house finance director. This category is for FDs and finance leaders who are not only experts in their field, but show a genuinely innovative approach to the wider challenges facing the accounting profession.
Tell us about the FD you would like to nominate and the contribution they have made to accounting excellence over the past year.
What are we looking for:
Tell us about the finance leader’s impact on the growth and stability of their business. What innovations have they introduced and what impact have they have had on business strategy, decision making and the bottomn line.
The judges are looking for an FD or finance leader who not only has expertise in their field, but shows a genuinely innovative approach to the wider challenges facing their business.
Practice Leader of the Year
Who can enter:
This category recognises the stand-out individual contribution of a service line partner, managing partner or practice leader within an accountancy firm.
What are we looking for:
Tell us how the individual has made a visible impact or has gone the extra mile for their clients, practice, team, or their own personal development.
To support the application, the judges are looking for tangible evidence of the nominee’s excellence in client service, impact to the firm or organisation and examples of innovation or initiative.
Breakout Star of the Year
Who can enter:
Talented and bright professionals who have broken through and are on track to be a partner or a pioneer in the profession.
What are we looking for:
Tell us how the Breakout Star has made a significant impact to the firm, their clients or wider accounting community.
What have they done over the past 12 months that demonstrates a significant shift in their career? Consider how the Breakout Star lives the ethos of Accounting Excellence.
Judges will be considering the nominee’s professional development and ambition to strive further in their accountancy career.
Outstanding Contribution Award
This is an award selected by AccountingWEB editors and drawing on community input for nominations.
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AWARDS NIGHT 2024
8th October 2024, The Roundhouse London
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