Member Article

Winners celebrate success at North East Accountancy Awards

The achievements of the region’s top finance and accounting stars were acknowledged in style at the 9th North East Accountancy Awards sponsored by Nigel Wright Recruitment.

Hosted by BBC Radio Newcastle presenter Alfie Joey at the Hilton Newcastle Gateshead, the event brought together 400 people from accountancy firms, local businesses, service providers and public sector organisations, to mark individual and team success in the largest celebration of the finance and accountancy sector in the region.

The 2015 winners are:

Accounting Technician of the Year – Abiola Dina, National Audit Office

New Accountant of the Year (sponsored by NECC) – Mark Rutter, National Audit Office

Accountant of the Year (sponsored by ACCA) – Andy Trinder, Quorn Foods

Finance Director of the Year (sponsored by Wesleyan Bank) – Richard Dale, Newcastle University

Tax Team of the Year (sponsored by CIOT) – PricewaterhouseCoopers - International Mobility Team

Business Finance Team of the Year (sponsored by R&B Group) – Performance Horizon Group

Public Services Finance Team of the Year (sponsored by CIPFA NE) – Sunderland CCG & Sunderland City Council

Corporate Finance Deal of the Year (sponsored Rathbone Investment Management) – Cavu Corporate Finance

Small Accountancy Firm of the Year (sponsored by TLW Solicitors) - Anderson Barrowcliff LLP

Accountancy Firm of the Year (sponsored by ICAEW/Northern Society of Chartered Accountants) – Deloitte

Accounting & Finance Employer of the Year (sponsored by Echo Events) – KPMG LLP

The Unsung Hero Award, voted for by the public, was awarded to Keith Proudfoot, who jointly supports Tyne Theatre & Opera House Preservation Trust and Northern Stage (Theatrical Productions) Limited.

The most prestigious award of the evening was the John Wall Award for Outstanding Achievement – sponsored by title sponsor Nigel Wright Recruitment, and was presented to Bill Teasdale, non-executive director for a number of private companies including Vertu Motors, British Engines Limited, Astrum Limited, Bedmax Limited.

The category was named in memory of the late John Wall – a prominent figure in the North East business community who died last year. John, former chairman of Proton Power Systems, played an instrumental part in the North East Accountancy Awards as a member of the steering committee, and won a lifetime achievement award at the ceremony six years ago.

At this year’s ceremony, fundraising took place for the event’s two chosen charities - The Prince’s Trust North East Leadership Group and the Newcastle West End Food Bank – and a grand total of £3,165 will be shared equally between both charities.

Fiona Fletcher, managing director at Echo Events and Association Management, one of the largest events companies in the region and the organisers of the North East Accountancy Awards, said: “We’ve seen the North East Accountancy Awards evolve every year since it was founded in 2007, and it has undoubtedly become a well-established, prestigious event in the industry’s calendar. We place a lot of emphasis on encouraging members of the financial and accountancy community to ‘blow their own trumpets’ – and to celebrate their achievements together, so we were delighted to see that this year’s event attracted the highest amount of nominations to date.

“The evening was a great success and we’re now turning our attention to planning for next year’s 10th anniversary event, which is set to be our biggest ever celebration.”

Nominations for the North East Accountancy Awards 2016 will open in October – and those interested in submitting nominations should look out for updates on www.accountancyawards.co.uk

Echo Events & Association Management’s upcoming events include the British Association of Critical Care Nurses Annual Conference (BACCN) 2015 in London on September 7-8, Echo Presents Disney Institute: Disney’s Approach to Leadership Excellence in London on September 25, Music Futures on November 12, and next year’s Tyne and Wear Heritage Conference.

For further information about the North East Accountancy Awards, please contact Sonia Hernandez, sonia@echoevents.org, t: 0191 244 2825

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Echo Events .