neaa 2014 winners guide
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North EastAccountancy Awards 2014
Thursday 26th June 2014Hilton Newcastle Gateshead
WINNERS GUIDE 2014
Title Sponsor
These Awards are now in their eighth year and we are
delighted to once again be part of their huge success.
Nigel Wright Recruitment’s Finance teams have been
working closely with companies from across the North
of England and it is extremely reassuring that the
region’s finance community continue to get behind the
event, making it the most successful finance awards in
the region. An awards ceremony like this is a fantastic
opportunity for us to congratulate and recognise finance
teams and individuals across all industry sectors for their
efforts.
Best wishes
Paul Wilson
CEO
Nigel Wright Recruitment
Title Sponsor
www.nigelwright.com
NIGEL WRIGHT RECRUITMENT, BRINGING TOGETHERHIGH-CALIBRE CANDIDATES AND WORLD-CLASS ORGANISATIONS
ON A TEMPORARY AND PERMANENT BASIS.
6 Accounting Technician of the Year8 New Accountant of the Year10 Accountant of the Year12 Business Finance Team of the Year14 Tax Adviser of the Year16 Corporate Finance Deal of the year18 Branch of the Year20 Finance Director of the Year22 Public Services Finance Team of the Year24 Independent Firm of the Year26 Accounting and Finance Employer of the Year28 Outstanding Achievement Award30 Unsung Hero Award
Contents
Accounting Technician of the Year
Sponsored By
Holly Langton, Balfour Beatty Business Services
Accounting Technician of the Year 2014, sponsored by AAT, was awarded to Holly Langton of
Balfour Beatty Business Services. Holly is a highly motivated and high achieving
candidate who has proven to be extremely adaptable in assisting the business during a
transition period and successful in implementing significant improvements in restructuring
processes. The nominations in this category were of an exceptionally high quality, but Holly
was chosen due to her drive and ambition, which is clear to see as she has reached her
current role within three years, which would typically take 5-8 years.
Winner...
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Holly Langton & Jonathan Dodgeon, Balfour Beatty Business Services
New Accountant of the Year
Winner...
Craig Hart, Aspire Technology Solutions Ltd
New Accountant of the Year 2014, sponsored by BPP Professional Education, was awarded
to Craig Hart from Aspire Technology Solutions Ltd. Craig was described by the judges as
the complete accountant for an SME. He is extremely approachable and his enthusiasm and
commitment shone through, having worked hard to drive the business forward and create
a dedicated and successful team in a short period of time. Craig demonstrated professional
and yet personable qualities and the judges believe all these attributes will take him far in his
future career.
Sponsored By
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Monty Halls; Craig Hart, Aspire Technology Solutions Ltd; Tracey Wilson, BPP
Accountant of the Year
Winner...
Vicki Brown, Vertu Motors plc
Accountant of the Year 2014, sponsored by ACCA, was awarded to Vicki Brown from Vertu
Motors plc. The judges of this category felt that they had three outstanding candidates for
this Award, making their decision to select a winner extremely difficult. Vicki impressed
the judges with the very innovative work she has done in the last twelve months. She also
showed great dedication to self-improvement, for her own and her employer’s benefit –
overall a hugely committed and approachable employee.
Sponsored By
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Monty Halls; Vicky Brown, Vertu Motors; John McGee, ACCA
Business Finance Team of the Year
Winner...
Sage UK Ltd
Business Finance Team of the Year 2014, sponsored by University of Sunderland, Faculty of
Business and Law, was awarded to Sage UK Ltd. The finance function at Sage UK Ltd was
chosen due to the value they added to their business, the effective response to operational
change and their clear focus on staff investment and development. The team demonstrated
the progress made within their business despite already working from a positive starting
point, which impressed the judging panel.
Sponsored By
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Claire Conolly, Sage UK ltd; Alastair Mitchell, Sage UK ltd; Robert Hall, University of Sunderland
Tax Adviser of the Year
Winner...
Stephen Hall, Deloitte
Tax Adviser of the Year 2014, sponsored by the Chartered Institute of Taxation, was awarded
to Stephen Hall from Deloitte. There were 4 very talented and diverse candidates this year
and the judges all felt proud of the quality and breadth of tax advisers in the region. Stephen
was described by the judges as a creative and passionate tax adviser. He was selected as
the winner because he has excellent technical and client relationship skills, he leads a team
and enhances their careers and uses his tax skills for pro-bono advice. The judges felt that
Stephen is a role model to the profession.
Sponsored By
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Stephen Hall, Deloitte; Jodie Barwick-Bell, CIOT
Corporate Finance Deal of the Year
Winner...
Tait Walker LLP - Investment by JZI and Souter Investments into Winn Solicitors
Corporate Finance Deal of the Year 2014, sponsored by Rathbones, was awarded to Tait Walk-
er LLP. All the deals nominated were of a very high quality, however the judges felt that Tait
Walker stood out with their corporate finance deal as it was the first of its type in the region.
The team were required to be patient, persistent and innovative as they navigated their way
around some highly complex operational, regulatory and tax issues. The deal also impressed
the judges as it benefited the region as a whole by involving support from some other local
advisers and resulted in several hundred jobs being secured in a deprived area of Newcastle,
with the expectation that the business will continue to grow rapidly in a fast-moving sector.
Sponsored By
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Andrew Moorby, Tait Walker; James Kyle, Rathbones
Branch of the Year
Winner...
Sponsored By
KPMG LLP
Branch of the Year 2014, sponsored by Square One Law, was awarded to KPMG Newcastle
office. KPMG was chosen on the basis of the pathway they have cleared to bring talent into
the profession from areas of society that would normally not have the opportunity. The
judges were also very impressed by the obvious pride in bringing local people through the
organisation to national partnership and the use of the wider network to build specialist
skills in the region that have become self-sustaining.
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Team from KPMG
Finance Director of the Year
Winner...
Sponsored By
Iain Richardson, The Winn Group
Finance Director of the Year 2014, sponsored by Barclays, was awarded to Iain Richardson
from The Winn Group. The judges were truly impressed with the talent and experience that
this year’s nominees demonstrated. However, Iain just edged ahead by demonstrating the
significant contribution he made to increase the financial achievement of the company in
the last twelve months.
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Monty Halls; Iain Richardson, The Winn Group; Brian Foreman, Barclays
Public Services Finance Team of the Year
Winner...
Sponsored By
Northumberland Tyne & Wear NHS Foundation Trust
Public Services Finance Team of the Year 2014, sponsored by CIPFA North East, was awarded
to Northumberland Tyne & Wear NHS Foundation Trust. The judges highlighted that it was
inspiring to meet the nominations for this category. The winning team demonstrated a
strong and focused team based approach. They are successfully providing a wide range of
services to their organisation and are continuing to develop those services despite having
reduced resources themselves. The team have enabled the organisation to increase its
efficiency without compromising the quality of patient care.
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The team from Northumberland Tyne & Wear NHS Foundation Trust with Angela Dragone, Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Monty Halls
Independent Firm of the Year
Winner...
Sponsored By
Tait Walker LLP
Independent Firm of the Year 2014, sponsored by ICAEW/Northern Society of Chartered
Accountants, was awarded to Tait Walker LLP. The judges on the panel found this a very
interesting category and wish to give a special mention to all the nominees for their hard
work and dedication. Tait Walker was, in judges’ opinion, clearly a firm with a solid foundation
and a depth of experience and expertise. They demonstrated good evidence of innovation,
energy, enthusiasm and fresh thinking with an impressive focus on team building. The
judges were also impressed with their great use of technology including their ‘home-grown’
software.
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The team from Tait Walker LLP with Andrew Jackson, Northern Society of Chartered Accountants and Monty Halls
Accounting and Finance Employer of the Year
Winner...
Sponsored By
KPMG LLP
Accounting and Finance Employer of the Year, sponsored by Echo Events, was awarded to
KPMG LLP. KPMG demonstrated that they have a community based office focussed on
adding value to the regional and social economy. The judges were impressed by their
passionate employees and modern thinking for their modern workforce.
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The team from KPMG
Outstanding Achievement Award Winner... Paul Woolston
The Outstanding Achievement Award 2014, sponsored by Nigel Wright Recruitment, was
awarded to Paul Woolston.
Paul has been described as one of the North East’s top business leaders. A North Easterner
through and through, he was brought up in Sunderland and studied politics at Warwick
University. He is a CIPFA qualified accountant, has a Master of Business Science from
Manchester Business School and in his spare time is a lay canon at St Nicholas Cathedral.
After university Paul wanted to secure a professional qualification so joined the Inland
Revenue and after three years, left to join the Audit Commission in Newcastle where he
trained as an accountant. In 1988, he joined PwC in Newcastle where he built up a public
service department of 50 people, became partner in 1992 and senior partner in 2002 where
he was the PwC UK market sector leader for public services assurance.
Paul became chairman of the North East LEP in July 2011, having previously declined the role
due to his commitment to PwC. Having recently retired as senior partner of the PwC North
East practice, Paul still works closely with the business community in the North East, using his
extensive experience in the public sector, including health, local government and education.
Despite his retirement, Paul still has an ambition to improve the North East and generate
wealth here. To achieve this ambition, he has recently taken on a new role as Chairman
of Middleton Enterprises Ltd. This private investment company has made a substantial
contribution to the North East’s economy by investing in and providing business advice to
entrepreneurial businesses.
Sponsored By
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Robert Forrester, Vertu Motors plc; Paul Woolston; Richard Morgan, Nigel Wright Recruitment
Unsung Hero Award
Winner...
Geoff Little
The Unsung Hero Award 2014 was awarded to Geoff Little for the support he has provided to
Whickham School and Sports College during their difficult transition from a local authority
school to an independent academy. Geoff is described as being committed, focussed and
diligent with good attention to detail. His guidance and advice has helped to re-assure the
trustees and governors, as well as making a difference to his local community. In
volunteering his time and expertise as a governor of Whickham School and Sports College
he has helped them to grow and become an extremely successful academy. His support and
commitment has never wavered despite having a full time job and being hospitalised for
a period for treatment through his battle with cancer. He is a great example to others who
would like to make a difference through supporting schools and communities.
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Geoff Little; Colin Briggs
North EastAccountancy Awards 2014
Title Sponsor
The North East Accountancy Awards recognise excellence within the fields of finance, accounting and tax from all industry sectors operating in the North East.
Book you tickets for 2015! To reserve your tickets for 2015 or find out more about sponsorship and nominations contact the event office:
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