Practice Excellence Awards: winners revealed
AccountingWEB can now reveal the winners of the inaugural Practice Excellence Awards, sponsored by Sage, CCH and PTP.
The top accountancy practices in the country gathered at an exclusive event at the Guards Museum in London last night to find out who would be crowned the best small, mid-sized and large practices of 2011.
More than 80 firms entered the awards, which resulted in 1,769 companies surveyed, followed by 848 votes in the final judging round from the AccountingWEB community.
After months of scrutiny from clients, peers and a panel of experts, the winners are:
- Woods Squared - small practice (Greenstones 2nd & Gordon’s Knight 3rd)
- Bennett Brooks - mid-sized practice (Prime Chartered 2nd & Wilson Partners 3rd)
- Milsted Langdon - large practice (Carter Backer Winter 2nd & Monhans 3rd)
The large practice category was on a knife edge to the very end with the top two firms tied on the number of AccountingWEB member votes received.
When we referred back to the client satisfaction surveys there was however clear water between the two with Milsted Langdon pipping CBW to the post with a marginally higher score.
David Clough, head of operations at CCH, said: “It’s a shame there could only be one winner as they all exhibited some great initiatives, client care and investment in their people. Congratulations to Milsted Langdon, Bennett Brooks & Woods Squared and well done to AccountingWEB for generating so much interest in the awards and for selecting such a unique setting to present the winners.”
Alan Woods of Woods Squared told AccountingWEB: "The team at Woods Squared are delighted to have been named UK's Best Small Practice at such an inspiring venue for all the things that we do for our clients."
The event took place at one of Central London’s hidden gems – the Guards Museum on Birdcage Walk, just a stone's throw away from Buckingham Palace.
Surrounded by the history of the Grenadier, Coldstream, Scots, Irish and Welsh Guards, museum curator Andrew Wallis gave a fascinating speech and noted how if it was not for corporate events, such as the Practice Excellence Awards, the Guards Museum would probably not exist. For those who think they’ve seen all of what London’s museums have to offer – you need to check out the Guards Museum.
Every practice that has been involved in the awards, including all that were initially nominated, can now look forward to receiving a copy of the benchmark report – an essential document that will help you grow your practice.
You’ll be able to compare your firm to the wider accounting community and find out what gave the winning firms the edge in the awards.
Nick Goode, head of marketing at Sage, added: "The finalists found the feedback gained through the nomination process extremely valuable, saying that they had not had the in-depth commentary from their clients by asking them directly. Fascinating discussions about the future of accounting and accountancy in a context of significant economic change. Well done to all the finalists and winners."
Yvonne Wood, managing director at Bennett Brooks, said: "We are delighted to have been awarded the UK's Best Medium Practice. The award is testament to everyone's hard work, commitment and dedication throughout our network of offices. We're very proud to be rewarded for what we do and hope that this will inspire even more great work!"
Roger Isaacs, partner at Milsted Langdon, added: "We are absolutely thrilled to have been crowned the winner of the UK’s Best Large Practice category at what was a glittering awards evening. It is particularly pleasing as the final vote was decided on our client satisfaction surveys.
“I’d like to personally thank all our clients for their kind words and all the members of staff at Milsted Langdon. Without their dedication and professionalism this award would never have been won.”
Paul Onions of PTP, also commented on the evening: “A great event to celebrate the exceptional performance of some of the top UK firms of accountants in a truly splendid location. A very enjoyable and informative evening.”
Many thanks to all who have embraced the Practice Excellence Awards, and in particular to the three winning firms of 2011: Woods Squared, Bennett Brooks and Milsted Langdon.
clear water - marginally higher ???????
"When we referred back to the client satisfaction surveys there was however clear water between the two with Milsted Langdon pipping CBW to the post with a marginally higher score"