Johnston Carmichael has been named Accountancy Firm of the Year at the Scottish Accountancy & Finance Awards 2014 for the sixth year in a row, organised by Business Insider and held in Glasgow earlier this week.
The judging panel chose Johnston Carmichael – from a shortlist which included Anderson Anderson & Brown, BDO and Campbell Dallas – for the strength of its leadership team in ‘creating and driving their strategic initiatives and the autonomy and responsibility they offer their employees’.
Sandy Manson, chief executive of Johnston Carmichael said: ‘We are absolutely delighted to be recognised as the firm of the year for the sixth time at these prestigious awards and it is a great testament to the commitment and energy of our team of 600 people right across Scotland.’
Chris Horne, managing partner of Campbell Dallas, was named Accountant of the Year. The judging panel said Horne had delivered a ‘huge step change in both the enhancement in the firm’s brand and geographical reach in 2013 which has led to an impressive enhancement of financial results’.
Selkirk-based Stark Main & Co was named Small Accountancy Firm of the Year, with the judges stating it had ‘demonstrated excellent client service and had a very clear idea of their identity and the markets which they wanted to operate within’. The firm has expanded its geographical reach and added new services, particularly related to property and specialist dental practice.
David Blyth, chief finance officer of Lockheed Martin's business unit information systems and global solutions was named Finance Director of the Year. He was chief finance officer of Refrewshire-based IT specialist Amor Group, which Lockheed Martin acquired in a multi-million pound deal in September, 2013.
Iain Reid, chief finance officer of Glasgow 2014, was named Emerging Finance Director of the Year for what the judges described as an ‘impressive all round performance’ in creating a finance function from scratch.
The Young Accountant of the Year award went to Eric John Summers of Fraserburgh-based Leiper & Summers, while the Scottish Public Pensions Agency took the Public Sector Team of the Year Award.
The Insolvency Team of the Year award went to BDO which, following the merger with PKF, has been involved in a number of high-profile Scottish football club insolvencies, including steering, Dunfermline Athletic and Heart of Midlothain Football Club out of administration.
Aberdeen-based Anderson Anderson & Brown LLP (AAB) took the award for Tax Team of the Year. It specialises in the oil and gas sector, particularly in relation to compliance advisory work for firms working in Norway, and was commended for its work in ‘international tax strategy, entrepreneurial tax services, developing from within, corporate social responsibility and its track record of growth’.
