With this year's Bookkeepers Summit tickets selling at unprecedented speed since the Earlybird sale started last month, ICB thought it was time to revisit last year's event and get in touch with the 2011 Luca Award winners.
'It was the best day in my working life! It was such an honour to be nominated in the first place, but to win was overwhelming.....'
Angela Capeling, Tutor of the Year 2011
It has been just over 6 months since ICB hosted the 2011 Annual Dinner and Awards Ceremony at The Banqueting House, London; in celebration of the hard work of bookkeepers and ICB's associated organisations. 200 distinguished guests in black tie joined HRH Prince Michael of Kent to enjoy a three course dinner followed by the hotly anticipated presentation of ICB's exclusive Luca Awards.
We caught up with winners from the Tutor of the Year and Practice of the Year cateogries, to see what they have been up to since the night they were awarded their prestigious Luca.
Tutor of the Year 6 months on - Angela Capeling
Practice of the Year 6 months on - Karen Jewell Ltd
2012 conference, the Bookkeepers Summit, heralds the return of all popular conference events; opening with the ICB Annual Dinner and Awards at the Savoy Hotel on 6th November, followed by a Breakfast at the Houses of Parliament on 7th November, and one jam-packed day of technical updates, software demonstrations and networking opportunities at our favourite conference venue, Savoy Place. As a new addition to our annual event, we are pleased to offer, for the first time, an informal 'Members Dinner' which is available exclusively to ICB students and members and takes place at local hotel, the Strand Palace, on the evening of 7th November.
This is one event that should be pencilled in to all bookkeepers' diaries. To book your place at The Bookkeepers Summit 2012, please click here or call ICB on 0845 060 2345.
If you would like to apply for a Luca Award or think you know someone who deserves one, please contact ICB to obtain an application form
An update from Angela Capeling
2011 Luca Award winner of Tutor of the Year
Unfortunately, I haven’t been bookkeeping for 2 years now, and so have been concentrating on my position as tutor for Training Link. It’s been a great year for me since winning the award, where students have been so kind in congratulating me since then. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that evening. It was the best day in my working life! It was such an honour to be nominated in the first place, but to win was overwhelming. I guess you could see that from the photos.
I am so happy in my position as a tutor. My role in supporting students through their studies, and preparing them for their exams, so they see what being a member of the ICB is worth. Just like it did me six years ago.
Angela receives her award from HRH Prince Michael of Kent
An update from Karen Jewell Ltd:
2011 Luca Award winner of Practice of the Year
" And the Winner of the 2011 ICB Practice of the Year is..........". I can still remember this moment with total clarity. Heart pounding. Dry mouth. Nerve ends tingling. I realised at this precise moment just how important this award was to me and my practice and, above all, just how much I wanted to win.
The previous 35 years flashed through my mind - the years of being an employee, in accounts & finance jobs. The desire to continue with this as a career when I started my family. How would I gain clients? Was I a good enough bookkeeper to actually run my own business? And, once I'd got started, and my client list slowly grew, other questions - was I organised enough? Was I using the best available software? Did the clients think I represented value for money and feel they were getting a good service? Making the decision to incorporate into a Ltd company, and start adding staff to the mix - could I keep them busy? Would the cash flow cope with a monthly wages bill to pay?
Then 'finding' the ICB and taking their exams - how much did I know about bookkeeping at exam level? What if I failed?
Now as an ICB Fellow with over 80 clients and 3 staff (2 part-time), I felt I could take our service to the next level and wanted to appeal to the larger, more complex client. As a company, we are good at training ourselves and learning new techniques along with keeping abreast with HMRC changes in legislation and so on. Two of my staff have also sat their level 2 examinations, both manual and computerised - everything they know they have learnt from working with me and my training tools. One even achieved 100% in level two manual exam! What a fantastic achievement for us both, her as student and myself as trainer.
So, it had felt an almost natural progression to apply for consideration for Practice of the Year, and was a thrill to be shortlisted to the final five.........
Karen Jewell and her staff receive their award
Since then we have surged forward. I am lucky enough to have a talented young team around me, who 'get' my vision for the future and can bring that vision into being. For years, I have wanted to glamorise bookkeeping. It has this reputation for being a dull, grey, solitary occupation - but it is sooo not! We have a Public Relations client who submitted a press release for us. We had a big mention on the local radio and features in business magazines. We had a photo-shoot, both in the office, studio, and on location. Max, our IT technician, used the photos and has recreated our website, giving it a slicker, more professional look, whilst trying to keep the 'fun' element we like to bring to the job. We have had new clients and been approached by local accountants who have seen the magazine articles and are looking for a freelance bookkeeping service they can offer their clients. The same for bank Business managers for their business customers.
Recently, it has been a massive honour to be asked by the ICB to chair the Surrey Branch meetings. We worked hard to create an entertaining and relevant evening. The first meeting was on 2nd May, and was a great success - we have received lots of fantastic emails from those who attended. We are looking forward to the next one on 4th July, which, we hope, will outshine the first.
It is amazing that all this has happened in the first 6 months following that night of 17th November, in prestigious surroundings, after an enjoyable dinner, when I heard the words...
" .....................Karen Jewell Ltd"
If you would like to apply for a Luca Award or think you know someone who deserves one, please contact ICB to obtain an application form