Think outside the category

It came as no surprise that ICB Bookkeepers dominated the Bookkeeping Team of the Year category at the 2023 AE Awards. Alongside Lara Manton MICB and Claire Bartlett as finalists, it was Jason Dalton MICB PM.Dip and Mark Bonney MICB who took home the coveted Bookkeeping Team of the Year Award for their growing practice, Safe Hands. 

But as we eye the 2024 deadline for the Accounting Excellence Awards, we are urging bookkeepers to look beyond that one category. And any entry you complete now is good practice for when the ICB LUCA Awards open next month! 

Here’s a round up of what you could enter.  

Payroll Team of the Year 
Who can enter: This category is not practice specific and is open to any specialist payroll firms, teams or payroll departments with teams of two or more people. This category is to recognise excellence in payroll. 
What they are looking for: Judges will be looking for teams that can demonstrate how their service contributes to the wider success of client businesses. 

Small Firm of the Year 
Who can enter: Small firms with a fee income of between £250k and £1m. 
What they are looking for: Entries that demonstrate the strength and quality of your firm and client vision. Show the defining qualities that help you stand out in a crowded market. Include tangible evidence to support your claims, for example measures of success that are in addition to the required performance measures set out elsewhere in this form – around client/staff retention or profitability, for example, and where possible include testimonials that illustrate the impact of your work on clients. 
 
New Firm of the Year 
Who can enter: Firms that have been trading for a minimum of one year and a maximum of three years. 
What they are looking for: Entries that demonstrate they are targeting a gap in the marketplace with a unique vision and a sustainable business model. Include tangible evidence to support your claims, for example measures of success that are in addition to the required performance measures set out elsewhere in this form – around client/staff retention or profitability, for example, and where possible include testimonials that illustrate the impact of your work on clients. 
 
Client Service Award 
Who can enter: Accounting and bookkeeping firms that put client service at the heart of their business. You don’t have to have complicated systems in place, but you do need to demonstrate strategies that enable your team to deliver exemplary client service. 
What they are looking for: How you build your service vision into the fabric of your firm and the results your approach has achieved. The category is open to firms of all sizes, so present evidence that allows the judges to compare the value your service has delivered to other entrants. 
 
Sole Practitioner of the Year 
Who can enter: This category is for a single principal/partner who earns <£250k a year, with or without a supporting team. 
What they are looking for: Entries that demonstrate the strength and quality of your work and client relationships. Show us the defining qualities that help you stand out in a crowded market. 
 
AccountingWEB Pride Award – DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) 
Who can enter: Accounting/bookkeeping firms and in-house finance departments that can demonstrate they are doing their part to improve access routes into the profession. 
What they are looking for: This is an opportunity to inspire others with what is possible. We want to highlight those entrants that display an innovative, collaborative and proactive approach – something different to the norm. The entry should demonstrate it has had a significant positive impact or show that an individual or organisation has made a significant change either within the organisation, in terms of its ways of working – with demonstrable outcomes – or in terms of out reach work in the wider community. 
 
AccountingWEB Pride Award – ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) 
Who can enter: Accounting/bookkeeping firms and in-house finance departments that can demonstrate a successful internal ESG strategy. 
What they are looking for: This is an opportunity to inspire others with what is possible. We want to highlight those entrants that display an innovative, collaborative and proactive approach – something different to the norm. The entry should demonstrate it has had a significant positive impact or show that an individual or organisation has made a significant change either within the organisation, in terms of its ways of working – with demonstrable outcomes – or in terms of out reach work in the wider community. 
 
Digital Transformation Award 
Who can enter: This category hones in on the business improvements a firm has brought to its clients, as a result of the technology solutions it has introduced them to, converting them from software sceptics as a result. 
What they are looking for: Specific business case studies that really tell the story of how your introduction of a new tech or software process to the client positively impacted your relationship with the client, your business, and importantly, theirs. The case study can be anonymised if required, although as much information about the client’s circumstances and quantifiable information about the impact of a particular technology or software had on the client should be retained. This category is open to firms of all sizes, so present evidence that allows the judges to compare the value your service has delivered to other entrants. 
 
Client Transformation Award 
Who can enter: Accounting and bookkeeping firms whose trusted advisory skills have had a transformational impact on a client’s business. 
What they are looking for: Highlight the achievements of a specific client and demonstrate how close advisory relationships with clients can be transformational for the businesses that they work with. This category requires a client case study submission – it can be anonymised if required although as much information about the client’s circumstances and quantifiable information about the impact on the client should be retained. Judges will be looking for specific business case studies that really tell the story of the your relationship with the client and the impact you have made. How have you helped the business, how has the relationship evolved, what are the issues you helped them to solve? Tell us about the success that your client is enjoying today. 
 

Marketing Campaign of the Year 
This category is open to any in-house marketing teams or individuals. This award celebrates excellent marketing campaigns run by marketing individuals or teams within accounting and bookkeeping practices. 

 
ICB CEO Ami Copeland returns to the judging panel again this year. There are a multitude of categories to apply for in the awards this year, whether you’re a rising star, or run a top payroll team. For more on the application process and the types of award available, see here.  Entries close on Friday 14 June and good luck to all those applying!