Armstrong Watson’s Yorkshire audit team is celebrating a year of exceptional growth which has been topped off by a shortlist in the Yorkshire Accountancy Awards.
Despite a challenging 12 months, the team has seen a 20% rise in year-on-year growth from 2020 to 2021 and in the past 18 months had more than £1m of new business wins, including Howarth Timber, Farmison, Bannatyne Group and Delta Academies Trust.
This success is reflected in the recent investment within the team, whose city centre base in Leeds’ South Parade has undergone a major transformation to house the growing business, and the acquisition of long-standing Yorkshire practice Volans, Leach & Schofield in June.
In the last year alone, Ross Preston joined as Audit and Assurance Partner and Tom Blandford received the same title following a promotion. Ross has a wealth of experience a passion for helping and advising charities and organisations in the not-for-profit sector, while Tom has advised on significant mergers in the legal sector including Switalskis with Atherton Godfrey and Hewitsons with HCR.
Matt Osbourne, the Lead Partner at Armstrong Watson Leeds
Meanwhile, a new manager and senior manager were appointed, Rhys Davies was promoted to Director and three other managers were also recognised with promotions. Added to this is the upcoming hire of 10 new graduates.
While the audit team has been shortlisted for the Audit Service Award at the region’s annual accountancy awards, Armstrong Watson has again been shortlisted for Mid-Tier Firm of the Year, which it won in 2020. The business is also up for Brand of the Year and Team of the Year.
Matt Osbourne, the Lead Partner at Armstrong Watson Leeds office, said: “I think we have the best mid-tier audit team in Yorkshire and the North, with a successful combination of experienced hires and high-quality graduates.
“Our team works to ensure that not only statutory requirements are met, but offer the preparation and advice clients need to embrace their next big business event, be that expansion, investment, refinancing, or a sale transaction.
“The secret has been understanding our market of private, owner-managed and family businesses, and offering the expertise and experience of the larger firms, whilst retaining a personal, collaborative and responsive approach to ensure that we can meet the needs of our clients and to help them grow and prosper.”
