Chartered accountants Francis Clark LLP has been named ‘Auditor of the Year – Mid Tier’ in the national Financial Directors' Excellence Awards.

Held in association with the ICAEW, (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales), these awards recognise business banks, auditors (Big 6 and Mid-tier), financial software suppliers and recruitment firms.  They are determined by votes cast by an annual satisfaction survey, which was completed by 1,000 finance directors and finance decision-makers in 2010.

Broadcaster and journalist, Peter Sissons, who hosted the event, commented that Francis Clark is a first-time winner “but with a score of nearly nine-out-of-ten for quality of service, Francis Clark's client FDs' have awarded the highest marks ever for an audit firm in ten years of the Satisfaction Survey.
 
“The firm didn’t actually appear on the survey questionnaire and made the shortlist based on write-ins from its client FDs'. It’s a great win for a strong regional firm to champion at these national awards.”

Francis Clark managing partner Les Burnett said: “We are really delighted with this award as the winner is chosen as a result of an independent, industry-wide survey and therefore gives a very accurate measure of how the market assesses the quality of our work.  Moreover, businesses recommending Francis Clark did so voluntarily and without being asked, so we are very flattered indeed.

“It was also gratifying to win in the face of competition from a range of nationally focussed firms and to add to Francis Clark’s recognition as Best General Tax Practice in 2009.”

Corporate Services partner, Chris Bush, collected the award at a Gala Dinner in London.  He said: “While audit is only one element in the wide range of services we offer, it is a very important part.  For those businesses that are legally required to be audited it can be a difficult process, so the fact that these businesses made an unsolicited point of endorsing us, speaks volumes for the service we provide.”

Andrew Richards, Head of Corporate Services, added: “Industry awards that recognise quality of service are very important in confirming how we go about our business.  You can’t get recognition of this sort without demonstrating knowledge, experience, consistency and professionalism.  Being able to use the award winners logo alongside our success in winning the UK Best General Tax Practice, is very important to us as we continue to grow the business".