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(+ 353) 1 592 0850It’s not always easy to convince a finance director that they should be putting themselves forward for an award.
Many in the profession would rather be quietly getting on with their work than standing on a stage, brandishing a trophy before the cameras.
But there are a host of good reasons not to shun the limelight.
Becky Glover, first winner of the iplicit-sponsored FD of the Year title at last year’s Accounting Excellence Awards, has some thoughts on why people should enter this year – and what might make a successful entry.
Why you should enter the Accounting Excellence Awards
It confirms what you’re doing right
Finance directors can occupy a pretty lonely position in their organisations. 
Becky Glover says: “When you get to this sort of level, there’s no one else around you saying ‘Great job, you’re doing it right’.
“When you’re more junior, people are constantly checking your work, reviewing your performance and saying ‘Yes, that’s great, keep doing it that way’. But when you’re the number one person in finance, and one of the top people in a business, there aren’t many people looking at your work critically and validating it in that same way.
“Winning an award is amazing and gratifying but it also brings home to you that you’re on the right track and doing the right things.”
It helps build your network
If isolation can be an occupational hazard for FDs, networking can be part of the antidote.
Becky leverages her membership of professional bodies such as AAT and ACCA to forge links with a community of FDs and is also a member of NOVA, a group for female FDs and CFOs.
“You pay the fees to professional bodies in order to keep the letters after your name and show a certain level of achievement, but people don’t always tap into the community side of it,” she says.
“When you go to an awards ceremony, everyone’s rooting for you and there are so many people that are genuinely happy for you. That’s when you see your community again and realise how many incredible people you have around you.”
Your whole organisation benefits
Some FDs might fear their organisation won’t welcome them building a profile that might catch the eye of other potential employers.
But Becky says her employer, Yutree Insurance, has been supportive and that everyone benefits when someone on the team wins an award.
She says: “The business I work for has said ‘We really love that you do all this extra stuff – because you have a great network, you’re constantly learning and we want you to bring that back to us’. The business and the people within it understand that they need the best people.
“If your business has a mission to be the best and to keep learning and keep improving, they’re probably going to keep the person that’s winning awards.
“Ultimately, my success and the business’s success come as one.”
What makes a good Accounting Excellence Awards entry?
The judges of the 2023 Accounting Excellence Awards praised Becky for showing how she drove profitability, introduced and championed change and communicated a clear strategy throughout the business.
What would she be looking for if she were a judge?
“I would want to see someone who is brave enough or resilient enough to do something different. It’s very easy just to follow the pack,” she says.
“I’d love to see a person who is a thought leader and will go after something because they personally, genuinely believe it’s the best thing to do.
“But I’d also like to see someone who goes above and beyond within their community. If you’re an FD, you’re among very few accountants in a business, and you’re alone at the top. I’d like to see someone who is willing to go out and find their community.
“It might be that, like me, their community is around women in finance or digital. Or it could be something outside finance, like a side business that they’re learning from, or helping out the marketing department – but I like to see someone who’s willing to move outside of their own finance team.
“A lot of people get comfortable in the month-end or quarter-end processes, but I’m always actively looking for something else, because that’s how you learn.”
Find out more
Entries for the FD of the Year title, sponsored by iplicit, at the Accounting Excellence Awards are open until June 14. Find out more about how to enter.
