Category Archives: Aberystwyth

Aberystwyth, Accountancy & Accounts, Awards, News, West Wales

Aberystwyth Accountant and MD Alex Westbury Named As One Of The UK’s Top Senior Accountants

An Aberystwyth accountancy firm is celebrating after their MD, Alex Westbury, has been recognised as one of the UK’s best senior accountants.

AW Chartered Accountants proudly announced that Alex, their Managing Director, has been recognized as one of the top 35 under 35 in the accounting industry by Accountancy Age. This prestigious award, sponsored by AJ Chambers, highlights Alex as one of the best senior managers among the UK’s top accountancy firms.

Remarkably, nine of Alex’s fellow honorees are senior leaders in the UK’s top 15 accounting firms, including PWC, the leading firm by fee income. Additionally, half of those recognized are senior leaders within the top 50 accounting firms, and the majority work in the top 100 firms, which collectively turned over between £6.88 million and £5.79 billion in the past year.

Having established AW Chartered Accountants from the ground up in the past year, Alex expressed his excitement and pride in being included in such a prestigious industry list. He is particularly proud to be the only representative from a Welsh firm, the only start-up, and the only sole practitioner named in the list.

Alex said:

“I thought I was giving up the opportunity to place in such a prestigious industry list when I left my corporate job at a Top UK 15 firm to return to my hometown in Mid Wales. so I am delighted to be named amongst the greats of the accounting industry as the only person on the list from a Welsh business, having only started my business in the last year.”

“I am incredibly honoured to be named among the top 35 under 35 in the accounting industry by Accountancy Age. We strive to provide the highest level of service to our clients and help them to achieve their goals. This award inspires us to continue innovating and growing, and I am excited about the future of our firm and the continued success of our clients.”

 

About Alex Westbury:

Alex Westbury is the Managing Director of AW Chartered Accountants.

Having trained to become a Chartered Accountant at top UK 15 firm Saffery in Manchester before returning home to West Wales to join a growing local practice. His exceptional work ethic and aptitude for delivering high-quality service led to his rapid recognition, and he was appointed as a director at the age of 28, just three and a half years after joining the firm.

In the last year, Alex transitioned from his director role to take on the new challenge of setting up his own independent firm, AW Chartered Accountants. Through this new venture, Alex focuses intently on his clients, working closely with them to achieve their unique goals, whether that is increasing profitability, scaling, or enhancing business efficiency. His forward-thinking approach is driven by cloud-based software, enabling clients to make informed, up-to-date decisions.

In just a few months, AW Chartered Accountants has experienced remarkable growth, and the firm’s success has already been recognized with a nomination for a Welsh Business Growth Award, highlighting its’ rapid growth and commitment to customer excellence.

Alex and AW Chartered Accountants provide services to clients across various industries, but they have also been recognized as specialist accounting advisors to the UK tourism industry. Thanks to Alex’s experience and understanding of the industry, the firm is one of only two Welsh accounting firms accepted as associate members of the British Holiday and Home Parks Association (BH&HPA), the leading trade body for the UK holiday park industry.

Aberystwyth, Apprenticeships

Gold medallist apprentice accountant wants her career to make a difference

Gold medallist accountant Eleri Davies is determined to make a difference in her career which is being crafted using apprenticeships.

Eleri, 26, who lives in Llanbadarn Fawr, Aberystwyth, completed all of her accounting apprenticeships whilst working for Audit Wales.

Now she is continuing her learning journey by seeking to become a Chartered Accountant in her new job with Mid Wales housing association, Barcud.

Eleri has now been shortlisted for the prestigious Apprenticeship Awards Cymru 2024 as an Apprentice of the Year finalist.

Highlight of the year for apprentices, employers and work-based learning providers and practitioners, the awards are organised by the Welsh Government and supported by the National Training Federation for Wales (NTfW). Headline sponsor is EAL.

The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony to be held at ICC Wales, Newport on March 22, 2024. The awards highlight the outstanding achievements of employers, apprentices and work-based learning practitioners.

Apprenticeships have helped Eleri get her career back on track after illness forced her to drop out of a degree in Accounting and Finance at the London School of Economics in 2017.

She completed a Level 2 AAT Foundation Certificate in Accounting, followed by an AAT Level 3 Advanced Diploma in Accounting and a Higher Apprenticeship in Accounting through Grŵp Llandrillo Menai. All the apprenticeships were completed with distinctions.

Now she has committed to another three years of learning by seeking to become a Chartered Accountant.

During her time working for Audit Wales, Eleri won an accounting gold medal at Skills Competition Wales as part of the Grŵp Llandrillo Menai team which was highly commended in the WorldSkills UK final.

Last year, she was named Grŵp Llandrillo Menai’s Overall and Accountancy Apprentice of the Year.

Apprenticeships helped to develop her role at Audit Wales where she audited public sector clients, often through the medium of Welsh and specialised in analysing financial statements and identifying discrepancies.

“I don’t feel that I have missed out from not doing a degree because the quality of the AAT apprenticeships is so high and I have earned whilst learning,” she said.

“I want my career to make a difference. Accounting makes a huge difference in the public, private and charity sectors because it’s at the core of everything a business or organisation does. It’s my job to make finances simple enough for all people to understand.”

Audit manager Yvonne Thomas, from Audit Wales, said: “Eleri is committed, enthusiastic, hardworking and exemplifies the value an apprentice can bring to an organisation.”

Economy Minister Vaughan Gething congratulated Eleri and all the other finalists.

“Today’s apprentices will be tomorrow’s specialists, and Apprenticeship Awards Cymru allows us to recognise apprentices, work-based learning practitioners, and employers that have gone above and beyond. Their tenacity, passion, and commitment to growing their own careers, the careers of others, and the larger Welsh economy is inspiring. I wish each of the finalists the best of luck at the awards and with their future endeavours.”

Congratulating the finalists, Al Parkes, managing director at EAL, said: “As the specialist awarding organisation and skills partner for the engineering and manufacturing industry, apprenticeships in Wales are especially important to us.

“Apprenticeships play an important role in supporting personal progress through career opportunities and a sense of achievement, while ensuring that employers have the right skills at the right time to keep up with evolving industry needs.

“EAL is committed to encouraging employers to take on apprentices. Marking the achievements of employers, apprentices and work-based learning practitioners at the Apprenticeship Awards Cymru is vital to this.”

For more information about recruiting an apprentice, visit: https://gov.wales/apprenticeships-genius-decision or call 03000 603000.

Picture caption:

Eleri Davies, Apprentice of the Year finalist.