October saw a wow moment when the winners of the 2025 AVN Most Inspiring Accountant Awards were announced.

Every year when I read the award entries, I’m blown away by what these firms have done. Their dedication to keep improving not just their own firm but their clients’ businesses too is so impressive.

What stood out to me most clearly this year were four key elements that all the winning firms have in spades. Without these, it’s nearly impossible to create the kind of business that really delivers for the owner, their team and their clients.

So, what are the four winning elements?

Clarity

This one word encompasses a lot. Essentially it means clarity in your vision for your firm – what you want it to look like, the kind of clients you want to work with and the services you want to provide.

But it’s not as easy as it sounds to pinpoint exactly what you want. When we work with accountants it can take several coaching sessions and training workshops to uncover what’s really important to them. But when they nail this, they have a head start on their competitors because they know exactly what they’re aiming for, and how they’re going to get there.

A great example of this is the winner of the Practice Differentiation and Business Advisory categories. He is crystal clear on who his ideal clients are and has a deep understanding of their challenges. The nine-pillar programme he’s created helps them tackle those challenges and build a sustainable, turnkey business that can run without the owner being there.

When you have this clarity, it makes it so much easier to market your firm with a clear, consistent message that resonates with your target audience.

Action

Of course, you can be crystal clear about what you want to achieve but it means nothing unless you actually do something about it.

Far too many accountants dream of having a different kind of business and a different kind of life but fail to do anything that makes it a reality.

Our winners take action.

The winner of the Business Vision Award is a case in point. Having defined his vision for his business, he blocks out time for the specific tasks that will help him achieve it. He’s a very worthy winner of the Business Vision category.

His schedule now includes focused windows for different types of work, including dedicated time for client calls, team queries and strategic thinking. Early mornings are used for liaising with his outsourced team, and the rest of the day follows a structure designed to minimise distraction and maximise impact.

Almost every accountant I speak to tells me they’re too busy firefighting to make change happen. Yet, once they start working with AVN they find a space to start, however small. And the beauty is that from there it snowballs, with each small action freeing up even more time.

Systems

Without effective systems in place, you’ll work twice as hard to get the same results. Explaining the same task over and over. Dealing with the same problems again and again.

When everyone in your team follows the same systems, the interruptions reduce. Productivity increases. Turnaround times improve.

Winner of the Consistently High Standards Award has structured her firm around great systems. Every process has a ‘best path,’ ensuring that both the team and clients follow consistent, proven workflows that minimise errors and maximise efficiency. If a mistake happens, the team take ownership and work together to identify the root cause, then make sure the system is revised to prevent the issue reoccurring.

Systemising your entire firm is a huge job. But systemising one process at a time, starting with the simplest, is actually not hard.

Relationships

Clients expect efficiency from their accountant, no doubt about that. And as more and more tasks become automated, their expectations are only going to go up.

But any accountant with the right tech stack and systems can be efficient.

What makes you stand out – and what can’t be replicated by anyone else – is you. The unique person-to-person interactions and relationships you create shape the way your firm is perceived by clients and prospects.

The winner of the Client Committed Team category focuses on the way everyone in the team goes beyond the numbers to forge genuine relationships with their clients.

Each client gets a service that is personal, flexible and tailored to their needs. Through regular calls, WhatsApp messages and meetings, the team are constantly listening to their clients and adapting their services to fit evolving needs. Clients are reassured that there is always someone looking out for them and ready to advise.

I know many accountancy firms are brilliant in one, two or even three of these areas. These four firms – and the other category winners – show what’s possible when you excel in all four.

View the full list of winners

Shane Lukas: AVN – The Accountants’ Network

Further resources

Read ACCA's guidance on winning business and accountancy awards