Yorkshire Finance Director of the Year Awards launched

Sponsored by accountancy firm Ernst & Young, recruitment company Sewell Moorhouse, law firm Hammonds and banking giant Santander, the Yorkshire Finance Director of the Year Awards will recognise the huge pool of talent in the region.

Media sponsor for the awards is TheBusinessDesk.com.

Categories will include Best Finance Director of a plc; Best Finance Director of a Ltd Company; Best Finance Director of an SME (up to £15m turnover); and Young Finance Director of the Year (up to 40 years of age).

An outstanding achievement award will also be presented.

Entries for the awards are now being called for. Judging will take place between June and August with the black tie awards dinner taking place in September.

Cliff Sewell, chief executive of Sewell Moorhouse, said: “Following the success of the 2009 awards in what was an extremely challenging economy it is going to be interesting to see how the FD’s role has changed over the last 12 months.”

Neil Williams, regional director for Yorkshire at Santander Corporate Banking, said: "We are delighted to be co-sponsoring this year's Yorkshire Finance Director of the Year Awards.

"The region has a vibrant corporate and commercial sector and finance directors play a key role in ensuring this continues. It is important that the business community recognises excellence, especially given the economic turmoil of the last 18 months."

David Buckley, Yorkshire senior partner at Ernst & Young, said: “A huge amount of credit should go to Yorkshire’s finance directors, who have risen to the commercial and market challenges of the greatest recession for a century. The Yorkshire Finance Director of the Year Awards celebrates and recognises their talents.”

Steven Glover, a partner and head of the corporate finance team at Hammonds in Leeds, said: "These awards recognise the importance of management teams and given the economic times we're in at present, never has the role and importance of finance directors been so great.

"It's important this year, perhaps more than others, to recognise the value of finance directors and the role they play in the region."

David Parkin, Editor of TheBusinessDesk.com, said: "We're absolutely delighted to be involved in the Yorkshire Finance Director of the Year Awards. Given our audience of directors, entrepreneurs and decision makers, as well as the region's advisory community, the awards are a perfect fit."

To enter the awards or for further information email Lucinda Wood at lucinda.wood@sewellm.co.uk.