Key highlights of 2024

We say it every year, but the last twelve months have really flown by. As we approach the end of a remarkably busy 2024, it is important to take time to look back and acknowledge some of the key moments that stand out from the many achievements celebrated by our team this year.

There were many well-deserved promotions and exam successes, several of our team got married, welcomed new babies, and as a firm we progressed with developing our leadership team and the creation of our four strategic improvement working groups.

In January, we hit the ground running, conducting our first ever team engagement survey to which we were delighted to achieve an impressive >90% response rate.

In the Spring, eleven of our team ran the Sheffield Half marathon, raising almost £1,100 for St. Luke's Hospice.

We were delighted to win the 2024 Xero Awards Large firm of the year. As previous winners of this Year category in 2022, we are thrilled to have been finalists for the last four consecutive years.

We hosted a visit from Jason Drake, from fellow Praxity member firm Plante Moran in the US, during his visit to the UK. Having recently been named as Plante Moran’s next managing partner, Jason took time out of this busy schedule to spend an afternoon chatting to our team in the Sheffield office.

Over the summer, our Corporate Finance team were shortlisted in three categories of the South Yorkshire Dealmakers Awards, and five of our team attended Xerocon at the Excel in London, a fantastic event that always promises some useful insights, the latest product updates and catching up with some amazing people in the industry.

In July we took over as headline sponsors of the Ashgate Hospice charity golf day and held our team business update where we shared our vision for the next five years with our team.

In August we announced the acquisition of South Yorkshire Accountancy firm Hewson & Howson, with all of the Hewson & Howson employees joining the Shorts team.

We celebrated success in the regional heats of the business fives charity football tournament, winning the heats and raising funds for Rotherham Hospice in the process. As winners, our team raised over £200 with Rotherham Hospice receiving a further donation of £350 direct from the tournament organisers.

Our team enjoyed a visit from Support dogs in September, (four legged representatives as well as the two-legged kind) when they visited both of our offices. From donations during their visits, a donation from Shorts’ partners, and money raised during their recent golf day, our team have helped raise a total of £3,887 for Support Dogs this year.

In October, myself and Howard Freeman attended the Praxity Global conference in Singapore, we introduced a series of development and personal impact workshops, people manager bite sized training sessions, and received official recognition as a Disability Confident Committed employer.

November saw the launch of our new learning management system platform Kallidus, which will be key to the future development and growth of our teams, and we once again participated in the Chesterfield festival of Christmas trees.

Kirstie Wilson and Scott Burkinshaw attended the Praxity North American Tax Conference in Orlando.

Shorts Financial Services became one of the founding firms of a new national independent advice business, Shackleton, whose mission is to become the trusted source of high quality, consistent, financial planning, and wealth management services across Britain.

And during December we welcomed Craig Walker back into the Shorts fold. Having completed his training at Shorts at the beginning of his career, we were delighted to welcome him back in 2024 as tax partner. Craig is an experienced Chartered Tax Adviser and member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, with over 20 years of tax experience at large regional firms and a top 15 firm.

We were delighted before the Christmas break to receive news of being Finalists in two categories of the Yorkshire Accountancy Awards – Best Employer of the Year and Consultancy / Advisory Service Award for the work of our Genus Management Accounts team, before wrapping up the working year with the annual Christmas party, which was this year held at Dunston Hall Estate.

And finally, I am delighted to confirm that with affect from 1^st January 2025, I have been appointed to the Global Board of Praxity the world's largest alliance of independent accounting and consulting firms. I looks forward to working with the rest of the Praxity board as they focus on developing the alliance for an exciting future, whilst continuing to serve our global clients with outstanding work.

So, all that remains is to thank our team for their hard work, participation, and efforts during 2024, wish everyone (clients, friends, and our team) a restful break over the coming days and for those who celebrate it, to wish a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, as we prepare for all the exciting things to come in 2025.