Ballards is celebrating after being named Audit Team of the Year at the prestigious 2026 Accounting Excellence Awards.
The award recognises the outstanding work of the Ballards audit team and its commitment to delivering a responsive, agile and high-quality service to clients across a wide range of sectors.
The winners were announced at a ceremony at the Roundhouse in London, where Audit Partner Ben Powell and Audit and Accounts Director Adrian Sidaway were joined by other members of the Ballards leadership team.
The Accounting Excellence Awards recognise firms and teams across the UK accountancy profession, with the Audit Team of the Year award highlighting the strength, collaboration and commitment of the Ballards team.
Ben Powell, Audit Partner at Ballards, said: “I’m delighted for the whole team. We’ve earned this recognition through our hard work, and it shows that a responsive, agile service is still something clients value.”
The judges particularly praised the team’s emphasis on continuous improvement in audit quality, including its monthly “fix it in 15” sessions, where the whole team works through live audit challenges together.
The sessions are designed to ensure issues are raised early, shared openly and acted on quickly, helping to build a strong culture of teamwork and continuous improvement. The judges also highlighted the Ballards Bean, the team mascot which travels with colleagues on client visits – reflecting the personality and team spirit that sits alongside the technical expertise of the audit team.
Adrian Sidaway, Audit and Accounts Director at Ballards, said: “This award is an amazing achievement and recognises the fantastic people across our audit team, whose commitment, professionalism and dedication to delivering exceptional service for our clients never goes unnoticed.”
James Syree, Chief Executive at Ballards, said: “I’m incredibly proud of the audit team. This award reflects the quality of their work and the way they look after our clients, and it’s a great moment for the whole firm.”
The award marks an important achievement for the Ballards audit team, recognising not only the quality of its work but the way its people work together to continually improve the service they provide to clients.
About Ballards
Ballards is a chartered accountancy and advisory firm providing tax, audit and consultancy services. With offices in Worcester, Droitwich, Birmingham and London, the firm works with businesses across sectors including manufacturing, haulage and logistics, food and beverage, agribusiness, childcare and early years, technology, healthcare and private client. Ballards is guided by a simple idea: deep understanding, delivered swiftly.
Pictured left to right: Andy Bewick, Mark Skellum, Adrian Sidaway, Ben Powell, James Syree.