May 2016 - Astute Financial

A CELEBRATION event has been held in honour of the businesses nominated for the Derby Telegraph Business Awards.

Firms that have made the shortlist were last night given the chance to fete their success at a champagne reception evening at the Finesse Collection’s Cathedral Quarter Hotel, in St Mary’s Gate, Derby.

After weeks of poring over the entries, a shortlist of three finalists has been drawn up for each of the 13 categories.

Winners will be revealed at a gala awards ceremony at Derby College’s Roundhouse, on Pride Park, on June 9.

Last night’s event was thrown in the firms’ honour by Champions (UK) plc, which is staging the awards in partnership with the Derby Telegraph.

The finalists were welcomed to the venue by the Finesse Collection’s chief executive, James Blick.

The Cathedral Quarter Hotel, which is a historic Grade Two listed building, is one of the business awards’ key sponsors.

When it opened in 2008, following a £5 million refurbishment, it was Derby’s first independent boutique hotel and has received a number of high-profile guests – none more so than Her Majesty the Queen.

Today, it hosts meetings and conferences for a wide spectrum of Derby businesses and organisations.

Mr Blick said he was pleased to continue to support the Derby Telegraph Business Awards. He said: “It is only right to celebrate business success and this is the reason why we were keen to sponsor the awards.

“Derby has so many positives when it comes to doing business. It has excellent transport links, is centrally located and has the highest average salaries outside of London. It also has a strong leisure culture.

“These are just some of the reasons why major global brands have located to our thriving city.”

During last night’s event, the finalists had an opportunity to mingle with the sponsors, who have judged each category.

Several of the sponsors spoke on the night about how impressed they had been by the high standard of all the nominations.

The two headline sponsors of the awards are Derby College and Concur. The college is also sponsoring one of the most coveted awards – the Company of the Year category.

April Hayhurst, the college’s business development director, said: “Derby is the UK’s city of innovation and businesses today are continuing our proud heritage of breaking new ground across the industrial sectors and setting the bar high for the rest of the country to follow.

“The Derby Telegraph Business Awards are a vital part of that landscape. They celebrate success and encourage the whole business community to aim high.”

Derby Telegraph editor Neil White said: “It was great to see so many high-quality businesses come together at last night’s event.

“Looking ahead, the awards ceremony itself promises to be a fantastic event and a wonderful celebration of Derbyshire business excellence.”

This article first appeared in the East Midlands Business Link

Astute Recruitment has been named “East Midlands Business of the Year” at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) Chartered Accountant of the Year Awards 2016.

The prestigious awards ceremony took place at Nottinghamshire’s Eastwood Hall on 3^rdMarch.

Astute Recruitment is an accountancy recruitment agency operating across the East Midlands which offers bespoke recruitment solutions to its clients.

Mary Maguire, director at Astute Recruitment, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded this accolade by the ICAEW, our whole team works hard to ensure that we provide a fantastic service to all of our clients, who are looking for bespoke recruitment support across the accountancy sector.

“Astute Recruitment has continued to grow and we are so proud of all we have achieved since 2009, when we first set up. We work closely with SMEs and large accountancies to offer the very best advice and service we can and we are proud to have been recognised for this.”

Astute Recruitment’s two owners Sarah Stevenson and Mary Maguire set up the business in 2009 at the height of recession after facing redundancy. Six years later, Astute now boasts two offices, a growing reputation and an increasing number of clients.

Through educating, advising and genuinely partnering SME business owners, Astute Recruitment’s team advise business owners on practice in HR, business and financial performance.

Maguire added: “This award marks a true milestone for us and is a testament to our whole team. We not only work to benefit the business community through our services, but also through supporting charities based in the Midlands too.”

Astute Recruitment has secured over 1000 jobs for local businesses.

The consultancy currently recruits permanent and temporary accountancy staff in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.

This article was first published in TheBusinessDesk.com

Astute Recruitment is an accountancy recruitment business specialising in working with SME business owners across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.

Its co-founders Sarah Stevenson and Mary Maguire set up the business in 2009 at the height of recession after facing redundancy. Here, Maguire shares the lessons she’s learned running the company during that time.

Be positive and honest
If you have a great business idea, pursue it! You never know where it can take you. Remember to be a doer not a watcher. When we were made redundant in 2009 I was devastated for a couple of days before asking myself: “What am I going to do now?” I knew I was skilled in my sector and I knew I had a great reputation. It seemed clear to me that I should set up on my own and so I approached my now business partner, who I’d worked with for several years and trusted.

Surround yourself with talented people and keep hold of them
Staff recruitment, retention, training and motivation are all absolutely key to a successful business. Any organisation is only as strong as the staff it employs. Everyone in a business is important and need to feel fully engaged, on board and valued by their firm. Remember that you need to have some fun too and always reward success.

Remember: cash is king
It is a brutal fact that even if you have the best business, product or service in the world; without money in your bank account you are unable to pay your suppliers, creditors or staff – let alone yourself.
You need to have a firm but fair approach to cash flow management and a constant eye on your bottom line, all of the time, not just at the end of the month or quarter! You need to scrutinise your debtors and maintain a strong and clear line of communication with your creditors to ensure you and any business partners, are always on top of your current cash position.

Truly understand your business
You have to know what makes your business unique and what makes your specific service or product stand out. You should have USPs which set you apart from your competition such as our unique Triple Point Guarantee. Consider new USPs you can offer and constantly ask yourself: “How is what I am doing now benefiting my business?” “Is what I am doing now is the most effective use of my time?”

Engagement is key
Social media is constantly evolving alongside all methods of communication, branding and marketing. To support your company you need to constantly engage with your target audience in a meaningful, educational and non-confrontational way – your business needs to be synonymous with quality and professionalism. Think about what message you, your team and your social media channels are communicating about the brand and business.

225+

5 reviews

View our Google page

Leave a positive review

Mike

16:04 13 Mar 23

Highly recommended! Josh and Sarah have been fantastic at Astute. They've found and placed me in 2 jobs now between them, both really responsive and excellent at keeping you up to speed with things. Very knowledgable about the roles and happy to talk to companies with any queries you have.

C R.

10:45 27 Jan 23

Great agency one of the best ones I've worked with! Liz has been a great help and support in helping me towards a new direction in my career life. She is very attentive and keeps me in the loop at all times! She makes the extra effort to work with my preferred requirements for work and even if it isn't completely attainable she meets me in the middle and does as much as she can to help! Also Liz is very funny might I add 😂 and I'm happy that I can now put a face to the name after all these years! Thank you again Liz for all your help and support! 😊

Christine

10:32 20 Dec 22

Josh and the Astute team was very swift to help me to find roles that matched my profile. They are really reliable and will help through every step of the recruitment process going out of their way to assist and follow up when needed. Could not find a better recruitment agency!

Helen Pinegar

16:19 18 Dec 22

Fantastic recruitment agency.. Josh was extremely enthusiastic, encouraging and clearly knowledgeable about what was needed from both the employee and the employers point of view. Extremely supportive especially in regards to interview preparation and endeavoured to procure feedback promptly. Wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Astute in the future to both candidates and recruiting businesses particularly for the right fit for the role!!!

Lisa Leigh

11:56 30 Nov 22

I have worked as a candidate for Astute and they have been excellent. Super friendly service and professional agents keen to fit the right person to the right job. It has been a pleasure dealing with them and I would happily work for them again in the future. Highly recommend this agency.