An accountant from Fraserburgh has won a top accolade for work in his industry.
Eric John (E.J.) Summers, of Leiper and Summers, won the Young Accountant of the Year award at the Scottish Accountancy Awards, held at the Radisson Hotel in Glasgow.
He received his award following nominations from clients, peers and senior managers at Leiper and Summers.
E.J. has been an accountant with the firm since 2011.
“It’s great to be recognised by professionals within the industry and it’s a fantastic feeling to have won this award,” he said.
“There were some worthy competitors this year so I knew it would be a tough decision for the judges. I’m very thankful to have been chosen for the award.”
Partners at Leiper and Summers said they were “very proud” of E.J., noting that the achievement showed his dedication not only to the firm but to the clients for whom he worked hard.
Nominees for the category of Young Accountant of the Year 2014 had to show examples of leadership, excellent client service and be able to support this with glowing testimonials from clients and professionals from other business-support services.
E.J. graduated in 2006 from Robert Gordon University with a BA (Hons) in accountancy and finance. He started his career at Shell as an internal audit assistant and later moved to Aberdeen accountancy firm Hall Morrice, where he continued his career for three years in the accounts and audit department.
Later, he joined the company’s business advisory team to widen his commercial experience before managing his own portfolio of SME clients.
In December 2011, E.J. joined Leiper and Summers and has attracted a significant number of new clients to the firm.
The clients are mostly located in Aberdeen, Peterhead and Fraserburgh and cover several industries, including the oil and gas sector and business start-ups.
The Scottish Accountancy Awards, now in their seventh year, once again celebrated the vital role that accountants play in the effectiveness of companies and public-sector organisations.
A panel of independent experts judged the awards. Research on the nominees was also conducted by the Business School at Edinburgh Napier University.