The effects of the first AAT Impact Awards

One year on, we follow up on how our AAT Impact Award winners are progressing, and find out how winning has affected their lives and careers, and the lives of others.

The winners of the first-ever AAT Impact Awards were announced during the online launch of the AAT 2030 strategy, watched in over thirty countries. The Awards celebrate the best in the AAT community and recognise the contribution that individual members and students are making.

“AAT Award has boosted recognition for the charity and spurred on fundraising efforts”

Excellence Award: Mark Clayton

In early 2023 Mark won the inaugural AAT Excellence Award in the UK highlighting his strong leadership skills and social purpose.

Based in Guangdong, China, Mark joined manufacturing and sourcing company C2W in 2007, after completing his AAT Level 4 at just 20. He helped grow the company, which has a $15mn turnover, building the finance function from scratch. He is now group CFO and says that the professional and ethical standards which AAT instilled in him have guided him in the 19 years since he qualified.

In 2011 Mark set up an NGO which helps children living with autism and underprivileged children to learn social and work skills to be able to join the workforce when they leave formal education. Thanks to his AAT training, the charity that he runs is fully financially transparent, which has created a high level of trust among donors and supporters.

“The charity was set up to give back to the community where we live,” he says. “We are transparent with our finances and our accounting, and we account for everything, right down to the pens we buy, with zero salaries or administration costs.”

He says winning the AAT Award has helped boost recognition for the charity and spurred him on to continue with fundraising efforts.

“I was expecting last year’s charity musical festival event to be quite small in way of donations, because after Covid, China was not really in a good situation economically,” he says. “But we raised more in 2023 than we did in the previous two events, and that is because of the drive that the Award gave me.

“The award doesn’t just belong to me, it belongs to all my colleagues at C2W, and the people that I founded the charity with and everyone that helps out with support and mentoring.”

On a personal level, he says the Award gave him “a real confidence boost” and a real desire to give back to the community he lives in.

“The AAT award meant so much to me, to know that what I’m doing is meaningful and inspiring,” he says. “I was so honoured to win the award that it pushed me to take my charitable work to another level, to try and get more people involved. I wanted to use it to try and inspire more people to join what I’m doing or replicate what I’m doing.”

Another positive consequence of the award is that it gave Mark the boost he needed to finally become CIMA qualified, and a year on, he is now a Chartered Management Accountant.

“Winning the award reconnected me with AAT, and I had always wanted to go on to the next level,” he says. “I had been a student member of CIMA for 19 years, but never got round to doing the qualification. Finally, I did the Fasttrack course and passed in November 2023, becoming a fellow in December 2023. It was a qualification for people who have experience in other ways, as I had been in a CFO position for over 15 years. Now I’m putting my finance manager through the same qualification.”

Mark has also been inspired to put himself forward as Chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce in Guangdong, China, as he is currently vice chairman. “I’d like to step up and use everything I’ve learned to help British businesses here,” he says.

“I have gained the confidence to go on and do bigger and better things.”

One to Watch Award: Adrienne Davis

This Award is for an early-career individual already making an outstanding contribution to their workplace and showing exceptional progress.

Adrienne Davis moved from South Africa to the UK, starting AAT at Doncaster College at age 18, and completing AAT Levels 2 to 4 in three years while working full-time. Adrienne is now AAT qualified at 21 and aims to pursue ACCA self-funded, with aspirations to work in London, possibly at PwC or EY.

Her talent for teaching was first noted by tutors within weeks of her starting AAT Level 2 at Doncaster College, when she helped her fellow students. She is now considering going back into part-time teaching.

“I was really honoured to win the Award, and it was great to be recognised for my hard work,” she says. “It’s been a busy year, I’ve just qualified at AAT Level 4, and I am now progressing on to ACCA. My college is currently looking for someone to step in to help out part time, because quite a few of our AAT lecturers are retiring, so I have put my name forward for that.”

The Award also gave Adrienne a career boost. Shortly after winning she decided to move from the company she had started with and gain more experience in a bigger company.

“I now work for a global company with a 5bn€ turnover, and having the Award did help, because people understood that I am willing to put in the extra effort,” she says. “I am going to be funding the ACCA course myself, because I like having my options open. I am hoping to move down to London next year sometime and work for PwC or EY. In the long term, I would really like to have a role as a CFO. I have gained the confidence to go on and do bigger and better things.”

“Winning the Award has raised visibility and opened doors”

Inspiration Award: Eve Jones

The Inspiration Award recognises someone who’s inspired others to level up their careers, going beyond their remit with passion and dedication, and keeping the profession relevant and high standard.

Eve Jones FMAAT, Life Member is Chair at the AAT Birmingham Branch and works with Birmingham Metropolitan College (BMET) to support and inspire her students. Before she became a tutor, Eve was a company director for a subsidiary of Toyota, initially in France and later the UK.

For Eve, receiving the Inspiration Award was the “proudest moment” of her career. “I have reached the stage where I have done all I want to do in life in terms of my career, and now I want to give back to the community,” she says. “In my tutoring, and in my wider work with companies to open doors for AAT, and as Chair of the Birmingham Branch, I’m trying to give back as much as I can.

“The response has been great. Winning the Award has raised visibility and opened doors in so many ways. I have had more speaking invitations, it has improved attendance at our events, and I am contacted by people who have never heard of AAT before, and who want to know more.”

She has appeared in AT Magazine and was interviewed by Mindful Education, who filmed one of her lessons and interviewed some of her AAT students. She has been approached by various organisations to attend seminars and conferences and actively participate, such as CIPFA and CIMA, and has been able to attract prestigious speakers and CEOs to speak at local events, boosting attendance.

“BMET is supporting us by giving us free, safe and accessible venue to hold our events, attracting more students and members alike,” she says. “Winning the award attracted more confidence and recognition, and for the first time AAT Birmingham Branch has the opportunity to visit and hold events at prestigious firms including EY, KPMG and Weightmans, where attendees found out about apprentice opportunities.”

She is also working with a local employment agency to promote AAT and open the opportunities for students and members alike to apply for jobs successfully and has lined up an exciting programme of events for the Birmingham Branch over the coming months.

“Winning the Impact award has served as a catalyst for further achievements, given me greater recognition and more opportunities to expand my influence and make a greater contribution to AAT as whole,” she says.

Marianne Curphey is an award-winning financial writer and columnist, and author of the book How Money Works. She worked as City Editor at The Guardian, deputy editor of Guardian online, and has worked for The Times, Telegraph and BBC.