Triple Bottom Line Accounting (TBLA) is delighted to announce that it was awarded Small Firm of the Year (Midlands, Wales and the East of England) this month in London.
[Photo above: Comedian Tom Allen presenting the award to the team at The Roundhouse, Camden, last week.]
Accounting Excellence’s awarding body recognised the firm’s caring, progressive and professional approach, while tripling its turnover in three years and growing from five employees in 2019 to 12 this year. Founded in 2009, TBLA is a role model for all accountants because it considers people and the planet alongside prosperity. While it offers the full range of traditional accounting services to businesses nationwide, it puts environmental and social justice at the top of the agenda. It is one of the first accounting practices to offer its clients Carbon Accounting and Net Zero Advisory services. It also provides SMEs with net-zero team workshops and shares best practice to help other accountants provide carbon accounting and ESG advisory services. Over the last few years, it has presented sustainable accounting and purpose-led business webinars and workshops to many organisations, SMEs and local district and county councils in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex.
HR and Sustainability director Fran Ellington says, “We help clients who are working towards a more environmentally conscious and socially fair future and offer discounts to those with a credible Net Zero Strategy or that engage us to help them get started.”
The team travelled by train to receive the award and enjoyed being the “butt of the joke” when presenter Comedian Tom Allen (see photos) considered the possible meanings of the triple bottom line! The meaning around our name can be read in this previous blog.
CEO Dr Peter Ellington, pictured above receiving the award said, “This award has come on the back of tremendous team effort from our youngest trainees to the most experienced accountants in our team”.
You can find out more about TBLA’s accounting and advisory services here.
TBLA – A Certified B Corporation (B Corp)
The company was already on a high when the accounting excellence awards were announced, having been officially recognised as a certified B Corporation. It is one of only a handful of UK accounting firms to receive this certification in the UK and the first in Norfolk. There are currently over 1,500 B Corps in the UK and 7,000 worldwide. Other UK accounting industry B Corps include Kreston Reeves, Telic, Thrive Accountants and Kung Fu Accounting. Triple Bottom Lines is the first Norfolk-based certified B Corp accountancy practice. You can read more about TBLA’s B Corp journey in this blog.
Interestingly, all the above firms won awards or were highly commended at this year’s Accounting Excellence Awards in London, alongside TBLA.
The B Impact Team recognised the social and environmental impact our social enterprise clients and charities were making around the country and indeed the world made easier with our accounting and advisory services.
One of our Norfolk-based social enterprise clients is Goodery, a local, organic veg box scheme and market garden attempting to redesign the local food system by increasing Organic growing and eating in East Anglia, one veg box at a time. Goodery reinvests its profits into the community and vision as a community interest company.
Director Josh Smith says, “We’ve been a TBLA client for over two years, and having our accountants understand more than just the financial bottom line has been vital in the direction and management of the company’s finances. From the week-to-week accounting to Peter’s advice on governance and structure, a true friend to the social enterprise!”
Norwich-based Matter of Place Architects, or MOPA, is a non-profit architectural studio established in 2022 by Hannah Wooller, a seasoned conservation architect. MOPA’s mission revolves around demonstrating improved methods for the sustainable management and adaptation of existing structures, enabling property owners, stewards and professionals to prepare for the future effectively. Recognising the significant contribution of the built environment to the global environmental crisis, with its involvement in up to 40% of emissions, MOPA is deeply committed to addressing this issue, believing that architects play a pivotal role in conducting research, raising awareness, and designing responsible and regenerative solutions for the built environment.
MOPA’s initiatives deliver tangible advantages to property owners, caretakers, and industry experts involved in the upkeep and revitalisation of structures. Our primary goal is to empower them to ensure a sustainable future for their properties or projects within the built environment.
MOPA’s operations manager, Meleiha Youngs, says, “We selected TBLA because their values resonated with ours. Collaborating with such kindred consultants has been instrumental in shaping the essence of MOPA, and we eagerly anticipate our ongoing partnership with TBLA in our future endeavours.”
You can read what other TBLA clients say here
You can find out more about our social and environmental records here:
TBLA Environmental Impact Report
Fran joined TBLA in 2019 after a long career in teaching. Her roles include human resources management, ESG and Marketing. During 2020 and 2021 she developed the TBLA Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) impact service. As part of the process, she has carried out an impact analysis of the TBLA social and governance profile and a whole company carbon calculation with accompanying target setting, carbon reduction action plan and impact narrative. Fran is now working alongside the growing ESG team to help more SMEs plan for Net Zero around the UK. Fran is also on the board of the Norwich Business Climate Leaders hoping to accelerate the transition to Net Zero.
